Tag: arts in brief

→ Chasing Ice at Cinema du Parc
Exclusively on Jan. 11, Cinema du Parc presents Chasing Ice, the award winning documentary by acclaimed National Geographic photographer James Balog. Balog, a one time skeptic about the legitimacy of climate change, discovered undeniable evidence of the changes the planet is undergoing using time-lapse photography. Through revolutionary time-lapse cameras, Balog records the world’s glacier disintegration over a multi-year period. The film combines these stunning time-lapse photographs with Balog’s harrowing adventure as he travels through the harsh Arctic, risking his life and career, in pursuit of answers about humanity’s greatest fear.

→ WildSide Festival returns for its 16th year at Centaur Theatre
Self-touted as the ‘hottest two weeks in winter,’ Centaur Theatre’s annual WildSide Festival is gearing up for its 16th year. From Jan 3-13, Centaur Theatre presents six highly acclaimed plays picked from the best of what Montreal Fringe 2012 had to offer as well as unsolicited submissions received by artistic and executive director Roy Surette. This year’s festival lineup includes A Day in the Life of Miss Hiccup, a 50-minute comedy starring Yanomi as Miss Hiccup, a Tokyo clown whose solitary life is made lively by cacophonous sounds and music. Poutine Masala, a trilingual (French, English and Hindi) comedy and dance theatre production critics loved during its initial run in May, about a Montreal boy meeting a girl from India. As sparks ignite, it’s not all sunshine for this cross-cultural couple. For a complete listing of plays and ticket information visit www.centaurtheatre.com/wildsidefestival.php

→ Tenth of December by George Saunders out
Concordians will remember George Saunders from when he visited in Oct. 2009 as part of Concordia’s Writers Read program. The off-kilter writer’s latest collection of short stories, Tenth of December, promises to be just as satirical and imaginative as his earlier works.The collection features Home, a 2011 Bram Stoker Award finalist, as well as many stories previously published in various magazines between 1995 and 2009. The acclaimed magazine Booklist (Dec. 1, 2012) writes that Saunders collection is “unpredictable, stealthily funny, complexly affecting stories of ludicrousness, fear, and rescue.” Tenth of December will be available Jan. 8.

→ Umbrella by Will Self
Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, Umbrella by Will Self follows the stream of consciousness of psychiatrist Zachary Busner, his patient Audrey De’Ath, and her two brothers. In 1971 London, Busner arrives at a mental institution where he is to begin experimental treatment on patients suffering from the sleeping sickness, encephalitis lethargica. De’Ath has been catatonic for decades and the narrative moves through several periods of time, exploring the 1900s London of Audrey’s youth, ‘70s London and current-day London when Zachary is an old man come back to the institution to revisit his memories.

→ Law, Literature and Loss: A dialogic series
A five-part series hosted by infamously dismissed McGill professor, Dr. Norman Cornett; this series aims to explore the work of Concordia professor and Governor General award-winning author of poetry, Stephanie Bolster, and that of retired Superior Court of Ontario judge Justice James Clarke through a series of ‘dialogues’. Participants will have a chance to discuss the work of Clarke and Bolster, following which said authors will be invited in to participate in the discussion. Ensuing this, Clarke and Bolster will be joined by Dr. Jaswant Guzder, the head of the McGill division of child psychiatry, who will facilitate a discussion on the implications of the work of Clarke and Bolster. This series is open to the public and is five dollars per session, the first of which takes place on Jan. 13 at St. James United Church, 1440 St-Alexandre from 2 – 4p.m.. The following sessions will take place Jan. 20, 27, Feb. 3 and 10. For more information or to register, contact Professor Norman Cornett at normancornett@gmail.com or 514-256-2483.

→ A Late Quartet opens Nov. 30 at Cineplex Odeon
Christopher Walken plays Peter Mitchell, a cellist in a string quartet that is celebrating their 25th season together. However, all is not well. Mitchell is diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and announces that this season will be his last. Mitchell’s announcement causes a ripple effect through the group and suppressed emotions, egos, and passions are suddenly unleashed, threatening to derail the quartet’s years of friendship and collaboration. Also starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Mark Ivanir, Catherine Keener and Imogen Poots, the film is structured around Beethoven’s Opus 131, the seven movements of which reflect the group’s tumultuous journey.

