down with b current

TwistedTWISTEDWritten by Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman & Joseph Jomo Pierre

Charles Dickens’ classic — reimagined.

#Twisted | factorytheatre.ca

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Tuesday January 6, 11:21am. Two Artistic Directors are having a conversation over text while listening to the reading of Twisted on the first day of rehearsal. Here’s how it went:

3 words about this play?

Ribs un-breaking.

I love that line -- “Please sir. I want some more.” Iconic.

So strange that we just talked about this possibility over the phone and now it’s the first day of rehearsal together. Time. Flies.

Or sending a text message.

Scar. Beat. Maze.

Why this play?

Because it’s not me. Because it’s far from me. And that’s why I need to listen to this story even more. Because it’s a reality that reminds me that I am not alone in this world and that there are other important stories out there that need to be heard. That need to be learned from.

That I am one lucky bitch. And I am still questioning why. I was born with a map. Some people don’t have that.

Ollie and Nance deserve a shot.

This play reminds me how cruel the world is...and that’s okay.

Cackle. Break. Fear.

‘cause this play...feels real. It speaks my language - rhythm and plot.

Tragedy and wit. Hard. Grit. Dream. Feel.

This play makes me cry.

More than a shot. They deserve a map.

Lightly nodding my head. Tears brimming

Love from a distance ... but never up close

Innocent. Direct. Honest.

Like blinking an eye

!

This play makes me feel raw - open, vulnerable, appreciative of my life, and steeped in the feeling of wanting to give away the winter jacket right off my back.

Succinctly: this play feels like it came from my bones

You?

Your 3 words?

What have you learned?

Nina Lee Aquino: Jajube Mandiela:

A Charles Dickens quote chosen by Twisted playwrights Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman and Joseph Jomo Pierre:Let the tears which fell, and the broken words which were exchanged in the long close embrace between the orphans, be sacred. A father, sister, and mother, were gained and lost in that one moment. Joy and grief were mingled in the cup, but there were no bitter tears, for even grief itself arose so softened, and clothed in such sweet and tender recollections, that it became a solemn pleasure, and lost all character of pain.

–Charles Dickens Oliver Twist

Notes on the Source Material by Matt McGeachy, New Play Development Coordinator Originally published periodically in Bentley’s Miscellany from February 1837 to April 1839, Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist is considered a landmark of the “social problem” genre, which drew attention to contemporary societal ills in the wake of mass industrialization in 19th century England. Oliver Twist is the story of the young orphan, Oliver, and his journey from the workhouse to the “baby farm” to falling in with the pickpocket the Artful Dodger to his eventual salvation from his life of crime and settling with the kindly Mr. Brownlow along with his long lost aunt, Rose Maylie. As with many of Dickens’ works, his biting social commentary is largely informed by his own impoverished childhood, in which he spent years in a workhouse shining boots while his father served time at Marshalsea debtors’ prison.

This stage adaptation of Dickens’ work is also concerned with contemporary societal ills, and although completely unique in theatrical style, contains certain familiar elements from the original source material. In addition to the orphan Oliver aka Ollie, some names may be familiar from the original work: Nancy, who saves Oliver from a vicious beating in the novel; Sikes, a ruthless robber and cutthroat; and Dodger, who initiates Oliver into his life of crime.

Just as Dickens presented the ruthless reality of the little seen but always present criminal underworld in 19th century London, Twisted offers a glimpse into the contemporary dispossessed in Toronto. Through a combination of poetry, prose, and modern technology, it invites you into a world where love struggles in the face of poverty, inequality, and drug addiction and traces a line from Dickens’ London to the heart of modern-day Toronto, which are not, perhaps, as different as one would like to think.

