by heart
SEASON SPONSOR
WRITTEN & PERFORMED BY
TIAGO RODRIGUES A TEATRO NACIONAL D. MARIA II PRODUCTION PRESENTED BY CANADIAN STAGE IN COLLABORATION WITH THÉÂTRE FRANÇAIS DE TORONTO
MAY 30 - JUN 2
WRIT TE N & PE R FO R M E D BY
TIAGO RODRIGUES TE X T WITH FR AG M E NTS & Q UOTE S BY
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, RAY BRADBURY, GEORGE STEINER, JOSEPH BRODSKY, among others SE T, PRO PS & COSTU M E
MAGDA BIZARRO E NG LIS H TR ANSL ATION
TIAGO RODRIGUES R E VISE D BY
JOANA FRAZÃO STAG E MANAG E R
SARA CIPRIANO E XECUTIVE PRO DUC TIO N
RITA FORJAZ E XECUTIVE PRO DUC TIO N O N TH E O RIG INAL CR E ATIO N
MAGDA BIZARRO RITA MENDES CO - PRO DUCE RS
O ESPAÇO DO TEMPO MARIA MATOS TEATRO MUNICIPAL ORIGINAL CREATION BY MUNDO PERFEITO CREATED WITH THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF GOVERNO DE PORTUGAL | DGARTES
THIS PRODUCTION RUNS APPROXIMATELY 90 -120 MINUTES WITH NO INTERMISSION
CREATOR’S NOTE “The last thing to leave our dying lips may very well be a poem.” This is what essayist Joseph Brodsky wrote. Either this or something quite similar. I’m quoting from memory. Brodsky claims that the poem is born as a device to help us apprehend the world, simplifying the task of apprehending it. So rather than an end in itself, the poem would be a means or a tool to reach the goal of knowing a world by heart. Poetry would thus be the art of creating mnemonics. In this show, I tell stories related to my grandmother, to Boris Pasternak or to Ray Bradbury. I quote literature professor George Steiner, who refers to the texts we keep in our memory as “the decoration for the house of our interior,” perhaps ignorant of the fact that in Portuguese, “decorating” is a synonym of “learning by heart.” This play is essentially the portrayal of a search for the ultimate book, the only one that my grandmother would keep inside her head once her eyes failed her. My journey continues, for such are the ways of memory. A couple hundred spectators have already learned this sonnet by my side, on stage, in several languages, and I hesitate to believe that, even when the play’s tour is over, this journey will ever be over. Because I know that it is a journey in search of what might be my grandmother’s last words. And perhaps even my own last words.
TIAGO RODRIGUES
ARTISTIC DIRECTORS’ NOTES In the novel The Heart is An Involuntary Muscle (2004), Monique Proulx reminds us that literature is built with ideas and phrases borrowed, if not stolen, from others. In this story, her protagonist who is himself a novelist, seems to collect other’s truths, as if constructing a work of art was somehow an innately “inauthentic” enterprise. Proulx is surely right. And yet, in the Tiago Rodrigues performance that you are seeing today, the act of learning by heart has a completely different purpose: this internationallyrenowned Portuguese artist reminds us that the feeling of strangeness associated with the theatre is closely linked to the feeling of familiarity one finds in someone else’s story. In other words, to reach our hearts, Rodrigues tells a story that is both his own and ours. This is not surprising since the most universal tales are always strangely familiar to us. In so doing, Rodrigues puts emphasis on a second fact: the importance of empathy, which has become so terribly important in our time. Identification with another can inspire us to appropriate, to recall and to learn by heart. This is what makes us human, living in a community within a larger society. Tonight, guided by this master storyteller, we hope you can enjoy a fruitful visit to your own heart, an involuntary muscle delightfully full of feelings that invites only “authentic” experiences. Enjoy the show!
BRENDAN HEALY Artistic Director, Canadian Stage JOËL BEDDOWS Artistic Director, Théâtre français de Toronto
TIAGO RODRIGUES
MAGDA BIZARRO
SARA CIPRIANO
TIAGO RODRIGUES Writer & Performer Since he started out as an actor 20 years ago, Tiago Rodrigues has always looked at theater as a human assembly. In 2003, he co-founded with Magda Bizarro the company Mundo Perfeito, with which he created and presented performances in more than 20 countries. He collaborated with a large number of theatre artists, gave theater lessons in several schools and wrote screenplays, articles, poetry and essays. His latest performances (By Heart, Bovary, The way she dies or Sopro) granted him international recognition and, in 2018, he was awarded with the XV Europe Prize Theatrical Realities. The theatre of Tiago Rodrigues is deeply rooted in the idea of writing for and with the actors, searching a poetical transformation of reality through theatrical tools. He is the Artistic Director of the Teatro Nacional D. Maria II in Lisbon since 2015.
