Strategic Planning for Gailey Road Productions
The last few months were important months for Gailey Road Productions. Director Jocelyn Wickett and Production Manager Gillian Lewis and I (Tara Goldstein, Founder) have been working on a five-year strategic plan for the company and will hold the company's first Board of Directors meeting on December 13, 2010.
Over the last four years, Gailey Road Productions has matured in a number of ways. The company has moved from producing plays in Bring Your Own Venues at the Toronto Fringe Festival to self-producing its most recent play Harriet’s House in a professional theatre run by IATSE technicians. It has moved from seeking Fringe Festival waivers for its Canadian Actors’ Equity Association (CAEA) members to hiring CAEA actors on guest artist contracts. In the fall of 2009, Gailey Road took on an intern, Monica Nunes, who was mentored into the role of Assistant Producer for the staged reading of Zero Tolerance (February 2010) and then took on the role of Assistant Producer for the production of Harriet’s House at Hart House Theatre (July 2010).
After three successful staged productions and three staged readings Gailey Road Productions is ready to develop as an organization and move from its four-year start-phase on the Ground Floor (its first production Pound Predators was actually performed on the Ground Floor of the OISE/UT library) to its next five-year development phase at the Mezzanine level.
Current Organizational Development Goal
The primary development goal for Gailey Road in the next five years is to establish a strong financial base so the company can continue to develop, produce and tour its current project The Harriet’s House Trilogy.
The Harriet’s House Trilogy
The writing and development of The Harriet’s House Trilogy began in 2007 with a series of 10-minute plays I wrote on the topic of transnational adoption in both heterosexual and same-sex families. Building from the 10-minute play series, the first play in the trilogy, Harriet’s House, focuses on the themes of love, loss and adoption in a same-sex family. Given the ongoing issues of bullying, harassment and prejudice that face lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (lgbtq) communities both locally and internationally, I felt it was important to write and stage the experiences of lgbtq adoptive families. The Harriet’s House Trilogy will provide opportunities for playwrights, actors, audiences and readers of the play to engage in discussion about these issues.
The Women's Caucus Six-Week Cyberwritng Challenge
The First Six-Week Cyberwriting Challenge that I ran this past fall is now over (see my last blog entry for more details) and the feedback about the Challenge has been enthusiastic. Here is a sample of the feedback.
• I have 2/3 of a rough draft of a play done as a result of this process.
• I have gained tools from this I know I will use again.
• The challenge was helpful at reminding me to make room for my writing every day.
• I think one of my plays is now taking a turn toward being clearer and more effective thanks to your suggestions.
• I like the warm up exercises. I don’t use them every time, only when needed. Perfect.
• I was surprised to discover the warm-up exercises really helped my writing.
• I loved the ‘compile everything you have so far’ exercise.
• It's made me do more writing than I would otherwise have done.
• I plan to go through them again as I'll soon be doing a rewrite of a play.
• I didn’t write much as I wanted, but certainly more than I would've done without the challenge.
Given the positive feedback, I plan to run the Challenge again next fall. If you are a Canadian woman playwright and would like to participate in the Challenge, contact Robin Sokoloski at the Playwrights Guild of Canada to become a member of the Guild's Women's Caucus: robin@playwrightsguild.ca
As this will be my last blog entry for the year, I want to take this opportunity to wish all the visitors to my blog a healthy, happy and successful new year.
All the best,
Tara
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Gailey Road: October Update
October has been a busy month for Gailey Road Productions and its artistic team.
The Harriet House Trilogy
I've been working on the first draft of the second play of my Harriet's House trilogy by participating in the six-week cyberwriting challenge offered through the Women's Caucus at the Playwrights Guild of Canada. Each week participants receive five writing activities that are intended to spark writing for a new play or help them continue to develop a play they are working on. We are now at the end of the fourth week of the six-week cyberwriting challenge and have two weeks to go.
Performative Writing Workshop
Three members of the Gailey Road artistic team, Jocelyn Wickett, Monica Nunes and I, participated in one-day workshop on performative writing facilitated by Professor Ron Pelias from the University of Southern Illinois in Carbondale. Ron designed the workshop so they each of the participants would have an experience of writing a personal narrative, an autoethnography piece and a performative writing piece on the same topic. It was a wonderful way to learn about the differences about these three types of writing. Four graduate students in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at the Ontario Institute of Education, University of Toronto, all of whom are interested in performed ethnography and performative writing joined the workshop as well.
The Annual International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champagne
Readers who are interested in taking a workshop in performative writing can find Ron Pelias at the annual International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry held at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagne each May. For the past several years Ron has facilitated a half day workshop on performative writing at the conference.
The conference attracts a number of academics who identify with the "alternative ethnography movement" in the field of qualitative research. These researchers write, publish and stage personal narratives, autoethnographies, performed ethnographies (also known as performance ethnographies and ethnodramas) and other kinds of performance pieces. For more information see: http://www.regonline.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=891300.
Staging Harriet's House: Producing Performed Ethnography
Finally, i received the excellent news that my proposal for writing a book on producing performed ethnography has been accepted by Series Editor Shirley Steinberg at Peter Lang. Staging Harriet's House: Producing Performed Ethnography will tell the story of staging my performed ethnography Harriet's House at Hart House Theatre last July as part of the 2010 Toronto Pride Festival. I'll be working on the book this coming winter.
All the best,
Tara
The Harriet House Trilogy
I've been working on the first draft of the second play of my Harriet's House trilogy by participating in the six-week cyberwriting challenge offered through the Women's Caucus at the Playwrights Guild of Canada. Each week participants receive five writing activities that are intended to spark writing for a new play or help them continue to develop a play they are working on. We are now at the end of the fourth week of the six-week cyberwriting challenge and have two weeks to go.
Performative Writing Workshop
Three members of the Gailey Road artistic team, Jocelyn Wickett, Monica Nunes and I, participated in one-day workshop on performative writing facilitated by Professor Ron Pelias from the University of Southern Illinois in Carbondale. Ron designed the workshop so they each of the participants would have an experience of writing a personal narrative, an autoethnography piece and a performative writing piece on the same topic. It was a wonderful way to learn about the differences about these three types of writing. Four graduate students in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at the Ontario Institute of Education, University of Toronto, all of whom are interested in performed ethnography and performative writing joined the workshop as well.
The Annual International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champagne
Readers who are interested in taking a workshop in performative writing can find Ron Pelias at the annual International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry held at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagne each May. For the past several years Ron has facilitated a half day workshop on performative writing at the conference.
The conference attracts a number of academics who identify with the "alternative ethnography movement" in the field of qualitative research. These researchers write, publish and stage personal narratives, autoethnographies, performed ethnographies (also known as performance ethnographies and ethnodramas) and other kinds of performance pieces. For more information see: http://www.regonline.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=891300.
Staging Harriet's House: Producing Performed Ethnography
Finally, i received the excellent news that my proposal for writing a book on producing performed ethnography has been accepted by Series Editor Shirley Steinberg at Peter Lang. Staging Harriet's House: Producing Performed Ethnography will tell the story of staging my performed ethnography Harriet's House at Hart House Theatre last July as part of the 2010 Toronto Pride Festival. I'll be working on the book this coming winter.
All the best,
Tara
Monday, September 13, 2010
Gailey Road: Upcoming Activities this fall
Happy September to you all.
After an extremely successful run of Harriet's House at Hart House Theatre this past July and a terrific staged reading of the play at the Queer West Festival in August, I have decided to continue writing the story of Harriet's transnational/transracial same-sex family. The second play in the Harriet's House trilogy will focus on Ana, Harriet's middle adopted from Colombia and the third play will focus on Clare, Harriet's youngest, biological daughter.
I began to work on Ana's play in August and plan to continue working on it this fall with the support of the six-week cyberwriting challenge I am running for the Women's Caucus of the Playwrights Guild of Canada. If you are a Canadian woman playwright you can join PCG's Women's Caucus and take part in the cyberwriting challenge which begins on September 27, 2010. Contact Robin Sokoloski for information on joining the PCG and the Women's Caucus.
September also brings grant proposal deadlines and I've spent the last several weeks working on a Canada Council theatre projects grant to fund the development and production of Ana's play . I'm also working on a three-year SSHRC grant proposal to fund the research component of the Harriet's House trilogy.
