Modern Times Stage Company - The Blog

Our Youth Unit is impressive

2012-02-10T19:34:00.013-05:00

This season, Modern Times has embarked on a new era of youth programming, the likes of which we've never seen before. Expanding our previous 2-3 week workshops to a season long program has allowed us to work more closely with a group and mentor their own artistic vision toward a final creation that showcases their own writing, directing, performance and design prowess.

We've drafted an enthusiastic group of ten students to join us on this mission and we couldn't be more excited by the work they're doing. We've got some talented young artists in our midst here!

The Fall sessions offered a 'backstage peak' at our process during Hallaj. Now into our winter term, we've chosen a theme for our final presentation and the group has been bringing in some fantastic writing to explore together. Soheil leads our sessions, Sue offers dramaturgical support and we have guest appearances from folks like Peter and our pal Thomas Morgan Jones who share their own expertise and thoughts on the process so far. We look forward to what comes next, as we begin to narrow in on the structure and direction of the finished piece.

Anything could happen, really...
We're slated for public presentations this May, at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts (our lovely partner in this escapade). Details closer to the date, so stay tuned!

Nishant, Ali and Shay work on a text by Yasaman

Ladies and gentlemen, your Modern Times 2011-12 All Star Youth Unit line-up is...
Ryanna Ziv-Friars - Ali Grosh - Nishant Joshi - Maziyar Khatam - Shaylyn Lucas - Atoosa Mohajer - Yasaman Nouri - Yassmine Rad - Glenys Robinson - Jenna Rumeo

Thank you!

2011-12-05T14:13:00.001-05:00

photo of Costa Tovarnisky, John Ng & Peter Farbridge by John Lauener

Hallaj comes to Buddies in Bad Times!

2011-10-16T17:00:00.011-04:00

Forbidden thoughts…forbidden words…forbidden deeds…

A modern re-telling of a true story from 9th century Baghdad.

HALLAJ
written by Peter Farbridge and Soheil Parsa - directed by Soheil Parsa
featuring Stewart Arnott, Steven Bush, Peter Farbridge, Carlos González-Vio, John Ng, Beatriz Pizano, Costa Tovarnisky and Bahareh Yaraghi
set design Trevor Schwellnus
lighting design David DeGrow
costume design Angela Thomas
sound design and composition Thomas Ryder Payne
technical director and production manager Douglas J. Morum
stage manager Dale Yim
producer Sue Balint

Hallaj was a legendary Sufi poet, teacher and philosopher whose teachings won the adoration of the public and rage of the political system. Orthodox leaders seize their opportunity when one reckless act becomes Hallaj’s indictable offense, and he is given one last choice: to recant and save his life or stand by his convictions and dance to his death. As he spends a final night in prison awaiting execution, Hallaj’s memories paint a portrait of a man conflicted by love for his family and a consuming search for spiritual truth.

Acclaimed co-creators Soheil Parsa and Peter Farbridge return as part of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre’s 11-12 season with Hallaj, an original company creation that premiered at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts and Kitchener’s IMPACT ‘Festival in 2009. An award-winning ensemble and design team now bring Hallaj to downtown audiences. Modern Times’ last Toronto production was its near sold-out run of Aurash at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts in 2010.

A gripping, insightful, challenging and engaging portrayal, grappling with themes of insanity, love, obsession, and religious devotion. -The Kitchener Record

We have to thank Modern Times for helping broaden our knowledge of the world’s treasure chest of important stories. -Christopher Hoile

Back To Colombia!

2011-05-22T17:32:00.002-04:00

Soheil has been invited back to Colombia this week, as a guest Director at the Festival Internacional de Teatro en la Gran Carpa de la Paz. The first annual festival, held in Barrancabermeja, invites artists whose work deals with the themes of peace and reconciliation. Artists from throughout South America and Latin American, as well as Europe, will be in attendance (in addition to our one much beloved Canadian!) Soheil will lead a five-day workshop with a small group using Aurash as a starting point for text and movement explorations. We're happy to see Aurash continuing its journey and that Soheil has the opportunity to share the piece with another group of international artists.
You can see the festival's website here and the listing of events & artists as well (possible requirement - one Spanish dictionary). Have fun Soheil - enjoy the journey!

Forgiveness has its first public presentation

2011-03-06T17:51:00.040-05:00

Andrea Nann & Costa Tovarnisky

After two weeks of initial development workshops, we were pleased to share a 'sneak peak' of our work to date on Modern Times' newest original creation - Forgiveness.
Our fantastic team of collaborators could not have been more generous, enthusiastic and (for)giving than they were - we feel blessed to be working with them and can't wait to see where the project takes us next and how it will evolve.

...and a special thanks to all who attended our open rehearsal and discussion near the end of our time together. You thoughts and interest were an important component of this phase of our development. Until we reconvene next season for another workshop, you can read more about Forgiveness on our website - and stay tuned for upcoming plans!

Costa Tovarnisky & Peter Farbridge

Join us for an Open Rehearsal of Forgiveness

2011-02-22T19:20:00.005-05:00

Modern Times invites you to join us for an ‘Open Rehearsal’ of our latest work...

Forgiveness.


Over the past 2 weeks, Modern Times has held the first phase of development workshops for our next production, Forgiveness, scheduled to premiere in 2012. Please join us for a ‘sneak peak’ at our early explorations and ideas for the piece. We’d also love to hear your feedback and own thoughts on the theme.


Saturday, February 26, 2011

Dancemakers Studio 314, Case Goods Building, Distillery District

1pm - 3pm

How can some people offer an olive branch, while others opt for ‘an eye for an eye’?

Why do historical grudges play themselves out time and time again across nations and cultures?

Is forgiveness really possible?

Developed over 24-months in three phases, this new creation from Modern Times will explore the elusive quality of forgiveness, for both individuals and societies.

Emanating from the personal stories, cultures and languages of a team of  international writers, actors and designers, Forgiveness will draw together a series of images and narratives, linking them together in a visual feast of theatre and dance.

Collaborators for our first workshop session have been; 
Soheil Parsa, Peter Farbridge, Andrea Nann, Costa Tovarnisky, Thomas Ryder Payne, Barbara Simonsen, Sue Balint and Ramin Jahanbegloo.

Congratulations to our YTU...

2011-02-06T19:10:00.001-05:00

...who played to packed houses both Friday & Saturday nights at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts! After both performances, Soheil and the cast had a chance to 'talkback' with the audience and explain a bit of their process that went into creating this bi-lingual presentation of The Conference of the Birds.
We had a great time working with you all and, now, look forward to your continued relationship with us here at Modern Times. You done good!

Our YTU presentation is coming Feb 4th!

2011-01-09T15:42:00.004-05:00

Over the past several months, our Youth Theatre Unit participants have been hard at work with Soheil - Farid ud-Din Attar’s 12th century mystical masterpiece "The Conference of the Birds" has been the basis for an exploration of both text and movement for stage.

In addition to a good time being had by all, the group's now getting ready to hit the stage and show their work in a public presentation. Come join us & see our talented group in action!

Friday February 4th at 7:30pm

Plaza Suite, Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts

seating is limited, so please arrive early!

Our 2010-11 YTU Participants are...

Babak Barahrsetan

Rojin Faraj

Elmira Re

Siavash Shabanpour

Atoosa Mohajer

Mazyar Khatam

Elham Madani

Nima Yazdankhah

Nami Yazdankhah

Mahmood Ramezani
Amir Husain Sadeghzadeh

Congratulations Soheil!

2010-10-04T21:17:00.008-04:00

We're proud to announce that Soheil has been short-listed for the 2010 Siminovitch Prize.

The prize, the most prestigious in Canadian Theatre, this year recognizes Directors from across the nation.

