photo retrieved from http://www.downstage.ca/crime.shtml

photo retrieved from http://www.downstage.ca/crime.shtml

THEATRE

Crime Does Not Pay

Crime Does Not Pay is coming to the Engineered Air Theatre March 2-11 2017!! This musical, composed by David Rhymer and Kris Demeanor, is inspired by a lurid comic book from 1940-50s America. Bob Wood, real life animator and story writer for the comic, loses his job when the Comic Book Code comes in, legislating the sanitization of comics, inspired by psychologist Frederic Wertham's book Seduction of the Innocent. Bob ends up becoming one of the criminals he depicts, egged on by a translucent ghoul with a top hat, Mr. Crime. The production is presented by Downstage Theatre and Forte Theatre.  See the link for ticket and schedule info, as well as links to in-creation videos.

http://www.downstage.ca/crime.shtml

 

Making Treaty 7 

"A conversation that's 150 years overdue" - Cowboy Smith X

A collaboration between First Nations and non-aboriginal artists, telling the story of the signing of Treaty Number 7 at Blackfoot Crossing in Alberta (1877), the tragic events that hastened the signing, stories of its aftermath. 

"I illuminate the colonial mindset through Colonel James Macleod, get called a 'brown weasel scented gentleman', create and play with the Crack Band and the fabulous Eya Hey Nakoda pow wow group. Astoundingly talented ensemble. Live sound, sound design and recording by Richard Mcdowell."

Information on the project and videos of the workshop performances here: http://www.makingtreaty7.com

 

This LIttle Piggie - A Dustbowl Opera

Pete Balkwill (The Old Trout Puppet Workshop), Little Miss Higgins, Bob Keelaghan, Bessie Wapp, David Rhymer and Kris Demeanor collaborated on this piece in which a desperate couple move to a town that has sprung up to service the construction of a dam.  Husband makes a bad deal, the butcher gets the pig, and God's Long Suffering is unleashed. Performed at the 2014 Calgary Folk Music Festival and to be done at the 2016 High Performance Rodeo.

http://www.ffwdweekly.com/arts/theatre/this-little-piggie-gives-a-sneak-peek-12049/

 

John Ware Reimagined

Playwright Cheryl Foggo created this immensely touching, funny, and illuminative piece of theatre about pioneer cowboy John Ware, a freed slave, and his wife Mildred, a young woman from Toronto, who made their home in Alberta in the late 1800s. Their story is seen through the eyes of Joni, a young black girl growing up in Calgary when the civil rights movement was laying bare all prejudice and hope.  I co-wrote songs and music with Miranda Martini. It was performed in August/Sept 2014 to packed houses and excellent reviews, and it looks like there's big demand for more runs.

 

http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Local+Shows/Alberta/ID/2482481901/