At the end of month, I'll be hosting a reading of my play Zero Tolerance at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education's Educating for Peace and Justice: Action for Safe and Equitable Classrooms, Schools and Communities Conference. The goal of the conference is to enable participants to share best practices related to the building of safe and equitable classrooms, schools and communities.
Julian Falconer LLB, human rights lawyer and Chair of the School Community Safety Panel, will be the keynote speaker. Zero Tolerance is adapted from Julian Falconer's report on school safety The Road to Health. The report was commissioned by the Toronto District School Board after the 2007 shooting of Jordan Manner in the hallway of his Toronto high school.
For more information about Zero Tolerance see www.gaileyroad.com. For more information about the conference, which takes place on Saturday, September 25th, 2010 from 8:30am -4:30pm, contact peaceandjustice.oise.@utoronto.ca
All the best,
Tara
After an extremely successful run of Harriet's House at Hart House Theatre this past July and a terrific staged reading of the play at the Queer West Festival in August, I have decided to continue writing the story of Harriet's transnational/transracial same-sex family. The second play in the Harriet's House trilogy will focus on Ana, Harriet's middle adopted from Colombia and the third play will focus on Clare, Harriet's youngest, biological daughter.
I began to work on Ana's play in August and plan to continue working on it this fall with the support of the six-week cyberwriting challenge I am running for the Women's Caucus of the Playwrights Guild of Canada. If you are a Canadian woman playwright you can join PCG's Women's Caucus and take part in the cyberwriting challenge which begins on September 27, 2010. Contact Robin Sokoloski
September also brings grant proposal deadlines and I've spent the last several weeks working on a Canada Council theatre projects grant to fund the development and production of Ana's play . I'm also working on a three-year SSHRC grant proposal to fund the research component of the Harriet's House trilogy.
At the end of month, I'll be hosting a reading of my play Zero Tolerance at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education's Educating for Peace and Justice: Action for Safe and Equitable Classrooms, Schools and Communities Conference. The goal of the conference is to enable participants to share best practices related to the building of safe and equitable classrooms, schools and communities.
Julian Falconer LLB, human rights lawyer and Chair of the School Community Safety Panel, will be the keynote speaker. Zero Tolerance is adapted from Julian Falconer's report on school safety The Road to Health. The report was commissioned by the Toronto District School Board after the 2007 shooting of Jordan Manner in the hallway of his Toronto high school.
For more information about Zero Tolerance see www.gaileyroad.com. For more information about the conference, which takes place on Saturday, September 25th, 2010 from 8:30am -4:30pm, contact peaceandjustice.oise.@utoronto.ca
All the best,
Tara
Friday, August 6, 2010
The Toronto Summerworks Festival and a staged reading of Harriet's House on August 10, 2010
It's August and in Toronto, the Summerworks Festival is in full-swing. Productions by women playwrights that are playing at Summerworks include:
Cassie Beecham and Director Melissa Major’s The Saddest Girl in the World
Marion de Vries’ big face,
Jordan Hall’s Kayak
Marcia Johnson’s Say Ginger Ale (on which I am a consulting producer)
Celia McBride’s Anatomy of a Broken Love Affair
Elyne Quan’s Souvenirs of Home
Also playing next week is a staged reading of Harriet's House at Levack Block Restaurant on August 10, 2010 at 8 pm. If you missed our production of the play at Hart House Theatre, here's an opportunity to hear the play read by the same cast. We hope to see you there!
All the best,
Tara
Cassie Beecham and Director Melissa Major’s The Saddest Girl in the World
Marion de Vries’ big face,
Jordan Hall’s Kayak
Marcia Johnson’s Say Ginger Ale (on which I am a consulting producer)
Celia McBride’s Anatomy of a Broken Love Affair
Elyne Quan’s Souvenirs of Home
Also playing next week is a staged reading of Harriet's House at Levack Block Restaurant on August 10, 2010 at 8 pm. If you missed our production of the play at Hart House Theatre, here's an opportunity to hear the play read by the same cast. We hope to see you there!
All the best,
Tara
Friday, July 30, 2010
Harriet's House: Staged Reading at LeVack Block Restaurant: August 10, 2010
Gailey Road Productions will remount Harriet’s House in conjunction with the Toronto Queer West Arts Festival on August 10, 2010 at LeVack Block Restaurant in Toronto.
Harriet’s House at the Queer West Arts Festival (queerwest.org/queerwestfest.php) follows the recent premiere of the production which took place at Hart House Theatre in July during the 30th Toronto Pride Festival. Over its three-performance run in July, Harriet’s House drew an appreciative audience of 450, was named a “Best Bet” by Eye Weekly, and was featured in an article by Jon Kaplan in Now Magazine.
If you missed Gailey Road's production of Harriet's House earlier this month, here's an opportunity to hear the play read by the same cast who performed the show at Hart House Theatre.
In telling the stories of the six women in Harriet’s House, played by a cross generational and cross cultural “family” of Toronto theatre artists, audiences will be called to question and reflect upon the complexities of identity, the roles of mother, daughter, sister, and partner, and what it means to be different.
Date & Time:
August 10 at 8 pm
Venue:
LeVack Block
88 Ossington Avenue (Dinner at LeVack Block available from 5:30-8:00)Ticket Information:
Admission:
$5.00
Tickets will be available at the door.
Harriet’s House at the Queer West Arts Festival (queerwest.org/queerwestfest.php) follows the recent premiere of the production which took place at Hart House Theatre in July during the 30th Toronto Pride Festival. Over its three-performance run in July, Harriet’s House drew an appreciative audience of 450, was named a “Best Bet” by Eye Weekly, and was featured in an article by Jon Kaplan in Now Magazine.
If you missed Gailey Road's production of Harriet's House earlier this month, here's an opportunity to hear the play read by the same cast who performed the show at Hart House Theatre.
In telling the stories of the six women in Harriet’s House, played by a cross generational and cross cultural “family” of Toronto theatre artists, audiences will be called to question and reflect upon the complexities of identity, the roles of mother, daughter, sister, and partner, and what it means to be different.
Date & Time:
August 10 at 8 pm
Venue:
LeVack Block
88 Ossington Avenue (Dinner at LeVack Block available from 5:30-8:00)Ticket Information:
Admission:
$5.00
Tickets will be available at the door.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Two upcoming conferences for women playwrights
There are two upcoming conferences which will be of interest to women playwrights.
The first is the Women's Playwright International Conference which is going to be held in Stockholm, Sweden in August 2012.
The host of WPIC 2012 is Riksteatern (Sweden’s National Theatre).
The dates of the conference are August 15-21, 2012.
The theme of the conference is The Democratic Stage.
Applications will be available in September 2010 on the Riksteatern WPIC website:
www.riksteatern.se/wpic
For more information you can e-mail: wpic@rksteatern.se
The second conference is called TED Women which is going to be held in Washington, DC, USA in December 2010.
The conference focuses on sharing ideas of women and girls from all over the world, including theatre artists.
For more information go to the TED website:
http://conferences.ted.com/TEDWomen/program/
All the best,
Tara
The first is the Women's Playwright International Conference which is going to be held in Stockholm, Sweden in August 2012.
The host of WPIC 2012 is Riksteatern (Sweden’s National Theatre).
The dates of the conference are August 15-21, 2012.
The theme of the conference is The Democratic Stage.
Applications will be available in September 2010 on the Riksteatern WPIC website:
www.riksteatern.se/wpic
For more information you can e-mail: wpic@rksteatern.se
The second conference is called TED Women which is going to be held in Washington, DC, USA in December 2010.
The conference focuses on sharing ideas of women and girls from all over the world, including theatre artists.
For more information go to the TED website:
http://conferences.ted.com/TEDWomen/program/
All the best,
Tara
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Harriet's House: After the show is over
In the week since Harriet's House was performed at Hart House Theatre, the artistic team has been busy with taking stock on what worked to make the production successful and what could be done differently next time.
In the week since Harriet's House was performed I also began to send the play out to other theatres who might be interested in co-producing a second production of the play with Gailey Road Productions. Over the last year or so, I've been collecting names of Canadian and American theatres who produce women-centred and LGBTQ work. Including the NOW Magazine profile of the play and the comments made by audience members who attended the premiere of the play at Hart House Theatre, I sent out five letters of inquiry to five different theatres.