This is Soheil's second short-listing, having also been recognized in 2007. Since that time, he has continued to build on the quality and breadth of his work with a Dora-award winning production of Waiting for Godot and the premiere of Hallaj, a piece he co-created with long time collaborator and co-founder of Modern Times, Peter Farbridge. Most recently, Soheil directed the critically acclaimed Aurash at the Young Centre of the Performing Arts in May 2010, and followed that production with a Spanish language version of Aurash at Casa del Teatro Nacional in Bogotá, Colombia.

As noted today in the official news release for the Siminovitch Prize...

“The Prize not only recognizes excellence within an evolving body of work but innovation, exploration and risk-taking as well. It is not a lifetime achievement award and therefore it has the very exciting potential to make a real difference in the recipient’s artistic path allowing him or her to go further in the pursuit of excellence.”

Modern Times’ wishes to thank all its supporters and congratulates the other short-listed Directors who share this honour with Soheil: Kim Collier, Ron Jenkins, Ross Manson, Alisa Palmer, and Jennifer Tarver.

The recipient of the Siminovitch Prize will receive $100,000, of which $25,000 will be awarded to a protégé or organization of their choice. The Prize will be presented on November 1, 2010 at a ceremony in Toronto.

Visit the Siminovitch Prize website for more information about today's announcement.

Youth Theatre Unit 2010

2010-10-02T07:50:00.011-04:00

In collaboration with the Iranian-Canadian Youth Support Group

Workshop Presentation: February 2011

"The Conference of the Birds" is Farid ud-Din Attar’s 12th century mystical masterpiece. The collected poems follow the journey of 30 birds, whose leader represents a Sufi master bringing his pupils toward enlightenment.

In the early 1970s, British Director Peter Brook and writer Jean-Claude Carrière created a theatrical adaptation of Attar’s work. The play and its production has always been an inspiration at Modern Times, and Soheil Parsa has long wished to explore its themes and physicality.

Parsa will lead a group of young people from diverse cultural backgrounds in a workshop exploration of the movement and textual challenges of this seminal theatrical work.

“(The) workshop provided me with the opportunity to see through another’s eyes, hear by means of different ears, and feel with another’s heart. It was not until then that I could truly find myself.”
- Saba Giani, YTU Participant, 2008

The Conference of the Birds

Classes start on Saturday Nov 6th, 2010 and continue on Saturdays
Hours: 12pm-5pm (There will be extra hours of rehearsal in the final two weeks before the presentation.)
Workshop Location: Academy of Excellence (Yonge and Finch)

Public presentation to be held on February 4th and 5th at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts

If you are interested in participating, please send an inquiry to info@moderntimesstage.com.

Opening Night

2010-08-10T19:54:00.009-04:00

Dispatch from Soheil in the midst of his opening night press junket…

There seems to be a big buzz about the show in the city. Today was media day and there were reporters from at least four TV Stations and six newspapers. We ran 20 minutes of the show for them. The media here is really interested in the myth of Aurash and my own Persian heritage as well. The show is looking good and I think we are ready for opening…

(Which is good, grasshopper, cause you’re opening, ready or not.)

(left-right) Salvatore Motta, Brunilda Zapata and Francisco Marti

Congratulations from all of us here and happy opening!

Aurash runs August 11 - September 11, so if you happen to be in Bogotá over the next month, drop by the Teatro Nacional and take in the show.

Brunilda Zapata as Aurash

(left-right) Gonzalo Carreño, Salvatore Motta, Brunilda Zapata and Francisco Marti.

photos: Carlos Mario Lema

Team Aurash, Bogotá

2010-08-07T20:38:00.004-04:00

Today in Bogotá

2010-08-06T04:20:00.009-04:00

It's tech week in Bogotá...always an exciting chapter for any international Aurash production.

And it's at times like this we should remind ourselves...isn't it the spontaneity of live theatre that makes us feel alive?

There's a sign outside the theatre now too...and really, everything else just falls into place once you have a sign.

This is the hope.

We open on Wednesday. Go team!

Aurash (Bogotá)

2010-07-24T00:01:00.016-04:00

Produced by Modern Times and Casa del Teatro Nacional.

August 11 - September 11, 2010

Aurash is a Persian myth dating back over one thousand years. In the 1970s the fable was adapted into a short-story by Bahram Beyza’i, a prominent Iranian playwright and film director. Beyza'i's adaptation updated the myth with strong humanist and pacifist themes. In Beyza'i's story, Aurash, a naïve and human stablehand, becomes an unwilling player in his country’s post-war border treaty. He must determine his people’s fate by firing an arrow from the top of a mountain. In 1998, Soheil Parsa and dramaturge Brian Quirt worked this short-story into its present form, a mixture of story-telling and physical theatre with stirring soundscape and lights.

In July of 2010, Soheil Parsa travelled to Bogota Colombia to direct Aurash with Spanish-language cast.

Additional Material:
Photos, Backstage Blogging

Back to ARCHIVES main menu...

In rehearsal (left-right) Francisco Marti, Brunilda Zapata, Gonzalo Carreño and Salvatore Motta.

photo: Rodolfo Manrique.

Aurash closes in Toronto

2010-06-19T05:12:00.012-04:00

Thanks to all for an incredible run of sold out houses and critical acclaim -

We done good.

And congratulations!...Aurash has been nominated for two Dora Awards in the independent category this season...

best lighting design for Andrea Lundy and best sound design for Richard Feren.

See all the nominees here.

Next up... Bogotá

(more on that one later)

Aurash (Toronto Remount)

2010-05-30T02:24:00.000-04:00

Pr

oduced at

the Tank House Theatre, Young Centre for the Performing Arts

May 14 to May 29th, 2010

For information on the play click here.

Creative Team:

Aurash

Translated and adapted by Soheil Parsa and Brian Quirt

based on Arash by Bahram Beyza’ie

Directed by Soheil Parsa

featuring Martin Julien, Ron Kennell, Michelle Latimer and Christopher Mo

rris

Awards and Nominations:

Best Lighting Design, Andrea Lundy; Best Sound Desig,n Richard Feren.

Additional Material:

Globe and Mail review, 'Now' Review, Toronto Stage.com, Canoe.ca,

Producer's Notes:

Back to ARCHIVES main menu...

We are jealous of Peter

2010-05-25T20:43:00.010-04:00

Our favourite grandparent's house, halfway to Sarajevo

Peter draws the circle

Outside the theatre

Inside...Vedran, Martina and the shoes

Meanwhile, over in Bosnia-Herzegovina...

2010-05-22T10:51:00.012-04:00

Aurash is taking the day off in Toronto.

But, if you happen to be in Sarajevo tonight, Aurash returns for one show only!

Aras ce se vratiti.

Originally produced last year by Modern Times at OKC Abrašević, Aurash played to sell out crowds in Mostar and has now been invited to perform at Sarajevo Teaterfest tonight, May 23rd, at Sloga Teatar.

Michelle Latimer (top) in Toronto and Martina Kujundžić-Đaković (below) in Bosnia-Herzegovina as Aurash.

Martina, Igor, Vedran and Peter - from all of us here in Toronto, we wish you the best! Enjoy your show!

The arrow flew, followed by the wind…

the arrow flew day after day, and night after night…

It went on and on, from heart to heart, tribe to tribe, and generation to generation…

And since that time, the arrow has been in flight.

Aurash returns to Toronto next Tuesday (Monday is sold out) -

tickets still remaining for several shows next week.

Book them in advance here.

The reviews are in...

2010-05-18T02:32:00.021-04:00

Aurash: A mythic and gripping archer's tale

An epic Persian war story comes alive through a fusion of poetic text and physical theatre

Aurash is electrifying theatre. Since its debut in 1998 in Toronto, the Dora Award-winning production by Modern Times Stage Company has gone on to thrill the world. This second coming gives a whole new generation of theatregoers a chance to experience this powerful play.

