Mel Aravena

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

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I am very excited to present Harold Pinterâ€™s classic play Betrayal.  It truly is an honour to work on a piece from such a subtle and precise writer. Betrayal is a process that started for me around mid April of 2011.  We originally mounted this play in Burlington, Ontario as a workshop production for this year's Fringe Festival. Working through the text, first by myself, and then with my cast and crew, I realized that this play has many has dimensions of subtext and meaning. As a director, that was part of the attraction. The fact that this story can be told in so many different ways, and that it is populated by more than just characters but by people. I know that I can see myself in these characters, and though many people won't admit it, I know they can too.  For this production, I have brought back my original cast and crew. This assortment of artistic misfits made our workshop run a great success. Nevertheless we will be reworking the characters, honing our light and sound designs, and building a set that will help intensify our portrayal of this fabulous story.  I attended the University of Windsor where I studied Philosophy and Political Science. In my last year, I discovered theatre and film. Uncertain of what to do with my life and certain that I had seen the last of Immanuel Kant, I signed up for The Documentary and Filmmaking Institute at Seneca College. After completing this program I interned at Zamasti films where I worked as an Assistant Editor on Force of Nature a documentary about David Suzuki, The Pig Farm, a CTV Documentary, and two episodes of the T.V. series Outlaw Bikers, for E1 Entertainment.   After I finished at Zamasti, finding myself broke and unemployed, I wrote and directed the short film City of Roses. I also accepted a contract to direct the taping of a live concert at the Kitchener/Waterloo symphony theatre.  I also produced the short film, Mom. After completing this concert I moved from gig to gig working on feature films as a set dresser. I worked on 3 films before I decided to help create NorteSur Artistic Productions. Through this company, I managed to organize two concerts with Grammy Winner, Luis Enrique â€œEl Principe de la Salsaâ€. One was in Montreal at L'Olympia and the other was at the Kool Haus in Toronto. After this, I was asked by NorteSur to begin a theatre and film initiative. The Betrayal workshop production was the start. Now I am producing 4 plays this season, one of which is Betrayal. I am also currently working as a producer for The Tennessee Williams Project where I am also directing 2 one act plays this coming May. I have also had my first feature length documentary accepted by a major production company.

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