Cast Spotlight: Sarah Thorpe

Sarah Thorpe plays decent Catholic Fay McMahon in the upcoming production of Loot; this is Sarah’s first production with Bygone Theatre.

Bio: Theatre artist and creative core member of Soup Can Theatre. BAH Theatre from York University. Created and performed in the award-winning one-woman show Heretic, a modern retelling of the story of Joan of Arc, in 2015. Acting credits: Gut Girls (Alumnae), Titus Andronicus (Seven Siblings), Behold, the Barfly! (Spoon Vs. Hammer/TO Fringe 2016/TO SketchFest 2017), The Comedy of Errors (Confidential Shakespeare Project), The Loyalists (Single Thread), Canadian premiere of Bare (Waters Edge), The Nightwood (Luminato), inaugural production of Tomson Highway’s Pimooteewin/The Journey (Soundstreams). Soup Can credits: directing Love is a Poverty You Can Sell 1 & 2 (TO Fringe 2010 & 2013, Best of Fringe 2010, Next Stage 2012), No Exit, Marat/Sade; producing Circle Jerk, A Hand of Bridge/No Exit double bill, Antigone (TO Fringe 2012). Producing elsewhere: Let’s Go! (DMT), Gut Girls, Behold, the Barfly!. Recent recipient of two OAC grants: mentorship in directing with Alan Dilworth through Theatre Ontario’s Professional Theatre Training Program, and a recommender grant through Volcano Theatre to create a play about Maud Wagner, the first known female tattoo artist in the US in the early 1900s. Facebook.com/SarahThorpeArtist • SoupCanTheatre.com

What made you want to be a part of Loot?

I love the satire in Loot. Nothing is sacred. It’s like a Monty Python episode in that way – everything is on the table to poke fun at.

How do you feel about your character? Do you relate to them at all? Share any of the same traits?

Without giving too much away, Faye is a master manipulator but she finds herself in a situation where those skills may not be enough to help her get what she wants. We’ve all been in situations where we find ourselves in over our heads and scramble to try to get the situation back in our control.

What’s been your favourite part of the rehearsal process so far?

It’s just a really fun room to be in. It’s a farce, so I think it’s important that the atmosphere we work in is light and absurd, in a constructive way of course.

What’s your favourite thing to have come out of the 1960s?

Lots of music: David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, The Velvet Underground, Marianne Faithfull, I could go on….

Are you working on any other projects at the moment/ What might we have seen you in recently?

I recently received a recommender grant from the Ontario Arts Council (recommended via Volcano Theatre) to create a piece about Maud Wagner: a circus artist who became the first known female tattoo artist in the US in the early 1900s. I’ll be creating this piece with two friends and colleagues, one a circus artist and one a tattoo artist. Once Loot‘s run is over, I’ll be jumping in to that! 

Why should people come out and see the show?

Need a break from reality and a couple of hours to just laugh and enjoy some ridiculous hi-jinks? Get your butts to bygonetheatre.com to get your tickets!

Anything else you want us to know?

I’m not a natural blonde 😉

See Sarah onstage March 8-17th at Alumnae Theatre. Tickets on sale now.

The Loot Collective Presents Joe Orton’s LOOT

FOR IMMEDATE RELEASE:
MONDAY JANUARY 8, 2018

The Loot Collective Presents Joe Orton’s 1960s Farce

LOOT

TORONTO, ON (Monday January 8, 2018) – Bygone Theatre has partnered with the Loot Collective to support their production of Loot, running March 8-17^th, 2018 at the Alumnae Theatre, 70 Berkeley St., Toronto. This is a Canadian Actor’s Equity Association production under the Artist’s Collective Policy. Directed by Emily Dix.

SYNOPSIS

England, 1965; Only hours before her intended burial, the late Mrs. McLeavy is removed from her coffin by her son, Hal (Kevin Forster), and his best pal, Dennis (Kenton Blythe), who have together just robbed a bank and need the coffin to stash the loot. The boys try to hide the corpse from the recently widowed McLeavy (Patrick Young) and his deceased wife’s nurse, Fay (Sarah Thorpe), but with Inspector Truscott (Scott McCulloch) hot on their heels, their plan quickly begins to unravel. Absurdity abounds in this dark, 1965 farce that examines attitudes surrounding death, police integrity, and the Catholic church.

