UpStageTHE BELFRY THEATRE · AN INSIDER’S GUIDE
OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2015 BOOKS / I’M YOUR MAN
THEATRE / WHY THIS PLAY?ONLINE / TOWER TALK
BELFRY.BC.CA
VOLUME 2 / ISSUE 2
LADIES AND
GENTLEMEN,
Mr. Leonard Cohen.
Hello!
B4Play SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24 AT 11AM
Belfry Theatre, Studio A
1291 Gladstone Avenue
Join us in Studio A for a live talk show hosted by
CBC Radio’s Gregor Craigie, featuring Tracey Power
(Creator / Director / Choreographer) and Benjamin
Elliott (Actor / Musician) from Chelsea Hotel,
together with Victoria’s Poet Laureate Yvonne
Blomer, and poet, critic, and scholar Stephen
Scobie (author of Leonard Cohen and Intricate
Preparations: Writing Leonard Cohen). Free Event
Leonard Cohen is the epitome of cool. In this stylish
musical you’ll check into New York’s infamous hotel and
be transported into a world of music, mystery and desire.
With extraordinary new arrangements, six performers play
17 instruments in this inventive tribute to Cohen’s most
transcendent songs. Sexy and captivating, this eclectic
cabaret celebrates loves lost and won. A Firehall Arts Centre
production, Vancouver.
Welcome to the Belfry and Chelsea
Hotel – The Songs of Leonard Cohen,
the second production in our
40th Anniversary Season.
Chelsea Hotel comes to us from the Firehall Arts
Centre in Vancouver, where audiences can’t get
enough of this beautiful piece. The show has been
reprised there three times and is now on its second
national tour.
Leonard Cohen’s work has been interpreted in
hundreds of ways; whether through song, dance
or theatre, his words and music continue to inspire
new artists and new audiences.
Tracey Power, who conceived and directed
Chelsea Hotel, and Steven Charles, who created
the new arrangements, have brought a fresh, new
perspective to Cohen’s masterful songs.
The entire cast - Rachel Aberle, Lauren Bowler,
Steven Charles, Benjamin Elliott, Marlene Ginader
and Jonathan Gould - are all making their Belfry
debuts in Chelsea Hotel.
Tickets are on sale now at 250-385-6815 or at
www.belfry.bc.ca.
Thanks for being part of the Belfry and we look
forward to seeing you soon.
Chelsea Hotel is generously supported by
Who We Are Upstage is the Belfry
Theatre’s in-house
magazine. Our goal is
to give you a leisurely,
deeper look into our
productions. With your
tablet or computer you
can view an expanded
digital version of Upstage
on our website or at
issuu.com/belfry-theatre.
Upstage is supported by
Lover. Monk. Singer. Poet.
Welcome to you who read me todayB Y S T E P H E N S C O B I E
I have attended many fine concerts by Leonard
Cohen, but none more memorable than a show in
Toronto, during his “comeback-after-financial-ruin”
tour in 2008. Never have I been at a concert where
the audience’s love for the singer was so thick,
so palpable. In a rare moment of quiet between
songs, a woman’s voice rang out: “I love you,
Leonard!” Cohen paused just a moment, then took
off his fedora, held it to his breast, bowed, and said,
“I’m rather fond of you myself.”
That moment has become iconic for me: it is
emblematic of Cohen’s status in Canadian culture,
and of the intensity of his relationship with his
audience. It has a note of formality to it – the
outdated hat, the old-fashioned courtesy of the
gesture – yet it also has a note of self-mockery, the
anachronistic gesture ever so deftly exaggerated,
to the edge of parody.
None of which, of course, is to suggest that he
doesn’t mean it. For Cohen, courtesy can be the
vehicle for passion; formality intensifies the
power of the emotion. He is a thoroughly
conscious, and conscientious, craftsman –
known for making multiple revisions of his
work. He has also cultivated his own image
as a tortured, romantic poet, sitting in bare
bedrooms and lonely hotel rooms (preferably
the Chelsea), wringing out of himself the
gracenotes of despair. When critics dubbed his
work “music to slit your wrists by,” he responded
by placing a small black silhouette of a razor
blade at the head of every poem in his next
book.
The darkness is there; there is no denying
it. Cohen is never far from the horrors of the
Holocaust past or from the apocalyptic visions
of The Future. Yet this is only one aspect of
Cohen. He is also very funny – even the little
black razor blades may be seen as a self-directed
joke. It is almost a reliable index of Cohen that
the funnier he is, the more serious he is.