Co-adapters Soheil Parsa and Brian Quirt based their script on that of the great modern-day Iranian writer/filmmaker Bahram Beyza’ie, but in truth, the character of Aurash has its roots in 1,000 years of Persian oral tradition.

Like all myths and legends, there are universal truths embedded in the story.

Director Parsa’s Modern Times company mounts original productions that are a dazzling fusion of poetic text and physical theatre. As befits the epic nature of the Aurash story, the language is elevated and recited with passion. The four talented actors not only portray specific characters, they also carry the narration. It is they who set the tone of grandeur.

read the full Globe and Mail review here...

Aurash opens this week!

2010-05-12T02:13:00.009-04:00

...and if you haven't got your tickets yet they're going fast.

We open this Friday with a special preview performance in association with the University of Toronto Centre for Ethics' conference 'Civil Society and Democracy in Iran'...if you're interested in this conference, you can read more here. This really extraordinary group of people will be visiting Toronto for this two day conference and joining us as special guests for Friday's performance.

Saturday May 15th

A limited number of seats are still available for our Opening Night performance and reception...call the Young Centre box office at 416.866.8666 or visit online for advance tickets.

Monday May 17th

Regular performances begin with a special $12 ticket price this night only! Order these tickets in advance, they're going fast!

Aurash runs nightly, except Sundays, at 8pm from May 17-May 29 at the Tank House Theatre, Young Centre for the Performing Arts.

Tickets are $12-$28 with only two chance left for $12 tickets...

Monday May 17th at 8pm

Saturday May 22 at 2pm

(Saturday May 29th matinee already sold out)

The Trailer

2010-04-03T08:10:00.003-04:00

Aurash returns to Toronto next month

2010-04-02T13:35:00.009-04:00

Modern Times Stage Company is proud to announce the return of Aurash. A decade after its award-winning Toronto premiere, and several international productions (in Cuba, Colombia, Iran and Bosnia-Herzegovina), the Dora award winning production returns to Toronto from May 14 - 29.

Aurash is rooted in a Persian nationalist myth dating back over a thousand years. This myth was reworked into a dramatic poem by the prominent Iranian playwright and film director Bahram Beyza’ie in the 1970s. Beyza’ie’s retelling of Aurash resonates to this day as a passionate human portrayal of the bitter cost of identity and war - a cautionary myth of cultural identity.

In Beyza’ie’s story, Aurash, a naïve and simple stablehand, becomes an unwilling player in a post-war border treaty when chosen to determine a nation’s fate by firing an arrow from the top of a mountain. Modern Times’ Aurash is the result of the collaboration of Soheil Parsa and Brian Quirt, who adapted Beyza’ie’s text into its present form, a mixture of storytelling and physical theatre with stirring soundscape and lighting.

Originally produced by Modern Times Stage Company in 1998, Aurash was nominated for four Dora Awards and received the awards for Best Direction (Soheil Parsa) and Best Sound Design (Richard Feren).

Three Months, Three Countries, Three Languages

Wherever Aurash travels, and in whatever language, the myth reflects the world's collective fatigue with the cycle of war as well as its persistent hope for non-violent solutions. Over the next three months, Aurash will be presented in three countries in three languages with local casts, all three productions directed by Modern Times’ Soheil Parsa.

Aurash in Toronto (English)

Tank House Theatre, Young Centre for the Performing Arts

May 14-29, 2010

Aurash in Sarajevo (Serbo-Croatian)

Sarajevo International Teatarfest

May 21-28, 2010

Aurash in Bogota (Spanish)

Casa del Teatro Nacional, Bogota, Colombia

August 11 – September 11, 2010

Aurash

Translated and adapted by Soheil Parsa and Brian Quirt

based on Arash by Bahram Beyza’ie

Directed by Soheil Parsa

featuring Martin Julien, Ron Kennell, Michelle Latimer and Christopher Morris

May 14 - May 29

Monday - Saturday 8pm, Saturday matinee 2pm

tickets $12 - $28, Young Centre for the Performing Arts, Distillery Historic District

box office 416.866.8666

www.youngcentre.ca

Set Design – Setareh Delzendeh and Soheil Parsa

Lighting Design – Andrea Lundy

Sound Design and Composition – Richard Feren

Costume and Properties Design – Setareh Delzendeh

Stage Manager - Nicola Benidickson

Production Manager - Doug Morum

Producer - Sue Balint

Happy Nowruz!

2010-03-10T03:36:00.002-05:00

Off to Denmark for HamletZar

2010-01-05T23:03:00.002-05:00

You may remember Goossun Art-illery who visited Modern Times last year around this time…Artistic Director Vahid led the highly rated Pre-Expressivity and Scenic Presence workshop during our month of Flurrious events.

Now, Soheil and Sue are off to Århus, Denmark to take part in Goossun’s HamletZar project - Soheil as guest director and Sue as a playwright. We're awfully excited. Read more about the project here, it's crazy ambitious and cool. Hamlet, you may be familiar with...the Zar part refers to a a middle eastern exorcism ritual of sorts, a cursory overview of which can be found here. What does it all mean to Hamlet? We're about to find out.

We land in Copenhagen later this week (with a proud goal to avoid repeating the incidents of our last landing in Dubrovnik, marred as it was by lost luggage and rakija). I'm counting on you, Soheil.

thank you!

2009-10-05T23:25:00.003-04:00

Aurash (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina)

2009-10-03T09:49:00.007-04:00

Sarajevo Teaterfest at the Sloga Teatar

May 23rd, 2010

Originally produced in June 2009 by Modern Times at OKC Abrašević,"Aurash" was invited to perform at Sarajevo Teaterfest at Sloga Teatar. As one of the actors was not available for the production, the script was rewritten for three actors.

Translated and Adapted by Soheil Parsa, Brian Quirt, Dragana Varagić and Mihaila Petričić

Director and Choreographer Soheil Parsa

Assistant Director: Peter Farbridge

With: Martina Kujundžić-Đaković, Vedran Vilogorac, Igor Vidačković

Lights: Aleksander (Sasha) Dekić

Music: Richard Feren

Additional Sound: Husein Orucević and Attila Aksoj

Sound Operators: Branislav, Peter Farbridge

Additional Material: Backstage Blogging

Back to ARCHIVES main menu…

Hallaj

2009-10-03T09:43:00.007-04:00

World Premiere: Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts

September 22-26, 2009

Tour: Impact Festival, Kitchener, ON

September 29, 2009

Toronto Premiere: Berkeley St. Theatre, Canadian Stage Company

Fall 2011

Mansur-e Hallaj was a legendary Sufi poet, teacher and philosopher who lived in Iran from 859 to 922CE. His thoughts and teachings won the admiration of the public… and the rage of the orthodox system of his time.

The writers found inspiration from this history to create an original play based on the life of Hallaj. In the final hours of his life, Hallaj struggles to make a choice: hold on to his beliefs and sacrifice his wife and child, or recant and save their lives.

Creative Team

Cast: Bahareh Yaraghi, Constantin Tovarnitchii, John Kin Kei Ng, Keon Mohajeri, Lara Arabian, Peter Farbridge, Steven Bush, Stewart Arnott

Director: Soheil Parsa

Movement Coach, Thomas Jones

Stage Manager: Dale Yim

Light Design: Andrea Lundy

Costume Design: Angela Thomas

Set Design: Camellia Koo

Sound Design: Thomas Payne

Assistant Costume Designer: Setareh Delzendeh

Assistant Set Designer: Jill Tomac

Additional Material:

NOW Scenes, NOW Scenes 2, Kitchener Record, Poster, Production photos, Study Guide

Back to ARCHIVES main menu...