Finally, director Jocelyn Wickett and I met with Jaclyn Isen of Toronto's Queer West Arts Festival and LeVack Block restaurant in Little Italiy this week to discuss the possibility of producing a reading of Harriet's House in the festival (http://queerwest.org/queerwestfest_official_events.php). The Festival will take place from August 7-15, 2010.
Jocelyn and I are happy to announce that a reading of Harriet's House with the Hart House Theatre cast will take place on August 10, 2010 at 8 pm in the back room of LeVack Block. Tickets will be about $5.00 and all proceeds will go to the cast and director. Levack Block will be serving dinner that night so folks going to the reading can arrive early, have dinner, and then make their way to the reading at 8:00 pm.
LeVack Block is located at 88 Ossington Avenue between Dundas and Queen.
All the best,
Tara
In the week since Harriet's House was performed I also began to send the play out to other theatres who might be interested in co-producing a second production of the play with Gailey Road Productions. Over the last year or so, I've been collecting names of Canadian and American theatres who produce women-centred and LGBTQ work. Including the NOW Magazine profile of the play and the comments made by audience members who attended the premiere of the play at Hart House Theatre, I sent out five letters of inquiry to five different theatres.
Finally, director Jocelyn Wickett and I met with Jaclyn Isen of Toronto's Queer West Arts Festival and LeVack Block restaurant in Little Italiy this week to discuss the possibility of producing a reading of Harriet's House in the festival (http://queerwest.org/queerwestfest_official_events.php). The Festival will take place from August 7-15, 2010.
Jocelyn and I are happy to announce that a reading of Harriet's House with the Hart House Theatre cast will take place on August 10, 2010 at 8 pm in the back room of LeVack Block. Tickets will be about $5.00 and all proceeds will go to the cast and director. Levack Block will be serving dinner that night so folks going to the reading can arrive early, have dinner, and then make their way to the reading at 8:00 pm.
LeVack Block is located at 88 Ossington Avenue between Dundas and Queen.
All the best,
Tara
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Harriet's House: Audience Response
Harriet’s House was performed this past weekend and drew 450 people over its three-run performance. The response we got back from the audience was warm, supportive and exciting. We had an standing ovation on Friday night and two curtain calls on Sunday night. People were engaged by the story, resonated with the characters' experiences and wanted to know what happens to Harriet's family . They were also impressed by the cast's performances Here's a sample of what our audience wrote in our guest book:
"Excellent performance by all!"
"Very moving story."
"Lovely to see a play with an all female cast!"
"Hope to see many more."
I want to thank all the members of the artistic team for their commitment to the production and their professionalism.
A special thank you needs to go out Jocelyn Wickett whose directorial vision and work with the actors was a major force behind the warmth and heart of Harriet’s House.
A second special thank you needs to go out to Louise Cowin who hosted our opening night reception in the glamorous Hart House Theatre lobby. The reception gave us all an opportunity to connect with our audience and to celebrate our accomplishment with them.
A third special thank you goes out to Carl Goldstein who became the publicist of Harriet’s House at the end of June and helped Monica Nunes and I promote our production in ways we hadn't thought of before.
Finally, a fourth special thank goes out to Mark and Alix Feldman and Richard Goldstein for their generous contributions to this production of Harriet’s House.
It takes many, many people to mount a play and Gailey Road Productions has been blessed with supporters.
All the best,
Tara
"Excellent performance by all!"
"Very moving story."
"Lovely to see a play with an all female cast!"
"Hope to see many more."
I want to thank all the members of the artistic team for their commitment to the production and their professionalism.
A special thank you needs to go out Jocelyn Wickett whose directorial vision and work with the actors was a major force behind the warmth and heart of Harriet’s House.
A second special thank you needs to go out to Louise Cowin who hosted our opening night reception in the glamorous Hart House Theatre lobby. The reception gave us all an opportunity to connect with our audience and to celebrate our accomplishment with them.
A third special thank you goes out to Carl Goldstein who became the publicist of Harriet’s House at the end of June and helped Monica Nunes and I promote our production in ways we hadn't thought of before.
Finally, a fourth special thank goes out to Mark and Alix Feldman and Richard Goldstein for their generous contributions to this production of Harriet’s House.
It takes many, many people to mount a play and Gailey Road Productions has been blessed with supporters.
All the best,
Tara
Friday, July 2, 2010
Harriet's House Opens Tonight
After weeks of auditions, rehearsals, rescheduling due to the G20, Harriet's House is set to open tonight! The play has received coverage in NOW Magazine from Jon Kaplan and was selected as one of EYE Weekly's Best Bets for this weekend.
Check out:
http://www.nowtoronto.com/stage/story.cfm?content=175732
And:
http://www.eyeweekly.com/bestbets/article/96215
In celebration of Pride Weekend, folks wanting to see Harriet's House this weekend can quote the promotion code PRIDE and buy their tickets for $10.00. Promotion code tickets are available by phone or in-person at the Hart House box office only. There are plenty of tickets left for all three performances at Hart House Theatre:
FRIDAY JULY 2, 8 PM (opening reception)
SATURDAY JULY 3, 8 PM (talk back night)
SUNDAY JULY 4, 8 PM
The show is only 70 minutes long so you can come to the show and continue to celebrate Pride Weekend afterwards.
To purchase tickets on-line go to: www.uofttix.ca
To purchase tickets by phone call: 416-978-8849
All the best,
Tara
Check out:
http://www.nowtoronto.com/stage/story.cfm?content=175732
And:
http://www.eyeweekly.com/bestbets/article/96215
In celebration of Pride Weekend, folks wanting to see Harriet's House this weekend can quote the promotion code PRIDE and buy their tickets for $10.00. Promotion code tickets are available by phone or in-person at the Hart House box office only. There are plenty of tickets left for all three performances at Hart House Theatre:
FRIDAY JULY 2, 8 PM (opening reception)
SATURDAY JULY 3, 8 PM (talk back night)
SUNDAY JULY 4, 8 PM
The show is only 70 minutes long so you can come to the show and continue to celebrate Pride Weekend afterwards.
To purchase tickets on-line go to: www.uofttix.ca
To purchase tickets by phone call: 416-978-8849
All the best,
Tara
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Harriet’s House-Opening night in 12 days and The Playwrights Guild of Canada
The cast and artistic team of Harriet's House are beginning to count down the days until opening night. Rehearsals are going extremely well. Director Jocelyn Wickett tells me that it is an honour to watch each of the actors develop their character and find their voice, movement and journey in the show. Everyone’s creative process has been different. Some of our actors have found their ‘path’ quickly and then within that performance are working in nuances. Others are exploring a variety of different paths to find the one that they feel most connected to. While watching our rehearsals, I can see what Jocelyn means when she says that there are an infinite number of ways to realize a character.
In other news, I am coming to the end of my term as Chair of the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at the University of Toronto, and have accepted the role as Chair of the Playwrights Guild of Canada Women's Caucus. This is a position that Marcia Johnson has held for four years. One of Marcia's greatest achievements as Chair of the Women's Caucus was to create a cyber community among the women members of the Playwrights Guild of Canada. It is an achievement I hope to carry on. If you are a Canadian playwright and have not yet joined the Playwrights Guild of Canada, I strongly recommend you do. It's a professional organization that provides regular news on writing, production and professional development opportunities for playwrights across Canada. For more information see: http://www.playwrightsguild.ca/pgc/
All the best,
Tara
In other news, I am coming to the end of my term as Chair of the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at the University of Toronto, and have accepted the role as Chair of the Playwrights Guild of Canada Women's Caucus. This is a position that Marcia Johnson has held for four years. One of Marcia's greatest achievements as Chair of the Women's Caucus was to create a cyber community among the women members of the Playwrights Guild of Canada. It is an achievement I hope to carry on. If you are a Canadian playwright and have not yet joined the Playwrights Guild of Canada, I strongly recommend you do. It's a professional organization that provides regular news on writing, production and professional development opportunities for playwrights across Canada. For more information see: http://www.playwrightsguild.ca/pgc/
All the best,
Tara
Friday, May 28, 2010
Harriet’s House at Hart House Theatre-Pride Guide Out Soon
As an Affiliated Pride Event, Harriet's House will be featured in the 2010 Toronto Pride Guide which will be out very soon. Look for our beautiful ad designed by Lisa Rupchand and order your tickets to our re-scheduled shows on July 2, 3, 4, 2010 at 8 pm.
