Created and produced by undergraduate students in the Department of Theatre; this annual, student-produced fringe fest features new, original works collaborated on and created by young playwrights, devisers, designers, and directors.
Keeping the “play” in playGround, this year creators were challenged with an image inspiration along with the theme “everything but the drama…” Encouraging a plethora of passion projects, this year the festival features a wide range of genre bending works that push boundaries and take risks.
playGround runs in two series, each featuring six short works
SERIES A
Tues. Feb. 12, 7:00 pm
Wed. Feb. 13, 7:00 pm
Fri. Feb. 15, 2:00 pm
On the program:
A Friend of Dorothy
Concealer
Finger Painting
Post-Pracki
Spitting Image
The Untitled Bread Project
SERIES B
Wed. Feb. 13, 2:00 pm
Thurs. Feb. 14, 7:00 pm
Fri. Feb. 15, 7:00 pm
On the program:
A Working Class Child
Dice, Daggers, and Darkness
Let’s Have an Orgy!
Our American Dream
Piccolo’s Pasticcio
She² & He²
Admission: $7 per series.
Box Office: online or tel. 416.736.5888.
Seating is limited and performances often sell out in advance. Book early to avoid disappointment!
Our February edition of Winters Cafe will be extra sweet! Drop in for hot cocoa, snacks and Valentine’s crafts. Come hang out and feel the Winters love! Interested in performing? Sign up here: https://ampd.apps01.yorku.ca/machform/view.php?id=71929
The Devised Theatre Festival premieres four riveting new collaborative productions — each conceived, created, produced and performed by fourth-year students in Devised Theatre in the Department of Theatre’s Performance Creation & Research program.
Each show is presented by a production company formed by a student ensemble within Devised Theatre.
The four shows are dead skin, a grotesque and physical exploration of the darkness within by Four Eyes Collective; #Filters, which challenges the way we connect on a daily basis by Transcendence Theatre; Refraction, a supernatural thriller where a woman is confronted by her past by Catapulse Collective; and After George, a revealing drama which plays out inside a high school anniversary reunion by Atomic Oddity Productions.
The Devised Theatre Festival runs in two series, each presenting a double bill:
Mon March 11 – 7.30 PM: PREVIEWS/INVITED DRESS Series A: dead skin – #Filters
Tues March 12 – 7.30 PM: PREVIEW/INVITED DRESS Series B: Refraction – After George
Wed March 13 – 7.30 PM: OPENING Series A: dead skin – #Filters
Thu March 14 – 7.30 PM: OPENING Series B: Refraction – After George
Fri March 15 – 4:00 PM: Matinee Series A: dead skin – #Filters
Fri March 15 – 8:00 PM: Series B: Refraction – After George
Sat March 16 – 3:00 PM: CLOSING Matinee Series B: Refraction – After George
Sat March 16 – 7:30 PM: CLOSING Series A: dead skin – #Filters
Venue: Begin in the Festival Lounge space in Accolade East Building room 209 to sign in, shows will take place in ACE 207.
Admission: Pay What You Can. Suggested $10.
For full details about the shows, the production companies, the artists, and blog posts, visit the Devised Theatre Festival website.
Theatre @ York presents Orlando by Sarah Ruhl, directed by MFA candidate Lindsay Bell and The Balcony by Jean Genet, directed by MFA candidate Margaret Legere. The two shows will be performed in repertory and feature the MFA and fourth-year actors.
Orlando is a dramatic adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s feminist classic by contemporary playwright Sarah Ruhl. It investigates the adventures of a poet who changes sex from man to woman and lives for centuries, meeting the key figures of English literary history.
The Balcony uses the setting of an unnamed city and a distant background of a revolution and counterrevolution to explore strains of power in a society. The play compelling examines the delicate equilibrium of reality and illusion.
Performance Schedule:
Orlando
Sunday, March 24 at 7:30pm (Preview)
Tuesday, March 26 at 7:30pm (Opening)
Wednesday, March 27 at 1:00pm
Friday, March 29 at 7:30pm
Saturday, March 30 at 1:00pm
The Balcony
Monday, March 25 at 7:30pm (Preview)
Wednesday, March 27 at 7:30pm (Opening)
Thursday, March 28 at 7:30pm
Friday, March 29 at 1:00pm
Saturday, March 30 at 7:30pm
Tickets $7- 20
Buy online or call 416-736-5888
Scenes by Design, the annual showcase exhibition of the Department of Theatre, offers an insider’s look at the creative work done behind the scenes before the curtain rises on a stage production.
The exhibition features original set designs and maquettes, costumes, props, scene painting, renderings, drawings and lighting design by students in the production/design area.
Exhibition Hours:
Wed. March 27: 11am – 8pm Opens with 2019/20 Season Announcement
Thur. March 28: 11am – 8pm
Fri. March 29: 11am-8pm
Admission is free and all are welcome.