Acting Workshop 2009

2009-09-29T13:06:00.004-04:00

January 18 - 24, 2009

Modern Times invited Vahid Evazzadeh of Goossun Art-illery (London/Copenhagen)to conduct a five-day training. Pre-Expressivity & Scenic PresenceAdvance Training for Performers was a workshop for performers (actors and dancers) to strengthen essential physical and vocal techniques of the performer, based on the notion of pre-expressivity developed by Eugenio Barba and the Odin Theatre at ISTA, International School of Theatre Anthropology.

Workshop participants included: Soroush Toloue, Keon Mohajeri, Siavash Shabanpoor, Peter Farbridge, Azeem Nathoo, Christine Brubaker, Barbara Gordon, Natalia Naranjo, Rebecca Singh, Costa Tovarnisky, Pooriah Rouhani-Fard, and Guillaume Bernardi.

Youth Theatre Unit

2009-09-28T19:02:00.008-04:00

Call for participants, Youth Theatre Unit 2010

Take a Stand! 2006

Over a two weeks six young people (Roshan Ahmadand, Chala Hunter, Julia Lederer, Jessica Lynn Merek, Bright Oppong, Aaron Rothermond)
participated in workshops covering a range of topics including, acting, dramaturgy and observed the rehearsal process of MTSC’s Summerworks show Interrogation. Partners included War Child Canada, and CultureLink.

Take a Stand! 2007

This year's Youth Theatre Unit was centered on the development of a new play by first-time playwright Setareh Delzendeh Less Than A Half is a poetic, movement-based reflection of a woman’s journey as a political refugee in a new country. Evocative, simple and very personal, the play touches on themes of displacement and the search for meaning and identity.

“In the workshop, I found you don't only need to be an immigrant to relate to this play--you could be from anywhere and any culture and feel that you are on the same journey"

Setareh Delzendeh, Playwright

In conjunction with four young new Canadians (Mayahuel Tocezautla, Imabong Udoh, Juliette Paola Burgos and Roshan Ahmadvand), Soheil Parsa (assisted by Andrew Cheng) dramaturged Setareh's play while exploring with the students how theatre can encourage expression of individual identity through exploration of shared vision, common principles and the challenge of difference. The workshop drew from the personal stories of these four young people, and looked for similarities within the diversity of their experience.

“Before this workshop I thought that to communicate with Canadian people I needed many words, but now I know I do not need words: I have two eyes, I have two ears, I have my body.”
Actor-Participant, YTU 2007

Youth Theatre Unit, 2009

Soheil Parsa led two theatre classes at the Blackcreek Community Health Centre in the Jane-Finch area, leading six young women in a series of theatrical storytelling exercises.

Back to ARCHIVES main menu...

HALLAJ continues this weekend in Richmond Hill

2009-09-24T23:43:00.011-04:00

Lara Arabian as Jamil & Peter Farbridge as Hallaj, photo by Guy Bertrand

Hallaj is up & running at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts. Just three shows remain - Friday at 8pm & Saturday at 2pm & 8pm. A big shout out to all our downtown friends who are coming to see us each night and to the Richmond Hill crowd, many of whom are being introduced to the work of Modern Times through Hallaj, a piece we're all very proud of indeed...

The journey continues next week when we pack up and head to Kitchener for Impact '09. Soheil heads out a bit early to facilitate a panel on Intercultural Theatre Creation this Saturday and Hallaj plays Centre in the Square on Tuesday September 29 at 8pm.

Come see us if you're in the neighbourhood...

This week only!

2009-09-10T00:08:00.007-04:00

There's a special deal in town (if, by "town", you mean Richmond Hill)...

Phone the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts this week (and by "this week", I mean before September 16th) and order your Hallaj tickets.

905.787.8811 & use the promo code 'Modern Times'.

They'll mail your tickets along with two TTC tickets and two VIVA bus passes. For each ticket you buy. So, it may take a while to get there, but it'll be free (and by "a while", I mean...oh forget it). Leave downtown by 6 and think of it as an adventure.

See a map here. Real simple - straight line up Yonge St.

And did we mention Hallaj? Three years in development, the latest play from Modern Times, directed by Soheil Parsa, with a pretty fantastic cast and creative team. You may remember reading something about it here before.

How often do theatres send you subway tokens in the mail?

Seriously, it's worth calling just to see if they'll do it.

This remarkable offer expires September 16th!

Why Hallaj?

2009-08-30T01:47:00.014-04:00

The Execution of Mansur al-Hallaj, 17th century

Co-written by Soheil & Peter, Hallaj has been in development since 2003. You may have caught a glimpse of it before - as a work in progress with the Tarragon Theatre Playwrights Unit in 2005-06, at Harbourfront as part of the “Under the Azure Dome” festival of Persian Culture in 2006 or this past January as part of Modern Times' Flurrious flurry of activities.

Rehearsals began this week for the premiere production of Hallaj, opening September 22nd at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts.

So, why Hallaj?

Here's an excerpt from an interview with Soheil on his attraction to the character of Hallaj...

Why were you first attracted to the story of Hallaj?

Soheil - In every culture, in every political system, in every religion, there is somebody who stood up and said ‘no’. Hallaj was one of these fascinating figures. He couldn’t tolerate poverty, he couldn’t tolerate social injustice, so he said ‘no’.

He might be an idealist, I’m not saying that he was a perfect man, but this is interesting for us. If we look at Joan of Arc, we don’t encourage people to do exactly the same thing, but we say, look how unique this individual was. The spirit of these individuals…they are not compromising their lives. Their lives are nothing if there is injustice, if there is no relationship with God. So this is why I’ve chosen this character. He was wonderful and controversial, confronting the religious and social conventions of the day.

His famous saying, which I love…he is asked, ‘Hallaj, if you believe in the unification of man and God, then what of your belief as a Muslim, your belief in religion’” And Hallaj says, ‘Religion is a raft.’ Once you get to the other side you don’t need it. He says religion is a tool to take you somewhere else, to take you to another level. This is so beautiful. He’s not rejecting religion, no, but it is a tool that takes you to the level of spirituality.

read the full interview in the Hallaj Study Guide here...

Dialogues Project - Bosnia & Herzegovina

2009-06-29T13:22:00.001-04:00

June 5 - 7, 2010

International co-production with OKC Abrasevic

Modern Times Stage Company carried out a successful international co-production of the acclaimed play Aurash with OKC Abrašević in Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Throughout the month of May, Artistic Director Soheil Parsa led a cast of local actors and a production team including Modern Times' Sue Balint and Peter Farbridge in a local language production of Aurash.

Originally adapted and translated by Soheil Parsa and Brian Quirt from a short story by Bahram Beyza'i, Aurash was presented on June 5th and 6th at OKC Abrašević, receiving much attention in the local and national media and an enthusiastic response from audiences.

Subsequently, this production of Aurash travelled to two local towns and was invited to the TeatarFest international theatre festival in Sarajevo in May 2010.

Araš ce se vratiti...

2009-06-23T23:58:00.006-04:00

Modern Times Stage Company is proud to announce our return to Canada after a successful international co-production of the acclaimed play Aurash with OKC Abrašević in Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Throughout the month of May, Artistic Director Soheil Parsa led a cast of local actors and a production team including Modern Times' Sue Balint and Peter Farbridge in a local language production of Araš.

Originally adapted and translated by Soheil Parsa and Brian Quirt from a short story by Bahram Beyza'I, Araš was presented on June 5th and 6th at OKC Abrašević, receiving much attention in the local and national media and an enthusiastic response from audiences. OKC Abrašević will present Araš in repertory in the coming months, with the possibility of touring the production to major centres throughout the region.

For everything Mostar...production photos...local coverage, you're at the right place. It's all here on the blog.

Read the press release...

thank you Mostar...

2009-06-06T13:41:00.007-04:00

Opening tonight...