My reading of scenes from Harriet's House last week at the Representing Motherhood conference at Ryerson went very well and we had an interesting discussion on the challenges of adoptive mothering. I was asked for the name of a good resource on adoptive mothering. One of my favorite books is a memoir called Beyond Good Intentions: A Mother Reflects on Raising Internationally Adopted Children by Cheri Register. Cheri's book is published by Yeong & Yeong Book Company in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Exciting news this week: Harriet's House has been awarded a $700.00 grant from the 2010 Pride Access & Diversity Grants Program, which is supported by Pride Toronto and the Community One Foundatio.
Harriet's House has also found two patrons. Our deepest thanks and appreciation to Mark and Alix Feldman (actor Estée Feldman's parents) for the generous contribution to our show.
All the best,
Tara
My reading of scenes from Harriet's House last week at the Representing Motherhood conference at Ryerson went very well and we had an interesting discussion on the challenges of adoptive mothering. I was asked for the name of a good resource on adoptive mothering. One of my favorite books is a memoir called Beyond Good Intentions: A Mother Reflects on Raising Internationally Adopted Children by Cheri Register. Cheri's book is published by Yeong & Yeong Book Company in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Exciting news this week: Harriet's House has been awarded a $700.00 grant from the 2010 Pride Access & Diversity Grants Program, which is supported by Pride Toronto and the Community One Foundatio.
Harriet's House has also found two patrons. Our deepest thanks and appreciation to Mark and Alix Feldman (actor Estée Feldman's parents) for the generous contribution to our show.
All the best,
Tara
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
New dates for Harriet's House at Hart House Theatre
Due to the closure of the University of Toronto during the G20 summit, Harriet's House will now be performed the following week at Hart House Theatre:
FRIDAY JULY 2, 2010, 8 PM
SATURDAY JULY 3, 2010, 8 PM
SUNDAY JULY 4, 2010, 8 PM
All tickets that have been sold will be exchanged for tickets on one of the new performance nights or refunded.
Contact uofttix.ca or 416-978-8849 for more information.
All the best,
Tara
FRIDAY JULY 2, 2010, 8 PM
SATURDAY JULY 3, 2010, 8 PM
SUNDAY JULY 4, 2010, 8 PM
All tickets that have been sold will be exchanged for tickets on one of the new performance nights or refunded.
Contact uofttix.ca or 416-978-8849 for more information.
All the best,
Tara
Monday, May 24, 2010
G20 summit postpones Harriet's House
Last Friday, just as the long weekend was about to begin, the University of Toronto announced that is was going to close for several days during the G20 summit as a security precaution. The University is going to close during the run for Harriet's House at Hart House Theatre.
At our rehearsal yesterday, the artistic team decided that we should try to postpone our production at Hart House Theatre until the following weekend. As soon as folks are back at work on Tuesday, I will talk to Doug Floyd and see if this is possible. If not, we'll see if we can find another theatre that can host the show on the second Pride Weekend: July 2, 3, and 4.
As soon as we are able to reschedule the production I will post our new production dates.
All the best,
Tara
At our rehearsal yesterday, the artistic team decided that we should try to postpone our production at Hart House Theatre until the following weekend. As soon as folks are back at work on Tuesday, I will talk to Doug Floyd and see if this is possible. If not, we'll see if we can find another theatre that can host the show on the second Pride Weekend: July 2, 3, and 4.
As soon as we are able to reschedule the production I will post our new production dates.
All the best,
Tara
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Representing Motherhood: Mothers in the Arts, Literature, Media and Popular Culture
Yesterday the Saturday Toronto Star published an article on the Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement (MIRCI), which is holding a conference entitled Representing Motherhood:
Mothers in the Arts, Literature, Media and Popular Culture
on May 21 - 22, 2010
at Ryerson University in Toronto. The conference of may be of interest for those readers who have been following the development of Harriet’s House
and are interested in issues of mothering and daughtering. I hope to be there myself. For more information go to http://www.motherhoodinitiative.org/representingmotherhood.html
All the best,
Tara
All the best,
Tara
Last Minute Mother's Day's Gifts for Toronto Mothers
If you're looking for a unique gift for mothers in your life, tickets to Harriet's House, a play about mothering and daughtering in a contemporary Canadian family, may be just for the gift you are looking for!
WHAT: Harriet's House
WHEN: June 24, 25, and 26, 2010, 8 PM
WHERE: Hart House Theatre, University of Toronto
HOW MUCH: $18.00 a ticket
THE PLAY:
In this contemporary drama a mother and her three daughters negotiate the challenges and politics of international adoption in a same-sex family. Harriet reluctantly gives 17-year old Luísa permission to return to the Catholic orphanage in Bogotá where she spent three years of her childhood. But when she falls seriously ill, Harriet travels to Bogotá with her new partner Marty to bring Luísa home.
TICKETS: www.utofttix.ca
Happy Mother's Day.
All the best,
Tara
WHAT: Harriet's House
WHEN: June 24, 25, and 26, 2010, 8 PM
WHERE: Hart House Theatre, University of Toronto
HOW MUCH: $18.00 a ticket
THE PLAY:
In this contemporary drama a mother and her three daughters negotiate the challenges and politics of international adoption in a same-sex family. Harriet reluctantly gives 17-year old Luísa permission to return to the Catholic orphanage in Bogotá where she spent three years of her childhood. But when she falls seriously ill, Harriet travels to Bogotá with her new partner Marty to bring Luísa home.
TICKETS: www.utofttix.ca
Happy Mother's Day.
All the best,
Tara
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Producing Harriet's House 15: Our First Rehearsal
The entire cast and artistic team met this week for our first rehearsal of Harriet's House. Director Jocelyn Wickett took us through a reading of the script, a preliminary discussion of how each of the team members were responding to the script, and then did some team building and character building activities. It was fascinating for me as a playwright to sit and listen to the ways the actors described their characters' objectives in the play. Some were similar to the objectives I had in mind when I wrote the play, and some were articulated just a little differently than I would have articulated them and in their difference, layered the objectives in very interesting ways. It was also interesting to hear how each of the actors talked about what was standing in the way of their objectives.
While the cast continues rehearsing the design team is busy creating the set, costumes and lighting. A particular design challenge for set designer Esther Kim and lighting designer Wade Gamble is bringing the scenes staged in Colombia to life on the apron of the stage.
This week our application to become an official Affiliated Event with Toronto Pride was accepted which is great news for the production. Being part of a cultural festival will help get the word about Harriet's House out in new ways. Connected to our desire to to be part of the Toronto Pride Festival is our decision to advertise in the Pride Guide which will come out in early June. Like most independent theatres, Gailey Road had to make some careful decisions about where to put its advertising dollars for Harriet's House. Spending money on an ad in the Pride Guide, which is included in one of the June editions of Now Magazine, was a way to reach out to potential audience members who are looking for ways to celebrate Pride this year. We want people to celebrate Pride with us, at Harriet's House.
This coming week graphic designer Lisa Rupchand, photographer Jake Goldstein and I will be working to complete the press kits for Harriet's House and sending them off to various newspapers, radio stations, and blog sites in town. Since Harriet's House is only running for three performances, pre-peformance publicity will be very important to us.
If you have any suggestions about where we might send our e-press kits, I'd be delighted to hear from you.
All the best,
Tara
While the cast continues rehearsing the design team is busy creating the set, costumes and lighting. A particular design challenge for set designer Esther Kim and lighting designer Wade Gamble is bringing the scenes staged in Colombia to life on the apron of the stage.
This week our application to become an official Affiliated Event with Toronto Pride was accepted which is great news for the production. Being part of a cultural festival will help get the word about Harriet's House out in new ways. Connected to our desire to to be part of the Toronto Pride Festival is our decision to advertise in the Pride Guide which will come out in early June. Like most independent theatres, Gailey Road had to make some careful decisions about where to put its advertising dollars for Harriet's House. Spending money on an ad in the Pride Guide, which is included in one of the June editions of Now Magazine, was a way to reach out to potential audience members who are looking for ways to celebrate Pride this year. We want people to celebrate Pride with us, at Harriet's House.
