TORONTO, October 23, 2009 -- Toronto, October 23, 2009 − Theatre @ York launches its season with the world premiere of Co.ED (or How to Become Your Gender, in ten easy steps), a provocative double bill devised by Deborah Pearson and company, presented in association with Volcano at York University November 22-28.

The two plays in Co.ED explore the meaning of gender through very different performance styles. The first play, Tabletalk, directed by Ross Manson, sets up a comfortable narrative framework – like building a fort – and the second, A Play about the Other Play, directed by Claire Calnan, tears it down – one wooden plank at a time.

Tabletalk
Michael works in an office. John works in an office. Nigel works in an office. Lance works in an office. Kennedy works in an office. John hates Michael. Nigel hates John. Lance hates himself. Kennedy likes everyone, as long as they’re not gay. Once a week they play poker. Until one week, when everyone’s bluff is called. The result? Murder, mayhem and lots of beer. Boys will be boys.

Manson asks: “What does gender give us? What does it take away? How do we balance the gains and losses?” With these core questions as a guide, the exploration of masculinity begins.

Manson is the founding artistic director of Volcano and the co-founder of the political cabaret, the Wrecking Ball. He has won many awards for his work, including Doras as a co-producer, director and play maker, and the Best of Edinburgh and Scotsman Fringe First awards. Recent directorial projects include The Four Horsemen Project (co-created with Kate Alton) in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Victoria, Dublin and Berlin; and Michael Redhill’s Goodness, in Toronto, Edinburgh, Vancouver, New York, Helsinki, Butare and Kigali.

A Play about the Other Play

My name is Deborah. I wrote a play about Masculinity. It was called Tabletalk. I tried to do the same for Femininity, but my female characters ran amok, deconstructed the first play, then built something else with its parts. Come see what they made. It is lopsided but truthful.

“We - group of women - took a look at Tabletalk, a play about men and maleness,” Calnan says. “This looking led to discussions about masculinity and ruminations on femininity. We looked for places where there were cracks in the hard surfaces of those definitions. We looked at the people who broke the rules, at the places where each of us broke the rules. And we squeezed ourselves through those crevices, looking for truth”.

Calnan is the co-founder of the AMY Project (Artists Mentoring Youth) and co-artistic director of tiny bird theatre. She has worked extensively in creation-based performance, with credits including Katherine Mansfield and Chekhov’s Heartache (Theatre Smith-Gilmour/Factory Theatre) and Dora Award-nominee Appetite (Volcano/Theatre Passe Muraille). She received the Crow’s Theatre Emerging Director’s Award for tiny bird theatre’s production of Raising Luke (Summerworks 2008) and was an associate artist at the Canadian Stage Company in 2009.

Pearson is a young Canadian playwright with a growing reputation in the UK. She is known for her work as the co-director and founder of the Forest Fringe, a multi-award winning venue at the Edinburgh Festival which offers artists and performers a welcoming space to try out work that might not find a home elsewhere. 

Co.ED is performed by upper-level students in the Acting Conservatory in York’s Theatre Department, with a talented creative team of undergraduates handling all aspects of the production design and execution.

Theatre @ York in association with Volcano premieres Co.ED  (or How to Become Your Gender, in ten easy steps), a double bill by Deborah Pearson featuring Tabletalk directed by Ross Manson and A Play About the Other Play directed by Claire Calnan

When:  November 22-28, opening Tues. November 24
Previews Nov. 22 & 23 at 7:30pm; Opens Nov. 24 and runs to Nov 28 at 7:30pm nightly, plus matinees Nov. 25 & 27 at 1pm.

Where: Joseph G. Green Studio Theatre, Centre for Film and Theatre, York University, 4700 Keele St. [Map]

Admission: $30 | students & seniors $25 for both shows. Nov. 22 preview PWYC | Nov. 23 preview $15

Box Office: 416.736.5888 | www.yorku.ca/perform/boxoffice

-30-

Media Contact:

Amy Stewart, Communications, Faculty of Fine Arts, York University

416.650.8469 | amy.stewart@yorku.ca