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BORAT’S
TEACHER TRAINS OTTAWA CLOWN COMPANY THEATROPHY AND
INSPIRES LATEST CREATION MORIBUND
Media Release Ottawa, ON- Wednesday March
12, 2008
After a year of hiatus to study in Europe, THEATROPHY,
Ottawa’s only creation-based professional
theatre company, returns to present their newest
production MORIBUND, under
the mentorship of the Great Canadian Theatre
Company (GCTC). Theatrophy was selected in
a highly competitive process as the very first
participant in the GCTC's new Production Mentorship
Program. MORIBUND is a dark comedy
inspired by the southern Italian tradition
of the Commedia dell’Arte and is being
produced March 26 to April 5. MORIBUNDruns
in the Studio of the
Irving Greenburg Theatre Centre on March
27 (preview performance March 26) which is
WORLD THEATRE DAY until April
5, 2008. Show times are 8:30 p.m.
(Tuesday-Saturday) and Pay-What-You-Can Matinees
on Saturday and Sunday at 3:30 p.m. Tickets
are $22, $18 for students and seniors. To purchase
tickets, call the GCTC Box Office at 613-236-5196
or buy in person at 1233 Wellington Street
West (at Holland Avenue), Ottawa. Visit online
at www.theatrophy.com.
Theatrophy is Jesse Buck and Aron
De Casmaker and Nick Di
Gaetano who are professional actors
and theatre creators. Their newest production
is inspired by a year spent in Paris, France
under the tutelage of Master Theatre Teacher, Philippe Gaulier
(www.ecolephilippegaulier.com). “Working
with Philippe Gaulier has helped us all to
find our own individual strengths and styles
within the company and to grow tremendously
as artists,” says Di Gaetano, “Training
in Europe has inspired us so much to come
back to Ottawa and produce new, vibrant and
non-conventional works of theatre.” Mr.
Gaulier is responsible for training accomplished
clown theatre artists such as Sacha Baron
Cohen (Ali G, Borat) Roberto Benigni
(Life is Beautiful) and Rowan Atkinson
(Mr. Bean, Black Adder).
Directing MORIBUND is
new Co-Artisitic Director Nicolas M. Di Gaetano
(A Company of Fool’s Richard III in
Bouffon). Aron De Casmaker (Mump and Smoot’s The
Hollow, Odyssey Theatre’s The
Barber of Seville), recent recipient of
an MFA in clown-based creation from the University
of Calgary plays the role of Pulcinella, a
character taken from the ancient Italian Commedia
Dell’Arte. Jesse Buck (Odyssey Theatre’s Scapin, A
Company of Fool’s Richard III in
Bouffon) recently wrapping his tour of
his solo show Bubkus (New York Clown
Festival, Toronto Festival of Clowns, Ottawa
Arts Court Theatre), plays the role of The
Prisoner, an ancient inmate who has been forgotten
and ravaged by time and loneliness. Designs
are being produced by Ottawa Designers Louise
Hayden (Costumes), Mark Rieger (Lights), Ange
The Barbarian (Sets) and Dawn
Wintour (Properties). Live, original
music is being created and composed by the
company with the help of local musician Andrew
Butko.
Featuring the Neapolitan scoundrel Pulcinella
and an unknown, forgotten criminal, this production
features live music composed by the company
and is the world premiere of an original Canadian
creation. Unlike anything else currently being
produced in Ottawa, MORIBUND invites
the audience to laugh and cry as these two
lovable characters suffer misery, imprisonment,
torture, despair, and, worst of all, the possibility
that there is a shred of beauty in the world.
Not to be missed, this new work by some of
Ottawa’s hottest young actors,is a darkly
comic journey through death, love and incarceration
Speaking about MORIBUND, De
Casmaker says, “This started out as a
solo piece as part of a thesis study at the
University of Calgary I was doing on the character
of Pulcinella. When we were selected for the
the mentorship with the GCTC, I thought that
this would be the perfect show to transform
from a thesis piece into a full-company production
and a great venue in which to explore our newly-acquired
European training.”
Theatrophy is first company to benefit from
the GCTC Production Mentorship Program, made
possible with the financial support of the
Ontario Trillium Foundation. Theatrophy is
also funded by the Ontario Arts Council.
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Media Contact:
Nicolas Di Gaetano
613-867-3549
info@theatrophy.com
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