2009-06-05T04:50:00.012-04:00

Late last night, tech continues...

Early this morning, Ivan, Martina, Soheil, Marija & Huso at our press conference...

Webisode Two - Recording Sound in Bosnia and Herzegovina

2009-05-30T05:46:00.010-04:00

(Strange things happen in the middle of the night at the production office...)

Day Off in the Mountains

2009-05-29T05:20:00.007-04:00

Even when Equity doesn’t force us, we like to take the day off once in a while.

On Tuesday, we packed up the van and headed to the mountains, about an hour east of Mostar, to visit Igor’s childhood home and the site where he hopes to establish an artist's retreat in the coming years.

A beautiful place and sensual journey – smells of wood and medicinal plants, tastes of spring water, grandma’s krumpiraca and real lettuce (it’s not called ‘organic’ here, it just is). And snow-capped mountains – the perfect backdrop to keep Aurash’s journey on our minds.

So taken by the experience was Soheil that he took an impromptu dip in the creek.

And now, back in the rehearsal hall where we’ve started doing runs of the show, fixing the details, setting the cues…

We open a week from today.

Webisode One - Going to rehearsal...

2009-05-22T11:11:00.006-04:00

Peter's here...and with him, the advent of new technology.

We proudly present Webisode One of the Mostar Diaries...

rehearsals, week two

2009-05-18T15:55:00.008-04:00

After a week of rehearsals at The Pavarotti Music Centre, we've now moved to the stage at Abrašević for the rest of our work and performances. It was good timing for the move, now that we've been through the text entirely and are up on our feet starting a more physical exploration of the work.

Although the text of Aurash runs about 35 minutes, the final piece will be over an hour, with the non-text based elements incorporated, so there is much to explore in the coming weeks and it's great to have the time and space here to create those scenes with the cast.

Aurash has traveled to many cities - Toronto, Havana, Bogota, Tehran - but becomes a new piece at each stop, and Mostar is no exception. Our cast here - Martina, Ivan, Vedran and Igor - are bringing their own interpretations to the roles and the new language brings with it new rhythms and discoveries.

Igor, Martina and Ivan

This city and the collaborators we're meeting here leave their own imprint on the play - Huso is incorporating regional sounds and music for a sound design, our props and set are being found here - our flags made from curtains found at the local store and our hero Marija bringing us a barrel and a bow unlike any we'd find elsewhere (not to mention the fact she makes a mean fig marmelade palinčinka).
Every day, an adventure.
And it's two and a half weeks 'till opening...

Aurash in Mostar

2009-05-12T04:18:00.012-04:00

First readthrough at the rehearsal hall

Feeling a lot like an arrow shot from a bow, circling around the globe never to land, it seems we've finally landed in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Things have happened quickly since our arrival last Friday with many good friends from Soheil & Peter's previous visits jumping into action and helping us get Aurash to the stage.

Our fantastic cast met yesterday for a first readthrough and work continues now throughout the month. Performances on June 5th & 6th at OKC Abrašević , Modern Times' partner here in the lovely city of Mostar.

Settling in to the rhythm...updates will continue...

Soheil & Huso at Abrašević, first production meeting

And we're off...(to Mostar)

2009-04-01T04:05:00.001-04:00

A ponderous Soheil in Mostar (artists' rendering)

Here goes...the flights are booked and we're off to Bosnia on May 6th for The Dialogues Project.

Soheil will direct a production in the local language of Aurash with the region's artists and our partners in Mostar, OKC Abrašević Centre for Youth Culture and the Nansen Dialogue Centre. Peter and Sue are going too. We promise to bring back enough cevapi for everyone.

Read the press release and stay tuned for blogging from Mostar.

Talking about Training with Vahid

2009-03-18T15:40:00.000-04:00

During Vahid's pre-expressivity training workshop in January, we had a chance to sit down and chat about his ideas. The full interview has just been published by Wheel Me Out, an online journal out of London.

In recent years you’ve shifted your focus from creating performances to training. How much of this is process for you and how much is product?

Both. The process is a product in itself and vise versa. For me the only difference is whether you want to present what you are doing to outsiders or if you’re doing something which is not specifically for presentation. Otherwise both things are the same for me. One thing is certain: the work can always be improved and so can one’s skills.

That said, it was not a shift from making performances to training as you put it. The reason for not having produced any performances in recent years was that I did not want to make a performance under just any condition. I work in a certain way and the circumstances I was in were not suitable for producing a performance in the way I wanted. (continue reading...)

We'll be hanging around with Vahid more in the coming season as Modern Times continues our partnership with Goossun Art-illery and the HamletZar project.

(photo from the Toronto workshop, January 09)

Modern Times warms up your January

2009-01-03T02:31:00.001-05:00

FLURRIOUS
a flurry of activities throughout January featuring...
Advance Previews of Hallaj, the new play by Soheil Parsa and Peter Farbridge, Sashar Zarif, Pirouz Yousefian, Goossun Art-illery and more....

Admission to afternoon events is free of charge, tickets to evening events are $10.
Info / reservations 416.214.1428 or info@moderntimesstage.com

If you're looking for a venue, see the map links to your right. Or, print a handy Flurrious wallet guide so you'll never be caught off guard.

Ladies and gentlemen, here's your Flurrious batting order…

Tuesday January 13th @ 2pm
Backstage Access
Inside the rehearsal hall with Director Soheil Parsa and the cast of Hallaj.
Theatre Direct @ the Wynchwood Barns, 601 Christie St.
free admission

Wednesday January 14th @ 8pm
Sufi Time Arts Trio
A dance, music and poetry performance inspired by Sufi spiritual practice with Sashar Zarif and Pirouz Yousefian.
Arta Gallery @ the Distillery District
tickets $10

Wednesday January 21st @ 8pm
Aurash
The award-winning play translated and adapted by Soheil Parsa and Brian Quirt receives a staged reading directed by Guillaume Bernardi featuring students of Glendon College’s Drama Studies program.
Arta Gallery @ the Distillery District
tickets $10

Thursday January 22nd & Friday January 23rd @ 8pm
Hallaj: Advance Preview
A staged reading of the new play by Soheil Parsa & Peter Farbridge.
Arta Gallery @ the Distillery District
tickets $10

Saturday January 31st @ 2pm
Goossun Art-illery
Work Demonstration & Forum on Theatre Anthropology with visiting Artistic Director Vahid of Goossun Art-illery and artists taking part in a five-day training workshop.
Lower Ossington Theatre, 100A Ossington Avenue
free admission

Flurrious! A January Event Series at Modern Times

2008-12-11T21:54:00.005-05:00

Modern Times warms up January with a flurry of events, all surrounding upcoming productions at the company.

The development of Hallaj continues in anticipation of its world premiere in September 2009 at the new Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts. Long-time collaborators Soheil Parsa and Peter Farbridge, two-time Dora Award winners for Best New Play (Adaptation and Translation) tell the story of Hallaj, a Sufi mystic confronted by the ultimate questions of life and faith.

Advance Previews of Hallaj will be held in Toronto & Richmond Hill with a staged reading and brand new music by Thomas Ryder Payne.

We also invite you to Backstage Access - see director Soheil Parsa in rehearsal with the cast and Modern Times’ unique development process.

Sufi Time Arts Trio, is a dance, music and poetry performance inspired by the spiritual movement of the Sufis with Sashar Zarif and musician, Pirouz Yousefian.

We finish off the month with a look ahead to our new international collaboration HamletZar, to be produced in Canada, Denmark and Scotland in 2010. Vahid, Artistic Director of Goossun Art-llery and lead partner in the project, visits Canada to lead a week-long workshop based on the methodology of Odin Teatret and Eugenio Barba.

A Work Demonstration and forum with the professional participants will be open to the public at the end of the atelier.

Stay connected for more details, dates and times…the month will be Flurrious!

