Cast Spotlight: Eric Miinch

Eric Miinch plays the sinister Roat in our upcoming production of Wait Until Dark.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself, what do you do when you’re not rehearsing for Wait Until Dark?

I am a professional improviser and sketch comedian. I can be seen with my comedy troupe, Fratwurst.

I am writing my first one man show. It’s about being too good at lying.

I am training myself to lucid dream.

I read everything.

I brew beer and am pursuing a side career as a brewmeister.

2. How did you hear about the show? What made you want to get involved? 

Justin Haigh of Soupcan Theatre informed me of the show. He is a beautiful man.

I always love playing a villain. Roat is a fascinating character with onion like layers. Robert Duvall played him in a very distinct way, but the ambiguity in the character description and the odd demeanour allows an actor to play Roat in a million different ways. And that is bloody fun.

 3. What has been your favourite moment in rehearsal so far?

Fight rehearsal and choreography was great. Specifically when I practiced punching with Abby. Being fake punched by a 14 year old girl and fake punching her back is a great way to spend an evening.

4. How do you prepare for playing a role like Roat? 

I think my sketch and improv background help me to make quick choices and to play Roat. He appears briefly several times throughout the script and it’s important to make an impression immediately! I also draw inspiration from an uncle of mine who also stole dolls and murdered people.

5. Why should everyone come see the show?

Damn good cast and director. Great production team. It’s thriller and it’s a lot of fun! It will be an intimate space which will serve to heighten the text.

6. Anything else you want to add?

I want to thank Daria, Rudolph, Evan and Josh for all their support and patience during rehearsals! Couldn’t do it without you!

I am writing and directing my first play which will premiere at the Toronto Fringe Festival in July. It is a modern telling of the epic poem, Dante’s Inferno.

More info at http://www.fratwurst.com.

See Eric’s sinister side on stage April 14-16th, tickets on sale now.

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Kill Sister, Kill! A Musical – Cast Spotlight – Felicity Adams-Hannigan

Felicity Adams-Hannigan or Fifi as most of us call her plays Kourtney, the hooker, in Kill Sister, Kill!

Tell us about yourself.

I play Kourtney the local hooker. I’ve envisioned her from the beginning as that party girl who came into the city from the suburbs one weekend, and just never took the train home.

This is the first time workshopping a musical for me, and my first time doing an original musical. Before this all of my work has been roles already originated by somebody else. This time I haven’t had anybody else’s interpretation influencing me, and that has been so scary, but so amazing at the same time. That being said, my favourite roles up until now have probably been Rossignol in Marat/Sade (Soup Can Theatre), Young Phyllis in Follies (Wavestage Theatre) and Pinkalicious in Pinkalicious the Musical (Vital Theatre).

How did you first hear about the production? 

I heard about the production through my friend Astrid (playing Kitty) who introduced me to Emily of Bygone Theatre through one of their Retro Radio Hours. I then met Michael the composer and musical director at a theatrical event in the city and he mentioned they were still searching for people and the rest is history. (Found out later at the same event I had met Jamie the director, but I didn’t know that’s who he was at the time). So, moral of the story: get your butt out to events! You never know what cool productions you’ll be hearing about.

What has been your favourite moment of the rehearsal process so far?

Hands down when our lovely director pointed at me and said “this, is a low level hooker”. Hopefully in reference to Kourtney, and not me.Tell us about your character – what do you love about her?

I liken Kourtney to a struggling actress. She knows she’s hooking in the minor leagues right now, but in her mind she’s just waiting for her big break. I’m loving her and mooky because they are much needed comedic relief in a very dark world.

Why do you think people should come see the show?

Because I’m in it, duh??!!

Okay, being serious, the feminist tones of the show appeal to me. I love that it’s a woman taking back the night. This is something I hold dear to my heart the older I get as I do not want my daughters (future tense) to live in a world where they think that if they are out late, or dress a certain way, or talk a certain way that they are asking for any kind of harassment from men.

Any funny rehearsal anecdotes to share?

When I sing high above the staff, I’ll admit it’s a challenge to even out my vibrato. One rehearsal Heather (Teresa) pointed out that I was an operatic hooker, and now during certain parts of songs I can’t stop giggling when I listen to myself.

Anything else we should know?

Just that this girl can now cross an item off her life “to do” list. NYC stage before age thirty!

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