Electric Company Theatre

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – PLEASE ADD TO YOUR LISTINGS

Friday July 15, 2011

Vancouver, BC (Friday, July 8, 2011) – A group of Vancouver theatre artists and companies are joining forces to present a one-night only reading of Catherine Frid’s play, HOMEGROWN at Progress Lab 1422 (1422 William St.) on Friday, July 15 at 7pm. Doors open at 6:30pm and admission is by donation.

The event will also be live-streamed online at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/wrecking-ball-vancouver, 7pm PST.

Participants include the Arts Club Theatre Company, Electric Company, Vancouver Playhouse, Neworld Theatre, Playwrights Theatre Centre, Touchstone Theatre, Headlines Theatre, Rock Theatre Co., urban ink productions, ACTivist Theatre Collective, Firehall Arts Centre, Felix Culpa, Presentation House Theatre, PAL Studio Theatre, Working Spark Theatre, MISCELLANEOUS Productions and Patrick Street Productions.

Vancouver’s theatre community is standing in solidarity with Toronto’s SummerWorks Festival to celebrate freedom of expression and the role of the arts in supporting healthy civic dialogue, as well as asking the question “how do we discuss difficult issues in our communities, if not through the arts?”

Even before HOMEGROWN - an exploration of Canadian justice system issues around the Toronto 18 terrorism case - opened at SummerWorks 2010, the festival was criticized for presenting it by the Prime Minister’s Office. Without any knowledge of the content of the play, the Prime Minister’s Office said, “We are extremely disappointed that public money is being used to fund plays that glorify terrorism.” Weeks before the opening of SummerWorks 2011, Canadian Heritage pulled their annual funding from the festival. The reason being put forward by the Federal Government: it’s a simple example of the arts community feeling entitled to funding. The actual sequence of events, however, points clearly in the direction of punitive action, attempting to stifle conversation about essential Canadian issues.

“I am hugely honoured to be part of this cross-country event”, says Marcus Youssef, who will be directing the reading. “It is a celebration of an important national cultural institution, the SummerWorks Festival in Toronto, which provides the launching pad for so much Canadian culture to be seen across the country, and around the world. Equally important, it is a reaffirmation of a belief that I think most Canadians share: it is not up to the government to decide what works of art are appropriate for us to hear, see, or read.  That is a decision Canadians are more than capable of  making for themselves. This is a cornerstone principle of our democracy, one that governments of all stripes perpetually claim to support. We hope this national celebration will make some small contribution to ensuring they actually do so.”

In addition to Mr. Youssef, the event will feature some of Vancouver’s finest actors. The ensemble will include Kathy Dubourg, Aslam Husein, Shaker Paleja, Hamza Adam, David Bloom and Kathryn Kirkpatrick.

SummerWorks supports work that has a clear artistic vision and explores a specific theatrical aesthetic. It encourages risk, questions, and creative exploration while insisting on accessibility, integrity and professionalism. SummerWorks is the place where dedicated, professional artists are free to explore new territory and take artistic risks. Rather than getting larger, the festival strives to get better. They look to introduce professional artists from diverse communities to each other and be inspired by their similarities and differences.

In an unprecedented show of support, theatre companies across Canada have begun working collaboratively to host simultaneous staged readings of HOMEGROWN by Catherine Frid. Companies involved at time of release include:

Aether of Us (Toronto ON), Aluna Theatre (Toronto ON), Blyth Festival (Blyth, ON), Canadian Stage (Toronto ON), Convergence Theatre (Toronto ON), Felix Culpa (Vancouver, BC), Flush Ink Productions (Kitchener, ON), Headlines Theatre (Vancouver BC), IATSE Local 58 (Toronto ON), Nakai Theatre (Whitehorse, YT), Native Earth (Toronto ON), Necessary Angel. (Toronto ON), Nightwood Theatre (Toronto ON), Obsidian Theatre (Toronto ON), Playwrights Theatre Centre (Vancouver BC), Praxis Theatre (Toronto ON) Reaching Symmetry Theatre (Hamilton, ON), Tarragon Theatre (Toronto ON), The Room (Toronto ON), Theatre Projects Manitoba (Winnipeg, MB), The Theatre Centre (Toronto ON), Theatre Passe Muraille (Toronto ON), Western Edge Theatre (Nanaimo BC), Why Not Theatre (Toronto, ON),Workman Arts (Toronto ON).

(Companies listed were collaborators at time of release, visit thewreckingball.ca for a complete list of involved companies across Canada).

Aluna Theatre originally produced Homegrown as part of the 2010 SummerWorks Festival, and it rapidly became one of the most talked about productions of the season.

“I think it’s fantastic that the theatre community is showing this support for the Festival,” said Michael Rubenfeld, Artistic Director of SummerWorks. “It shows what a valuable place it holds in both the Toronto and national arts scene. We’re very grateful.”

To donate to SummerWorks, please visit www.canadahelps.org. Proceeds from the Vancouver event will go to SummerWorks and to PEN Canada.

HOMEGROWN

by Catherine Frid

Friday, July 15^th 2011 7:00 pm, doors at 6:30pm. Cash bar.

Progress Lab, 1422 William St. Vancouver

Tickets: For reservations, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it – Donations accepted at the door

MEDIA CONTACT: Mike Mackenzie This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it