There appears to be no end in sight to the cancellations, postponements and such in the arts community, hit hard by the current COVID-19 pandemic. We will get through this and rebuild our lives to some extent, but one can't help but wonder what life will be like "on the other side" as it were, especially regarding the Arts.
I know some businesses and indeed some arts organizations might not survive this current shutdown, but every one of us can and should show our support any way we can both now and afterwards by patronizing the businesses and organizations we have relied on beforehand once things are returning to some semblance of normalcy. It could be awhile before we get there, but we will get there...
Three updates to pass along today that crossed my desk this past week.
First off, Suitcase in Point Theatre, the artistic force behind our celebrated In The Soil Arts Festival, announced this week they have "reimagined" their plans for the 12th annual In the Soil Arts Festival.
The original three day celebration was set to take place in downtown St. Catharines June 5 to 7, with a programme to include a large roster of artists presenting innovative work in genres including live theatre, music, comedy, film, interactive workshops, site-specific installations and much more. It is always a popular draw in the downtown core every spring.
The originally planned three-day Festival has now been cancelled, but the release from In the Soil this week emphasizes they have reimagined the Festival as what they refer to as "In the Soil: A Multi (p)Arts Festival over the next several months. There will be an online series through the spring and summer as well as a variety of public events to be scheduled once it is safe to do so. There is no firm time line on when that will be, of course, but the best guess at this point is perhaps between September of this year and March of next year.
Artists originally booked for the three day Festival will be incorporated into the new reimagined series as much as possible, which is good news for all of them, as so-called "gig" work is at a total standstill at the moment during the pandemic which means, of course, they have little or no income at all.
Suitcase in Point hopes to announce the new list of artists and schedule in the coming weeks.
Just yesterday the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines announced a new online performance series to shine a spotlight on Niagara artists. #NiagaraPerforms will provide a platform and professional artists fees for local artists to share performances with online audiences as sort of a home-grown take on Ottawa's National Arts Centre's #CanadaPerforms series.
The first batch of local artists were selected by the programming team at the PAC from previous editions of the popular Hear! Here! Niagara Music Series as well as existing partnerships with local arts organizations. The new online series will be announced two weeks at a time as the current pandemic continues.
The first online performance of #NiagaraPerforms kicks off this Sunday, April 19th at 4 pm with a performance from the home studio of local musician and producer Mark Lalama, to commemorate what would have been the final Hear! Here! Niagara Music Series performance of the current Hot Ticket season.
Right now the lineup continues with a performance at 7 pm on Thursday, April 23rd by Gordon Cleland, principal cellist with the Niagara Symphony and Music Department instructor at Brock University's Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts. Next Sunday the 26th at 4 pm Laurel Minnes and Taylor Hulley will bring their vocal harmonies to the online series, and on Thursday April 30th at 7 pm, Suitcase in Point Theatre will bring some quarantine comic relief to the series with more of their familiar sketch comedy cabarets.
It was also announced this week the PAC Film House will provide virtual cinema experiences with simple screening options every Wednesday. That series kicked off this past week with CatVideoFest 2020, which I am personally hoping to check out this weekend!
For more details on how to view any and all of these online events go to the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre website.
Finally, the Stratford Festival announced this week they are launching a film festival during this period, offering free streaming of 12 Shakespearean productions captured as part of its Stratford Festival On Film series. This will be the first time the full-length versions of these productions have been available for free.
The online series launches on April 23rd, Shakespeare's birthday of course,, with King Lear directed by Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino and featuring Colm Feore in the title role.
The choice of this production of King Lear is not just because of the undeniable draw of actor Colm Feore, either. Cimolino noted in the press release from the Festival this week the Bard was himself in quarantine in 1606 while writing King Lear, due of course to the plague.
The roll-out of the the films has been scheduled around four themes that seem pertinent during this difficult time: Social Order, Isolation, Minds Pushed to the Edge, and Relationships. Each film will debut with a 7 pm viewing party and remain available for free for a three week period on the Stratford Festival website.
The list is as follows:
Social Order and Leadership:
King Lear - April 23 to May 14; Coriolanus - April 30 to May 21; Macbeth - May 7 to 28.
Isolation:
The Tempest - May 14 to June 4; Timon of Athens - May 21 to June 11; Love's Labour's Lost - May 28 to June 18.
Minds Pushed to the Edge:
Hamlet - June 4 to 25; King John - June 11 to July 2; Pericles - June 18 to July 9
Relationships:
Antony and Cleopatra - June 25 to July 16; Romeo and Juliet - July 2 to 23; The Taming of the Shrew - July 9 to 30.
Each film is captured live with a full audience at the Festival during a single performance, with additional "pick-up" shots of key performance elements captured on stage immediately following the performance, again with the audience present.
In all the films, produced by Barry Avrich through Melbar Entertainment Group, have received four Canadian Screen Awards and 16 nominations, including Best Performing Arts Program for King Lear, which kicks off the series on April 23rd.
Have a great weekend and enjoy the Arts online during this period of self-isolation!
April 18th, 2020.
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