→ Concordia University’s department of theatre presents Peleus and Thetis
Peleus and Thetis was born of a five-year partnership and student exchange program between Concordia University and the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts in Beijing. A combination of Western theatre practice and the Chinese opera style of Jing Ju, Peleus and Thetis relates the Greek myth of the marriage of Peleus to the sea-nymph, Thetis. The play uses the intricate costuming, ornate language and spectacular acrobatic, fighting and dancing artistry of Jing Ju to make a connection between the western understanding of theatrical form and the modes of performance inherent in the Chinese opera style.

The show opens Nov. 29 at 8 p.m. and runs until Dec. 2 in the D.B. Clarke Theatre, 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W. For more information visit finearts.concordia.ca

→ An Ode to the Penny: art gala and exhibition
In March, the Conservative government announced that it would cease production of the penny this fall. In order to commemorate the end of the penny, the Café des Finances has partnered with Espace Verre and Concordia University students to commission eight pieces of penny-inspired art. The collection was unveiled on Nov. 15 at the Café des Finances and visitors to the cafe are invited to vote for their favorite piece of art. On Nov. 29, a winner will be announced and awarded $1,000, $250 of which will go to the charity of their choice. The second place winner will receive $500, $100 of which will go to the artist’s charity.

The Gala takes place Nov. 29 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., but there’s still plenty of time to vote. Visit Café des Finances, located at 1141 boul. de Maisonneuve W.

→ Blown Up: gaming and war exhibit at Le MAI
Vicky Moufawad-Paul, guest curator at Le MAI gallery, is using projects by three artists to examine the misrepresentation of present-day wars in video games. Blown Up: gaming and war features work by artists Wafaa Bilal, Harun Farocki and Mohammed Mohsen. Wafaa Bilal’s piece, The Night of Bush Capturing: A Virtual Jihadi, is based on an American-made game in which the goal is to hunt and kill Saddam Hussein. Bilal has modified the piece into a work of self-fiction in order to denounce hateful stereotyping of Arab culture. Mohammad Mohsen’s piece, Weak, is a video game which explores the architecture of gaming and the ways in which games that feature present-day wars were a source of pleasure and political anxiety for Middle-Eastern players. Immersion, by Berlin artist Harun Farocki, uses virtual reality exposure therapy, a tool used in the therapy of soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, to give visitors the sense that they are soldiers with the goal of maintaining the stability of a governing system.

Blown Up: gaming and war runs until Dec. 15 at Le MAI gallery, 3680 Jeanne-Mance St., #103. For more information visit m-a-i.qc.ca

→ M❤NTREAL Photographic Exhibition

Culture & Language Connections Montreal will be hosting the first M❤NTREAL Photographic Exhibition. The exhibit opened Oct. 20 and will run until Jan. 11, 2013.

The exhibit features a look at Montreal through the lens of local photographers; a glimpse of Montreal as you’ve never seen it before.

Featured artists include: Angela Auclair, Laura Arwen Berg, Kristofferson Brice, Edmond Chung, Ron Harris, Christopher McMullen, David Nuff, Kyle Ruggles, Darina Velkova, Nadia Zheng.

Culture & Language Connections Montreal is located at 4260 Girouard. For more information visit: www.montrealphotographicexhibition.weebly.com

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→ Beauty and the Breast at Cineplex Forum

Beauty and the Breast investigates the devastating reality of living with breast cancer. Winner of the best documentary at last month’s Montreal World Film Festival, Beauty and the Breast opened Oct. 19 at Cineplex Forum.

The film explores and demystifies the disease through the eyes of nine women, painting a poignant and at times comedic portrait of survival. The film looks at every stage of the disease, beginning with diagnosis, following the women through their physical and mental experiences.

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→ Get Animated! at The National Film Office

The sixth edition of Get Animated! — a celebration of the finest and most comedic animation from across the country — arrives in Montreal Oct. 28. The National Film Board of Canada, in collaboration with local partners across Canada, offers free screenings and workshops for audiences of all ages. Highlights include the Genie Award-winning production Romance by Georges Schwizgebel, Edmond Was a Donkey, winner of the Special Jury Award at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Oedipus, an NFB short by Oscar Nominee Paul Driessen.