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By Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman and Joseph Jomo Pierre Directed by Nigel Shawn Williams

The CompanyNancy Susanna FournierOliver Ngabo NabeaDramaturge Iris TurcottSet Designer Denyse KarnCostume Designer Michelle BaileyLighting Designer Simon RossiterProjection Designer Simeon TaoleProjection Systems Designer Rebecca VandeveldeSound Designer Richard LeeComposer HaglerStage Manager Sarah MillerApprentice Stage Manager Georgia Priestley-BrownHead of Properties and Scenic Paint Anna TreuschTechnical Director & Set Construction Jamie MontieroCrew Michael Burnet, Josh Hoodless, Kai Masoka & Joey MorinPainters Matt Armour, Ksenia Ivanova

b current’s contribution to this production directly supports the participation of Joseph Jomo Pierre, an alumnus of b current’s mandiela rAiz’n Ensemble.

Twisted was developed with the support of Factory and was presented at Factory Wired 2014 in a staged reading featuring Kaleb Alexander and Susanna Fournier, directed by Nigel Shawn Williams.

Etc. Running time is approx. 80 minutes with no intermission.Taking of photographs or making any mechanical recording is prohibited in the theatre.Please turn off cellular phones and electronic devices.

Social Media#Twisted | #ScrewFaceSelfie

@FactoryToronto | @bcurrentLIVE

@FactoryTheatre

facebook.com/FactoryTheatre | facebook.com/bcurrentLIVE

TwistedTWISTEDJoseph Jomo

Pierre

Nigel Shawn Williams

Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman

Sarah MillerDenyse Karn Ngabo Nabea

Susanna Fournier

Iris Turcott

Hagler

Georgia Priestley-Brown

Simeon TaoleSimon Rossiter

T H E C O M PA N Y

Richard Lee

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B I O G R A P H I E SCHARLOTTE CORBEIL-COLEMAN, Playwright For Factory Theatre: Scratch (2008)

Other Recent Theatre Credits: Sudden Death ( Next Stage Festival) The Fort Mac Show (Architect Theatre, Theatre Passe Murialle) The CN Tower Show (Theatre Passe Murialle) TV: KING( Showcase)

Upcoming: FILM: Nellcott is My Darling (Dir. Jill Carter) The Plateaus (WEB SERIES) When There Is Sunlight (Sonia Hosko, THUMP) The Panicking Fly (FILM FARM) Television Credits: KING (Showcase)

Twisted Fact: Joe and I wrote all the text messages as text messages to each other over a couple of months through our phones. Living out Nancy and Oliver’s texting relationship in real time. MICHELLE BAILEY, Costume Designer For Factory Theatre: Featuring Loretta, Bingo! (Head of Wardrobe)

Other Recent Theatre Credits: Slapshot Live! (Second City), Passion Play (Outside The March, Dora Nomination 2014), Clybourne Park, The Normal Heart, Parade, Our Class (Studio 180), The Amorous Adventures of Anatol, This Is War, Carried Away On The Crest Of A Wave, In The Next Room, The Real World, The Children’s Republic (Tarrgon Theatre), The Red Queen Effect (Seventh Stage Theatre, Dora Nomination, 2010), King Lear, Comedy of Errors, Twelfth Night, Macbeth & Midsummer Night’s Dream (Driftwood Theatre)

Upcoming: Abyss, Tarragon Theatre SUSANNA FOURNIER, Nancy For Factory Theatre: True Love Lies

Other Recent Theatre Credits: Pride and Prejudice (The Grand Theatre), Geometry in Venice (Crow’s Theatre), You Like It (Rabiayshna), Stencilboy and Other Portraits (writer, Paradigm Productions, The Fun Palace Radio Variety Show (Small Wooden Shoe)

Upcoming: The Supine Cobbler (The Supine Collective), All The Ways You Scare Me (writer, The 36th Rhubarb Festival) Film & Television Credits: X-MEN Days of Future Past, 12 Monkeys, Reign, I’ll Follow You Down, Being Human, Bomb Girls the Movie: Facing the Enemy, Still Life: A Three Pines Mystery, Murdoch Mysteries, Rookie Blue

Twisted Fact: Charlotte and I are celebrating our 10 year friend-a-versary. We first collaborated on an indie SummerWorks show in Toronto here at Factory in 2006.

