Upstage - Chelsea Hotel - The Songs of Leonard Cohen

UpStage

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2015 BOOKS / I’M YOUR MAN THEATRE / WHY THIS PLAY? ONLINE / TOWER TALK

THE BELFRY THEATRE · AN INSIDER’S GUIDE

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LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

Mr. Leonard Cohen.

VOLUME 2 / ISSUE 2

Hello!

Centre in Vancouver, where audiences can’t get

Lover.

Monk.

Singer.

Poet.

enough of this beautiful piece. The show has been

Leonard Cohen is the epitome of cool. In this stylish

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

reprised there three times and is now on its second national tour.

musical you’ll check into New York’s infamous hotel and

Leonard Cohen’s work has been interpreted in

be transported into a world of music, mystery and desire.

hundreds of ways; whether through song, dance

With extraordinary new arrangements, six performers play

or theatre, his words and music continue to inspire new artists and new audiences.

17 instruments in this inventive tribute to Cohen’s most

Tracey Power, who conceived and directed

transcendent songs. Sexy and captivating, this eclectic

Chelsea Hotel, and Steven Charles, who created the new arrangements, have brought a fresh, new perspective to Cohen’s masterful songs.

cabaret celebrates loves lost and won. A Firehall Arts Centre production, Vancouver.

The entire cast - Rachel Aberle, Lauren Bowler, Steven Charles, Benjamin Elliott, Marlene Ginader and Jonathan Gould - are all making their Belfry

Who We Are

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

Upstage is the Belfry

forward to seeing you soon.

Chelsea Hotel is generously supported by

B4Play

Theatre’s in-house magazine. Our goal is to give you a leisurely,

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24 AT 11AM

deeper look into our

Belfry Theatre, Studio A

productions. With your

1291 Gladstone Avenue

tablet or computer you

Join us in Studio A for a live talk show hosted by

digital version of Upstage

CBC Radio’s Gregor Craigie, featuring Tracey Power (Creator / Director / Choreographer) and Benjamin

can view an expanded on our website or at issuu.com/belfry-theatre.

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

Upstage is supported by

Welcome to you who read me today

BY S T E P H E N S CO B I E

I have attended many fine concerts by Leonard

vehicle for passion; formality intensifies the

L to R: Francisco Trujillo, Ann Warn Pegg,

Cohen, but none more memorable than a show in

power of the emotion. He is a thoroughly

Karin Konoval, Cliff LeJeune and Camille

Toronto, during his “comeback-after-financial-ruin”

conscious, and conscientious, craftsman –

tour in 2008. Never have I been at a concert where

known for making multiple revisions of his

the audience’s love for the singer was so thick,

work. He has also cultivated his own image

so palpable. In a rare moment of quiet between

as a tortured, romantic poet, sitting in bare

songs, a woman’s voice rang out: “I love you,

bedrooms and lonely hotel rooms (preferably

Leonard!” Cohen paused just a moment, then took

the Chelsea), wringing out of himself the

off his fedora, held it to his breast, bowed, and said,

gracenotes of despair. When critics dubbed his

“I’m rather fond of you myself.”

work “music to slit your wrists by,” he responded

Sincerely, A Friend, based on the

by placing a small black silhouette of a razor

music and lyrics of Leonard Cohen,

blade at the head of every poem in his next

was performed at the Belfry in

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

book.

Miller in Sincerely, A Friend (Conceived by Bryden MacDonald)1997.

Story Highlights

November 1997.

Leonard Cohen wrote the musical,

audience. It has a note of formality to it – the

The darkness is there; there is no denying

I Am a Hotel, in 1983. First broadcast

outdated hat, the old-fashioned courtesy of the

it. Cohen is never far from the horrors of the

in 1984 it starred skater Toller

gesture – yet it also has a note of self-mockery, the

Holocaust past or from the apocalyptic visions

Cranston and Celia Franca, founder

anachronistic gesture ever so deftly exaggerated,

of The Future. Yet this is only one aspect of

to the edge of parody.

Cohen. He is also very funny – even the little

None of which, of course, is to suggest that he doesn’t mean it. For Cohen, courtesy can be the

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.