MAGDA BIZARRO Set, Props & Costume Designer Magda Bizarro graduated in chemistry and was involved in scientific research, previously to her work in the arts. After collaborating with several Portuguese theatre collectives during the 90’s as an executive producer and stage photographer, Magda created the company Mundo Perfeito, alongside Tiago Rodrigues, in 2003, where she was involved as one of the main creative contributors in over 30 creations that the company has presented in several countries. Magda is now the artistic assistant in Teatro Nacional D. Maria II. Beside the development of artistic ideas for some of the performances, she has been working in the set, costumes, communication and dramaturgical development, establishing herself as a creative producer with an extremely versatile approach to contemporary creation. She has also been working as a producer with other artists, like the film director Tiago Guedes and the choreographer Rui Horta.
SARA CIPRIANO Stage Manager Sara completed the Theatre Production course at Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema in Portugal. During her BA she had the opportunity to attend the Stage Manager course at Rose Bruford College in England for six months. In 2016, she started her career as a Stage Manager and a Theatre Producer. Between 2016 and the present year, she worked as a Stage Manager at the National Theatre D. Maria II and at The Days of Music Festival at CCB. In past year Sara not only worked as Theatre Producer at several independent projects but also joined Formiga AtĂłmica Theatre Company Production Team for a professional internship, managing the national tour of the show Montanha Rus.
C ANAD IAN STAG E S U P P O RTE RS AN N UAL F U N D We would like to thank the following individuals whose contributions to our annual fund help to sustain our ability to collaborate, innovate and create with cutting- edge artists from Canada and around the world.
AR TI S TI C D I R EC TO R ’ S CI RCLE UNDERWRITER $25,000+
DIRECTOR $10,000 -$24,999
Charles & Marilyn Baillie David W. Binet Susan Crocker, C.M. & John Hunkin John & Nancy Embry Ron Lalonde & Jane Humphreys Shawn McReynolds & Elaine Kierans Trina McQueen Maureen & Roger Parkinson Rob & Penny Richards Sandra Simpson Sylvia Soyka The Henry White Kinnear Foundation The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation Anonymous (1)
Sara Angel & Dr. Michael Angel Alexandra Baillie Adam Burke The William R. and Shirley Beatty Charitable Foundation Laura Dinner & Richard Rooney Margaret & Jim Fleck Sheila Goldman Sandra Pitblado & Jim Pitblado, C.M. Timothy & Frances Price Jim Riley & Nicole Sigouin Gretchen & Donald Ross Eli & Philip Taylor Julie, Peter & James In Memory of John David Wood
AR TI S TI C PATRO N S’ CI RCLE INNOVATOR $5,000 -$9,999 Huw Evans Brendan Healy Kathy Inch & Steve Simpson Kingfisher Foundation Peter Lyman & Judith Moses Sheena Macdonald & Phil Schmitt John Montesano Avery Swartz
VISIONARY $2,000 -$4,999 Rick Archbold & Rick Feldman Cathy Bateman Tony Baylis & Jacqueline Kirk Murray & Ellen Blankstein Gary Bryck & Renée Barrette
Jennifer Bratty Margaret Craw & Trevor Lloyd Dr. Roy Eappen Steven Endicott Robert & Julia Foster Margaret Genovese Marvin Green Linda Glover Robert Henderson & Diana Burke Ken Hugessen & Jennifer Connolly Peter Lyman & Judith Moses David Lynch & Melanie Carino Gail MacNaughton In Memory of John MacNaughton Ronan McGrath & Sarah Perry Ian & Patti Milne David Nichols Elisa Nuyten & David Dime
Perry Orestes & Tim Giguere Penny Partridge Vanessa Pfaff Otto & Marie Pick Charitable Foundation Len & Vivian Racioppo Gabrielle M. R. Richards In Memory of John & Norma Rogers Lena & Greg Sarkissian Lom & Michael Schelew Greg Sharp Jason Silzer Dennis & Denny Starritt Doug & Gail Todgham Antoinette Tummillo & John Carter Carole Winberg
These listings are current as of May 9, 2019 and we have made every effort to ensure appropriate recognition. If, however, your name has been accidentally omitted, listed incorrectly or misspelled, we apologize in advance for the error. Please notify us at donate@canadianstage.com with any corrections.