L to R: Francisco Trujillo, Ann Warn Pegg,
Karin Konoval, Cliff LeJeune and Camille
Miller in Sincerely, A Friend (Conceived by
Bryden MacDonald)1997.
Story Highlights
Sincerely, A Friend, based on the
music and lyrics of Leonard Cohen,
was performed at the Belfry in
November 1997.
Leonard Cohen wrote the musical,
I Am a Hotel, in 1983. First broadcast
in 1984 it starred skater Toller
Cranston and Celia Franca, founder
of the National Ballet of Canada.
Cohen’s song Hallelujah, first
released in 1984, has been covered
by almost 200 artists. You’re
probably humming it now.
belfry.bc.ca
And not only humour: also glory. He once said of Sartre: “I know he’s
never going to say ‘and then the room turned to gold.’ He’ll say, ‘The
room turned to shit.’ But the room sometimes does turn to gold and
unless you mention that, your philosophy is incomplete.”
So return to his response to that woman in Toronto. He is treating
her with respect and generosity. He is telling her, albeit in an
understated manner, that he loves her, as he loves all his audience.
He is telling her that the room turns gold. He is addressing her as he
addressed his readers almost fifty years ago, in the final paragraph
of Beautiful Losers:
I have come through the fire of family and love. I smoke
with my darling, I sleep with my friend. We talk of the
poor men, broken and fled. Alone with my radio I lift up
my hands. Welcome to you who read me today. Welcome
to you who put my heart down. Welcome to you, darling
and friend, who miss me forever in your trip to the end.
Poet, critic, and scholar Stephen Scobie is the author of Leonard
Cohen and Intricate Preparations: Writing Leonard Cohen.
Cast
Rachel Aberle Lauren Bowler Steven Charles
Benjamin Elliott Marlene Ginader Jonathan Gould
Tracey Power CONCEPT / DIRECTOR /CHOREOGRAPHER
Steven Charles MUSICAL DIRECTOR / ARRANGER
Marshall McMahen SET DESIGNER
Barbara Clayden COSTUME DESIGNER
Ted Roberts LIGHTING DESIGNER
Xavier Berbudeau SOUND DESIGNER
James MacDonald DRAMATURGE
Donna Spencer ARTISTIC DIRECTION
Why I Chose This Play
“Like a bird on the wire,
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.”
Born in Montreal in 1933, he recorded his first album, Songs of
Leonard Cohen, at the age of 34. On September 22, 2014, one day
after his 80th birthday, Cohen released his 13th studio album,
Popular Problems. I am writing this on September 21, 2015, 30
minutes after talking to Shelley Ambrose of Walrus Magazine.
Sitting in the courtyard outside the Belfry she told me, “I talked
to Leonard today to wish him a happy birthday.” I must confess –
given this one degree of separation – I was more than a little bit
star-struck. (I’m a bit star-struck around Shelley too).
Leonard Cohen’s words and music have been a part of my life for
as long as I can remember, and I’ll wager that most of our Belfry
audience would say the same. Is there anyone in this country who
doesn’t have at least one Leonard Cohen song that holds a special
resonance for them? He is the poet laureate of our generation.
Like all great artists, he invites – and survives – reinterpretation.
I realized while watching Chelsea Hotel in Vancouver that,
with a career that has spanned four decades, he is now being
reinterpreted by artists who were born around the time he
first recorded “Hallelujah” – one of the most haunting and oft-
performed songs in musical history.
Tracey Power and Steven Charles have crafted a show that is more
than a tribute to Leonard Cohen. It is a piece of theatre. I love the
world they have conjured onstage, together with the stylish work
of their designers. They have created their own vision of the
Chelsea Hotel, inhabited by a struggling young writer. Through
Tracey’s choice of songs and the order in which they are sung,
and through Steven’s surprising new arrangements, I felt that I
was not so much being told a story, as I was being taken on an
emotional journey. Cohen’s music in this creative setting makes
for an irresistible event.