This coming week graphic designer Lisa Rupchand, photographer Jake Goldstein and I will be working to complete the press kits for Harriet's House and sending them off to various newspapers, radio stations, and blog sites in town. Since Harriet's House is only running for three performances, pre-peformance publicity will be very important to us.
If you have any suggestions about where we might send our e-press kits, I'd be delighted to hear from you.
All the best,
Tara
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Producing Harriet's House 14: We found Harriet!
This week we found the actor to play the lead role of Harriet. Her name is Joanne Latimer and she joins five other terrific women and young women who will perform in our production of Harriet's House this coming June. Our cast and artistic team are:
Harriet: Joanne Latimer
Luísa: Supinder Wraich
Ana: Rebecca Applebaum
Anita: Jorie Morrow
Marty: Julie Burris
Clare: Estée Feldman
Producer: Tara Goldstein
Assistant Producer: Monica Nunes
Production Manager: Gillian Lewis
Stage Manager: Tara Mohan
Graphic Designer: Lisa Rupchand
Photography: Jake Goldstein
Lighting Designer: Wade Gamble
Production Designer: Esther Kim
Sound Designer: Dan Parker
We are thrilled that casting is now complete. Rehearsals begin this week.
All the best,
Tara
Harriet: Joanne Latimer
Luísa: Supinder Wraich
Ana: Rebecca Applebaum
Anita: Jorie Morrow
Marty: Julie Burris
Clare: Estée Feldman
Producer: Tara Goldstein
Assistant Producer: Monica Nunes
Production Manager: Gillian Lewis
Stage Manager: Tara Mohan
Graphic Designer: Lisa Rupchand
Photography: Jake Goldstein
Lighting Designer: Wade Gamble
Production Designer: Esther Kim
Sound Designer: Dan Parker
We are thrilled that casting is now complete. Rehearsals begin this week.
All the best,
Tara
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Producing Harriet's House 13: One More Round of Auditions
This week saw another round of auditions for the lead role of Harriet and a decision to extend our search for one more week. Director Jocelyn Wickett, Production Manager Gillian Lewis, Assistant Producer Monica Nunes and I will hold a final set of auditions for the lead role of Harriet next Tuesday April 27, 2010. For an opportunity to audition, please e-mail: gaileyroad@gmail.com
This week I also met with my colleague Marcia Johnson, playwright and producer of Say Ginger Ale and her director Sue Miner to discuss a production and publicity plan for Say Ginger Ale. Say Ginger Ale will be performed at Summerworks this coming August.
The play tells the story of Nadia who was born in Jamaica and was raised in Canada. She's a girl who becomes irked and offended when people assume that she pines for her homeland. She insists that she is happier in Canada and that there is more to a country than its weather. When Nadia makes an unexpected trip back to Jamaica, however, she discovers some long forgotten feelings about the country of her birth. This journey helps her to rediscover Jamaica while still appreciating all that her adopted country has to offer. There may even be a shot at love. Look for Say Ginger Ale this August at Summerworks.
All the best,
Tara
This week I also met with my colleague Marcia Johnson, playwright and producer of Say Ginger Ale and her director Sue Miner to discuss a production and publicity plan for Say Ginger Ale. Say Ginger Ale will be performed at Summerworks this coming August.
The play tells the story of Nadia who was born in Jamaica and was raised in Canada. She's a girl who becomes irked and offended when people assume that she pines for her homeland. She insists that she is happier in Canada and that there is more to a country than its weather. When Nadia makes an unexpected trip back to Jamaica, however, she discovers some long forgotten feelings about the country of her birth. This journey helps her to rediscover Jamaica while still appreciating all that her adopted country has to offer. There may even be a shot at love. Look for Say Ginger Ale this August at Summerworks.
All the best,
Tara
Friday, April 16, 2010
Producing Harriet's House 12: Last Round of Auditions
The last few weeks have been focused on casting the play. We have had three different casting calls so far and are planning to hold a fourth next Tuesday April 20,2010. We have cast almost all of the roles in the play and are currently casting for the leading role of Harriet
HARRIET: A school teacher and mother of three daughters, the first two adopted from Colombia. During the
course of the play she comes out as a lesbian. She ages from 44 to 46.
Show Information:
Harriet’s House will be staged at Hart House Theatre in Toronto from June 24 – 26 2010. (Full availability of actors cast will be required from June 23 – 26 2010). Actors cast in the production will be provided with an honorarium.
Rehearsals
Rehearsals begin in April on Thursday evenings and Sundays at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto.
Audition Information and Requirements
If you are interested in auditioning for the role of Harriet, please email a head shot and resume to gaileyroad@gmail.com to arrange an audition time.
Auditions will be held on TUESDAY APRIL 20th (in the evening) at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. For the audition, actors are asked to prepare a one minute contemporary monologue. Actors may also be requested to do a cold read from the play at the audition.
All the best,
Tara
HARRIET: A school teacher and mother of three daughters, the first two adopted from Colombia. During the
course of the play she comes out as a lesbian. She ages from 44 to 46.
Show Information:
Harriet’s House will be staged at Hart House Theatre in Toronto from June 24 – 26 2010. (Full availability of actors cast will be required from June 23 – 26 2010). Actors cast in the production will be provided with an honorarium.
Rehearsals
Rehearsals begin in April on Thursday evenings and Sundays at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto.
Audition Information and Requirements
If you are interested in auditioning for the role of Harriet, please email a head shot and resume to gaileyroad@gmail.com to arrange an audition time.
Auditions will be held on TUESDAY APRIL 20th (in the evening) at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. For the audition, actors are asked to prepare a one minute contemporary monologue. Actors may also be requested to do a cold read from the play at the audition.
All the best,
Tara
Friday, April 2, 2010
Producing Harriet's House 11: Our publicity posters and postcardsare ready
This week the publicity posters and postcards designed by Lisa Rupchand were printed and have begun to be posted and distributed around the city. As well, this week saw our first group of community supporters begin to circulate our e-posters to their social networking sites.
Thanks to the Sexual Diversity Studies Program, University of Toronto; the Women’s Studies and Gender Studies Institute, University of Toronto; Tim McCaskell; OASIS Alternative School, Toronto District School Board and The Office of LGBTQ Resources & Programs for their support of Harriet's House.
If you would like to become a community supporter by distributing our e-poster to your social networking sites, or if you would like to post our fabulous new poster in your office, workplace or community centre, please contact: gaileyroad@gmail.com
As always, information about Harriet's House @ Hart House is available at gaileyroad. com
Tickets are available at uofttix.ca
All the best,
Tara
Thanks to the Sexual Diversity Studies Program, University of Toronto; the Women’s Studies and Gender Studies Institute, University of Toronto; Tim McCaskell; OASIS Alternative School, Toronto District School Board and The Office of LGBTQ Resources & Programs for their support of Harriet's House.
If you would like to become a community supporter by distributing our e-poster to your social networking sites, or if you would like to post our fabulous new poster in your office, workplace or community centre, please contact: gaileyroad@gmail.com
As always, information about Harriet's House @ Hart House is available at gaileyroad. com
Tickets are available at uofttix.ca
All the best,
Tara
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Producing Harriet's House 10: First set of auditions
This past weekend Jocelyn Wickett and I held our first set of auditions for Harriet's House at the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto. We had two excellent days of monologues and cold readings from the play and were delighted to hear what wonderful talent we have here in Toronto. We are going to hold another set of auditions on Monday April 12, 2010. Here is the second audition call. If you're interested in auditioning on Monday April 12, 2010 please contact: gaileyroad@gmail.com
All the best,
Tara
***
Harriet’s House: Hart House 2010
Second Audition Call
Director: Jocelyn Wickett
Playwright: Tara Goldstein
Produced by: Tara Goldstein/ Gailey Road Productions
Synopsis
Harriet’s House dramatizes the story of a Toronto mother with three daughters, two adopted from Colombia and the challenges they face as they negotiate three family worlds: the world of their own “global family” in Toronto, the world of the daughters’ birth country, Colombia, and the new world Harriet, finds herself in when she comes out as a lesbian. Gailey Road is planning to produce Harriet House as an affiliated event with the 2010 Toronto Pride Festival.