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

of their designers. They have created their own vision of the

never going to say ‘and then the room turned to gold.’ He’ll say, ‘The

Chelsea Hotel, inhabited by a struggling young writer. Through

room turned to shit.’ But the room sometimes does turn to gold and

Tracey’s choice of songs and the order in which they are sung,

unless you mention that, your philosophy is incomplete.”

and through Steven’s surprising new arrangements, I felt that I

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.

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

Cast

Rachel Aberle

Lauren Bowler

Benjamin Elliott

Marlene Ginader

Steven Charles

Poet, critic, and scholar Stephen Scobie is the author of Leonard Cohen and Intricate Preparations: Writing Leonard Cohen.

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

Jonathan Gould

& Creatives

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 –

Tracey Power

Steven Charles

given this one degree of separation – I was more than a little bit

CONCEPT / DIRECTOR / CHOREOGRAPHER

MUSICAL DIRECTOR / ARRANGER

Barbara Clayden

Ted Roberts

COSTUME DESIGNER

LIGHTING DESIGNER

star-struck. (I’m a bit star-struck around Shelley too).

Marshall McMahen SET DESIGNER

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 oftperformed 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

James MacDonald DRAMATURGE

Donna Spencer ARTISTIC DIRECTION

Xavier Berbudeau SOUND DESIGNER

Get Engaged B4Play Podcasts

Afterplay

If you can’t make B4Play in person (see page two for details), you can

Following every evening performance of Chelsea Hotel (except

hear the full interviews on our website (the respective show page)

Opening Night and Talkbalk Thursday), we’ll host Afterplay - this

and our soundcloud page – soundcloud.com/belfrytheatre.

facilitated discussion series offers patrons the opportunity to share

Select segments from B4Play will air (usually during our opening week) on CBC Radio’s On The Island.

Tower Talks

their thoughts with fellow audience members after the show.

Talkback Thursday Thursday, October 29

Catch an in-depth conversation with an artist from each Mainstage

On the second Thursday performance of each show, we bring the

production in our new video series, Tower Talks. We post these to our

backstage experience onstage. After the curtain call, some of the

website and YouTube channel.

actors return to the stage to answer your questions and offer insight

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.

Get Social Follow us on Facebook or Twitter to learn more during the run of Chelsea Hotel

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.

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)

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)

I’m Your Man: the Life of Leonard Cohen

BY SYLVIE SIMONS (2012)

Various Positions: A Life of Leonard Cohen

BY IRA NADEL (2007)

Inside the Dream Palace: the Life and Times of New York’s Legendary Chelsea Hotel

BY SHERRILL TIPPINS (2013)

Leonard Cohen

BY STEPHEN SCOBIE (1978)

belfry.bc.ca

Parts

&

Labour

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-thePlow 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

Kirk Northcott looks back on 40 years at the Belfry

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 Beate and Kirk Northcott with granddaughters Breanne and Emma Northcott

theatre, while nurturing their self-confidence and social awareness. The actors in each production meet the students prior to the performance, and

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 development@belfry.bc.ca.

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-thePlow, 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-andbeyond – and I sincerely thank them all.

MICHAEL SHAMATA

Set Dressing

Calendar

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:

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

Production people to put the show together. That

23

includes carpenters, painters, technicians, cutters, seamstresses, stage managers, wranglers, a wig mistress and a coach.

fifty 8 Loads of laundry each week.

Electrical motors

3

will power different parts of the set.

30

Chelsea Hotel

Production people to run the show. That includes stage managers, technicians, dressers and wranglers.

15 0 0 Costume pieces in the show.

Meters of handmade garlands.

Five Hundred Meters of cable.

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

How to buy tickets By 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,

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 )

debit card, cheques, and, of course, cash.

belfry.bc.ca

Up Next

A Christmas Carol

BY

Charles Dickens

ADAPTED BY MICHAEL SHAMATA

“Couldn’t possibly be better… the best holiday show I know…”

TORONTO STAR

2015

TIC K ETS ON SALE NOW

250 385 6815 / belfr y.bc.ca 1291 Gladstone at Fernwood, Victoria

40TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON SPONSORS

PUBLIC FUNDERS

Belfry Theatre 1291 GLADSTONE AVENUE VICTORIA, BC

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