ISLAND PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS:

               

                    You can leave a broken home, but can you ever really escape it?

WHAT IS THIS STORY ABOUT?

"[The Glass] Menagerie reveals the story of family members whose lives form a triangle of quiet desperation, each struggling with an individual version of hell while simultaneously seeking escape from the gravity of each other's pathologies."   —  Robert Bray
 
And in this quiet triangle of desperation, lives a story about three people who love each other. Tennessee Williams writes about the universal.
We are raising money to shed light on something you thought you knew - home. "How beautiful it is and how easily it can be broken"  — The Glass Menagerie.

This is a Canadian Production of Tennessee William’s classic. It explores the plight of the single mother raising two adult children on her own. Williams offers to the audience, something we can examine and digest through tears and laughter.

Why is this play relevant today?

Today, the electronic world is changing into the digital world. There is revolution and evolution going on as a result, and the whole nuclear family concept is in great flux. Individualism versus collectivism is an ongoing debate and a paramount theme in the breakdown of the family unit. 

It is significant to take something like THE GLASS MENAGERIE, and mount it at this particular time because it is a great metaphor for change and reflective of all things topical. It looks both backward and forward in time, outward and inward. It depicts heroes and victims that we can all relate to. As John Lahr states, “it also broadcasts William’s dramatic goal – to redeem life, through beauty, from the humiliation of grief.”

WHO'S INVOLVED?

Directed by Mel Tuck

Associate Director Sean Sullivan

Set and Costume Design by Diana Capstick-Dale
Sound Design by David Cieri
Set Construction by David McLeod

Cast in order of appearance:

Andrew Coghlan as Tom
Lynne Griffin as Amanda
Gina Leon as Laura
Michael Germant as The Gentleman Caller

SEPTEMBER 7- 25 @ PAL STUDIO THEATRE
PREVIEW SHOW September 6th.
581 Cardero Street, Vancouver.

TICKETS available HERE!

WHY TELL THIS STORY TODAY?

From director Mel Tuck: The greatest playwrights come forward when society is changing. Chekhov and the revolution. Shakespeare and the Renaissance. Homer, Euripides and Aristophanes in Greece and the city states. Williams and the end of the antibellum period and WWI. The beginning of post-war future. We are in this similar kind of transition now. The world is changing hugely. The "Dinosaurs" are like Amanda holding desperately on to the past and with that holding on some people will be sacrificed. Like Laura is. Like Syrians and natives in Africa. Amanda is a terrifying person, but she's funny. So are dinosaurs.

                           

                   Karen Austin (as Laura) and Director Mel Tuck (as Tom) - 1968

And so...

When a writer tells a story that has to be told...

                     

                    

               
When a director lifts the vision off the page and creates a world in which we are transported to...

  

                                

                                                                Director Mel Tuck

     

When an actor artfully and truthful inhabits a character, humanizing the written experience...

     

When the atmosphere of a play is enhanced by the subtle dynamics of light and sound...

Here he is by the way, our composer extraordinaire... DAVID CIERI

    

When the set illuminates social and economic, private and public, personal and political tensions of a world written by TENNESSEE WILLIAMS...

                                           

                           Stage and Costume Designer (Diana Capstick- Dale)

 
THEATRE IS ELECTRIFYING.
This is something to strive for, isn't it?  

WHY THEATRE?

In an age where most communication is through some media filter like the Internet, Twitter, Facebook, Google, Television and Film, there is something spiritual in people sitting and focused in a direction and exploring the human experience in a human manner whether it's through humor or drama. The energy of the live experience transcends anything mechanical. We need to keep our ears as alert and active as our eyes. And our brains and senses as sharp as we possibly can. The live experience is the source — Director Mel Tuck

WHY ARE WE RAISING MONEY?
We started small as an independent company, in an effort to create a unified approach to the work, selecting evocative material well-suited to the company and written by the greats.

 For more information: www.island-productions.ca

In the past, we personally invested money in our productions and had individual donors generously support us.

We are growing the size of our company for this production and this includes:

A production that represents our unique Canadian vision.
A ensemble cast from both Vancouver and Toronto.
An extended run of performances.
A highly-skilled set and costume designer.
An accomplished composer designing the music.
A professional set construction artist.
An acclaimed Canadian director with an extensive number of past productions.