The play opens with Harriet reluctantly giving her 17-year old adopted daughter Luísa permission to visit the orphanage in Bogotá where she spent three years of her childhood so that she can find out what happened to her birth mother. While Luísa is in Bogotá, Harriet comes out as a lesbian and introduces her new partner Marty to her two other daughters: 14-year old Ana, also adopted from Colombia, and 7-year old Clare, Harriet’s birth daughter. Afraid of Luísa’s rejection of her new relationship, Harriet doesn’t tell her about Marty until Luísa returns home from her visit to the orphanage. Heartbroken that she still hasn’t found out what happened to her birth mother, and angry that Harriet didn’t tell her about Marty sooner, Luísa returns to Bogotá to continue her search. When Harriet falls seriously ill, however, she decides to travel to Bogotá with Marty, Ana and Clare to bring Luísa back to Toronto.
Characters
HARRIET: A school teacher and mother of three daughters, the first two adopted from Colombia. During the
course of the play she comes out as a lesbian. She ages from 44 to 46.
LUÍSA: Harriet’s eldest daughter, adopted from Colombia at the age of 10. She ages from 17 to 19. *We are
seeking an actor who identifies as Latina or Latin Canadian*
ANA: Harriet’s middle daughter, adopted from Colombia at the age of 7. She ages from 14 to 16 .*We are
seeking an actor who identifies as Latina or Latin Canadian*
CLARE: Harriet’s youngest daughter, not adopted. She ages from 9 to 11. *For Clare, we are seeking a girl who
is at minimum between the ages of 12 and 14, but can play younger. Previous acting experience is not
required*
Show Information:
Harriet’s House will be staged at Hart House Theatre in Toronto from June 24 – 26 2010. (Full availability of actors cast will be required from June 23 – 26 2010). Actors cast in the production will be provided with an honorarium (amount TBA).
Rehearsal:
Rehearsals begin in April on Thursday evenings and Sundays at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto.
Audition Information and Requirements:
Please email a head shot and resume to gaileyroad@gmail.com to arrange an audition time. Auditions will occur within the next two weeks at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. For the audition, actors are asked to prepare a one minute contemporary monologue. Actors may also be requested to do a cold read from the play at the audition. For girls that are auditioning for Clare, no preparation is required in advance of the audition.
Thank you for your interest! Please do not resubmit if you have already submitted for this production.
For more information about Harriet’s House and Gailey Road Productions please visit www.gaileyroad.com.
All the best,
Tara
***
Harriet’s House: Hart House 2010
Second Audition Call
Director: Jocelyn Wickett
Playwright: Tara Goldstein
Produced by: Tara Goldstein/ Gailey Road Productions
Synopsis
Harriet’s House dramatizes the story of a Toronto mother with three daughters, two adopted from Colombia and the challenges they face as they negotiate three family worlds: the world of their own “global family” in Toronto, the world of the daughters’ birth country, Colombia, and the new world Harriet, finds herself in when she comes out as a lesbian. Gailey Road is planning to produce Harriet House as an affiliated event with the 2010 Toronto Pride Festival.
The play opens with Harriet reluctantly giving her 17-year old adopted daughter Luísa permission to visit the orphanage in Bogotá where she spent three years of her childhood so that she can find out what happened to her birth mother. While Luísa is in Bogotá, Harriet comes out as a lesbian and introduces her new partner Marty to her two other daughters: 14-year old Ana, also adopted from Colombia, and 7-year old Clare, Harriet’s birth daughter. Afraid of Luísa’s rejection of her new relationship, Harriet doesn’t tell her about Marty until Luísa returns home from her visit to the orphanage. Heartbroken that she still hasn’t found out what happened to her birth mother, and angry that Harriet didn’t tell her about Marty sooner, Luísa returns to Bogotá to continue her search. When Harriet falls seriously ill, however, she decides to travel to Bogotá with Marty, Ana and Clare to bring Luísa back to Toronto.
Characters
HARRIET: A school teacher and mother of three daughters, the first two adopted from Colombia. During the
course of the play she comes out as a lesbian. She ages from 44 to 46.
LUÍSA: Harriet’s eldest daughter, adopted from Colombia at the age of 10. She ages from 17 to 19. *We are
seeking an actor who identifies as Latina or Latin Canadian*
ANA: Harriet’s middle daughter, adopted from Colombia at the age of 7. She ages from 14 to 16 .*We are
seeking an actor who identifies as Latina or Latin Canadian*
CLARE: Harriet’s youngest daughter, not adopted. She ages from 9 to 11. *For Clare, we are seeking a girl who
is at minimum between the ages of 12 and 14, but can play younger. Previous acting experience is not
required*
Show Information:
Harriet’s House will be staged at Hart House Theatre in Toronto from June 24 – 26 2010. (Full availability of actors cast will be required from June 23 – 26 2010). Actors cast in the production will be provided with an honorarium (amount TBA).
Rehearsal:
Rehearsals begin in April on Thursday evenings and Sundays at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto.
Audition Information and Requirements:
Please email a head shot and resume to gaileyroad@gmail.com to arrange an audition time. Auditions will occur within the next two weeks at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. For the audition, actors are asked to prepare a one minute contemporary monologue. Actors may also be requested to do a cold read from the play at the audition. For girls that are auditioning for Clare, no preparation is required in advance of the audition.
Thank you for your interest! Please do not resubmit if you have already submitted for this production.
For more information about Harriet’s House and Gailey Road Productions please visit www.gaileyroad.com.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Producing Harriet’s House Episode 9: Our Image for Harriet's House
This week Harriet's House graphic designer Lisa Rupchand completed the image that will grace our publicity poster, postcards and ad in the Pride Guide. The double tree image speaks to the multiple roots that ground Harriet's transnational adopted family and the vibrant colours speak to the vibrancy of their family. Look for the double tree image on our website: www.gaileyroad.com Our posters, postcards and ad in the Pride Guide are set to appear soon!
All the best,
Tara
All the best,
Tara
Monday, March 8, 2010
Producing Harriet’s House Episode 8: Our Community Support Campaign
Last week was a busy week for Gailey Road Productions. As mentioned in my March 1 blog, the audition call for Harriet's House is now out. To view the call and express your interest in setting up an audition visit Work in Culture (www.workinculture.ca).
Last week the Sound Designer for Harriet's House, Dan Parker, came to town for a week to compose the sound track for Harriet's House. Jocelyn, Gillian and I had an opportunity to hear some early samples of what Dan was working on and were delighted with the music he composed and performed. Dan finished his work on Friday and he and I went to Hart House to hear what it would sound like in the theatre. We were really pleased with the results. We want to extend our thanks to Hart House Theatre General Manager Doug Floyd and technician Christopher Wilson for their assistance on Friday.
Our community support campaign begins this week. There are three ways to support our production of Harriet's House:
Become a Community Supporter! As a Community Supporter you will be able to promote the presentation of Harriet’s House through your organization’s social networks. This may mean passing on information about the play to members on your listserves or other social networking sites. In exchange for their promotion of Harriet House, all Community Supporters will be recognized in the program.
Become a Community Sponsor! As a Community Sponsor you will be able to support the presentation of Harriet’s House with discounted tickets to the show. Specifically, Community Sponsors will have the option of purchasing blocks of 15 tickets for $150. This represents a discount of $8.00 from each regularly priced ticket. In exchange for their support, Community Sponsors will also be recognized in the program.
Become a Community Partner! As a Community Partner you will have the opportunity to make a great contribution to the production of Harriet’s House. Community Partners are invited to support Harriet’s House with the purchase of a quarter of possible house sales (100 seats), a third of house sales (150 seats), or half of possible house sales (225 seats) at the price of $10.00 a ticket, also a discount of $8.00 from each regularly priced ticket . In return for their support, Community Partners will be recognized in the program and given space for a half/third/quarter page advertisement of their organization in our program.