ABOUT THE CAST

Patrick Young is Mr.McLeavy in “Loot”.

Patrick Young (Mr.McLeavy) has had an extensive career on and off stage, and may be best known in Toronto for his work at Sheridan College, where he founded the joint actor training program with the University of Toronto Mississauga. He is the author of 4 award-winning biographical plays, and has an extensive directing resume. Past acting credits in Toronto include Flicks, The Relapse and the original production of Automatic Pilot.

 

Scott McCulloch is Inspector Truscott in “Loot”.

Scott McCulloch (Truscott) has had a career spanning over 30 years, 100 plays and nearly 50 films. Recent credits include the immersive production Hogtown at Campbell House, the Wolf Manor Theatre production of Three Sisters, and the Thought For Food production of The Trial of Judith K for which he received a Broadway World Toronto nomination of Best Performance by a Male in a Featured Role.

Kenton Blythe is Dennis in “Loot”.

Kenton Blythe (Dennis), was most recently seen in the Toronto Fringe hit, Grey. Other stage credits include the Starvox Entertainment production of Evil Dead: The Musical, and a stint at the Shaw Festival, where he was seen in Juno and the Paycock and Cabaret. You may also remember Kenton from Bygone Theatre’s 2013 production of Dial M For Murder.

Sarah Thorpe is Fay in “Loot”.

Sarah Thorpe (Fay) is a multi-talented theatre artist and a core creative member of Soup Can Theatre. She created and performed in the award-winning one-woman show Heretic, a modern retelling of Joan of Arc, in 2015, and has more recently been seen in Toronto Fringe Hit, Behold! The Barfly! and Gut Girls at Alumnae Theatre.

Kevin Forster as Hal in “Loot”.

Kevin Forster (Hal) is a graduate of the Ryerson Theatre School and has been featured in several productions at the Lower Ossington Theatre, including The Buddy Holly Story, Always ABBA and The Little Mermaid. He has also performed at Hart House Theatre and in the Toronto Festival of Clowns.

Jonah McGrath is Meadows in “Loot”.

Jonah McGrath (Meadows) is a recent graduate of the Brock University Dramatic Arts program. Recent credits include Play by Samuel Beckett, The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny and Chekov’s The Man in the Case.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Director/ Producer, Emily Dix.

Emily Dix is a founding member and the Artistic Executive Director of Bygone Theatre. As a producer, she has worked with Tarragon Theatre and Theatre 20, and has produced all of Bygone Theatre’s productions to date. She got her start directing at the University of Toronto, working on shows such as the Hart House Theatre production of The Night of The Iguana as an assistant director, and directing a number of shows for the campus colleges. Bygone Theatre directing credits include; His Girl Friday; Vaudeville Revue; Wait Until Dark; Rope; Dial M For Murder and Doubt: A Parable. In addition to directing, Emily does the costume design for all of Bygone Theatre’s productions.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Thursday March 8 – Saturday March 10, 8:00pm
Tuesday March 13 – Saturday March 17, 8:00pm
Saturday March 10, Sunday March 11, Saturday March 17, 2:00pm matinee

Tickets: On-sale now. Available at https://loot.bpt.me

Media Contact: Producer Emily Dix, Emily@bygonetheatre.com, 647-343-5965
Twitter: @BygoneTheatre |FB: Facebook.com/BygoneTheatre |Insta: @BygoneTheatre

For group sales, press access or to request accommodation, please email Emily@bygonetheatre.com.

 This production is being produced by The Loot Collective and is being supported by
Bygone Theatre.

Friends of Bygone – Soup Can Theatre

Our friends at Soup Can Theatre have graciously donated a pair of tickets to their upcoming production of Circle Jerk for the raffle portion of our upcoming Retro Radio Hour – Suspense! Check out the show deets below:

Soup Can Theatre, Safeword, and Aim for the Tangent Theatre are proud to present
CIRCLE JERK
one production, four new and provocative short plays written under unique constraints (full details below).
‘Dust Peddling: Part II’ by Scott Dermody,
‘Sex and This’ by Wesley J. Colford,
‘Maypole Rose’ by Brandon Crone, and
‘The Session’ by Justin Haigh.
Also featuring live original music by Pratik Gandhi, Marla Kishimoto, and Peter Cavell.