What are we doing next?

After our Vancouver run, we are taking the play to Toronto!

WHO ARE WE?

   

We are an ensemble of artists from the two major English-speaking theatrical centres in Canada: British Columbia and Ontario.

Mel Tuck (Director) : is a highly regarded pioneer of Canadian theatre, a director of international reputation and an innovator in acting training technique and philosophy. His Career spans over fifty years, Mel founded nine theatre companies and has directed over three hundred plays across Canada. He headed the drama department at Ryerson University for thirteen years and originated and ran the Gastown Actors Studio conservatory for twelve years. Mel holds a BFA from the University of Alberta and has been recognized in the form of three ACTRA and two Genie nominations. After a near-absolute three decade hiatus from performing, Mel has returned to acting last fall, starring in the 2015 Crazy8s thriller Under a Glass Moon, the upcoming short drama With Dad and the short comedy Legally Speaking. He will be appearing this year in the feature films The Confirmation opposite Clive Owen, the independent Canadian drama Floating Away, and CBC’s Full Flood.

Sean Sullivan (Associate Director):

Sean Sullivan has directed rarely, but with enthusiasm. His production of Genet’s ‘The Balcony’ received Los Angeles Drama-Logue Awards for production, director and lead actress. He has also directed ‘What The Butler Saw’ on Sanibel Island, FLA. and ‘Jeeves and Wooster’ in Nevada City, CA.

Sean’s life has revolved around the theatre from birth. His mother was an actress, director of education and dramaturge at the Tony-Award winning Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, where Sean’s professional career began as well, performed in twelve plays. Other favourite roles include; his award-winning solo performance in Baby Redboots’ Revenge, (called ‘a virtual Nijinsky of performance art’ by the New York Times, and directed by his wife, Lynne Griffin, in New York, Poland, the Czech Republic, Toronto, Los Angeles, San Diego and Hamilton), Norman in The Dresser and Davey/Leon in The Voice of the Prairie, (where he met and fell in love with Lynne).Sean’s recent Toronto productions; The Castle, (The Storefront),The Merry Wives of Windsor, (Shakespeare Bash’d, 2015 Toronto Fringe), Liver, Out At Sea, (Storefront Theatre), A Midsummer Nightmare, (The Great Hall), Potosi, (Tarragon, Toronto Fringe), and The Seagull, (with the Chekhov Collective, (Berkeley Street Theatre). Selected film credits: God and Country, (upcoming), Wayne’s World, Back To The Future III, Who’s That Girl?, Foolproof and The Howling VI. Selected TV credits: Damien, Hemlock Grove, Good God, The Associates, (Gemini nominee, series regular), Across The River To Motor City, Poor Tom is Cold, Babylon Five and Quantum Leap.

For more information, visit www.babymonsterproductions.ca

Diana Capstick- Dale (Set & Costume Designer):

Diana Capstick- Dale was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. She studied fine art at the University of the Witwatersrand and graphic design at the École des Beaux Arts et Arts Appliqués in Lausanne, Switzerland. She worked as a graphic designer before moving to the UK where she studied for a Masters degree in Stage Design at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Her work includes costumes for Chicago (Embassy Theatre, London), sets and costumes for Yerma (Embassy Theatre, London), Guys and Dolls (Bloomsbury Theatre, London), Judy (Oldham Coliseum, Oldham) as well as working with students on productions at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She has recently co-written a book on Art Deco Collectibles to be published in April 2016.

David McLeod (Set Construction):                                                                          After a long absence from the acting field, David re-entered the performing arts world by becoming a labourer in the construction departments of the t.v. and film industry. With a stated desire to become a carpenter he carried lumber, loaded and unloaded trucks with scenery and swept floors the size of aircraft hangars for three years; all the while taking any opportunity to develop the skills of cutting and building with wood,  now an apprentice with the carpentry team of one of the most respected crews in Vancouver, David is thrilled to apply himself to helping to create the world of this extraordinary play for artists whose worth he has already witnessed first hand. 

