EVALYN PARRY’S
SPIN
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Artosphere: SPIN
Program 80 minutes
(no intermission)
Written and performed by Evalyn Parry Featuring Brad Hart on the bicycle Directed by Ruth Madoc-Jones Video and Production design by Beth Kates Technical Director Shanna Miller
PRODUCTION HISTORY SPIN was originally developed and presented in collaboration with Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto, with support from The Toronto Arts Council, The Ontario Arts Council, The Canada Council for the Arts and the Banff Centre. It has since been presented all over North America; some recent highlights include The High Performance Rodeo in Calgary, The Painted Bride in Philadelphia, The Cultch in Vancouver, a 10-day tour in the Northwest Territories with the Northern Arts and Culture Center, the Krannert Center in Urbana, Illinois‌and many places in between. Upcoming productions: SPARK Festival at The Belfry Theatre in Victoria and Lincoln Center in New York.
THANKS Evalyn would like to acknowledge the generous creative contributions of the company, especially to the original collaborators Brad Hart, Anna Friz and album co-producer Don Kerr, and to the other musicians who have been part of the show’s evolution: Michael Holt, Kathleen Kajioka, Kevin Fox, Annabelle Chvostek and Anne Lindsay. Thanks also to Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, especially Brendan Healy and Charissa Wilcox; to Ruth Madoc-Jones, Beth Kates and Shanna Miller, Peter Zeutlin (for his excellent book about Annie Londonderry; annielondonderry.com), Mary Goldiner, Sebastienne Mundheim and White Box Theatre, Iner Souster, Simon Farla, Pearl Rachinsky, Yvonne Bambrick, Tammy Fox of Fox Entertainment, Michelle Ramsay, Lindsay Anne Black, Jason Charters and Riddle Films, Suzanne Robertson, and all the fans and supporters who have helped SPIN travel far and wide. For more information, music and lyrics, please visit evalynparry.com.
Note from the Creator “I began to feel that myself plus the bicycle equaled myself plus the world, upon whose spinning wheel we must all learn to ride, or fall into the sluiceways of oblivion and despair.” — Frances E Willard, 1895 Since I was a little girl, I have always loved to ride my bicycle. It’s my primary form of transportation at home in Toronto and my love affair with my bike is what originally inspired me to create SPIN. But it wasn’t until I began the historical research for the project that I began to understand just how significant the impact of the bicycle has been – and in fact, continues to be – on the lives of women, here in North America and all around the world. SPIN recounts the story of several 19th century adventurers and women’s rights activists, for whom the bike provided a truly revolutionary form of emancipation. It’s easy today to take our many rights and freedoms for granted and to forget the hard-won battles – like women’s right to vote - fought by courageous pioneers who helped pave the (still unfinished) road toward true equality. Today, cycling advocates around North America fight to make our streets more safe and equal for cyclists, while around the world, the bicycle continues its quiet revolution. It was only two years ago that Saudi Arabia lifted the ban on women riding bicycles (and they are still prohibited from using bikes as a mode of transport or taking part in competitive cycling), while in developing countries around the world, access to a bicycle can be a game-changer for a girl: a means to gainful employment or getting to school, literally mobilizing her toward a better future. Inspired by the many histories / herstories and metaphors contained in bicycles, SPIN is ultimately about more than just the love of bikes: it’s about the pursuit of freedom and how every act of resistance, however complex, plays a role in our evolution as a human race—moving us further down the road. Ride on!
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Artosphere: SPIN
Company Bios EVALYN PARRY (writer and performer) Evalyn is an award-winning theater-maker: writer, performer, director and songwriter, whose multi-disciplinary work is inspired by intersections of social activism, history and autobiography. Over the last decade, her solo and collaborative performances have taken her from coast to coast of North America; she has released four critically-acclaimed albums of original music and her work has been widely commissioned, broadcast and anthologized. Over the past five years, SPIN has toured all over North America; the SPIN album was nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award and Evalyn’s work has been recognized with The Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award, The KM Hunter Award for Theatre and a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Best Production, among others. Her new play, Gertrude and Alice (created with the acclaimed feminist collective Independent Aunties) explores the lives, love and influence of Gertrude Stein and Alice B Toklas; it premiered at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto in 2016. She is currently working on a new multimedia work about the Arctic called The Age of Melting, inspired by her travels in the Canadian North. In September 2015, Evalyn became the new artistic director of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto, the world’s largest and longest running queer theater company. She rides a dark green Pashley bicycle. BRAD HART (bicycle percussionist) Brad is a Canadian multiinstrumentalist, actor, writer and
