2010 Festival
This year’s festival promises to be one of our most exciting to date! We’ve invited extraordinary artists from across the country to present their lively performances in Muskoka/East Parry Sound. Each evening’s line-up includes acrobats, break dancers, beat boxers, stilt walkers, tap dancers, musicians and even a food fight or two. Now in its third year, the nightly event begins with fresh bread and soup served on site and free arts activities for youth. Performances will follow. Whether you’re 6 or 96, there’s something for all!
Wednesday July 7 @ 7pm- Burks Falls, Stan Darling Parkette
Thursday July 8 @ 7pm- Sundridge, Lions Club Park
Friday July 9 @ 7pm- Huntsville, Town Docks
Saturday July 10 @ 7pm- Huntsville, Town Docks
Sunday July 11 @ 6pm- Port Carling, James Bartleman Island Park
Food service and activities will commence approximately one hour before above show times. Admission to the festival is by donation.
2010 Shows:
Koshi
by Manu Cyr’k (Montreal)
Set in a faraway magical land, Koshi tells the hilarious action-packed story of a love triangle between a princess, the prince that she is arranged to marry, and the leader of rebel forces that oppose her father’s kingdom. Inspired by Kung-Fu Movies and drawing from the disciplines of contemporary dance, breakdance, circus, and physical theatre, Koshi is a highly visual and entertaining experience. With flashy custom-made costumes, ridiculous comical characters and a live sonic landscape created by the sound effects, narration and beat boxing of the performers, this thrilling spectacle will make your heart beat and your mouth grin.
Get on Board
by Meredith Thompson and Kate Franklin (Toronto/Huntsville)
A lively tap trio performed on, around, beside and under a eighteen-foot-long picnic table. Known amongst themselves as the Watts Local Scuffers, the tappers are a vagabond group of sorts, who show off fancy footwork, execute exciting physical feats and banter between themselves, all to the thrill and delight of audience members of all ages!
Grub
By Satellite Theatre (Montreal)
A glorious feast of macabre clowning! Under the urge of an empty stomach, two buffoons explore the hilarious world of food and all it’s substitutes, linking it all by a simple but true fact: eating is killing. This insatiable duo will stop at nothing to feed their appetites. Warning, food fights may break out at any moment!
2009 Festival
This year’s festival was a huge success. We expanded our festival to travel to 4 different towns over the span of 5 nights. We made stops in Burks Falls, Huntsville, Port Sydney and Bracebridge presenting four professional performances. Each evening’s line-up included giant puppets, acrobats, stilt walkers, modern dancers and a 5-part a capella musical presented by artists from across Canada. The nightly event began at 6pm with delicious affordable soup and bread served on site and free arts activities such as stilt walking and puppet making. Featured performances began at 7pm. Thanks to the support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the Ontario Arts Council and Heritage Canada, the festival remained a pay-what-you-can event. The festival attracted close to 700 spectators and engaged 160 youth in arts activities. Thanks to all who came out!
Thursday July 9th Heritage River Walk, Burks Falls
Friday July 10th & 11th Town Docks, Huntsville
Sunday July 12th Town Docks, Port Sydney
Monday July 13th Millenium Park, Bracebridge
2009 shows:
Lezardom by Manu Cyr’k (Montreal)
Lézardom is the story of a giant lizard that brings dreams to life. From its depths two clownish acrobats are born. They bring with them giant flags, astounding juggling feats, mesmerizing staff play and of course flames, the symbolic breath of the lizard. A festive, delirious, energetic and outrageous performance for all ages!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE_HIz7sctc
Lear’s Shadow by Kiersten Tough (Toronto)
Inspired by Shakespeare’s King Lear, Lear’s Shadow is a solo peformance by Kiersten Tough. The piece is a blend of clown, classical text and spirit channeling that tells the story of King Lear, as seen through the eyes of Cordelia, who perhaps has more in common with the Fool than your average Princess/Queen. Shakespeare’s play as told from the other side. In fifteen minutes.
Watermark by Meredith Thompson & Mairéad Filgate (Huntsville/Toronto)
Watermark! is a collaboration between co-creators, dancers, and friends, Mairéad Filgate and Meredith Thompson. Created for the outdoor space, where water sources abound, it is a physically demanding and energetic dance duet that explores our human relationship to water and one another. It is a playful piece with exciting and unexpected moments that will leave audiences smiling and maybe a little wet …
Watermark! follows hot on the heels of Filgate and Thompson’s successful collaboration entitled Vantage Point, which they made for and performed upon a rooftop in Toronto’s Kensington Market in the summer of 2008.
Lake Nora Arms by Michael Redhill, Jane Miller and Brian Quirt (Toronto)
Originally a book of poems by Michael Redhill (Martin Sloan, Consolation) edited for Coach House Press (1993) by Michael Ondaatje, Lake Nora Arms skillfully navigates the “blue hallways” of memory and longing, drawing on tastes and touches as if for the first time. Commissioned by Toronto’s leading theatre development company, Nightswimming, this stage adaptation, a series of interlocking songs and monologues, features Jane Miller’s original score sung entirely A Cappella by the superb five-member cast. The folk-pop music and text combine seamlessly to immerse and envelop us in a mythical place, making for an intimate and wholly original way to experience Redhill’s evocative poems.
2008 Festival
In July of 2008, the festival made its debut in downtown Huntsville. The 2-day event brought together over 200 spectators, 23 Professional and Community artists, and one giant moose puppet. Three professional clown based performances delighted audiences. The event set itself apart from other summer theatre festivals by its capacity for community engagement. Fourteen local artists of all ages developed and presented original pieces, and over 60 youth participated in various theatrical activities including stilt walking, puppet making and the construction of a giant moose puppet. In total, the festival affected over 600 people in the Huntsville area.
Bigf
oot
by Golgi Apparatus
A rough-and-tumble show featuring the exploits of three intrepid explorers who fearfully, boldly and hilariously stumble their way through the woods in search of Bigfoot and the reward promised for a picture of the creature. Will they find him in the wilds of Huntsville?
The Morbid St
ranger
by Les Trouveres
The celebrated Victorian touring company attempt a comeback with their breathless adaptation of the classic tale of political intrigue, romance and revolution in 19th century Europe. A rare opportunity to see these fustian and out-dated performers, who, if they had a prime, are most certainly past it. A must-see.
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