CAST:

ANDREW COGHLAN (Tom): Andrew was born in Edmonton, Alberta. He currently lives in Toronto. Andrew has studied at the VOICE INTENSIVE at UBC. He has studied with Michael Sims and Larry Moss. THEATRE: Four Dogs and a Bone, Italian American Reconciliation, Last Train To Nibroc, Lobby Hero, Almost Maine. FILM/TELEVISION: The Invisible (Disney/Dreamworks), The A-Team (20th Century Fox), Alcatraz, Fringe (Bad Robot/Warner Bros.), Eureka (NBC Universal), Psych (Universal)  

LYNNE GRIFFIN (Amanda) "is what director David Ellenstein describes as "a heavy-weight" in the industry. Her credits span more than 5 decades and include print, film, television and theatre. She was a child model and actor, appearing in multitudes of commercials and even hosting a children's television show in Toronto. Lynne went on to become a stalwart of Canadian television and a formidable presence in the theatre, where she was a regular at the Shaw and Stratford festivals and myriad other important companies throughout the country. Her diversity is awe inspiring - she starred with Peter Ustinov in King Lear at Stratford, and only a few years later with Max Von Sydow, Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis in the film, Strange Brew. She was gruesomely murdered Black Christmas along with Margot Kidder and others. That film starred John Saxon and Olivia Hussey. Her IMDB page is a who's who of world cinema "  - Jeanmarie Simpson

    

GINA LEON (Laura) : Gina was born Johannesburg, South Africa. She is a Vancouver based actress, visual artist and art teacher. She studied Theatre and Art History at the University of Toronto, Visual Art at the College of Art and Design in Sydney, Australia, and Acting at the New School for Drama in NYC. Her abstract paintings have been showcased in Vancouver and New York City (The William Bennett Gallery and The Rockefeller Center). THEATRE: A Weekend Near Madison (The Cultch – Vancouver Fringe Festival), The Dreamer Examines His Pillow (PAL), Seminar (PAL), The Seagull (NYC) Epitaph for George Dillon (Off-Broadway, NYC), A Young Lady of Property (NYC), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (NYC), Turn of the Screw (NYC), Almost Maine (Studio 1398,Vancouver), Under Milk Wood (Waterfront Theatre), The Oresteia of Aeschylus, Mistero Buffo, The Servant of Two Masters (University of Toronto). FILM/TELEVISION: “Girlfriends Guide to Divorce” (Bravo), “The Killing” (Fox), “Twist of Faith” (Lifetime), "Untold Stories of the ER".

    

MICHAEL GERMANT (The Gentleman Caller): Actor & Producer at Island Productions. Michael was born in Moscow and raised in Montreal. He has studied at the Montreal School of Performing Arts, Acting Studio Montreal, Concordia University, UBC, VFS, Michael Howard Studios, and Austin-Tuck Studios. THEATRE: Tommy in John Patrick Shanley’s The Dreamer Examines His Pillow, Martin in Theresa Rebeck's Seminar, Norris in Alan Ball's Bachelor Holiday, Stuyvesant Student in The New York Monologues, Lu Dahai in Cao Yu's Thunderstorm. FILM/TELEVISION: War for the Planet of the Apes (20th Century Fox), Arrow (Warner Bros. Television) , Continuum (Showcase), High Moon (Universal Cable Productions).

RISKS and CHALLENGES:

• When we think of theatre towns, we conjure up the image of New York, London, Berlin, and Toronto, but productions and audiences are everywhere. Is there demand in Vancouver? YES, YES, YES!
• When we think of talent or artistry...  we know that these traits are not limited to any one time or place... Why can't Vancouver be as prolific as any other theatre town?
  

• This is a play in which past and present tensions manifest on stage, as they do in a dysfunctional family dynamic. While our production is a classical rendering of a classical play, every aspect of it is relevant to a modern audience. We believe the best way to do this is to honor what we call “The Williams’ Aesthetic”. The major challenge in this approach is to create with utmost specificity, the world in which Williams writes about. Specificity in story-telling is universally effective. To meet the demands of this challenge, we have started our process long in advance and this has included dramaturgical studies of the play/playwright. Williams’ family life occupies a huge presence in this play and there is great information at our disposal. We have also created a marriage between veterans and young professionals of the theatre as our ensemble consists of both. This dynamic has already created a kind of work ethic and synergy that has proven very effective.

  
  

Creating a high standard of theatre keeps the theatre running!

Where does the money go? Here is a visual:

For more information check out our website at www.glassmenagerie.ca

 

Spread the word and THANK YOU you for your support!