Goossun Art-illery Workshop in Toronto

2008-12-07T21:36:00.002-05:00

This January, Modern Times welcomes Goossun Art-illery (London/Copenhagen) to Toronto and begins work on a new international collaboration HamletZar. Goossun’s Artistic Director, Vahid, will also conduct a five day training while he’s in town.

Pre-Expressivity & Scenic Presence

Advance Training for Performers

A five-day workshop for performers (actors and dancers) to strengthen essential physical and vocal techniques of the performer, based on the notion of pre-expressivity developed by Eugenio Barba and the Odin Theatre at ISTA, International School of Theatre Anthropology.

Pre-expressivity is the focal point of Theatre Anthropology that studies the scenic behavior of performer in an organized performance situation. It scrutinizes the recurring principles of performer's extra-daily technique, which are common in all genres and styles. In this workshop the participants will be practically introduced to these techniques through exercise.

Tuesday January 27 – Saturday January 31/09, 10 am - 6 pm
at the Lower Ossington Theatre
Fee: $275 gst included (maximum 12 participants)
*The final afternoon will be open to the public, presented as a work demonstration/Q&A with all participating artists*

Read the flyer here.

For more information or to register, email or give us a call at 416.214.1428

From our mailbag - postcard from Adriana

2008-11-28T00:00:00.002-05:00

Hello from Bogota,
Soheil and I are about to complete 3 weeks in Bogota, Colombia participating at Project Entrada, each one on very different tasks within the project. Soheil has demonstrated, once more, what an amazing and professional artist he is (he will probably tell me later that I shouldn't have written this about him). Seeing him as an actor (first time for me) has made me admire him even more and I believe it has been an interesting process for him to be an actor and not the director, sharing with different artists of diverse backgrounds and interests in a collective creation process.

Today we present the result of this laboratory / exercise in 2 performances, one at 5 the other at 8 p.m. I am really looking forward to it. My job during this project has been as General Producer and of course, I have been running up and down the city were I was born. I haven't had time to sit down and look at a full rehearsal yet so this presentation will be pretty much new to me.

Courtesy of Trevor's blog, on the set of the Entrada presentation "Defenestration"

It has been hard work and it has been fun. We have faced the struggles of having 10 Canadian artists working in a foreign environment and in another language but if has also been fun. We have tons of stories to tell, some of them hilarious. Every time we go for a beer or have a time to be together we update the group. I must say that some restaurants don't like us very much. We are loud, eat a lot, change orders every five minutes, but it is all part of being like a family. The bond that has been created here among us will last for a long time. Others projects are being created between artists at breakfast while at lunch an artist can be invited to give a workshop next year. WE have opened new doors for Modern Times and we are exploring the possibility of doing a co-production with Colombia.

The process of project ENTRADA with the displaced Community and being able to share with them has made us cry, laugh, has made us feel sad and scared, we have seen human beings with their dignity broken we have learned about a reality that some of us had only seen on the screens. We have also seen people with strength to begin again a new life after loosing everything they had - even family members- in a war that they are not a part of. The lessons we've learned from them are too many to tell. We are more aware of the injustice and difficulty of being taken out by force from what you consider is yours. We have had the opportunity to see the treatment human beings give other human beings in the name of power. We will have to see where this journey takes us to. We need the time now to process what we have seen, heard, felt and learned.

Personally I have many things in my head and my soul that need to be processed. Once I have done so, I'll write to you again. Soheil is leaving tomorrow back to Toronto. I will be staying doing follow-up on this project for a week more and then going to an Arts Market in the beautiful Cartagena - yes, I'll be at the beach to the envy of many! - I will write to you again before the year is over.
Best to all,
Adriana

Bogotá

2008-11-27T03:39:00.002-05:00

Last time Adriana and Soheil went to Colombia, they brought Peter & I back sets of wooden shot glasses. We broke them out at the Godot closing party and learned that vodka poured in the top just as quickly drained out the bottom of these form-over-function gems. Luckily, Batakliev moves fast when vodka is involved, and endorses the use of pickles to compliment this activity.

Adriana and Soheil are back in Colombia this month for Project Entrada, a project of Theatre Revolve, Aluna Theatre and Tridha Arts. There’s a who’s-who of Canadian artists in Bogotá at the moment, collaborating with director Patricia Ariza, who combines theatre with social empowerment of Colombia’s excluded sectors. The group is collaborating on their own creation, as well as leading a series of theatre workshops with local schools and communities.
Natasha Mytnowych is blogging about the work and has some great photos posted as well. This one is courtesy of her.

Lisa Codrington, Natalia Naranjo (whom you might recall from such hits as our Forough Workshop this summer) and Soheil.

Profiles on Soheil Parsa

2008-10-03T09:53:00.002-04:00

Bio

The Toronto Star, 1995

NOW's top 10 artists of 1995

Questionable Circumstances, 1998

The Globe and Mail, 1999

The Toronto Star, 2007

Shahrvand, 2008

Tirgan Festival Magazine, 2008

Canadian Immigrant, 2008

Soheil Artist in Residence at Young Centre The Toronto Star, 2008

Soheil on Voice of America, interview January 2009
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Aurash (Havana, Cuba)

2008-10-03T09:48:00.000-04:00

Calling all Proposals...

2008-09-29T22:43:00.013-04:00

...for the OAC Theatre Creators’ Reserve program.

As a third party recommender, Modern Times allocates funds to new theatre works we are interested in supporting. Both playwrights and other theatre creators are invited to submit proposals. We're particularly interested in work that transcends borders (in style or theme) and reflects Modern Times’ artistic direction.

Our funding priorities are to support artists who:
· are newcomers to Canada and/or whose training & experience is largely outside Canada
· would be first-time recipients of OAC funding
· will enjoy an appreciable benefit from support

Proposals will be judged on clarity of artistic vision, relevance to Modern Times’ aesthetic and the value of support to further the applicant’s artistic development. Requests can be made from $1,000 - $4,000. The number and amount of grants will be determined based on quality of applications received.

Applicants should submit the following:
· a brief letter introducing themselves and their artistic vision (one page)
· a synopsis/outline of the proposed project (maximum two pages)
· a writing sample or excerpt of the proposed project (no more than 15 pages in length)
· OAC application form (3 copies)
· a SASE for results announcement

Complete information about the Theatre Creators’ Reserve and the required application form are available on the OAC website. Sorry, we’re unable to return application material or scripts.

Submissions must be received by Friday December 5, 2008.

Send complete proposals to:
Theatre Creators’ Reserve Submission Modern Times Stage Company
55 Mill Street, Suite 400, Toronto, ON, M5A 3C4

Questions? Ask Sue.

From our mailbag – “That’s a movie, right?”

2008-08-26T01:08:00.001-04:00

Right. Modern Times refers to the Chaplin movie.
.
Read on from an interview published in “Questionable Circumstances” in 1998.
.
Soheil was interviewed by Marisa da Rosa…
.
SP We started a professional company called Modern Times, a name that came from my love of Charlie Chaplin. My first exposure to artistic expression was Charlie Chaplin movies.

MdP What’s the link between your work and the style of Chaplin’s work?

SP People who see our work see some element of Chaplin in our style, but not necessarily the comedic ones. There’s the same sense of alienation: we see him play different characters in different movies, but they always contain some Chaplin. As a director, I never ask an actor for a complete transformation because I don’t believe in that naturalistic impersonation of character. In a way, my work is Brechtian and also draws on the style of Eastern theatre. In Japanese, Chinese and Persian theatre, you constantly see that the actors maintain a distance between themselves and their character. They sometimes become involved, but it is not a permanent state, because they pull back. In our next show, Aurash, you’ll see the full realization of this style that I’ve been searching for…

(you can read the full interview here)

Back to ARCHIVES main menu...

