From 4'33" in Baghdad, created by Concordia student Ülfet Sevdi.
Concordia students, faculty and alumni have always had a strong presence in the Montreal Fringe Festival. This year's Fringe, which runs from June 7 until June 17, is no exception. Here are Fringe shows with a Concordia connection – go and catch some great theatre!
1. 4’33” IN BAGHDAD
Concordia connection: Ülfet Sevdi (current interdisciplinary MA student)
Quick pitch: "4’33’’ in Baghdad is what one could call an “IMMERSIVE AND INTERACTIVE ACADEMIC STRIPTEASE” in the form of a TED talk stand-up comedy. Theoretically grounded, conceptual and experimental, the performance is about war, avant-garde art theory, sound art and imposed sound installations, invasion, academic research and imperialism (though not necessarily in that order)."
2. […]MORPH
Concordia connection: Natasha Perry-Fagant (BFA 13 Theatre Performance), director, plus collaborators Roxane Loumède (BFA 15, Theatre Performance), Nic Turcotte (BFA 15 Theatre Performance), Lexxus Reid (current BFA student), Chris Hicks (BFA 12 Theatre Performance).
Quick pitch: "From the three-time Frankie Award-nominated company that produced A David Lynch Wet Dream and SCRUM comes the surrealist movement essay […]morph, a piece that examines the corollary strife and overlapping trials faced by marginalised groups. Complete with the cacophonic sound and stunning projections Acherontia Productions are known for."
3. LUCKY
Concordia connection: Marie Leofeli R. Barlizo (BFA, Specialization in Drama Education, 1999), playwright.
Quick pitch: "Nina, Filipina, can no longer meet her parents’ expectations, decides to end it all. She tempts Sylvain, a former skinhead, to help her but he realizes she isn’t who she claims to be. Lucky examines the question: can we ever break free and become who we truly want to be?"
4. XHIGNESSED IT: A CELEBRATION OF FAILURE
Concordia connection: Matt Xhignesse (BFA 14 Theatre), writer/actor.
Quick pitch: "Do you feel like you make a total ass of yourself in nearly everything you do? Good news! You’re not alone! We even have a phrase for that feeling! Come Xhignesse it with us! EXCLAMATION MARKS!!!!! Also, it’s pronounced Zig-Ness."
5. MESSY BLUEPRINTS TO SEXUAL FREEDOM
Concordia connection: Oprah Lemorin and Avery Reid, Directors and collaborators Jennifer Nguyen, Maureen Adelson, Brianna Bagshaw-Stocks and Malcolm Mclaren (all current BFA students).
Quick pitch: "Two women hilariously and honestly navigate their thoughts on what it means to be sexually free. From raunchy sex to defining their vaginas to challenging their modesty, this two-hander piece is humorous, poetic and bold."
6. THE RUNAWAY GAME, OR A LOVE SONG FOR INSOMNIACS
Concordia connection: Leni Krivy (Current BFA student), playwright.
Quick pitch: "The name of the game is running away. Here is a start: paint walls to fix cracks. Do laundry and shower to fix smells. Kiss to fix loneliness. Change your name. Change your perfume. Remember this when you feel too large for the planet and too small for the pain."
7. SKIPPING UR MOM’S FUNERAL AND EATING PIZZA INSTEAD
Concordia connection: Madeline McKinnell (current BFA student), Matisse ApSimon-Megans (current BFA student), playwrights, and collaborator Sophie-Therese Stone-Richards (BFA 18 Theatre)
Quick pitch: "Skipping Ur Mom’s Funeral and Eating Pizza Instead is a tender depiction of three sisters on the morning of their mom’s funeral. Edging on the absurd, these three are heartbroken, hilarious, and hungry."
8. MID KNIGHT
Concordia connection: Laurent McCuaig-Ptire (BFA 16, Theatre, Playwriting), playwright.
Quick pitch: "Little Charming is on a daring mission: to save his parents’ marriage before the clock strikes Mid Knight!"
9. ENJEUX
Concordia connection: Mirek Metelski (BFA 12, Theatre Performance), playwright.
10. WILD BILL’S FACEBOOK LIVEFEED FEEDING-TIME YOUTUBE YEEEEHAW!
Concordia connection: Darren Steven Schilling (current BFA student), producer
Quick pitch: "Wild Bill, a YouTube star pet goldfish. Edward, his fame-drunk owner-producer and puppeteer. An army of internet commenters: fawning, trolling, giggling, threatening. Then, an unexpected threat to Bill’s life."
11. SCUM FM
Concordia connection: Jess Fildes (BFA 13, Theatre)
Quick pitch: "Turn on your radio, crank the volume and adjust your dial to SCUM FM. Get ready for deep talk and acid rock as your unhinged host takes you down the rabbit hole of depravity, and pulls you deep into the pits of perversion. It’s radical radio for far-out minds."
12. BITE YOUR TONGUE
Concordia connection: Alessandra Tom, director, and playwright Olivia Siino (both current BFA students).
Quick pitch: "We got invited to this dinner party by an older, cooler, more-woke-feminist-than-us. But we’re not sure we have anything intelligent to say to them. What even is feminism? Should we pretend to be vegan? Are we allowed to smoke in here? Should I have shaved my pubes? When are they coming back? WHEN ARE THEY COMING BACK!?"
13. SLAYING IN SUBURBIA: AN INTERACTIVE MURDER MYSTERY
Concordia connection: Alicia Magliocco (current BFA student) and Neusha Taherian (current BFA student), directors.
Quick pitch: "A murderer among the soccer moms, barbecue dads, and swimming pools. Welcome to the cul-de-sac."
14. THE AUTISM MONOLOGUES
Concordia connection: Jen Viens (current BFA student), director, with collaborator Stephen Booth (BFA 13, Theatre and Political Science)
Quick pitch: "Stories told from the perspective of autistic people, family members, advocates and hinderers are interwoven into a theatrical journey of discovery."
15. SOTTO VOCE
Concordia connection: Sara Iorio (BFA 15)
Quick pitch: "Gianni Grigio was always a quiet boy. Now, those closest to him must speak to his suicide. Join ACT! Montreal in this symphony of interweaving voices, monologues and music that explores the web of psychological and emotional turmoil that ultimately led to Gianni’s final decision, and the lives surrounding him."
16. LINGE SALE
Concordia connection: Stage manager, Danielle Eyer and technical director, Margot Drukker (current BFA students).
Quick pitch: "After the death of her father, Natalie and her homophobic mother are forced to reunite to fulfill his wish of having his ashes scattered in Percé, QC. But why this town? And who is Antoine, their mysterious host? Linge Sale is a new bilingual play about intergenerational queerness and loss."
17. $ELF MADE $LUT
Concordia connection: Brittany Sweet (BFA 17 Theatre and Development), playwright/director, and collaborator Lorna Craig (BFA 14 Theatre and Development)
Quick pitch: "Welcome to Janie’s bedroom, a secret world of fantasy and taboo. Come hang out with Janie as she works from home, and see what goes on behind the closed doors of an online smut producer. Don’t keep her waiting, she’s dying to finally be able to share her stories."
18. DANCE SIDE OF THE MOON
Concordia connection: Helen Simard (BFA 00, Contemporary Dance)
Quick pitch: "A reimagining of the greatest concept album of all time, using movement, music and video projection to create a hauntingly poetic reflection on fear, isolation and hope."