ArtwordList

Necessary Angel, in association with The Film Farm, is proud to announce the return of Divisadero: a performance, adapted by Michael Ondaatje from his Governor General Award-winning novel, and directed by Necessary Angel’s Artistic Director, Daniel Brooks.

The production reunites the original cast of Liane Balaban, Maggie Huculak, Tom McCamus, Amy Rutherford and Justin Rutledge – the Juno-nominated musician who created music specifically for the piece. Performances run February 8-26 (with community and media night February 9) at Theatre Passe Muraille’s Mainspace, 16 Ryerson Avenue.

Jeremy Mimnagh (Projection Design) joins the original design team of Andrea Lundy (Lighting Design), Alexander MacSween (Sound Design) and John Thompson (Set and Costume Design). Robert Harding and Liz McDermott are the Stage Management team.

Divisadero: a performance examines themes of memory, identity, love and the grip of the past on the present, and tells a story of a family that is forever changed by a single, violent event that sets fire to the rest of their lives. The production explores the intimate relationship between the speaker and the listener, and of language’s ability to weave a magical spell.
“Brooks has staged Divisadero in a direct-address, presentational mode that builds on two key foundations: the power of Ondaatje’s words and the exquisite ways Huculak makes them dance. She’s [Huculak] to performance what Ondaatje is to fiction and Brooks to directing.”
-Kamal Al-Solaylee, Toronto Star

“Brooks creates a new kind of memory play –s etting the story in the audience’s memory instead of playing it out in the playwright’s — this theatrical adaptation defies most conventional theatrical definitions. Huculak scores an understated triumph, creating a perfect ‘writer’s voice’Šthat flows out of her like golden honey.” -John Coulbourn, Toronto Sun

“[An] exceptional performance. [Huculak] is superb both as actress and storyteller.”
-Robert Cushman, National Post

“She [Huculak] delivers her lines like caresses, the words like pearls strung along a delicate necklace, their sheen drawing us into the depths of the storytelling.” -Jon Kaplan, Now Magazine

Necessary Angel
in association with The Film Farm presents
Divisadero: a performance
Writer: Michael Ondaatje. Director: Daniel Brooks.
Cast: Liane Balaban, Maggie Huculak, Tom McCamus, Amy Rutherford, Justin Rutledge.
Designers: Andrea Lundy, Alexander MacSween, Jeremy Mimnagh, John Thompson.
Stage Management: Rob Harding, Elizabeth McDermott. Assistant Director: Stefan Dzeparoski.
February 8-26, 2012 at Theatre Passe Muraille’s Mainspace, 16 Ryerson Avenue
Tuesday-Saturday 8pm, Sunday 2pm
Tickets: Feb. 8 preview $10, Tues-Thurs $25, Fri $30, Sat $35, Sun Matinee – Pay-What-You-Can
For tickets and more information, visit www.necessaryangel.com/ divisadero
or call Theatre Passe Muraille Arts Box Office at 416-504-7529

BIOS:

LIANE BALABAN | Cast
For Necessary Angel: Divisadero: a performance.
Other: Liane Balaban created a major splash with her debut in the lead role of Alan Moyle’s New Waterford Girl For her performance, she received a Special Jury Citation at the 24th annual Toronto International Film Festival. Variety described her performance opposite Kevin Pollak in Gary Yates’ critically acclaimed Seven Times Lucky as “unforgettable”. Other film credits include John L’Ecuyer’s Saint Jude, Jeremy Podeswa’s After The Harvest, Bart Freundlich’s World Traveler opposite Billy Crudup, Michael Almereyda’s Happy Here and Now, Definitely, Maybe written and directed by Adam Brooks for Universal Pictures, Michael McGowan’s One Week opposite Joshua Jackson. Recently she has starred opposite Josh Cooke in Finding Joy, Dustin Hoffman in Last Chance Harvey and in Coach directed by Will Frears and opposite Hugh Dancy. Television credits include the CBC mini-series Above & Beyond directed by Sturla Gunnarson and co-starring Richard E. Grant, the CBC mini-series ST. Urbain’s Horseman the CBC TV Movie/ Pilot Abroad and guest star appearances on the shows Alphas for Syfy, NCIS: LA for CBS and Covert Affairs for USA.

