Gordon Pinsent and Ann-Marie MacDonald Head Exciting Magnetic Encounters Line-Up -- Tickets Now on Sale!
June 05, 2003 -
Ottawa -- Join us for the Magnetic North Theatre Festival's Magnetic Encounters — featuring celebrity guest speakers such as Gordon Pinsent, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Tomson Highway, R.H. Thompson and many more!
Also on the bill — stimulating lunchtime panel discussions, and intimate teas with the artists, not to mention workshops and a presenters' marketplace for theatre professionals. Magnetic Encounters also presents Dark Owl, performed by the National Theatre School's first-year acting students, and the National Arts Centre's On the Verge annual theatre new works festival.
According to Sarah Stanley, Artistic Associate in charge of the Magnetic Encounters series, “Magnetic Encounters is designed to get you up close and personal with both our artists and the international colleagues who will be joining us. We'll be addressing questions such as: How does theatre get made? What makes theatre travel? Why is theatre in Canada so exciting?”
Mary Vingoe is the Artistic Director of the Magnetic North Theatre Festival. “Magnetic Encounters provides audiences with a unique opportunity to participate in an intimate exchange with artists, critics, presenters and others — from across Canada and around the world. It provides for both audiences and members of the theatre community an important context within which they can see and present contemporary theatre.”
The Magnetic Encounters series takes place from June 11-21 at the National Arts Centre. Tickets are available in advance at the NAC Box Office and at the door, but seating for some events is limited. Some tickets are also available through Ticketmaster. For more information, go to the Festival web site at www.magneticnorthfestival.ca and click on Magnetic Encounters.
Celebrity Speaker Series
A renowned leader or lover of Canadian theatre will strike a keynote prior to evening performances. In the NAC Salon at 6:15 p.m. nightly. Tickets are $10 and are available through the NAC Box Office, through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.ca and (613) 755-1111, or at the door. Seating is limited so order tickets early.
Thursday June 12
Actor, director and writer Gordon Pinsent
Friday, June 13
Sharon Lewis, writer and host of CBC's ZeD TV
Saturday, June 14 (NAC Fountain Room)
Poet and playwright George Elliott Clarke
Sunday, June 15
Theatre critic and novelist, Kate Taylor
Monday, June 16
Neil Murray, Director of Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Scotland
Tuesday, June 17
Playwright Judith Thompson
Wednesday, June 18
RH Thomson, stage and screen actor
Thursday, June 19
Novelist and playwright Tomson Highway
Friday, June 20
Christopher Newton, former Artistic Director of the Shaw Festival
Saturday, June 21
Novelist and playwright Ann-Marie MacDonald
Lunchtime Panel Discussions
Fourth Stage Key practitioners from Canadian theatre will hold enlightening and provocative debates over lunch. Pull up a chair as panels filled with players from across the country discuss everything from theatrical creation to the theatrics of criticism. Daily at the NAC Fourth Stage, 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $5.00 and are available in advance at the NAC Box Office or at the door. Sandwiches are available for purchase.
Wednesday, June 11
Capitol Concerns: Ottawa's Place in English Canadian Theatre
Thursday, June 12
From the Ground Up: Building Shows from Seed to Tree
Friday, June 13
Superstitious? It's Friday the 13th, Let's Talk Ritual
Saturday, June 14
Press Gang: Who's Zooming Who?
Sunday, June 15
Future Flash: What Do Tomorrow's Thespians Look Like?
Monday, June 16
Information Stage: Is the Business of Communication Changing?
Tuesday, June 17
Political Poles: Who Votes for Whom in Art and Life?
Wednesday, June 18
Beyond Solitude: Is Translation the Bridge Across?
Thursday, June 19
Canada's Kids: The Changing Nature of Youth Culture in Canada
Friday, June 20
Rehearsal Models: How to Prepare for the Runway
Saturday, June 21
Northern Lights: How Far Can They Shine?