If you are interested in supporting Harriet’s House please contact Monica Nunes, Assistant Producer at: monica.nunes@utoronto.ca
All the best,
Tara
Last week the Sound Designer for Harriet's House, Dan Parker, came to town for a week to compose the sound track for Harriet's House. Jocelyn, Gillian and I had an opportunity to hear some early samples of what Dan was working on and were delighted with the music he composed and performed. Dan finished his work on Friday and he and I went to Hart House to hear what it would sound like in the theatre. We were really pleased with the results. We want to extend our thanks to Hart House Theatre General Manager Doug Floyd and technician Christopher Wilson for their assistance on Friday.
Our community support campaign begins this week. There are three ways to support our production of Harriet's House:
Become a Community Supporter! As a Community Supporter you will be able to promote the presentation of Harriet’s House through your organization’s social networks. This may mean passing on information about the play to members on your listserves or other social networking sites. In exchange for their promotion of Harriet House, all Community Supporters will be recognized in the program.
Become a Community Sponsor! As a Community Sponsor you will be able to support the presentation of Harriet’s House with discounted tickets to the show. Specifically, Community Sponsors will have the option of purchasing blocks of 15 tickets for $150. This represents a discount of $8.00 from each regularly priced ticket. In exchange for their support, Community Sponsors will also be recognized in the program.
Become a Community Partner! As a Community Partner you will have the opportunity to make a great contribution to the production of Harriet’s House. Community Partners are invited to support Harriet’s House with the purchase of a quarter of possible house sales (100 seats), a third of house sales (150 seats), or half of possible house sales (225 seats) at the price of $10.00 a ticket, also a discount of $8.00 from each regularly priced ticket . In return for their support, Community Partners will be recognized in the program and given space for a half/third/quarter page advertisement of their organization in our program.
If you are interested in supporting Harriet’s House please contact Monica Nunes, Assistant Producer at: monica.nunes@utoronto.ca
All the best,
Tara
Monday, March 1, 2010
Audition call for Harriet's House is now posted
The audition call for Harriet's House is now posted on the websites of the following organizations: Theatre Ontario, Equity Showcase, and Work in Culture. Audition applications will be accepted until the end of March.
All the best,
Tara
All the best,
Tara
Zero Tolerance Performance a Great Success
Our rehearsed reading of Zero Tolerance at Hart House last week was a great success. About 125 people attending the reading which was followed by an address by University of Toronto PhD candidate and Vice-Principal Dean Barnes. Topics that came up for discussion included how zero tolerance polices lead to the creation of a culture of fear in schools, the role of police officers or liaison officers in schools, and engaging students through critically relevant and responsive pedagogy. Our rehearsed reading of Zero Tolerance launched a new course in the Equity Studies program at New College at the University of Toronto, which is called Equity and Activism in Education. The course is intended to provide third and fourth year students enrolled in the Equity Studies Program an opportunity to spend some time in Toronto classrooms and learn about the ways teachers can be advocates and activists in schooling. The course will be taught by me next year and will include other guest teachers from the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, including Lance McCready, Jeff Kugler and Nicole West-Burn.
All the best,
Tara
All the best,
Tara
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Zero Tolerance: A Performance on Safe Schools
On Thursday February 25, 2010, from 3-5 pm at Hart House (The Great Hall), a group of University of Toronto students will perform a rehearsed reading my play Zero Tolerance for their classmates and the general public. The students are from three different programs at the University: the Equity Studies program at New College, the Public Health program and the Curriculum Studies and Teacher Development program at OISE (the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education).
Zero Tolerance is a research-informed play about creating safe schools in Toronto. The play is an adaptation of a task-force report called The Road to Health which was commissioned by the Toronto District School Board in 2007 following the shooting of CW Jeffreys student Jordan Manners. The rehearsed reading will be followed by a brief talk given by OISE graduate student Dean Barnes who is a vice principal at the Halton District School Board. Dean's doctoral work focuses on the use of peacebuilding programs to create safer schools. A Question and Answer discussion will follow Dean's talk.
Please join us at Hart House tomorrow, Thursday February 25, 2010 for the reading of Zero Tolerance. Admission is free.
All the best,
Tara
Zero Tolerance is a research-informed play about creating safe schools in Toronto. The play is an adaptation of a task-force report called The Road to Health which was commissioned by the Toronto District School Board in 2007 following the shooting of CW Jeffreys student Jordan Manners. The rehearsed reading will be followed by a brief talk given by OISE graduate student Dean Barnes who is a vice principal at the Halton District School Board. Dean's doctoral work focuses on the use of peacebuilding programs to create safer schools. A Question and Answer discussion will follow Dean's talk.
Please join us at Hart House tomorrow, Thursday February 25, 2010 for the reading of Zero Tolerance. Admission is free.
All the best,
Tara
Monday, February 8, 2010
Producing Harriet’s House Episode 7: Getting our audition call ready
Last week we had our second monthly production meeting of the year and focused on three main projects: the design of the image that will grace our poster and publicity materials, the writing up our audition call and our sponsorship/partnership fundraising campaign. Production and stage manager Gillian Lewis, intern Monica Nunes and I will meet later this month to finalize the wording of our call which will go out on March 1, 2010.
At the moment we're planning to post our audition call on the Canadian Actors' Equity Association website and with Theatre Ontario. We'll get in touch with Aluna theatre company and various local university and college theatre programs and ask them to post the call as well.
Plans for our sponsorship/partnership campaign will also be finalized at our next meeting. Details of this campaign will be described in a future blog entry.
All the best,
Tara
At the moment we're planning to post our audition call on the Canadian Actors' Equity Association website and with Theatre Ontario. We'll get in touch with Aluna theatre company and various local university and college theatre programs and ask them to post the call as well.
Plans for our sponsorship/partnership campaign will also be finalized at our next meeting. Details of this campaign will be described in a future blog entry.
All the best,
Tara
Monday, February 1, 2010
Producing Harriet’s House Episode 6: Arrangements with Hart House Theatre
Arranging to produce Harriet’s House at Hart House Theatre began with a visit to Doug Floyd, General Manager. Doug spent an hour and a half with me discussing the contract I was about to sign and explaining how things would work during our tech run and performance nights. Doug also reviewed how much different services would cost and helped me make good decisions about what I might need for the production and what I could do without.
Doug and I also spent a good deal of time talking about box office services, how Hart House Theatre charges the production company two dollars a ticket for selling their tickets, and what I could/be should be charging for our production of Harriet’s House. Here, Doug’s experience in theatre production at Hart House Theatre was very, very helpful. I settled on $18.00 a ticket (which would give us $16.00 a ticket) with a group rate of $15.00 for 10 or more tickets.
Tickets for Harriet’s House are now are sale and can be obtained at Hart House Theatre: uofttix.ca or 416-978-8849.
One of the advantages of producing Harriet’s House at Hart House Theatre is that information about our play is now up on the Hart House Theatre website. We will continue to update our information as it becomes available. For example, we plan to put out a casting call at the beginning of March and hold auditions at the end of March. Once we cast the production, the names and biographies of the cast will be added to Gailey Road’s own website as well as the Hart House Website.
The Gailey Road production for Harriet’s House is meeting later this week to discuss budget, publicity poster design and auditions. I’ll report on our meeting in my next blog.
All the best,
Tara
Doug and I also spent a good deal of time talking about box office services, how Hart House Theatre charges the production company two dollars a ticket for selling their tickets, and what I could/be should be charging for our production of Harriet’s House. Here, Doug’s experience in theatre production at Hart House Theatre was very, very helpful. I settled on $18.00 a ticket (which would give us $16.00 a ticket) with a group rate of $15.00 for 10 or more tickets.
Tickets for Harriet’s House are now are sale and can be obtained at Hart House Theatre: uofttix.ca or 416-978-8849.
One of the advantages of producing Harriet’s House at Hart House Theatre is that information about our play is now up on the Hart House Theatre website. We will continue to update our information as it becomes available. For example, we plan to put out a casting call at the beginning of March and hold auditions at the end of March. Once we cast the production, the names and biographies of the cast will be added to Gailey Road’s own website as well as the Hart House Website.
The Gailey Road production for Harriet’s House is meeting later this week to discuss budget, publicity poster design and auditions. I’ll report on our meeting in my next blog.
