All The World's A Stage

At the corner of Bloor and St. Clarens near Lansdowne stands an old building with large windows and intricate architectural friezes. I'm not sure what it was 60-70 years ago, but for the past decade it has been home to a number of transient businesses: a lounge, a dollar store. The Mercer Union, an artist-run collective, has recently moved in. For the 2012 season, Summerworks held its launch party there Saturday night.

It was an opportunity for the organizers to announce some schedules including the line-up for the Live Performance Art series and the Music series. For the Music series, they are taking a different approach this year: the marquee events will not simply be named bands playing like previous years, but new collaborations between musicians and other performance artists.

Speaking of performances, the evening ostensibly had a full gamut of acts. But that didn't pan out as expected. All night, the MC Ron Pederson (National Theatre Of The World) and everyone else fought against the din of the crowd. People were there to schmooze, talk and drink. Combined with echoing high-ceiling of the main space, it was a lost cause. The cerebral acts including a reading from Daniel MacIvor's new play I, Animal, a poem about a Mexican cathedral, and songs from Ivy Mairi (Bruce Peninsula) were buried in the noise. There were also silly skits: Birdtown and Swanville's Bohemian Rhapsody sung by the dictators from their production "The Physical Ramifications of Attempted Global Domination" and Atomic Vaudeville's Batman dancing to Bollywood hits.

Summerworks Mascot

Dancing Despots

The night belonged to the meet and greet between aspiring actors, directors, producers, and all the various people involved in theatre or the arts. There was also a large complimentary spread of cheese, pizza, meat, sliders, and fruit that went relatively untouched. The chefs told us to feel free to pack a doggie bag; so I made out like a bandit. Surprising really, were there no "starving artists"? Or perhaps it was a matter of will-power: staying slender and attractive? Because this was the slimmest and most good-looking group of folks I've met lately.

"Pull My Baterang"

"White skin-u girl-u, girl-u heart-u black-u"