Workshops will be offered in English or French, but you must register in advance by calling 514-283-9000. The National Film Office is located at 3155 de la Côte de Liesse. For more information visit nfb.ca/getanimated

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→ Stories We Tell at Cineplex Forum

Players of the children’s game ‘telephone’ will know that a story can change the more people who tell it and the relating of events takes on different shapes based on who’s relating them. Filmmaker Sarah Polley explores this concept in her film Stories We Tell which opened Oct. 19 at Cineplex Forum and which will be shown with French subtitles beginning Oct. 26 at Excentris. Polley interviews members of her family, each person telling his or her version of the family’s mythology, sometimes relating contradictory information. A deeply personal film that explores how a person’s narrative shapes them as individuals and as part of a family, the film played to rave reviews at multiple film festivals.

The International Festival of Films on Art

• In collaboration with Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the 14th edition of the International Festival of Films on Art began Sept. 30 and will run until Nov 4. Featuring films that explore art in all its forms, the festival presents the best art films at the Maxwell Cummings Auditorium every Sunday at 2 p.m.

The complete Woody Allen films at Cinema du Parc

• Did you run out of space on your hard drive before you could download all 44 films by Woody Allen? Lucky for you, Cinema du Parc will be showing every one of his films from Oct. 2 to Nov 22. Look for classics like Annie Hall, Manhattan and Bananas, as well as his recent wonders Midnight in Paris and To Rome with Love. Allen once said “If my film makes one more person miserable, I’ll feel I’ve done my job.” The ever-sarcastic director has actually been doing the opposite — delving into the realities of life in an endearing and comedic way for over 40 years, and consistently surprising us with his unique brilliance and socially relevant wit. This man is a machine, making at least one film a year since 1965, something that no other writer/director has ever dared to accomplish.

The Medea Effect at Theatre La Chapelle

• Ugo’s mother has forgotten him and now his childhood fear is coming true. The Medea Effect is a roller-coaster ride of emotion, featuring Concordia graduate Emma Tibaldo. The Medea Effect runs Oct. 11 to 20 at Theatre La Chapelle. Tickets and showtimes at talisman-theatre.com

New theatre company inFurnace holds first monthly play reading

• On Oct. 9, inFurnace, a new theatre company in Montreal, will hold its first play reading at The Freestanding Room. The reading of Stone Cold Dead Serious is part of the company’s fundraising effort. Admission is by donation so please give generously. Doors open at 7 p.m., space seats 30 so get there early.

The Bacchae at The Centaur Theatre

• Scapegoat Carnival Theatre presents The Bacchae a tragic story of the god Dionysus’s return to Thebes. Dionysus, the god of wine and merrymaking has returned to avenge the defamation of his mother’s name. Standing in his way is the young King Pentheus, who denies Dionysus’ authority as a deity, imprisoning anyone who participates in his rites. The Bacchae runs Oct 12-20 at Centaur Theatre 453 St François-Xavier.

Art Exhibit: Cloud Nine at the VAV Gallery

• “CLOUD NINE is an exhibition of three artists’ personal explorations into the visual and emotional aspects of the body. The works are beautiful and intriguing, but there exists a sense of foreboding and danger in the images presented. Nevertheless, the artists create their work with a sense of humor; there is a certain comical quality to the characters on the page and on screen.”- Artist group statement.
• Featuring work by Concordia students: Amanda Craig, Tiffany April and Yannick ”Ziyang” Yip. Cloud Nine runs until Oct. 12. For more information visit vavgallery.concordia.ca

Our video of the exhibit here: Cloud Nine at the VAV Gallery

AUGUST, An Afternoon in the Country at Centaur Theatre
Centaur Theatre’s inaugural show of its 44th Season, August, An Afternoon in the Country, takes you to the heart of a family drama unfolding in the rural countryside. An evening meant to celebrate the recent engagement of Monique and her boyfriend André quickly unravels as secrets begin to surface and family tensions begin to boil.

August, An Afternoon in the Country runs from Oct. 2 until the 28. For ticket prices and showtimes please visit centaurtheatre.com

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Guys And Dolls at Segal Centre
A broadway classic that gave birth to such memorable songs as “Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat,”, “Luck Be a Lady,” and “Adelaide’s Lament.” Guys and Dolls has been a favorite of musical lovers for generations. Starting at the Segal Centre on Sept. 30, Guys and Dolls is set in the streets of gritty 1940s-era New York and features gamblers, swindlers and nuns – of all things. Nathan Detroit runs a floating craps game but he’s in need of money – bad – so he bets high-roller Sky Masterson that Sky can’t get Sister Sarah Brown to agree to a date with him. Sky promises Sarah money for her crumbling mission if she goes out with him. She reluctantly agrees, never expecting that she would fall in love.