Free and open to the public, the Ontario University Fair is the only event where you can interact with all 21 universities in Ontario in one place. Come meet York AMPD professors, students and admissions representatives. We can answer your questions about programs, admission requirements, student life and much more.
Visit the OUF website to register in advance for an OUF Passport!
September 27 to 29, 2019
10 am to 5 pm daily
IPHIGENIA 2.0
Presented by MFA Directing Candidates, Mandy Roveda and Philip Geller, featuring the 3rd year acting conservatory, Iphigenia 2.0 by Charles Mee is a modern reimagining of the Greek tragedy, Iphigenia in Aulis. Stuck in between a hastily prepared, royal wedding and an army on the verge of war, Iphigenia weathers a storm of deception before finally taking her destiny into her own hands. This show tests the strength of loyalty and duty to family, friends, and country in an unsparing environment.
SHOW TIMES:
October 31 – 7:00 PM
November 1 – 2:00 PM | 7:00 PM
November 2 – 7:00 PM
LOCATION:
CFT 139: Centre for Film and Theatre
Admission is free. Signup sheet is posted outside the studio door.
Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) is a beloved feminist revisioning of two of Shakespeare’s most well-known plays, Othello and Romeo & Juliet. Written by Canadian playwright Ann-Marie MacDonald, the play explores the hypothetical question: what if Shakespeare’s tragedies were actually intended to be comedies? To learn the answer to this question, please join us November 16-23 in the Joseph G. Green Theatre to find out.
Performance Schedule:
Sat, Nov. 16 (preview 1) @ 7:30 pm
Sun. Nov. 17 (preview 2) @ 7:30 pm
Tues. Nov. 19 (Opening) @ 7:30 pm
Wed. Nov. 20 @ 1:00 pm
Wed. Nov. 20 (Relaxed Performance) @ 7:30 pm –Plan your visit
Thurs. Nov. 21@ 7:30 pm
Fri. Nov. 22 @ 1:00 pm
Fri. Nov. 22 @ 7:30pm
Sat. Nov. 23 @ 2:00 pm
Tickets $7- 20
Online Box Office or call 416-736-5888
The Department of Dance presents
Dance Innovations 2019 – the near distance – pathways towards discovery
Dance Innovations 2019 – the near distance – pathways towards discovery features the concise creations of 25 fourth year BFA choreographers performed by students engaged in all levels of York’s programs in Dance. Students and faculty involved in creation, performance, lighting design and production collaborate in the successful realization of Dance Innovations. Series A of the two series program comprises a new creation by Assistant Professor and intermedia artist Freya Björg Olafson for York’s third year Performance class. In harmony with the themes explored elsewhere in the Department’s 2019/20 events, performances and workshops – issues of identity, navigation and acknowledgment – our show title celebrates the certainty that curiosity, open ness and creative engagement lead to imminent and ongoing discovery and transformation.
Artistic Director: Julia Sasso for 4th year choreography course
Director: Freya Björg Olafson for 3rd year Performance course
Production Manager: Jennifer Jimenez
PERFORMANCES Nov 20-22
Series A – 7:00 pm
Series B – 8:30 pm
Admission:
Advanced tickets: $12
After November 20: $18
Box Office: 416. 736.5888 | ampd.yorku.ca/boxoffice
The York University Jazz Festival, running November 18-21, showcases rising young talent directed by leading lights of the Canadian jazz scene.
Catch the next generation of outstanding jazz artists, right here on campus – and with no cover charge!
Wednesday, November 20
7:30-10:00pm
Small ensembles directed by Kevin Turcotte, Jim Vivian and Frank Falco
playGround: Fringe Festival of New Plays in Development
Created and produced by undergraduate students in the Department of Theatre.
Now in its 28th season, this annual, student-produced fringe fest features new, highly original works and works-in-progress by up-and-coming playwrights, directors, designers and performers.
In keeping with the true spirit of playGround, the pieces reflect an uncurbed spirit, a humourous undertone and a risk-taking mindset.
playGround runs in two series
SERIES A
Tues. Feb. 11, 7:30 p.m. (Opening)
Wed. Feb. 12, 7:30 p.m.
Fri. Feb. 14, 1:00 p.m. (Closing)
SERIES B
Wed. Feb. 12, 1:00 pm (Opening)
Thurs. Feb. 13, 7:30 pm
Fri. Feb. 14, 7:30 pm (Closing)
Admission: $7 per series.
Box Office: online or tel. 416.736.5888.
Seating is limited and performances often sell out in advance. Book early to avoid disappointment!
Devised Theatre Festival 2020
March 10 – 14, 2020
The Devised Theatre Festival premieres three captivating new productions, each conceived, created, produced, and performed by fourth year Devised Theatre students in the Performance, Creation, and Research stream in York University’s Theatre program.
This year, the theme for the Devised Theatre Festival is: Escapism in the age of the Experience Culture, wherein we ask questions about how we try to escape, why we might feel the need to escape, and why this desire to escape may be problematic.