HAGLER, Composer For Factory Theatre: Debut

Upcoming & Other: Marvin “Hagler” Thomas (born January 29th, 1989) is a Canadian producer based in Toronto’s east end. Hagler has been producing for over ten years and began with humble beginnings working out of his home with local artists and producers. An alumnus of Toronto youth arts program The Remix Project, he is currently the program’s studio manager and taught production to participants using FL Studio. Having engineered for artists such as Melanie Fiona, Wale & A$AP Ferg, Hagler recently produced Furthest Thing with Noah “40” Shebib, off Drake’s third studio album Nothing Was The Same. As well as co-produced Drake’s Trophies off the second Young Money Compilation Rise of an Empire. Hagler executive produced for (Def Jam’s) artist Vince Staples debut EP Hell Can Wait having the lead single Blue Suede which has over 1 million views.

DENYSE KARN, Set DesignerFor Factory Theatre: Stop Heart

Other Recent Theatre Credits: NSFW (Studio180); Her2, The Carousel, The List, The Penelopiad, Happy Woman (Nightwood Theatre); Winter’s Tale (Canadian Stage Company); Top Girls (Manitoba Theatre Centre); Denyse has been working as a set/costume/projection designer in Canadian theatre for over 30 years. She has been nominated for seven Dora Mavor Moore Awards and received a Dora for her design of Phoenix Cabaret (Cahoots Theatre). She has received five Theatre Nova Scotia Merritt Awards for various Outstanding Designs.

Upcoming: The Watershed (Crow’s Theatre); Love Dishonour Marry Die Cherish Perish (Studio 180);

Twisted Fact: There are 26 miniature buildings plus the CN tower on stage. They are 200 times smaller than the actual buildings in downtown Toronto. The CN tower is actually 1815.4 feet tall, ours is 9.75 feet tall.

RICHARD LEE, Sound DesignerFor Factory Theatre:

Sound Design - Tough!, Escape From Happiness, Gravitational Pull of Bernice Trimble (Co-Produced with Obsidian Theatre)

Acting - Banana Boys (co-produced with fu-GEN Theatre Company)

Fight Directing - Tough!, Escape From Happiness, Banana Boys, Bingo!

Other Recent Theatre Credits: Monday Nights (6th Man Theatre Company/The Theatre Centre), Ralph and Lina (Ahuri Theatre/The Theatre Centre)

Upcoming: The anticipated return of Monday Nights playing at the Theatre Centre July 10 - 26th, 2015

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SARAH MILLER, Stage ManagerFor Factory Theatre: 6 Essential Questions

Other Recent Theatre Credits: The De Chardin Project (Theatre Passe Muraille), What Makes a Man (Necessary Angel / Canadian Stage); The Road to Mecca, Angels in America (Soulpepper Theatre)

Upcoming: Subway Stations of the Cross (Soulpepper Theatre); Morro and Jasp: 9-5 (Factory Theatre)

Twisted Fact: By day 7 of rehearsal, there were already over 150 lighting, sound and projection cues marked into my script, It’s unusual to have this many cues marked down at this stage of rehearsal, but with a tech-heavy show like this, it’s very helpful to have this information as soon as possible. I wonder how many more cues we’ll add by the time you read this…

NGABO NABEA, OliverFor Factory Theatre: Debut

Other Recent Credits: Jesus Hopped the A-Train (Ryerson University); King Lear (Ryerson University); Proof (Ryerson University).

A little about myself: I was born in Toronto before travelling to around Africa and Europe for several years during my childhood. I returned to Canada to finish my studies. I speak German and Swahili fairly fluently. Before finding out what an actor did, I wanted to be whatever I had seen on TV on any given day: a fireman, a police officer, a detective and a getaway driver are among the few that stick out in my memory. While I am passionate about it, I still consider acting my fall back career for a superheroing one when I’m older. I’m an avid reader, musician, dancer, poet and writer.