MICHAEL SHAMATA, Artistic Director
& Creatives
Belfry Librarian The Greater Victoria Public Library Librarians have compiled a list of books to help you get even more out of our production
of Chelsea Hotel. List compiled by Jennifer Rowan, GVPL
Book of Longing
BY LEONARD COHEN (2006)
Can’t Forget: a Souvenir of the Grand Tour
BY LEONARD COHEN [CD] (2015)
Famous Blue Raincoat
BY JENNIFER WARNES [CD] (1986)
I’m Your Man: the Life of Leonard Cohen
BY SYLVIE SIMONS (2012)
Inside the Dream Palace:
the Life and Times of New York’s Legendary Chelsea Hotel
BY SHERRILL TIPPINS (2013)
belfry.bc.ca
Let Us Compare Mythologies BY LEONARD COHEN (1956, 2006)
So Long, Marianne: A Love Story BY KARI HESTHAMAR (2014)
This Ain’t No Holiday Inn: Down and Out at the Chelsea Hotel,
1980-1995: An Oral History BY JAMES LOUGH (2013)
Zen Confidential: Confessions of a Wayward Monk BY SHOZAN
JACK HAUBNER (2013)
Various Positions: A Life of Leonard Cohen
BY IRA NADEL (2007)
Leonard Cohen
BY STEPHEN SCOBIE (1978)
Get EngagedB4Play Podcasts If you can’t make B4Play in person (see page two for details), you can
hear the full interviews on our website (the respective show page)
and our soundcloud page – soundcloud.com/belfrytheatre.
Select segments from B4Play will air (usually during our opening
week) on CBC Radio’s On The Island.
Tower Talks Catch an in-depth conversation with an artist from each Mainstage
production in our new video series, Tower Talks. We post these to our
website and YouTube channel.
Free Childcare Performance Sunday, November 1
Take advantage of free, professional childcare (ages 3–10) at the
Springridge Early Childhood Centre at 1222 Gladstone Avenue, just a
block from the Belfry (free parking is available right across the street
in the Victoria High School parking lot).
We only have a limited number of spots available. To book your tickets
and a spot for your kids, please call our box office at 250-385-6815.
Afterplay Following every evening performance of Chelsea Hotel (except
Opening Night and Talkbalk Thursday), we’ll host Afterplay - this
facilitated discussion series offers patrons the opportunity to share
their thoughts with fellow audience members after the show.
Talkback Thursday Thursday, October 29
On the second Thursday performance of each show, we bring the
backstage experience onstage. After the curtain call, some of the
actors return to the stage to answer your questions and offer insight
into the play you have just experienced. These Q & A sessions last 15
– 20 minutes.
Mustard Seed Donations During our run of A Christmas Carol (December 1 - 20), we encourage
patrons to bring a non-perishable food item to put under the
Christmas tree for the Mustard Seed Food Bank.
Vocal Eye Sunday, November 8
Trained Audio Describers provide descriptions of the visual elements
of the show, allowing people with low vision to enjoy the theatrical
experience without missing any of the details.Follow us on Facebook or Twitter to learn more during the run of Chelsea Hotel
Get Social
P a r t s & L a b o u r
I think it’s fair to say that most everyone who
attends the Belfry is aware of the exceptional
talent onstage. Watching the cast of Speed-the-
Plow working their magic was an incredible joy.
But what you see onstage is only a portion of what
actors undertake when they work at the Belfry! We
ask all sorts of favours of them, and they inevitably
respond with generosity.
Belfry 101, our education program, provides high
school students with a window into professional
theatre, while nurturing their self-confidence and
social awareness. The actors in each production
meet the students prior to the performance, and
hold a private question-and-answer session with
them afterwards. Often one actor from each cast
will conduct a masterclass in a specific theatre skill.
The actors graciously take part in B4Play, our
live talk show hosted by CBC Radio’s Gregor
Craigie, and Talkback Thursday, our post-show
question-and-answer session between the actors
and the audience. Check page five for details on
these events.
Earlier this year we introduced The Director’s Circle,
a new opportunity for donors, and people like you,
to get closer to the backstage world of the Belfry.
Our first event, at the beautiful Villa Marco Polo Inn,
featured Brian, Celine and Vincent from Speed-the-
Plow, talking about the play, and “life and art.”
The feedback was enthusiastically positive – thanks
in large part to the goodwill of our actors. The
next Director’s Circle event will include a “Fezziwig
Shop Party,” to coincide with our remount of
A Christmas Carol.
We love to watch them onstage. We love to interact
with them offstage. I know actors love this theatre,
and love performing on our sweet stage for our
wonderful audiences. So often they go above-and-
beyond – and I sincerely thank them all.
