Forces of Chaos opens their season with the Edmonton premiere of [sic] at the Catalyst Theatre running Sept. 21 to 30.
Penned by Melissa James Gibson, this Obie Award-winning play is an avant-garde take on three creatively temperamental friends living in different apartments on the same floor.
The three friends — a woman and two men in their 20s — are neighbours, friends, wannabe lovers and losers. They’ve come to the big city looking for money and affection. Instead, they blunder through life possibly, needing a few doses of Valium.
“They’re just not fully committed to their own lives. They feel stuck in each other’s lives. They can’t get away from each other,” says director Amy DeFelice.
[sic] stars Kristi Gunther-Hansen (Folie Ĺ• Deux) as Babette, a writer with big temper tantrums. There’s Patrick Howarth (A Number) as Theo, a nebbish composer writing a heroic theme for an amusement park, and Cody Porter (This Lime Tree Bower) as Frank, a would-be auctioneer constantly practicing tongue twisters.
St. Albert Children’s Theatre Marissa Kochanski has designed the set, a framework of set pieces taped like a blueprint. “We’re hanging windows and doors and the thin walls are taped out. It reflects the characters’ lack of commitment,” DeFelice adds.
Performances run Tuesday to Saturday at 8 p.m. with weekend matinees at 2 p.m. Regular tickets are $22, students and seniors are $20. Call 780-420-1757 or online at www.tixonthesquare.ca.
STOMP, the international percussion sensation, returns in full urban glory to the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium from Nov. 8 to 13.
A combination of percussion, movement and visual comedy, STOMP has a unique rhythmic expression. Using both household and industrial objects, it dances and drums non-stop.
Stiff bristle brooms, Zippo lighters, thumping wooden poles are paired in concert with dustbins, tea chests, radiator hoses, boots and hub caps to fill the auditorium with an incredible sound impossible to repeat.
STOMP plays Tuesday to Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Weekend matinees are at 2 p.m. Tickets start at $42 and will go on sale Monday, Sept. 26, at 10 a.m. through all Ticketmaster outlets and online at www.ticketmaster.ca.
Tomorrow night, Canadian Métis country music singer/songwriter Jess Lee makes an appearance at LB’s Pub Songwriter’s Showcase.
Over a 30-year professional career, Lee has dabbled in country, blues and aboriginal music.
In 1980, he was the lead singer of Midnite Rodeo Band and a decade later recorded his first solo album, Honky Tonk Love Affair. The album garnered five Canadian chart hits, including the No. 1 hit Crowhill Road.
By the mid-1990s, Lee returned to his aboriginal roots and, with songwriter Bonnie James, wrote the album Sacred Ground. In 2004, Lee joined indie label Mighty Peace Records and released Born in the North, a CD of roots music.
Offering backup support at the showcase are Fred Larose, Charlie DeShane and Kenny Skoreyko.
The showcase starts at 9 p.m. No cover.