AMBASSADOR $750 -$1,999 Jill E. Black & Barry Allan Walter M. & Lisa Balfour Bowen Ernest & Barbara Balmer Marcia & Henry Blumberg Bozko & Verity Inc. David & Patti Bragg Louise Cannon Paul & Jean Emond George & Doone Estey David Heden Mary & Arthur Heinmaa Peter Herrndorf & Eva Czigler Jane Hill Edward & Ann Kerwin Ian & Dorothy MacDonald Robert Morassutti Alice Morgan Joanne Niblock & John Ozikizler Roger Pearce John van Nostrand & Kate Wilson Andrew Reddon & Diane Cordell Paul & Janice Sabourin Gerald Sheff & Shanitha Kachan Graham & Catherine Tobe David Young
ADVOCATE $250 -$749 Blaine Allan William & Lorna Anderson Ioana Bala Bandiera Family Douglas Barrett Moira Bartrem Vali Bennett Jennifer Birmingham Clare Booker Malcolm Burrows
David Clarry Jane Cawthorne Lorena Chioran Nancy Cohen Robert Cook Fern Daiter Professor Wayne Dowler Kevin Doyle Sandra Dudley John Duffy Debbie Dumaresq Ellen & Robert Eisenberg George Fallis Roy Firth & Elaine Casavant Mr. Christopher Ferguson Nikki Fraser Lorne Fox & Ken Marple In Memory of B. F. Gasmann Richard & Justine Giuliani Foundation Joel Greenberg & Phyllis Angel Sandra Greenfield Lyons Colin Gruchy Eric B. Hanbury Karen Heater Isabel Henniger Angela Herwin & Michael Dales Orit & Raphael Hofstein Leslie Hope Susan & Richard Horner Nancy Howe Nancy Jain In Memory of Gordon Jocelyn Matthew Jocelyn Robert & Popsy Johnstone Alex Josephson Rustam Juma Gerda Kaegi Karen Kalchhauser Emily Key Diane & Jim King Pia Kleber In Memory of Jacqueline Kolber Deborah & Rae Lake
Adrian Lang & Ash Taylor Delphine Milbrandt Lee Milliken & Doug MacNaughton Ingrid Minott Susan Moellers April Moon & Dickon Wallis James Moore Larry Moore Ms Susanne Palmer Eric E. Parker Maureen Parry Jerry Patava Dee Patterson Thomas Payne Marilee Pinto Sanjiv Purba Georgia Quartaro Greg Reed & Heather Howe Josephine Ridge Joy Rosen Glenna Ross Anthony Sargent & Caroline Gant Mr. Greg Seale Steven & Brynie Silver Ivor Simmons Drew Sinclair Jane Southren Mary Spyrakis Carol Strom Daniel & Sandra Sullivan Elizabeth Tory Tamara Trojanowska Dr. Paul Truelove Les & Ellen Wallace Martin Wasserman Ruth Watts-Gransden Brent Whitby Dr. Blossom T. Wigdor, C.M. Greg Wilkie Susan Witteveen Morden Yolles Irene Zaguskin Anonymous (4)
CIT Y B U I LD I N G @ C ANAD IAN STAG E CB@CS brings together members of Toronto’s building and corporate industries to enhance our city’s cultural legacy through the support of Toronto’s arts community. PRINCIPALS
ASSOCIATES
Castlepoint Numa Selkirk Investments SvN Architects and Planners Inc.
Boszko & Verity Inc. Hugh Clark CORE Architects LRI Engineering Inc.
Moriyama & Teshima Architects ONE Properties RAW Design Robin Simpson-McKay TAS Design
PARK + PICNIC + PLAY =
SHAKESPEARE IN HIGH PARK
much ado about nothing + measure for measure One of Toronto’s favourite summer traditions returns to stunning High Park! Enjoy a magical evening of theatre in the great outdoors featuring two of the Bards most popular works. Unforgettable - Affordable Family friendly - Just steps from the subway
C PWORY E ERV RES LINE N O
JUL 4 - SEP 1 416.368.3110 | canadianstage.com
Your participation is essential. Only with your support, will we continue to be Canada’s leading home for contemporary, interdisciplinary performing arts.
WAYS YOU CAN GIVE
O N L I N E canadianstage.com E M A I L donate@canadianstage.com P H O N E 416.367.8243 x327