DANIEL BROOKS | Director
For Necessary Angel: Half Life, Bigger Than Jesus, Insomnia, The Eco Show, HardSell, This Is What Happens Next, Divisadero: a performance
Necessary Angel’s Artistic Director since 2003, he has also worked as a director, writer, actor, producer, and teacher. Some of his creations include Red Tape and 86: An Autopsy (with Don McKellar and Tracy Wright); The Lorca Play, House, Here Lies Henry, Monster, Cul-de-sac, and most recently, This Is What Happens Next (all with Daniel MacIvor); The Noam Chomsky Lectures and Insomnia (with Guillermo Verdecchia); Bigger Than Jesus and HardSell (with Rick Miller); The Good Life and The Eco Show. His work as a director includes Art of Time Ensemble’s I Send You This Cadmium Red, John Mighton’s Possible Worlds and Half Life, Goethe’s Faust, Beckett’s Endgame and The Drowsy Chaperone). He was the first recipient of the prestigious Elinore and Lou Siminovitch Prize in Theatre for directing. His work has traveled across Canada and around the world. He is also an Associate Artist with Soulpepper Theatre Company.

MAGGIE HUCULAK | Cast
For Necessary Angel: Tamara, Mein, Desire, Seven Lears, King Lear, Beating Heart Cadaver, The Piper, Hysterica, Half Life, Divisadero: a performance, Tout Comme Elle
Other: Antigone, Travesties, A Christmas Carol and The Wild Duck (Soulpepper); Age of Arousal (Nightwood Theatre); The Woman in White (Theatre Aquarius); The Black Bonspiel of Wullie Macrimmon, The Clean House, The Glass Menagerie and Elizabeth Rex (Globe); 4:48 Psychosis (Summerworks); Lonely Nights and Other Stories, Twelfth Night, The Knee Plays, and The Betrayal (Chalmers Award) (Theatre Columbus). A six-time Dora Award nominee, Maggie has co-created four plays, including Mein, winner of a Dora Award, and The Betrayal, winner of a Chalmers Award. Maggie acts extensively on camera, with regular and recurring roles on Puppets Who Kill, Queer as Folk, Wind At My Back, The Adventures of Shirley Holmes, and Eric’s World. Recent film work includes Fugitive Pieces, Anne: A New Beginning, and The Gathering. Maggie narrated CBC’s epic documentary Canada: A People’s History, and the dramatizations of Michael Ondaatje’s In The Skin of a Lion, and The English Patient. She dedicates this performance to her father, Walter Huculak.

ANDREA LUNDY | Lighting designer
For Necessary Angel: Tout Comme Elle, Andromache, The Eco Show, Half Life, Insomnia, Hamlet, Divisadero: a performance
Other: Andrea Lundy is an award winning lighting designer, having been nominated for 22 Dora Mavor Moore Awards, winning 9 times for Hamlet, The Mill, The Eco Show, Stories from the Rains of Love and Death, Russell Hill, The Attic, The Pearls and Three Fine Girls, Possible Worlds, Insomnia, and Oedipus. She has spent four seasons at the Shaw Festival and has worked extensively with Tarragon Theatre, Soulpepper Theatre, Canadian Stage, Necessary Angel Theatre Company, Factory Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, and Neptune Theatre among other Canadian companies. She is currently the Director of Production at the National Theatre School of Canada and is a member of the Associated designers of Canada.

ALEXANDER MacSween | Composer and Sound designer
For Necessary Angel: Hamlet, Divisadero: a performance
Other: Alexander MacSween has participated in many dance, theatre and film projects. He has worked with Marie Brassard, François Girard, Brigitte Haentjens, Robert Lepage, José Navas and Wajdi Mouawad. He previously worked with Necessary Angel on Graham McLaren’s adaptation of Hamlet. As a drummer, Alexander is active in the worlds of rock, improvisation and electronic music. He has played with Paolo Angeli, Tim Berne, Michel F. Côté, Bionic, Frank Gratkowski, The Nils, and Sam Shalabi. He is a member of Martin Tétreault’s Turntable Quartet and of the group, Foodsoon. Alexander has also created solo pieces and sound installations. His work has been presented in several festivals, including CitySonics, Sonorama and Mutek. He also gives workshops in real-time sound processing for the performing arts at various North American and European institutions.