MICHAEL SHAMATA
Longtime Belfry patron Kirk Northcott first got the theatre bug by acting in community theatre productions in other cities. He appeared in The Mousetrap in Kitchener, and performed in the chorus of South Pacific
at Rainbow Stage in Winnipeg.
Kirk and his wife Beate have been attending the Belfry since the 1970s when they
relocated to Victoria. Some of the memorable actors they recall seeing over the decades
include Rod Beattie in The Wingfield Series, Thea Gill and Nicholas Campbell in Proof, and
the plays Sylvia, Homechild, 2 Pianos 4 Hands (twice), Number 14 (twice), and last season’s
The Rez Sisters. Kirk points out that actors such as Beattie and Brian Linds - who has
played a role in many productions - have helped make the Belfry what it is.
Kirk, who has used a wheelchair for the past twenty years, says he has found the theatre
to be very accessible. He observes that “the Belfry is supported by so many people
around town because it provides Canadian talent with an outlet. Beate and I became
annual donors not only because of our love of theatre, but because the Belfry brings a
very professional type of theatre to Victoria, and features Canadian talent. We have been
so moved over the years by Belfry productions, whether to laughter or to tears.”
Asked if there is anything he would like to see more of, or done differently in the future
at the Belfry, Kirk has one simple answer: “No.” He commends the Belfry for creating so
many different outreach programs such as B4Play, as well as studio and youth programs
(e.g. Belfry 101 and the Belfry Leadership Training Program) to attract more people to
the theatre.
Thank you Kirk and Beate, for all your enthusiastic support over four decades!
For more information about the many ways to support the Belfry, including becoming a
monthly donor, please contact Development Manager Susan Stevenson at 250-385-6835
ext. 229 or [email protected].
Kirk Northcott looks back on 40 years at the Belfry Beate and Kirk Northcott with granddaughters
Breanne and Emma Northcott
Chelsea Hotel PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
October 20 – November 15 · Tuesdays – Thursdays at 7:30 pm
· Wednesday Matinees at 1 pm ( October 28 / November 4, 11 )
· Fridays + Saturdays at 8 pm
· Saturday Matinees at 4 pm
· Sunday Matinees at 2 pm
Audience Engagement Schedule B4PLAY · Saturday, October 24 at 11 am TALKBACK THURSDAY · October 29 CHILDCARE MATINEE · November 1 at 2 pm AFTERPLAY following evening performances VOCALEYE described performance · Nov. 8
A Christmas Carol PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
December 1 – 20 · Tuesdays – Thursdays at 7:30 pm
· Wednesday Matinee at 1 pm ( December 9 only – s o l d o u t )
· Fridays + Saturdays at 8 pm
· Saturday Matinees at 4 pm
· Sunday Matinees at 2 pm
· Sunday Evening at 7:30 pm ( December 20 only )
How to buy ticketsBy telephone
250 385 6815 Please have your credit card ready, as well as the
date and time of the performance you wish to attend.
Online Visit belfry.bc.ca/tickets
and buy your tickets online, anytime.
In person Drop by our Box Office.
We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express,
debit card, cheques, and, of course, cash.
belfry.bc.ca
Set Dressing Our new column features the world of the Belfry in numbers and
facts. In anticipation of our upcoming production of A Christmas Carol
we thought we’d give you some insight into what it takes to create
and run the show:
23
330
Five Hundred
Production people to put the show together. That
includes carpenters, painters, technicians, cutters,
seamstresses, stage managers, wranglers, a wig
mistress and a coach.
Electrical motors
will power different
parts of the set.
fifty1 5 0 0
Loads of laundry
each week.
Costume pieces in the show.
Meters of handmade garlands.Meters of cable.
Production people to run
the show. That includes
stage managers, technicians,
dressers and wranglers.8
Calendar
Belfry Theatre 1291 GLADSTONE AVENUE
VICTORIA, BC V8T 1G5
40TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON SPONSORS
PUBLIC FUNDERS
AChristmasCarol
BY Charles Dickens ADAPTED BY MICHAEL SHAMATA
1291 Gladstone at Fernwood, Victoria
“Couldn’t possibly be better…
the best holiday show I know…”
TORONTO STAR
T I C K E T S O N SA L E N OW250 385 6815 / belfr y.bc.ca
2015
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