The three shows featured in this year’s festival are: Auto-nomy, a seductive physical theatre piece about companion robots who gain sentience, by The Vector Regime; Five, an intermedial physical theatre piece about four young women who are trapped inside a video game, by Mind Yo’ Business Productions; and Goodnight, Sunny, a magic realism piece about two siblings, Jonathan and Jamie, who go on one final adventure with their imaginary friend, Sunny.
Each show is presented by a production company formed by a student ensemble within Devised Theatre.
The Devised Theatre Festival runs in two series, each presenting a double bill:
Tuesday, March 10th: Company A: The Vector Regime (7:00pm) | Company B: Mind Yo’ Business Productions (8:30pm)
Wednesday, March 11th: Company B: Mind Yo’ Business Productions (7:00pm) | Company C: Triptych Theatre Collective (8:30pm)
Thursday, March 12th: Company C: Triptych Theatre Collective (7:00pm) | Company A: The Vector Regime (8:30pm)
Friday, March 13th: Company C: Triptych Theatre Collective (3:00pm) | Company A: The Vector Regime (4:30pm) | Company B: Mind Yo’ Business Productions (6pm)
Saturday, March 14th: Company B: Mind Yo’ Business Productions (3:00pm) | Company A: The Vector Regime (4:30pm) | Company C: Triptych Theatre Collective (6pm)
Venue: 207 Accolade East Building | York University Keele Campus
Admission: Pay What You Can. Suggested $10 (cash only please)
For full details about the shows, the production companies, the artists, and blog posts, visit the Devised Theatre Festival website.
Belly Dance as Mindful Movement for Stress Reduction
This movement-based workshop utilizes belly dance vocabulary designed for self-soothing. Learn movements that support the reduction of stress and anxiety symptoms. Participants will leave with applications on how stress responses can be experiences on a spectrum from hyper-arousal (feelings of overstimulation) to hypo-arousal (feelings associated with low-energy or burnout). Belly dance used as mindfulness offers gentle wavey movement designed to down-regulate physical stress responses. This workshop also combines more energizing vocabulary through shimmying and shaking as well as core engagement to support up-regulation of the nervous system, based on internal rhythm and percussion.
About the Facilitator :
Shaila is completing her Masters in Dance at York University. She concurrently training as a Dance Movement Therapist through the National Centre for Dance Therapy in Montreal. Her work focuses on belly dance practices that use sensuality as a healing tool within dance interventions. Her movement offerings look at building resiliency, decoupling stress responses and promoting body positivity. Shaila provides a unique framework that maps belly dance vocabulary for nervous-system regulation. Shaila has been an active member of the Toronto belly dancing community for over a decade, both as a performer and instructor. She currently works as a Health Educator and Training Specialist and enjoys offering students training on mental health and well-being.
Theatre @ York presents Elizabeth Rex by Timothy Findley directed by ted witzel
Timothy Findley’s Elizabeth Rex shares Good Night Desdemona’s interest in the Shakespearean canon.
Here, Findley imagines an intimate meeting between a group of players and Queen Elizabeth I, who has ordered a command performance of Much Ado About Nothing as she awaits the execution of a former lover, the Earl of Essex. With wit and poetry, Findley explores the entanglement of love, desire, and gender identity.
Performance Schedule:
Tuesday March 17th at 7:30 p.m. (Preview)
Wednesday March 18th at 1:00 p.m. (Preview)
Wednesday March 18th at 7:30 p.m. (Opening)
Thursday March 19 at 7:30 p.m. (Relaxed Performance)
Friday March 20th at 1:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Saturday March 21st at 2:00 p.m.
Saturday March 21st @ 7:30 p.m. (Closing)
Box Office Information
Previews: $7.00
All Other Performances:
Tickets: $20.00
Student: $12.00
Senior: $12.00
Groups of 10 or more: $10.00
(Group price applies when all group tickets are purchased at once for a single performance. Not available online, please phone or visit the box office)
Buy online or call 416-736-5888
Relaxed Performance: Thursday, March 19th at 7:30pm
A Relaxed performance is intended specifically to be sensitive to and accepting of audience members who may benefit from a more relaxed environment. The performance is designed to reduce anxiety and provide a safe, enjoyable experience, taking into account variable sensory, communication or learning needs and abilities. This means that there is a more casual-than-usual approach to front-of-house etiquette and we ask audience members to be aware of people’s needs to move or make involuntary noise.
Scenes by Design
The Theatre Department’s annual exhibition showcasing the work of the Design and Production area. Scenes by Design offers an insider’s look at the creative work done behind the scenes before the curtain rises on a stage production. The exhibition features original set designs and maquettes, costumes, props, scene painting, renderings, drawings and lighting design by students in the production/design area. Scenes by Design will also include the announcement of the 2020 – 2021 Theatre @ York Season.
Exhibition Hours:
Wed. March 25, 2020: 11:30 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. (Opening)
Thur. March 26, 2020: 11:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Fri. March 27, 2020: 11:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Sat. March 28, 2020: 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. (Closing)
Admission is free and all are welcome.