singer. Brad’s one-man show, OH GOD – THE DRUMS premiered in 2013 and received rave reviews, including winning the Best New Play Contest at the Hamilton Fringe. The film Hidden Driveway, which he wrote, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011 and has gone on to play at various festivals around the world. As a musician, Brad has recorded and toured with such artists as Treasa Levasseur, Amélie and Les Singes Bleus, Peter Katz, Ken Whiteley, James Hill and Garth Hudson of The Band. He is currently touring in Evalyn Parry’s SPIN, a show he has been an intrinsic part of since its inception. SPIN has taken Brad all over Canada and the U.S., including a two-week tour of the Northwest Territories. Along with Parry and Don Kerr, Brad co-produced the soundtrack album for the show, which was nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award. He is a recipient of the Tim Sims Encouragement Fund Award for comic writing and performing. He is currently working on his own album. He rides his Linus 3-speed Roadster wherever and whenever he can. www.bradhart.ca BETH KATES (production and video design) Beth is an award winning lighting, projection, set and costume designer and the co-creative director (with husband Ben Chaisson) of Playground Studios, a design firm dedicated to creating beautiful productions and inventive experiences for families. Their interactive installations include LightSpan, which took over a whole bridge for Nuit Blanche North, Night Light Travels (Nuit
Blanche Toronto) and The ToyBox an installation dedicated to play. They also created projections for all the Ross Petty pantomimes since 2011 and for Ragtime, Pygmalion and Light Up The Sky at the Shaw Festival. Other highlights include Vigilante (Catalyst), Road to Mecca (Soulpepper), Dee Snider Rock and Roll Christmas Tale (Yonover/Snider Productions), War of the Worlds (Art of Time Ensemble), Brimful of Asha (Ravi Jain), SEEDS (Blyth Festival) and many shows for Koba, including Dora the Explorer and Bubble Guppies. Her best production to date is her 3 year old son, Aaron. Upcoming: Alice (Shaw Festival), The Last Donnelly Standing (Blyth), projects with The Brain Farm and her co-creation with Steven McCarthy, Memory Play. Beth’s first love is lighting rock bands, which is how she started her career at the age of 14, so Evalyn’s beautiful show has been a full-hearted joy to be part of. www.playgroundstudios.ca www.bethkates.com RUTH MADOC-JONES (director) Ruth is an award-winning director and creator of theater, dance and new opera. Selected professional directing credits include Fare Game: Life in Toronto’s Taxis (Theatre Passe Muraille/Taxi Collective), The Post Mistress (OKW/Public Energy), Free As Injuns (Native Earth Performing Arts), STRIA (Chartierdanse/Public Energy), SPIN (Buddies in Bad Times Theatre/Outspoke productions), Beauty dissolves in a brief hour (Queen of Puddings Music Theatre), Shudder (Humsoundart/La Chapelle/Buddies in Bad Times Theatre), Madness of the Square (Cahoots Theatre Projects/ Factory Theatre), Stitch – an a cappella
opera (Urban Vessel/Free Fall Festival/ Theatre Centre), A Nanking Winter (Nightwood Theatre/Cahoots Theatre Projects), The Drawer Boy (Theatre Passe Muraille), The Gladstone Variations - Requiem for a Hotel (Convergence Theatre), Dreary and Izzy (Native Earth Performing Arts) and Antony and Cleopatra (Shakespeare in the Rough). She is a recipient of the K.M. Hunter Award and the John Hirsch Director’s Award. She is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada. Presently, Ruth is a resident in the Bell Media Prime Time TV Program at the Canadian Film Centre. She rides a dashing white fixie bicycle. SHANNA MILLER (technical director) Shanna is a Toronto-based technical director and production manager. She works with theater and dance with companies across the country. Credits include Stria (ChartierDanse); Svadba – Wedding (Queen of Puddings Music Theatre); Agokwe (Buddies in Bad Times Theatre), Penny Plain, Billy Twinkle; Requiem for a Golden Boy and 10 Days on Earth, Provenance (Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes); Dance Marathon (Bluemount inc.) and Life Duets (Kaeja d’Dance). She is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada Technical Program. Shanna feels very privileged to be part of SPIN and is looking forward to riding her Kona Hoo-Ha mountain bike next summer.
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Upcoming Events: ++ Circa’s Carnival of the Animals | May 13 ++ Trail Mix on the Razorback Greenway | May 14 ++ Frisco Trail Mix | May 15 ++ The Okee Dokee Brothers | May 15 ++ Egg | May 21
artospherefestival.org | 479.443.5600
OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES!
Get outside and get creative! Experience art and nature on a guided bike ride. Artosphere Bike-itecture Tour | May 21 This event kicks off at Phat Tire Bike Shop where bike rentals will be available. Participants will ride along the bike path to Waterside Building Center where there will be a guided tour of the building’s architectural design, low-impact operations and building envelope, among its other sustainable elements. We’ll wrap things up at Core Brewery with refreshments, snacks and a fruitful discussion on sustainable practices you can integrate at home. FREE Recommended for ages 12 and up
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SPONSORS AND FUNDERS
This project is proudly supported by:
MEDIA PARTNERS
INDIVIDUALS Bob & Becky Alexander Emily & James Bost June Carter Tom & Cynthia Coughlin Sandy Edwards Pete & Shirley Esch Hershey & Denise Garner Jeff & Lisa Gearhart Reed & Mary Ann Greenwood Orville & Susan Hall
Rick & Marybeth Hays Malcolm & Ellen Hayward Tom & Jill King Greg & Hannah Lee David & Deborah Malone Margaret & Dick Rutherford Frank & Sarah Sharp Barbara G. Taylor