09 mai 2012

Bust a Move ‘Keeping it Real’

Congratulations to Spicey and Unkut Productions for the 9^th edition of Bust a Move, held on May 4^th and 5^th. Special thanks to Jack-O-Lution for the great workshops. This was a great year full of outstanding performances and wonderful workshops with  extremely talented choreographers. Thank you all for "keeping it real"!

09 mai 2012

Thank You, Dancap

We were sad to learn over the weekend that Dancap will be stepping back from the theatre industry after concluding its current season and a tour of Western Canada with Jersey Boys scheduled this fall. Over the past five years, Dancap Productions has been instrumental in bringing important Broadway shows to Toronto and broadening the landscape of musical theatre in Canada. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude for all they’ve done for the industry and wish Mr. Aubrey Dan and everyone at Dancap all the best.

04 mai 2012

The Disappointing Smash

I’ve been forcing myself to watch Smash, the new NBC hit about the making of a musical on Marilyn Monroe. Given the nature of my work, I felt it was my duty to at least watch the first season, hoping it would get better along the way, but to no avail. If this were a live show, I probably would have left at the intermission.   I tried to like it, I really did. Some things make it easy to want to: the choreographies are solid, the direction is more than adequate, and the original songs are rather catchy and worthy of the real deal.   There are two things that make me irk about this show: the unrealistic timeline and the trivialisation of the developmental process of a musical. In less than one season, the team managed to write and conceptualize an entire musical, cast and prepare a workshop. All of this thanks to one producer and no investors on-board until workshop rehearsals were almost completed.   I also find the debate ironic on whether or not the show needs a star in it. They attempt to sympathize with Broadway performers who, they suggest, are much more capable of delivering; implying that stars are merely used to bring in investors and to sell tickets. However, in less than 10 episodes, Nick Jonas, Bernadette Peters, and Uma Thurman made highly publicized guest appearances.   Despite its shortcomings, mainly based on issues of authenticity, Smash has managed to be just that so far. It has garnered much critical acclaim from television critics. In all fairness, I am sure that doctors cringe just as much at hospital dramas, a guilty pleasure of mine. As all clouds have a silver lining, I guess I must begrudgingly offer one. While Smash does not truly do justice to those who dedicate their blood, sweat, and tears to musical theatre, perhaps the accessibility it brings to the world of theatre will inspire a greater appreciation for the art. Let’s face it: who can argue with more support for the arts?

16 avril 2012

Passion Portrait: DJ Shash'u

RICHARD ST-AUBIN, a.k.a DJ SHASH'U- DJ & COMPOSER-   I started playing drums when I was 9 and my dad was a classical guitarist, so music was always in my family. Later on, I was introduced to making music by a friend. My curiosity grew into passion. I was 17 when I started making my own music because I had access to the tools. I went to sound-engineering school, sharpened my knowledge and now I feel that I can do anything audio-related. Now I make music for other artists, corporate clients and websites. I’m broadening my horizons not by just making music, but by doing audio creation as well.   It’s something I enjoy and that I consider I’m good at, but I keep working in this field in part because I love the positive reaction I get from people who hear my songs. You have to get that response back from people; it’s how I can relate to them. I also find it highly rewarding making people feel a certain way through music. I do it to make people happy. I create a physical, mental, and spiritual escape for them through music. That for me has no comparison.   To find out more: http://soundcloud.com/shashu  https://www.facebook.com/btm.shashu (you must be signed in to Facebook to view the page) https://twitter.com/iamshashu http://www.silencedor.com/