Twisted Fact: The play is styled more after rap than slam poetry. To find and maintain the rhythm, Ollie needs to be physical and move his body to the beat and flow.

JOSEPH JOMO PIERRE, PlaywrightFor Factory Theatre: Who knew Grannie

Other recent theatre credits: Shakespeare’s Nigga (Obsidian Theatre, 3d atomic Ent. Theatre Passe Muraille)

Film/TV : Saving Hope, Kidnap Capital, Orphan Black...

Twisted Fact: “41 per cent of the children and youth in the care of the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto are black. Yet only 8.2 per cent of Toronto’s population under the age of 18 is black.” (Toronto Star)

GEORGIA PRIESTLEY-BROWN, Apprentice Stage ManagerFor Factory Theatre: Debut

Other Recent Theatre Credits: A Christmas Carol (Theatre New Brunswick), Alcina (Opera Atelier), Billy Bishop Goes To War, St. Anne’s Reel (Blyth Theatre Festival).

Upcoming: Tom At The Farm (Buddies In Bad Times)

Twisted Fact: The drugs in the show are Vitamin C tablets! The props department and the actress had to discuss what would look most like drugs, but what was easy to consume on stage - another option was white rocket candies, but they were too sweet.

SIMON ROSSITER, Lighting DesignerFor Factory Theatre: Debut

Other Recent Theatre Credits: I’ll Crane For You, Triple Bill, On Display, Eleven Accords, Brussels/Toronto and Rivers (Toronto Dance Theatre); Elvis and the Man in Black, Les Cheminements de l’Influence, Malcolm, Alloneword, Dichterliebe, and From the House of Mirth (Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie); with a trace (firstthingsfirst productions, Dora award); Frankenstein (Theatre New Brunswick); The Land of F***, Paris 1994/Gallery, and Portrait (dietrich group); Les Précieuses Ridicules, Le Fa Le Do, Les Zinspirés, and Les Fourberies de Scapin (Théâtre français de Toronto).

Upcoming: vox:lumen (Zata Omm/Worldstage); Intermezzi (Art of Time Ensemble)

SIMEON TAOLE, Projection DesignerFor Factory Theatre: Debut

Other Recent Theatre Credits: Into (Actor - NewFace Entertainment); Dancing to a White Boy Song (Actor - IFT Theatre & NewFace Entertainment);

Upcoming: The Space Between (Playwright, Actor, Co-Director, Video Projection Designer - Cinematoscape): Film Credits: Everything Changes (Writer, Actor, Director - Cinematoscape), Diaphony (Writer, Director - Cinematoscape)

Twisted Fact: There are approx. 100 text messages that literally move the narrative forward. We process visuals much faster than text and the key for the projections was balancing the amount of text the audience has to read with pacing as well as finding ways to convey emotion in the visual presentation of the text messages.

IRIS TURCOTT, Dramaturge Iris was the company dramaturge at Canadian Stage and Factory Theatre. She has worked with playwrights from coast to coast including Robert Chafe, Brad Fraser, Anusree Roy, Ronnie Burkett, Daniel MacIvor, Judith Thompson and Michel Marc Bouchard and has been involved with numerous international co-commissions and projects She is delighted to be back at Factory with Charlotte and Joe.

Twisted Fact: plus ça change

NIGEL SHAWN WILLIAMS, DirectorFor Factory Theatre: Bingo! by Daniel MacIvor; Every Letter Counts, by Nina Lee Aquino; Brothel #9, by Anusree Roy

Recent Credits: As You Like It; Canadian Stage, Once on This Island; Acting Up Stage Company

Other Credits: Intimate Apparel; Alberta Theatre Projects, Tomasso’s Party; NextStage Festival, Master Harold and the Boys; Thousand Island Playhouse, Shakespeare’s Dog; Alberta Theatre Projects, The Bewitched; York University, Blacks Don’t Bowl; Black Theatre Workshop, The Monument; Obsidian Theatre.