TOM McCAMUS | Cast
For Necessary Angel: It’s All True, Hamlet (workshop), Divisadero: a performance
Other: Thom Paine (Tarragon Theatre), Mathilde (Nightwood Theatre), Hedda Gabler (Volcano), Innocent Eye Test (Royal Alex). Eleven seasons with the Stratford Festival, roles include: Jim Casey in the Grapes of Wrath, Captain Hook in Peter Pan, Valmont in Dangerous Liaisons, MacHeath, Richard III, Brutus, Vladimir in Waiting for Godot, Coriolanus, King Arthur, Edmund in Long Day’s Journey into Night. Four seasons with Theatre plus Toronto. Eight seasons with the Shaw Festival. Film & TV: Cairo Time, Shake Hands with the Devil, Waking up Wally: The Walter Gretzky Story – Gemini/ Actra Award, Possible Worlds, Long Day’s Journey into Night, The Sweet Hereafter, I Love a Man in Uniform – Genie Award.

JEREMY MIMNAGH | Projection Designer
For Necessary Angel: Debut
Other: Jeremy Mimnagh works as a photographer and video designer. His interest in performance-based works has involved collaborations in contemporary dance, music and theatre. Recent film credits include the short film: girl in mourning for Chartier Danse’s Red Brick this past September, and From Gentle Ashes which screened at this year’s CanAsian Festval. His video design for Chartier Danse’s Bas Reliefs earned him recognition in Germany’s Ballett und Tanz Jahrbuch. Mimnagh also has an interest in documenting creative process with still photography and film, leaving evidence of the ephemeral evolution within the creative process. Exhibitions of some his still collections have been exhibited throughout Canada and internationally. Upcoming projects for 2012 include collaborations with celebrated artist Fides Krucker/Good Hair Day Production’s new electroacoustic opera Julie Sits Waiting, a new creation from Dancer/Choreographer Heidi Strauss/Adelheid as well as a new gallery work from Dancer/Choreographer Jenn Goodwin.

MICHAEL ONDAATJE | Writer
For Necessary Angel: Coming through Slaughter, Divisadero: a performance
Other: His books include Coming through Slaughter, In the Skin of a Lion, The English Patient, Anil’s Ghost, Divisadero, books of poetry and a non- fiction book, The Conversations, about film editing. His new novel, The Cat’s Table, was published in August 2011.

AMY RUTHERFORD | Cast
For Necessary Angel: The Message, Divisadero: a performance
Other: Amy Rutherford trained at the National Theatre School of Canada and Stratford Conservatory. Most recent credits include The Children’s Republic (Tarragon Theatre) Our Class (Studio 180) The 39 Steps (Theatre Aquarius), Aftershock (Summerworks), Goodness (Volcano Theatre), The Vertical Hour (prairie Theatre exchange), Zadie’s Shoes (GCTC), The Odd Couple / As You Like It (Soulpepper Theatre). Selected TV and Film: A Kindness (Bravofact) Murdoch Mysteries (Shaftesbury), Angela’s Eyes (NBC universal/Lifetime), Puppets Who Kill (Comedy Network), Confessions of an American Bride (Lifetime), Four Minutes (eSpN).

JUSTIN RUTLEDGE | Cast, Singer / Songwriter
For Necessary Angel: Divisadero: a performance
Other: Eurydice (Summerworks 2011). Film: Into the Light. Music: Signed to Six Shooter Records, Justin’s albums include No Never Alone (2005), The Devil On A Bench In Stanley Park (2006 – Juno nomination), Man Descending (2008 – longlisted for the Polaris Prize), The Early Widows (2010 – Juno nomination, longlisted for the Polaris Prize).

JOHN THOMPSON | Set & Costume designer
For Necessary Angel: Divisadero: a performance
Other: The Test, Through The Leaves, Festen, Whistle In The Dark, Marion Bridge (Company Theatre); Our Class, The Normal Heart (Studio 180 Theatre) Eternal Hydra (Crow’s Theatre); The Retreat From Moscow, The Tempest, The Clean House, Humble Boy, The Shape of Things (Manitoba Theatre Centre); Blue/Orange, Side By Side By Sondheim (Canstage); Waiting For Godot, No Man’s Land, Betrayal, Don Carlos, The Misanthrope (Soulpepper Theatre); The Trials of Ezra Pound (The Stratford Festival); The Pessimist, Helen’s Necklace, Russell Hill, Little Mercy’s First Murder, The Good Life, Skylight, Girl In The Goldfish Bowl, Earshot, The Road to Hell (Tarragon Theatre); Unity 1918, Blood (Theatre Passe Muraille). He teaches at the University of Toronto.