Ilana Lucas has been a big theatre nerd since witnessing a fateful Gilbert and Sullivan production at the age of seven. She has studied theatre for most of her life, holds a BA in English and Theatre from Princeton and an MFA in Dramaturgy and Script Development from Columbia, and is currently a professor of English and Theatre at Centennial College. She believes that theatre has a unique ability to foster connection, empathy and joy, and has a deep love of the playfulness of the written word. Her favourite theatrical experience was the nine-hour, all-day Broadway performance of The Norman Conquests, which made fast friends of an audience of strangers.
Selkie, by high school student Isabelle Hinch, was chosen as this year’s SummerWorks workshop production from the Sears Drama Festival regional finals. The play received a reading at the Factory Theatre Rehearsal Hall, directed and performed by professionals. It’s the story of two sisters in a small fishing village, one of whom pursues romance and a mythical creature (a selkie appears as a seal in water but takes human form on land, and is not to be confused with a portrait taken of oneself via outstretched arm). It is also entirely in French without subtitles, a language I have used but not officially studied for more than a decade, so if I’ve missed any nuances or details, the fault is mine.
Amanah, a play by 15-18 year old students now playing at the Scotiabank Studio Theatre, Pia Bouman School, at the 2016 SummerWorks Festival, is a story of immigration that mixes folklore and stories from actual Syrian immigrants with musings on political, media and personal reactions to the current crisis. Though in the end it bites off a little more than it can chew, the effort is admirable and results in genuinely moving and lovely moments. To pirate a phrase, the kids are all right.
What is love? More to the point, what is #7Love? Currently playing at The Paddock Tavern as part of the 2016 SummerWorks Festival, it’s an interactive play about love and heartbreak that spans the decades between the ages of 7 and 97. I may be a little biased, as someone who is currently in love, but #7Love is a lot of fun, and may leave you with a warm glow inside. If you’re having love troubles, though, it might leave a little hole in your heart – or, perhaps, a little hope.
Shakespeare BASH’d has had a very good run at the Toronto Fringe Festival. Their yearly shows, 90 minutes of pared-down Shakespeare set in the upstairs room at the Victory Cafe, lend themselves to a convivial (and drink-friendly) atmosphere, and tend to sell out quickly. This year’s The Comedy of Errors is the company’s Fringe swan song; as the Bard himself said, parting is such sweet sorrow.
Selkie, by high school student Isabelle Hinch, was chosen as this year’s SummerWorks workshop production from the Sears Drama Festival regional finals. The play received a reading at the Factory Theatre Rehearsal Hall, directed and performed by professionals. It’s the story of two sisters in a small fishing village, one of whom pursues romance and a mythical creature (a selkie appears as a seal in water but takes human form on land, and is not to be confused with a portrait taken of oneself via outstretched arm). It is also entirely in French without subtitles, a language I have used but not officially studied for more than a decade, so if I’ve missed any nuances or details, the fault is mine.
What is love? More to the point, what is 
