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Founded by Mark Cassidy and Suzanne Hersh, Threshold Theatre is known for its inventive adaptations, exciting environmental works and fresh approach to scripts. Past productions include, As I Lay Dying "tremendous...utterly compelling...a knockout show" (Edmonton Journal), White Buildings "alternately playful and intense...mesmerizing" (Now Magazine), Howl "gloriously physical...exuberantly theatrical...grand entertainment" (Globe & Mail), Forms of Devotion "a seamless wonder" (Toronto Star), and Kafka and Son "thrilling...brilliantly realized" (National Post).
CURRENT
HOW TO SAY HELLO
"Trace, on a city map, trajectories of partially forgotten words along the river's arteries, volatile substance of a sentient world...small whirlpools of perception widen." Marilyn Hacker
A TTC driver shows off the chandelier he has just picked up in someone's garbage to a teacher out walking her dog. A husband and wife, on their way to get a bank loan, argue about who should get in the car first. A thirteen year old girl, and her mom's friend who is watching her for the weekend, conduct simultaneous phone calls with significant others. So begins How to Say Hello, a swirling montage of scenes beginning in mid town Toronto and fanning out to points north, south, east and west. Forty-three unique characters. Forty-four unusual scenes. How to Say Hello features a kaleidoscope of offbeat, funny, sad, bewildering, Torontonians whose mini-dramas offer a glimpse into the emotional and social vicissitudes of contemporary urban life. Written and directed by Mark Cassidy, How to Say Hello features a blend of overheard, found and invented text. A recent public reading of some of the material for this piece took place at Ellington's Cafe on St. Clair Ave. West featuring Karl Ang, Hume Baugh, Cara Gee, Suzanne Hersh, Paul Hutcheson, Lisa Li, Ginette Mohr, John Ng, Rebecca Singh, Adriano Sobretodo Jr & Sodienye Waboso.
Other projects in development include--Life Coming to Life in You a collaboratively developed piece depicting the conflicts which arise in a group of contemporary Toronto theatre artists as they attempt to mount a version of Chekhov's The Seagull; as well as What You Want , a site-specific evening featuring three short pieces about people who work in the theatre, a cleaning lady, a box office person and a prompter, based on works by Anne Enright, Michel Tremblay and Martin Crimp
RECENT
Threshold Theatre &El Destino Productions presented Carol Cece Anderson's Swan Song of Maria (A Tragic Fairy Tale) as part of the Next Stage Festival 2011. Watch for future incarnations of this work.
Threshold Theatre & Optic Heart Theatre's production of Hume Baugh's's The Girl in the Picture Tries to Hang Up the Phone was presented recently at Zoofest in Montreal. Watch for upcoming productions of this work.
Threshold Theatre and New Adventures in Sound Art presented, i dont want to be an inside me anymore, based on the autobiography of autistic author, Birger Sellin, at the Loop Centre for Lively Arts, Artscape Wychwood Barns as part of The Deep Wireless Festival. i dont want to be an inside me anymore is a theatre adaptation by Darren Copeland and Mark Cassidy of a radio play by Copeland previously broadcast in Germany. German actor Sebastian Schäfer leads the audience in a multi-dimensional investigation of Birger's eloquent and powerful attempts to overcome anxiety, confusion, restlessness and sensory overload. WORKSHOPS AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMS "A threshold is a point that when crossed can bring rapid and sometimes unpredictable change." State of the World Report, World Watch Institute. As part of our mandate, we are committed to building bridges between theatre and community, and have sought out such opportunities in a range of settings. We are excited about two new community projects which we will be helping to make happen in Toronto: The Oakwood Village Arts Festival, June 2011, and Yours & Mine: A Conference on Human Rights in the Arts. We also continue to pursue outreach and education opportunities as teaching artists, believing in the importance of helping young people of all ages and backgrounds to create theatre that expresses who they are.
416.658.8146
mark[at]thresholdtheatre.ca
suzanne[at]thresholdtheatre.ca
John Ng & Lisa Li in Threshold Theatre's workshop of material for How to Say Hello
photo by Mark Cassidy