Tirgan It Up! تنها صداست که میماند

2008-07-19T02:02:00.012-04:00

Greetings, O alienation of loneliness,
سلام ای غرابت تنهایی
I am cold, I am cold, and it would appear that I will never be warm again.
من سردم است
من سردم است و انگار هیچوقت گرم نخواهم شد
I am naked, naked, naked
من عریانم عریانم عریانم
Give me refuge, O apprehensive lights,

O bright doubting houses
مرا پناه دهید ای چراغ های مشوش

ای خانه های روشن شکک

Give me refuge, O heath full of fire-
مرا پناه دهید ای اجاقهای پر آتش
Give me refuge, O simple perfect women
مرا پناه دهید ای زنان ساده کامل
sound, sound, sound,

only sound remains.
صدا صدا صدا تنها صداست که میماند
.

Come on down to Harbourfront this weekend for Tirgan, the largest Persian cultural festival as far as the eye can see, where our Acting Workshop students are ready to roll with their Forugh Farrokhzad poetry smack down. Saturday at 6pm. Seating's limited so get their early - people have already started camping out (perhaps).

ONLY SOUND REMAINS

A theatrical exploration of the poetry of Forugh Farrokhzad

Saturday July 19th, 6pm

Brigantine Room, Harbourfront

Read the Modern Times' program here.

At the Doras...

2008-07-08T22:18:00.007-04:00

Soheil, at the top, accepting his award for Outstanding Direction for Waiting for Godot. And with Peter for Outstanding Production.

John Lauener Photographer

Hot Persian Poetry

2008-07-04T02:59:00.013-04:00

It seems just a few days ago my only distraction was questioning the appropriate boundaries of “fusion” cuisine (for those who also pondered this while nibbling on pesto smothered pasta from a Chinese takeout container at the Rosewater Supper Club…I’m with you).

But now, our acting workshop is underway with a talented, brave group who have not only been creating beautiful work this week, but also learning such essential life skills as how to seduce your lover with Persian poetry…today’s work on Farrokhzad’s I Sinned was a steamy affair.

While few were enraged when Rumi and Khayyam got all drunk on love, the raised eyebrows over Farrokhzad’s female perspective in 1950s Iran was palpable. That's only one aspect of her poetry, though. Her images are strong, beautiful, simple - evoking the erotic, the everday, the extraordinary. She is giving us much to explore.

Thomas joined us today to record some of the text (in five languages at last count). We'll continue creating for two more weeks, before our presentation at The Tirgan Festival on July 19th.

For more on hot Persian poetry, see here.
.
If you’d prefer to make pesto like your Italian Grandmother, see here.

Acting Workshop 2008

2008-05-12T02:31:00.022-04:00

July 2-19, 2008

The focus of this year’s workshop was a theatrical exploration of the poetry of Forugh Farrokhzad. Farrokhzad’s poems are timeless, profoundly humanist and deeply controversial. During her short lifetime, she confronted the social, political and religious conventions of Iranian society.

Soheil led participants in a multilingual exploration of Farrokhzad’s poetry, working with music, movement and fragments of the poems to montage a rough narrative. Musician Thomas Ryder Payne and Dramaturge Sue Balint will also collaborate with the group.

The participants, who included Tara Aghdashloo, Saba Giania, Elmira Reisi, Natalia Naranjo, Siavash Shabanpour, Olga Lucia Barrios, Sina Gilani, Keon Mohajeri and Costa Tovarniski,
gave a public performance of their work at the Tirgan Festival at Harbourfront.

Waiting for Godot

2008-05-11T11:47:00.043-04:00

Produced at the Young Center for the Performing Arts

March 5th to March 22nd, 2008

Capturing the elusive balance of comedy and tragedy in this quintessential 20th century drama, Modern Times created a simple, yet visually evocative interpretation that mined the philosophic depth of Beckett's classic work.

Creative Team

Direction: Soheil Parsa

With: Stewart Arnott, Peter Batakliev, Peter Farbridge, Darrel Gamotin, and John Ng

Set: Thomas Schwellnus

Lights: Andrea Lundy

Costume: Angela Thomas

Production Manager: Douglas Morum

Stage Management: lindi g. papof

Awards and Nominations:

Dora Award for Outstanding Production: Soheil Parsa; Dora Award for Outstanding Production: Modern Times; Dora Nomination for Nomination for Outstanding Lighting Design: Andrea Lundy; Nomination for Outstanding Costume Design: Angela Thomas; Nomination for Outstanding Set Design: Trevor Schwellnus

Additional Material: The Globe and Mail, 'NOW' Magazine, 'EYE' Weekly, Toronto Arts Council, Postcard,Production Photos, Previous Blog Entries

Producer's Notes

Beckett’s Waiting for Godot played the Young Centre for the Performing Arts in 2008. I feel at a loss for what to say that I haven’t already said...browsing through my press releases and previous blog entries makes me downright nostalgic.

I well remember that opening week in March, hailed by the media as March Madness! 10 Shows Opening in 7 days! , a nightmare of dramatic confluence that had TAPA and theatre critics up-in-arms. I woke up nightly in a cold sweat, the way only one charged with publicity can, visions of the Toronto Theatre Community March Madness scorecard seared through a Metaxa-induced haze.

It’s a wonder any of us survived.

Godot welcomed the biggest audiences we’ve ever seen (many for the first time) and received glowing reviews. We received five Dora nominations for Best Production, Best Direction, Lighting, Set and Costume Design and won for Best Direction and Best Production.

Back to ARCHIVES main menu...

The Sheep and the Whale

2008-05-11T02:26:00.033-04:00

Produced in Coproduction with Cahoots Theatre and Theatre Passe Muraille

February 13th to March 11th, 2007

In a series of unforgettable images, a freighter seeks to unload its cargo of unwanted cargo, a stowaway embarks on a dangerous passage, and a couple's love is suspended between two worlds. Set on a cargo freighter in the Strait of Gibraltar, The Sheep and the Whale examines the complexities of both individual identity and social relationships, navigating the chasm between North and South.

Awards and Nominations:
2007 Dora Award: Best Set Design (Camillia Koo); Dora Nomination: Best Lighting (Trevor Schwellnus)

Creative Team:
Direction: Soheil Parsa
Featuring: Oporajito Bhattacharjee, David Collins, Soo Garay, Elie Gemael, Timothy Hill, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Karim Morgan, John Ng, Debbie Nicholls, Julian Richings, Andy Velasquez, and Jim Warren
Lighting Design: Trevor Schwellnus
Set Design: Camillia Koo
Composer: Thomas Ryder Payne
Costumes: Nina Okens
Stage Manager: Issac Thomas

Additional Material:
NOW' Magazine, The Toronto Star preview, The Toronto Star review,Toronto Sun, Postcard

Producer's Notes:
In 2007, we joined forces with Cahoots Theatre to produce The Sheep in the Whale at Theatre Passe Muraille. The play, by Morrocoan-born Quebec playwright Ahmed Ghazali, was translated by Bobby Theodore. The Sheep and the Whale was first produced by Montreal's Théâtre de Quat'Sous in 2001 (as Le mouton et la Baleine) and won Ghazali the SACD French-language Playwriting Prize that year.
Set on a cargo freighter in the Strait of Gibraltar, the play examines the complexities of both individual identity and social relationships through a series of unforgettable images. The ship’s captain seeks to unload unwanted cargo, a stowaway embarks on a dangerous passage, and a couple's love is suspended between two worlds.
Our partnership with Cahoots and Passe Muraille allowed us to work with a larger cast them usual. Among the cast were five young people who were part of Cahoots’ Crossing Gibralter project, a theatre training, outreach and performance program for young refugees.
Reviews were grand, with particular swooning for Camillia Koo's set design that towered three storeys in the Passe Muraille space and gave us the levels and sense of a real freighter to play upon.
"...skillfully blending magic realism, engaging storytelling, ritual and intense emotions." Now Magazine
The Sheep and the Whale won the Dora Award for Best Set Design (Camillia Koo) and was nominated for Best Lighting (Trevor Schwellnus). The Sheep and the Whale is loosely based on a true story, in fact, any number of true stories echo the narrative of refugees lost in a labyrinth of international waters and borders. If I might recommend one book – Robert Hough’s The Stowaway is a fantastic imaginative extension of 1996’s Maersk Dubai incident off Halifax many of us will recall. I recommend it whole-heartedly.