Guys and Dolls runs from Sept. 30 until Oct. 28. For ticket prices and showtimes please visit segalcentre.org

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Chuck Samuels art exhibit at gallery Occurence
Chuck Samuels has brought two bodies of work, Memory Believes and Movie/Music to gallery Occurence. Memory Believes presents 14 photographs on the theme of memory permutation that were created using Super 8 film and other antiquated images. Movie/Music is a presentation of visual experimentation that uses dated film and video equipment to create ten musical short films done in collaboration with composer and musician Bill Parsons.

Chuck Samuels’ exhibits will be showing at Occurence until Oct. 23. 

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Book Release – DEBT SENTENCE: How Canada’s Student Loan System is Failing Young People and the Country by Thomas F. Pawlick
A call to arms over the way post-secondary education is financed in Canada, Pawlick’s indicts the Canadian financial loan system and makes a case for immediate and drastic change.

Available online at Amazon.com, Chapters and Barnes & Noble, Debt Sentence retails for $19.95.

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Marlon Brando: Provocative Genius at Cinema du Parc
From Oct. 5 to 11, Cinema du Parc will be celebrating the life and career of Marlon Brando with the showing of six of his most renowned films; The Wild One, The Godfather, On the Waterfront, A Streetcar Named Desire, Last Tango in Paris and Apocalypse Now Redux.

Dates and showtimes vary. Please visit cinemaduparc.com for more information.

→Where the Blood Mixes at Centre Culturel Calixa-Lavallee.
Christine, a child of residential school survivors, was removed from her home at a young age. Now she must try to reconnect with her family and community as they try to move forward from the social injustice done to them. With a diverse cast featuring Alarey Alsip as Christine, Charles Bender as “Mooch”, Eric Hausknost as George, Jeremy Proulx as Floyd, and Emilee Veluz as June and with music by Dumisizwe Vuyo Bhembe, Where the Blood Mixes promises to be a thorough, thought-provoking, and hopefully healing piece of theatre.

Where the Blood Mixes runs Sept. 13 to 30.
Wednesday to Saturday 8:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday Matinee 2:00 p.m.

Centre Culturel Calixa-Lavallée
3819 av Calixa-Lavallée (parc Lafontaine)
Box Office: 514 848 0238

Adults: $24, Seniors: $20, Students: $12
Special 2 for 1 pricing: Wednesday evenings and Saturday matinees

→Ne meurs pas tout de suite on nous regarde at Tangente
A twist on the traditional story of Adam and Eve, this dance takes place in a weird post-apocalyptic world, where L and M are possibly the last two human beings left on earth. With carefree oblivion they reinvent chaos and flirt with kinesthetic existentialism. A beautiful piece and a must see for lovers of dance.

Sept 20, 21, 22 at 6:30 p.m.
Sept 23 at 4 p.m. Studio Hydro-Québec – Monument-National
Regular tickets $20, Student Discount $16.

→Richard III by Metachroma Theatre

“Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious summer by this sun of York.” – Richard III

One of Shakespeare’s timeless tragedies, the story of Richard III is both horrific and captivating. Ever the outsider, Richard struggles to win the monarchy, foregoing all consequences and committing terrible deeds. A psychological journey of a man shunned from society for his deformed appearance, Richard III is a play of schemes, tyranny and evil. Complete with Concordian veterans Jamie Robinson, Quincy Armorer, Jimmy Blais and director Joel Miller, this inaugural piece, with the generous support of The Segal Centre for the Performing Arts, is sure to entertain.

Richard III runs from Sept. 19 to 30 at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts Studio, 5170 Côte-Ste-Catherine Rd.

→Perpetually Becoming at Maison culturelle et communautaire de Montréal-Nord

An art exhibition that travels through time, Perpetually Becoming, the first solo exhibition for Montreal North artist and Concordia graduate Adriana Coluccio, displays “unfettered spaces and lost recollections in constant motion across eras while past and present are intertwined on the canvas,”according to the show’s press release. Coluccio is fascinated by the juxtaposition of old and new media, transferring from one form to another and exploring the dimension at the edge of creation or collapse. Her work is sure to fascinate all audiences.

Perpetually Becoming will be at the Maison culturelle et communautaire de Montréal- Nord from Sept. 13 to Oct. 14, 2012.

Hours: Tuesday – Friday 12:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Saturday – Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.