Upcoming: Continuing the tour with Robin and the Blue Eyed Fairies

Special Thanks: Jason Golinsky, Kaitlin Hickie, and John Thomson

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B C U R R E N T

b current is the hotbed for culturally-rooted theatre development in Toronto. Originally founded as a place for black artists to create, nurture, and present their new works, the company has grown to support artists from all diasporas. Over the past 24 years, b current has created space for diverse voices to be heard, always with a focus on engaging the communities from which the stories emerge.

Untwisted - Storytelling through Hip Hop youth workshops are running alongside Twisted in the Regent Park neighbourhood of Toronto, where much of the play takes place. Co-facilitated by playwright-performers Sébastien Heins and Marcel Stewart, these workshops allow youth to tell their story through song using Hip Hop lyricism and vocal masque theatre creation.

who is b current?

Artistic Director Jajube MandielaArtistic Producer Alison WongPlaywright in Residence trey AnthonyBoard of Directors Karim Morgan (Chair) Charles O’Brien (Vice-Chair) Aaron Furfaro (Secretary-Treasurer) Eliza Albano Charlene Challenger Wilson Ho Lana Novikova Zach SmadumArtistic Director Emeritus ahdri zhina mandiela

Find us online: bcurrent.ca

Our thanks go out to TD Then and Now and BAND for supporting Twisted and the Untwisted workshop series!

TD Then and Now’s social media:

@blackartndialog @TD_canada

@blackartistsndialogue

facebook.com/blackartndialog

F A C T O R Y T H E AT R EArtistic Director Nina Lee Aquino Artistic Producer Jonathan Heppner

Associate Artistic Director Nigel Shawn Williams New Play Development Coordinator Matt McGeachy

Development and Partnerships Manager Brittney Cathcart Marketing & Audience Development Manager Renna ReddieMarketing & Communications Intern Bertha LeeBusiness Administrator Jada Skelly

Production Manager Erin Birkenbergs Mainspace Technical Director Jamie Monteiro Assistant Production Manager & Studio Technical Director Bryan EatonBuilding Maintenance Matt Armour

Box Office Manager Edna SnyderFront of House & Events Manager Ellen Hurley Patron Services Staff Ildiko Csermely, Cameron Laurie, Ali Malik-Noor, Lesley Nicholls

Media Relations FLIP Publicity & Promotions Inc.

Graphic Design Light up the Sky

Production Photographer Rachel McCaig Photography

2014/2015 Season Partner Companies b current, QuipTake, Native Earth Performing Arts, Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes, Theatre Smith-Gilmour, & U.N.I.T Productions

Playwright-in-Residence | David Yee Courtesy of Canada Council For the Arts

Natural Resources | Factory’s senior resident creation groupGenerously sponsored by the The Al Green GalleryKawa Ada, Marjorie Chan, Jeff Ho, Adam Paolazza, PJ Prudat, & Kat Sandler

The Foundry | Factory’s junior resident creation groupAdam Bailey, Sehar Bhojani, Zoe Erwin-Longstaff

The Mechanicals | Factory’s actor-training program focusing on new play developmentWayne Burns, Andrea Carter, Joella Crichton, Daniel Fernandes, Shruti Kothari, Alejandra Simmons, Christopher Manousos, Andy Perun, & Megan Walker

Board of DirectorsRon Struys (Chair), Anne MacDonald (Treasurer), Barbara Barde, Janet Dey, Joel Guberman, Cheryl Hawkes, Janna Levitt, Martha Lowrie (Interim Secretary), Greg Power, Len Racioppo (Vice Chair), Salil Ratnaparkhe, & Beverley Simonsen

Factory Theatre is a member of the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts and Theatre Ontario. In addition, we are a member of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres and engages under the terms of the Canadian Theatre Agreement, professional artists who are members of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association.

