RYERSON
THEATRE
SCHOOL
2006
2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 13, 2006
PLEASE INCLUDE IN YOUR LISTINGS / ANNOUNCEMENTS
Media Contact: Paul Luciani
Phone: (416) 979-5118
Fax: (416) 979-5194
E-mail: p2lucian@ryerson.ca
www.ryersontheatre.ca
Ryerson Theatre School Presents
Caucasian Chalk Circle
written by
BERTOLT BRECHT
Caucasian Chalk Circle
Fuenteovejuna
written by
LOPE DE VEGA
translated by
RICHARD SANGER
Directed by: Guillermo Verdecchia
Set & Costume Design by: Camellia Koo
Lighting Design by: Peter Eaton
Sound Design by: Davin Aldridge
Ryerson Dances 2006
produced by
NADIA POTTS
PREVIEW: October 2nd, 2006
RUN:
October 3rd through 14th, 2006 / Tuesday – Saturday at 8:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m. Matinée performances October 7th & 14th
NO SHOWS: October 8th & 9th
Measure For Measure
written by
WILLIAM
SHAKESPEARE
Choreographic Works
produced by
VICKI ST. DENYS
New Voices
produced by
SHELDON ROSEN
By Bertolt Brecht
Toronto, Ontario - Ryerson Theatre School launches its 35th anniversary season with Bertolt
Brecht’s Caucasian Chalk Circle directed by Guillermo Verdecchia. Camellia Koo is returning
to design her second show for the School. Caucasian Chalk Circle previews Monday October
2nd, opens October 3rd, and runs through to October 14th at Ryerson’s Abrams Studio Theatre, 46
Gerrard St. East.
Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) was an innovative German playwright, theatre director and
theoretician who changed the direction of European theatre. His work was considered
groundbreaking, and he opened up new possibilities of how the stage could be used, and for what
purpose.
Caucasian Chalk Circle is one of Brecht’s most important plays, and is a parable inspired by the
Chinese play Chalk Circle. Written in the United States in 1944, the story is set in the Caucasus
Mountains of Georgia, and retells the tale of King Solomon and a child claimed by two mothers.
A chalk circle is metaphorically drawn around a society that has misdirected priorities. The play
was first staged in May, 1948 by students at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota.
46 Gerrard Street East
Toronto, ON
M5B 1G3
PH: 416-979-5118
FAX: 416-979-5194
Guillermo Verdecchia is a theatre maker (writer, director, actor, and collaborator) whose work
has been seen and heard across Canada and the around the globe. He is the author or co-creator
of, amoung other works, Fronteras Americans, The Noam Chomsky
Lectures, and Insomnia (with Daniel Brooks), A Line In The Sand (with Marcus Youssef), and
most recently, the controversial Adventures of Ali and Ali and the Axes of Evil (with Marcus
Youssef and Camyar Chai), which he directed and which continues to
tour Canada and the U.S. He is a recipient of the Governor General’s Award for Drama, a four
time winner of the Chalmers Canadian Play Award, as well as a recipient of Dora, Jessie, and
sundry film festival awards. He is the author of a critically-acclaimed collection of short fiction,
Citizen Suárez, published by Talonbooks.
Verdecchia’s directing credits include: Rahul Varma’s Bhopal for Cahoots Theatre Projects, of
which he was the Artistic Director for five years; Miss Orient(ed) for Carlos Bulosan Theatre, for
which he received a Dora nomination; Romeo and Juliet and Michael Miller’s In Freedom of
Dreams for Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People; the original production of Insomnia with
Daniel Brooks, and the Rumble Theatre the live-to-air broadcast of his play The Terrible but
Incomplete Journals of John D. A former Artist-in-Residence at the universities of Guelph and
Toronto, and Ca’ Foscari in Venice, his next directing project is The Five Vengeances, Jovanni
Sy’s Kung Fu adaptation of The Revengers’s Tragedy. He is also working on a new play with
Marcus Youssef, provisionally entitled Secure.
Camellia Koo’s previous design credits include Ryerson Theatre School’s production of Enemies;
Banana Boy (remount) (Fu-Gen/ Factory Theatre); Dreary & Izzy (Native Earth Performing
Arts); Bombay Black (Cahoots Theatre Projects) for which she received two Dora Awards for
outstanding Set and Costume Design; Kafka and Son, The Demonstration (Theatre Direct); and
The Bundle (Acme). She has been listed for Outstanding Design in Now Magazine’s Best of
Summerworks (People Power, The Russian Play, Charters, and Remember Lolo) for two
consecutive years. Camellia Koo is a graduate and alumna of Ryerson Theatre School and is
excited to be working with them once again.
Caucasian Chalk Circle
Ryerson Theatre School, Abrams Studio Theatre, 46 Gerrard St. East
Preview:
Runs:
Monday October 2, 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday October 3, 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday October 4, 8:00 p.m.
Thursday October 5, 8:00 p.m.
Friday October 6, 8:00 p.m.
Saturday October 7, 2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday October 10, 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday October 11, 8:00 p.m.
Thursday October 12, 8:00 p.m.
Friday October 13, 8:00 p.m.
Saturday October 14, 2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.
Ticket Prices:
$16 Regular; $12 students in advance (full price at the door);
$12 seniors; and $10 group rates (eight or more)
For more information on Caucasian Chalk Circle or tickets please contact the
Ryerson Theatre School Public Relations Office at (416) 979-5118
or e-mail rytheatre@ryerson.ca
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