***AUDIENCE WARNING: Mature Content, Nudity, Explicit Sexuality, Depictions of Drug Use***

Tickets: $15 to $24. Available at www.soupcantheatre.com or in person at the venue box office starting one hour before each performance.

November 6 & 7 at 8pm, November 8 & 9 at 2pm and 8pm, November 14, 15, 16 at 8pm, November 21, 22, 23 at 8pm

WIN TICKETS! Want a chance to win a pair of tickets to our opening weekend? It’s easy! Just tweet about the show using the hashtag #CircleJerkTO or share our Facebook Event on your timeline! Double your chances by doing both! We will track the tweets and shares and contact the winners in early November. Plus, check out Bygone Theatre’s Retro Radio Hour – Suspense! for a chance to win a pair of tickets in their raffle.

WWW.SOUPCANTHEATRE.COM

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This past summer, members of the public were invited to submit original snippets of dialogue that the participating playwrights would have to use as the opening and closing lines of their new creations. After receiving almost 300 submissions, four intriguing lines were selected and assigned to the writers:

“Subtlety is not your specialty.”
“What’s Bulgarian for slut?”
“I think it’s time we talked about your filthy rituals.”
“I fucking hate potatoes.”

As an added twist, each of the lines of dialogue were assigned to two playwrights in order to serve as both the closing line of one play and the opening line of the following play. This loosely interconnected and ultimately cyclical structure (with the first play starting and the last play ending with the same line) puts the “circle” in CIRCLE JERK. After an intense writing and production period, the end results are four diverse yet cohesive works backed by an impressive roster of talent:

– ‘Dust Peddling: Part II’ by Scott Dermody; A bold and confrontational movement-based piece exploring themes of sexuality and bodily interactions. Directed by Joanne Williams (‘Wild Dogs On The Moscow Trains’) and starring Scott Dermody (‘Love is a Poverty You Can Sell 2’, Soup Can Theatre) and Sasha Kovacs.

– ‘Sex and This’ by Wesley J. Colford (‘The Wakowski Bros.’, Aim for the Tangent); A touching and distinctly modern comedy-drama about death, self-destruction, and the new rules of mourning in the age of Facebook. Directed by two time Dora Award nominee Jakob Ehman (‘Cockfight’, Theatre Brouhaha; ‘Donors’, safeword) and starring Tiffany Deobald (‘Much Ado About Nothing’, Single Thread Theatre) and Carys Lewis.

– ‘Maypole Rose’ by Brandon Crone (‘Donors’, safeword); A quirky and salacious window into the imperfect life of a gay couple with an affinity for junk food, weed, and monkey sex. Starring Alexander Plouffe (‘As You Like It’; Canadian Stage) and G Kyle Shields (‘Sucker’; Theatre Brouhaha).

– ‘The Session’ by Justin Haigh (‘Love is a Poverty You Can Sell 2’, Soup Can Theatre); A dark comedy about a workplace therapist determined to crack open an antagonistic nuclear safety expert with more than just safety on his mind. Directed by Justin Haigh and starring Allan Michael Brunet (‘Marat/Sade’, Soup Can Theatre) and Matt Pilipiak (‘Three Men in a Boat’, Pea Green Theatre).

In addition to the four new theatrical works, four new short musical compositions – each inspired by one of the four lines of dialogue – will be performed by a live five-piece ensemble and serve as interludes between the short plays; ‘Subtlety is not Your Specialty’ by Marla Kishimoto, ‘What’s Bulgarian for Slut’ by Pratik Gandhi, and ‘I Think it’s Time We Talked About Your Filthy Rituals’ by Peter Cavell.

Praise for participating companies’ previous productions:
“Sultry … Seductive … Uniformly Delectable … NNNNN” – NOW Magazine
“Fast and Furious … A Story of Surprising Depth … ★★★★½” – Torontoist
“Sexually Charged … A Thrill Ride … ★★★★” – My Gay Toronto

Production Team:
Producer – Sarah Thorpe
Assistant Producers – Justin Haigh, Scott Dermody, Brandon Crone, Wesley J. Colford.
Music Director – Pratik Gandhi
Stage Manager – Katherine Belyea
Tech Director / Lighting Designer – Randy Lee