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Interrogation

2008-05-11T00:48:00.011-04:00

Summerworks Festival 2006

August 3rd to August 11th, 2006

Mohammed Rahmanian's powerful story takes place in post-revolutionary Algeria, but could be played out in any country in the world. Two youth loyal to the anti-colonial struggle cannot stop their acts of violence even after the revolution has been won. Their stories tell a timeless truth: nothing enduring can be built on violence.

Awards and Nominations:
Outstanding Ensemble, Outstanding Direction ('Now' Magazine)

Creative Team:
Written by: Mohammad Rahmanian
Translated & Directed by: Soheil Parsa
Cast: Michelle Latimer, Ali Momen, Earl Pastko, Leanna Brodie
Sound: Thomas Ryder Payne
Stage Management: Brenda Kamino

Producer's Notes

We returned to the Summerworks Festival in 2006 with Soheil’s translation of Interrogation by Mohammad Rahmanian.

Interrogation is set in post-revolutionary Algeria, but could easily be played out in any country in the world. Two youth loyal to the anti-colonial struggle aren’t able to stop their acts of violence even after the revolution has been won.

Rahmanian is one of the most prominent playwrights to emerge from post-revolutionary Iran. His writing is a fusion of Persian and European styles. Powerful, evocative stuff that engages (perhaps also implicates?) the audience.

Soheil’s translation of Interrogation is one of the four plays included in the anthology of Iranian Plays published in 2008 by Playwrights Canada Press.

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bloom

2008-05-10T22:21:00.012-04:00

Produced at the Theatre Centre

February 25 to March 19, 2006

A war orphan and a war veteran live on the fringes of a ruined world.

Gerontion, an ancient man, has shut himself up in a damaged house filled with books he can no longer read. A nameless Boy appears, digging up memories and stirring up ghosts that threaten the peace Gerontion has carved out for himself. Surviving together now, they annoy and forgive, argue and play, unearthing a past that the Boy needs to remember, and Gerontion would like to forget. Inspired by TS Eliot’s "The Wasteland", bloom is the compassionate, humorous and haunting story of despair and hope played out between an old man with a decaying soul, and the boy who bears the seeds of his redemption.

Awards and Nominations
2006 Dora Nominations: (Best Lighting, Andrea Lundy), Best Sound Design (Thomas Payne)

Creative Team
Direction: Soheil Parsa
Featuring: Anita Majumdar and Andrew Scorer, with Simon Casanova, Peter Farbridge, Stavroula Logothettis, and Beatriz Pizano.
Lighting Design: Andrea Lundy
Set Design: David Skelton
Composer: Thomas Ryder Payne
Costumes: Angela Thomas
Stage Manager: Elaine Lumley

Additional Material: 'NOW' Magazine, Poster

Producer's Notes

To the beat of drumz and bass, we returned to the Theatre Centre in 2006 for bloom, a premiere production for Guillermo Verdecchia, our playwright-in-residence. Inspired by T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, the piece was billed thusly -

a war orphan and a war veteran live on the fringes of a ruined world

It was an ambitious and challenging piece to be sure, but also noted for its compassion and humour. Reviews mentioned outstanding work by all the cast and the striking visual images created by the design team. From NOW...

…a poetic look at a world where hope must grow in sandy soil.

bloom was nominated for 2 Dora Awards that season for Best Lighting and Best Sound Design.

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Macbeth (Toronto Remount)

2008-05-10T00:41:00.015-04:00

Produced at the Theatre Centre

March 6 - 27, 2005

Remounted in Toronto in 1995, Modern Times' production of "Macbeth" received its fourth and final production.

Awards & Nominations
2005 Dora Nominations: Best Sound Design (Ian Lefeuvre)

Creative Team
Direction: Soheil Parsa
With: Juana Awad, Peter Farbridge, Stavroula Logothettis, Karim Morgan, Brendan Murray, Alon Nashman, Soheil Parsa, Yashoda Ranganathan, and Lyon Smith
Producer: Laurel Smith
Assistant Direction: Setareh Delzendeh
Lighting and Installation: Stephan Droege
Costumes: Andjelija Djuric
Original Music: Ian Lefeuvre
Additional Sound: Thomas Payne
Stage Management: Elaine Lumley

Additional Material: 'EYE' Weekly, 'NOW' Magazine Preview, 'NOW' Magazine Review, The Globe and Mail,The Toronto Star, The National Post, The Toronto Sun, Surface & Symbol, Poster

Producer's Notes

Macbeth Redux in 2005 with some new ideas in staging and style. We produced Macbeth at the Theatre Centre, by now at 1087 Queen West - an industrial, dungeon-y kind of environment that Soheil felt would allow the design team to move in a new direction and explore the full architecture of the space. While we’d previously staged the play with the audience all around, now they sat on 2 sides. The spare set and props remained, as did the fabric. Ian Lefeuvre’s orginal music also remained from the 1995 production and he was once again nominated for a Dora Award for Best Sound Design.

In a preview from NOW, Peter and Soheil reminisce about 15 years of productions and the reasons for bringing Macbeth back to Toronto for the company’s 15th season. And in an attempt to convey the significance of life stages and the idea of bringing maturity to the role of Macbeth (certainly playing Macbeth in one’s mid-20s resonates differently for an actor than it does a decade later) poor Peter gets billed as disillusioned. Really, he’s a fairly content guy (although the millennium bunker fiasco of ’95 might have still been on his mind).

Meanwhile, 5 years on, the SUN was still exhibiting a strange penchant for spices.

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Macbeth (Tehran)

2008-05-10T00:14:00.010-04:00

Macleans, Preview (in farsi), on YouTube

The year after we brought Aurash to the Fadjr Theatre Festival, we were invited back to perform Macbeth. The piece was done in the same style as our 1995 production, but with Ron Kennell, Peter and Soheil the only returning cast members.

This must be a crazy wonderful festival – that year, 80 companies performed throughout the city over a week. While Europe and Asia were well represented, Modern Times was the only North American company performing that year (the very cool Sean MacMahon and Kevin Rees took their emergency exit show where you are now to the festival in 2005).

Both Macbeth and Aurash had enthusiastic full houses while in Tehran. On the final night of Macbeth, 600 people somehow fit into the 300 seat capacity theatre with (legend has it) an additional 200 people turned away (what fire regulations?). Peter later talked about that final performance with NOW...

Stavroula Logothettis, who played Lady Macbeth, wrote an article for Macleans about the company’s time in Iran (editorial subtitle Canadian actress Stavroula Logothettis visits another part of George W. Bush’s ‘axis of evil’). Takes you back, doesn’t it?

It’s an interesting view of the region from the perspective of an outsider, published just two weeks before the US arrived in Iraq. You can read the complete article here.
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Creative Team
Direction: Soheil Parsa
With : James Acton, Mark Ellis, Peter Farbridge, Ashleigh Hendry, Ron Kennell, Stavroula Logothettis, Dax Lough, Soheil Parsa and Yashoda Ranganathan
Lighting: Stephan Droege
Original Music : Ian Lefeuvre
Costumes: Andjelija Djuric
Producer: Laurel Smith
Stage Management: Andrew Dollar

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