By Alicia Ward
While almost anyone could call themselves a fan of stand-up comedy, far fewer people could claim to regularly enjoy it live. Calgarian comedian Doug Mutai believes that live stand-up comedy can’t be compared to watching it on video. “You might think you like comedy on YouTube or TV, but it’s so much better live,” says… Continue reading Doug Mutai is better than YouTube
By Alicia Ward
Anton Chekhov, the famous 19th century Russian playwright, was a master of subtext. He was able to express meaning without simply stating things outright, yet this gift did not always result in very exciting plays. However, the University of Calgary’s drama department is taking a different approach to Chekhov’s work, one that blends the subtext… Continue reading The gift of The Seagull
By Alicia Ward
George F. Walker is a playwright known for placing people in impossibly complicated situations that only get worse, while presenting his characters and their choices in a way that forbids the audience from judging them. In the University of Calgary drama department plays Problem Child and Risk Everything, the characters RJ and Denise are in… Continue reading Check into the Suburban Motel
By Alicia Ward
Imagine what it would be like to have a concert in your living room: just you and a few friends gathered around a performing musician, enjoying an intimacy not found anywhere else. Gallery House Concerts attempts to capture that closeness, offering a chance for people to enjoy the performances of talented musicians in the coziness… Continue reading Home is where the concert is
By Alicia Ward
University is the perfect place for artists to hone their craft. Surrounded by thousands of like-minded individuals, they are able to flourish and grow in skill and confidence. But what happens when they finally leave school and enter the potentially unforgiving world of the professional artist? To help prepare art students for life after graduation,… Continue reading A PUSH in the right direction
By Alicia Ward
Where can you find a show that will both entertain and provoke you to think? That makes you laugh as well as cry? How about a show that showcases acting, dancing and singing, too? This might seem like a tall order, but Taking Flight actually has it all. Taking Flight: A Festival of Student Work… Continue reading Taking Flight, manatee sex and Canadian history
By Alicia Ward
Our world has changed since the 18th century, yet our sense of humour remains the same. The slapstick comedy we see in modern sitcoms has a strong presence throughout history in a theatre form known as Commedia dell’Arte. This month, the style is coming to the EPCOR Centre’s Motel in the complex comedy The Servant… Continue reading The Servant of Two Masters to delight Calgary audiences
By Alicia Ward
We all know that girl — you know, the one who’s still with her boyfriend from Grade Eight and finds herself contemplating more white dresses than Fibonacci squares during midterms — and the one that you may have tried to talk out of leaving school in pursuit of the nuclear family. Director and playwright Brooklyn… Continue reading Wedded bliss? More like wedded hit-or-miss
By Alicia Ward
A performance that’s labelled an “interactive online reality dance show” may sound like a combination Jersey Shore/Dancing with the Stars-themed video game or something equally nauseating, but Inlayers is, thankfully, not. Taryn Javier and Jenn Doan are two Canadian artists who thrive off dancing, collaborating and exploring, and their project and performance Inlayers touches on… Continue reading Inlayers: contemporary dance for dummies
By Alicia Ward
Although it might sound like a cheesy horror flick, The Swamp Dwellers is actually a widely acclaimed play by Nobel Prize winner Wole Soyinka. The University of Calgary’s drama department’s production of this play, directed by MFA student Edward Ogum, is sure to offer up important, emotional and perhaps controversial conversation topics for audiences to… Continue reading The Swamp Dwellers awakens onstage