All the best,
Tara
Friday, January 22, 2010
Producing Harriet’s House Episode 5: Applying for funding
There are two grants, with due dates of February 1, 2010, that we are applying for. The first is the Toronto Arts Council Theatre Projects Grant and the second is the Ontario Arts Council Project Grant. Both grants provide a small independent theatre like Gailey Road Productions with support to mount individual productions. The process of applying for the grants has helped crystallize our production plans making the task valuable to us even if we aren’t successful in securing funding. But, of course, we hope we are!
In my next blog, I will talk about the arrangements we’ve made with Hart House Theatre to produce our three-performance run of Harriet’s House.
All the best,
Tara
In my next blog, I will talk about the arrangements we’ve made with Hart House Theatre to produce our three-performance run of Harriet’s House.
All the best,
Tara
Friday, January 15, 2010
Producing Harriet’s House Episode 4: Creating a Publicity Plan-First Steps
Website and blog site design
The first step of our publicity plan began with the design of the Gailey Road website (www.gaileyroad.com) and this blog site in October 2009. I designed the website myself on my Mac laptop with their software program iweb. I kept the design simple, and focused on having the website clearly describe the mandate of Gailey Road Productions, the founders of the company, and our productions. The blog was created to help Gailey Road reach out to other artists interested in women-centred, research-informed theatre and keep connected to the artists we’ve already worked with. The content of the blog site evolved organically and now focuses on five themes that move from the generation of new writing to professional development and networking opportunities to independent theatre production (see the entry on January 5, 2010 for a more detailed description of these five themes).
Step 2: Graphic Design work
Once I had the website and blog site up, the production team was ready to focus on the graphic art and design work for the publicity materials for Harriet’s House. We are currently working on coming up with an image that will attract audiences to the production and inform the design of the set. Once we have designed this image, we will design and print a set of posters and postcards to publicize the production. Meanwhile we have printed a set of “coming soon” postcards that we can used be used immediately.
The next steps of our publicity plan will be discussed in future blogs. In my next blog, however, I will turn to the process of applying for government funding for Harriet’s House.
All the best,
Tara
The first step of our publicity plan began with the design of the Gailey Road website (www.gaileyroad.com) and this blog site in October 2009. I designed the website myself on my Mac laptop with their software program iweb. I kept the design simple, and focused on having the website clearly describe the mandate of Gailey Road Productions, the founders of the company, and our productions. The blog was created to help Gailey Road reach out to other artists interested in women-centred, research-informed theatre and keep connected to the artists we’ve already worked with. The content of the blog site evolved organically and now focuses on five themes that move from the generation of new writing to professional development and networking opportunities to independent theatre production (see the entry on January 5, 2010 for a more detailed description of these five themes).
Step 2: Graphic Design work
Once I had the website and blog site up, the production team was ready to focus on the graphic art and design work for the publicity materials for Harriet’s House. We are currently working on coming up with an image that will attract audiences to the production and inform the design of the set. Once we have designed this image, we will design and print a set of posters and postcards to publicize the production. Meanwhile we have printed a set of “coming soon” postcards that we can used be used immediately.
The next steps of our publicity plan will be discussed in future blogs. In my next blog, however, I will turn to the process of applying for government funding for Harriet’s House.
All the best,
Tara
Monday, January 11, 2010
Producing Harriet’s House Episode 3: Becoming Part of the Toronto Pride Festival
As a new Canadian play being produced by a small independent theatre company, I wanted Harriet’s House to be part of a larger arts festival to help build an audience. The play’s interest in international adoption in a same-sex family (see the blog entry on November 16, 2009 for a synopsis of the play) made the Toronto Pride Festival being held from June 26 to July 4, 2010 an excellent choice.
Acting on the advice of Doug Floyd, the General Manager of Hart House Theatre, Jocelyn Wickett (the Director of Harriet’s House) and I decided to choose the first weekend of the Pride Festival to perform Harriet’s House. The second weekend is the first long weekend of the summer, the weekend of the Dyke March and the Parade, and the first weekend of the Toronto Fringe festival. With that kind of competition for an audience’s attention, the first weekend seemed to be a better choice.
Our next step is to apply to the Toronto Pride Festival to become an affiliated festival event. Application forms are expected to be out in a week or two and I will describe the process of becoming part of the Toronto Pride Festival in future entries. However, in my next blog, I will continue the story of producing Harriet’s House with Episode 4: Creating a Publicity Plan.
All the best,
Tara
Acting on the advice of Doug Floyd, the General Manager of Hart House Theatre, Jocelyn Wickett (the Director of Harriet’s House) and I decided to choose the first weekend of the Pride Festival to perform Harriet’s House. The second weekend is the first long weekend of the summer, the weekend of the Dyke March and the Parade, and the first weekend of the Toronto Fringe festival. With that kind of competition for an audience’s attention, the first weekend seemed to be a better choice.
Our next step is to apply to the Toronto Pride Festival to become an affiliated festival event. Application forms are expected to be out in a week or two and I will describe the process of becoming part of the Toronto Pride Festival in future entries. However, in my next blog, I will continue the story of producing Harriet’s House with Episode 4: Creating a Publicity Plan.
All the best,
Tara
Friday, January 8, 2010
The Evolution of the Gailey Road blog site
The Gailey Road blog site, which was launched in October 2008 and has been up for almost three months, has evolved to focus on five themes:
1. News about the theatre company itself, for example, last Monday’s introduction of Gailey Road’s new intern Monica Nunes.
2. The story of producing Harriet’s House which will be performed at Hart House Theatre this coming June, for example, next Monday’s story of becoming part of the Toronto Pride Festival.
3. News about professional development and networking opportunities for theatre artists and enthusiasts, for example, the theatre classes and workshops at Hart House listed in the December 28, 2009 entry.
4. Ideas about generating new writing for the theatre, for example, the November 26, 2009 entry on a playwriting group developed in Michigan.
5. Information and descriptions about contemporary research-informed theatre, for example, the entry on the Pastor Phelps project on December 8, 2009.
The blog also lists current women-centred, research-informed plays and productions I’m following.
The blog site has attracted an audience of theatre artists and playwrights interested in independent theatre production, professional development and networking opportunities, the generation of new writing and women-centre, research-informed theatre, both within and outside of Canada.
In my next blog, I will continue the story of producing Harriet’s House with Episode 3: Becoming Part of the Toronto Pride Festival.
All the best,
Tara
1. News about the theatre company itself, for example, last Monday’s introduction of Gailey Road’s new intern Monica Nunes.
2. The story of producing Harriet’s House which will be performed at Hart House Theatre this coming June, for example, next Monday’s story of becoming part of the Toronto Pride Festival.
3. News about professional development and networking opportunities for theatre artists and enthusiasts, for example, the theatre classes and workshops at Hart House listed in the December 28, 2009 entry.
4. Ideas about generating new writing for the theatre, for example, the November 26, 2009 entry on a playwriting group developed in Michigan.
5. Information and descriptions about contemporary research-informed theatre, for example, the entry on the Pastor Phelps project on December 8, 2009.
The blog also lists current women-centred, research-informed plays and productions I’m following.
The blog site has attracted an audience of theatre artists and playwrights interested in independent theatre production, professional development and networking opportunities, the generation of new writing and women-centre, research-informed theatre, both within and outside of Canada.
In my next blog, I will continue the story of producing Harriet’s House with Episode 3: Becoming Part of the Toronto Pride Festival.
All the best,
Tara
Monday, January 4, 2010
Introducing Gailey Road’s new intern Monica Nunes
Gailey Road is continuing to mature as an independent theatre company and we are delighted to welcome its new Intern Monica Nunes to the company. Monica is a Masters of Public Health candidate at the University of Toronto specializing in Health Promotion and Community Development. She is very interested in using theatre and performance to disseminate research in the area of health education and will use her internship with Gailey Road to learn more about the creation and production of research-informed theatre. As a performer, Monica has been involved with productions for V-Day
Toronto, the Toronto Fringe, the Montreal Fringe, and the Toronto
Centre for the Arts.
In my next blog, I describe the evolution of the Gailey Road blog site and the audience it is beginning to attract.
All the best,
Tara
Toronto, the Toronto Fringe, the Montreal Fringe, and the Toronto
Centre for the Arts.
In my next blog, I describe the evolution of the Gailey Road blog site and the audience it is beginning to attract.
All the best,
Tara
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