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THE ART OF CREATING A DISCOURSEDavid Yee, Playwright-in-Residence and Artistic Director of fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre Company reflects on Factory’s The Art of Building a Bunker Created by Adam Lazarus and Guillermo Verdecchia.

The play explores one rather nightmarish week in the life of Elvis, an everyman sort of non-descript office worker as he attends a sensitivity training course led by just-shy-of-cult-leader facilitator Cam.

I’ve actually been privy to a few versions of Bunker… the first was in Cahoots Theatre’s Hot House Playwrights Lab, where Adam was working on something he called I, Racist. The next version I saw was at the SummerWorks Festival in 2013. The title had been changed to The Art of Building a Bunker, Verdecchia had come on board as a co-writer and the narrative structure had been refined. I came out of the show feeling a little disturbed; not because I thought Adam or Guillermo were racists, or menaces to society. What I was worried about was the guy in front of me, in the audience. He was a bald, white guy, about 6’3” and probably north of 200lbs. This guy laughed at all the ‘inappropriate’ jokes, all the accent gags made him laugh, the part where Elvis is ranting about the Portuguese, the parts where he calls people ‘retarded’. He reacted to everything except the end. The end, where you see the cracks in Elvis. The end, where it becomes clear this is a man with debilitating fear. The end, where you are meant to feel bad about laughing at all the things which came before it… the guy built like a linebacker in front of me just kind of glazed over then. It went over his head. And that’s what disturbed me about the show. The least effective part of it was also the most important.

In Bouffon, as far as I understand it, the goal is to charm you into laughing at something fairly awful and offensive, then go home and realize you’re a terrible person for it. That you are part of the problem. That the funnier you find it, the more culpable you are. When you succeed only halfway, is it the fault of the clown or the audience?

I approached the next version I saw at Factory Theatre in 2014 with some reticence based on my past experience. I attended late in the run, unsure if it was something I needed to see again. The thing is, with theatre, I believe it’s important to see the work you don’t like several times in different iterations. How else would you gauge an artist’s body of work than to see them grow and change over time? This is why art was not meant to be a commodity, but a culture.

The final version of Bunker didn’t fully erase my past grievances and concerns, but they were sufficiently abated. There is a greater sense of dread in Elvis, the crippling fear that gave way only in the final moments, previously, felt more present from the outset. We understand more intuitively that this is a man motivated by fear and not hate. And that fear is articulated more clearly, when we do get around to it, it’s an incredibly complex and fragile moment that now strikes a more palatable balance between what is reactionary and what is ingrained. Elvis is still an anti-hero, he’s still a terrible person and a bad example for a young child to have (as is the case with him being a new father). Only, now, there is a separation between the fear and the reaction: the fear is normal, the fear is human, the fear should be addressed and stared hard in the face, that’s required of all of us. The reaction; his bunker building, his stealing (and subsequent molestation) of a cooked chicken, his rampant judgment and belligerence… the degree of catharsis you feel watching those actions is how well the clown mocks you.

— David Yee

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COMING UP NEXT AT FACTORY

THE UNPLUGGINGMARCH 14- APRIL 5, 2015

By Yvette NolanDirected By Nina Lee Aquino

A Factory and Native Earth Performing Arts Partnership

Winner of the Vancouver Jessie Richardson Theatre Award for Outstanding Original Script

In an instant, electricity all over the world stops and humanity is left in the dark. Two women, Bernadette and Elena, are banished from their community for being “useless.” Relying on traditional wisdom for survival they navigate a post-apoc-alyptic landscape until a stranger appears and they must make a choice: to save

the society that cast them out, or continue to risk their lives in isolation.

A Toronto Premiere featuring Umed Amin, Diana Belshaw and Allegra Fulton

Book Tickets Now by visiting our Box Office or calling 416-504-9971

Supported by THE PLURALISM FUND | NANCY’S VERY OWN FOUNDATION