Tea With the Artists
At tea time, artists featured at the Magnetic North Theatre Festival will be responding to questions in live interviews with Artistic Associate Sarah Stanley. Takes place 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. in the NAC Salon. Tickets are $5.00 and are available in advance at the NAC Box Office or at the door.
Saturday, June 14 (NAC Fountain Room)
Andy Jones, To The Wall
Sunday, June 15
Marie Clements and Peter Hinton, Burning Vision
Monday, June 16
Karen Hines, Citizen Pochsy
Tuesday, June 17
Sheldon Elter, Metis Mutt
Wednesday, June 18
Marti Maraden, Artistic Director, NAC English Theatre
Lorne Pardy, Artistic Director, GCTC
Thursday, June 19
Daniel Danis and Blake Brooker, Thunderstruck
Friday, June 20
Jesters of Jest in Time Theatre (Sherry Lee Hunter, Mary Ellen MacLean, Christian Murray and Shelley Wallace)
Saturday, June 21
Mary Vingoe, Artistic Director, Magnetic North Theatre Festival
Industry Series
Marketplace and Professional Workshops are geared directly to the members of our ever-expanding professional theatre community. The Industry Series is the place for those who make it, who show it and who sell it.
Professional Workshops
Throughout the festival, workshops focusing on getting our work seen and made will round out our Magnetic Encounters events. These workshops will be given in three-hour blocks, covering a range of issues around international, national touring and presenting, supplemented with hands-on creative mini-labs from One Yellow Rabbit and Marie Clements. Workshops take place Monday, June 16 – Friday, June 20 at the NAC Rehearsal Hall A. Cost is $25 per workshop. See www.magneticnorthfestival.ca for a detailed schedule.
Marketplace
For three mornings, touring theatre companies from across the country will gather to introduce their work to presenters from both the national and international realm. Marketplace runs from Sunday, June 15 – Tuesday, June 17 in the NAC Fountain Room. Cost is $300.00 per table.
Dark Owl
A non-production based adventure that brings to light the first ever English telling of this wonderful Acadian tale. Come and join the first-year actors in the English section of the National Theatre School as they welcome you into their process and the world of the Dark Owl. Tuesday, June 12 – Thursday, June 14 in the NAC Fourth Stage.
On the Verge Annual Theatre New Works Festival
Catch a sneak preview of work that is on the verge of defining the future of Canadian theatre. This year, NAC English Theatre Artistic Associate Lise Ann Johnson has brought together nine eclectic, new plays by some of the best playwriting talent from across Canada. Organized to fit easily into your Magnetic North schedule, and with pay-what-you-can admission, there's no excuse to miss any of these exciting new works!
For more information on the plays and playwrights, visit the NAC web site at www.nac-cna.ca and follow the link to English Theatre and On the Verge 2003. Made possible with the assistance of The Canada Council for the Arts.
Magnetic Encounters Schedule and Tickets
Magnetic Encounters tickets are available beginning May 15 at the NAC Box Office. Celebrity Speaker Series tickets are also available through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.ca or (613) 755-1111.
For more detailed information on the Magnetic Encounters schedule and tickets, please go to the Magnetic North web site at www.magneticnorthfestival.ca.
The 2003 Magnetic North Theatre Festival gratefully acknowledges the assistance of our Title Sponsor: SuperPages; Festival Co-presenter: the National Arts Centre; Host Venues: the Great Canadian Theatre Company, Ottawa Little Theatre, Arts Court and the University of Ottawa Academic Hall; Public Funders: Canada Council for the Arts, Department of Canadian Heritage, The Ontario Trillium Foundation, Ontario Arts Council, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Human Resources Development Canada; Private Funders Imperial Oil Foundation, The Craig Foundation; Media Sponsors: Ottawa Citizen, CBC Radio One, CBC Television, Ottawa X-Press/Voir Outaouais; Production Sponsor: Friction Design Group.
