The Whole Shebang 2007 May 4, 2007

Andrea Nann Dreamwalker Dance Company
In association with Harbourfront Centre NextSteps and Volcano

The Whole Shebang 2007

an intimate celebration of Canadian artists

May 4-5, 2007, at 8pm
Enwave Theatre, Harbourfront Centre
231 Queens Quay West, Toronto


Tickets: $22-$35
Box Office 416-973-4000
www.dreamwalkerdance.com

The Andrea Nann Dreamwalker Dance Company, in association with the Harbourfront Centre NextSteps and Volcano, proudly announces the presentation of The Whole Shebang 2007.
An Asian Heritage Month event under the direction of Artistic Director Andrea Nann, The Whole Shebang 2007 will be held at 8 P.M. on May 4-5, 2007 at the Enwave Theatre - Harbourfront Centre for the Arts (231 Queens Quay West, Toronto), offering audiences an entertaining, compelling exploration of the personal and political lives of some of the country’s most provocative voices.
THE WHOLE SHEBANG:
The Whole Shebang is an annual multi-arts festival of contemporary visual and performing arts, created by the Andrea Nann Dreamwalker Dance Company in an effort to facilitate cross-cultural, cross-artistic connections between contemporary and popular dance, theatre, music, literature, poetry, film, video and other visual-based arts.


The Contributors
The Whole Shebang is an outstanding opportunity to see the following talented artists in an intimate setting:
* author-poet Souvankham Thammavongsa, winner of the 2004 ReLit Award for Small Arguments (Pedlar Press);
* Governor-General’s Award winning playwright Judith Thompson;
* K.M. Hunter award-winning dancers Kate Alton and Jessica Runge;
* musicians Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson (Skydiggers, Finlayson/Maize), Greg Keelor (Blue Rodeo), Suzie Ungerleider (Oh Susanna) and NDP Member of Parliament (and former member of Grievous Angels and Toronto punk rock band L’Étranger) Charlie Angus; and
* artistic director/choreographer/dancer Andrea Nann.

The program will also feature original work by:
* Genie Award winning filmmaker Peter Mettler;
* Saidye Bronfmann Award winning potter and visual artist Wayne Ngan;
* Juno nominee and Dora winning composer-guitarist John Gzowski;
* video-artist Samm Higgison; and
* lighting designer Aisling Sampson and costume designer Cheryl Lalonde.

The Whole Shebang 2007 Highlights

Readings --Poems and Plays
The readings will feature the launch of Found, a new collection of poems by Souvankham Thammavongsa, as well as a selection from Judith Thompson’s new play, The Palace of the End. These readings explore the personal and global effects of oppression and war in a complex, modern world.

The Palace of the End captures the global effects of the Iraq War. The characters include Lynndie England, the young, female American soldier convicted of torturing Iraqi detainees; David Kelly, the microbiologist who told the BBC that the dossier justifying the invasion of Iraq was grossly exaggerated before dying suddenly; and Najis al Saffarh, a leading Communist in the 1960s and mother of four, who was brutally tortured by the Baathists and finally killed by American bombs. Judith Thompson will read excerpts from the monologue by either Lynndie England or Najis al Saffarh.

Thammavongsa, in her collection of poems, Found, draws inspiration from a discarded scrapbook her father created during the 1970s while in a Lao refugee camp in Thailand. The poems, with their blank spaces and small print, their language so unforgiving in detail that every letter, gesture, break, line and shape becomes for us a place of real meaning, were built out of doodles, diagrams and drawings into a work characterized by elegance and power. Found’s bareness is unrelenting – allowing us to see while holding back much of what we imagine.

Songwriters’ Circle
Prepare to be entertained by an intimate circle of songs and stories by some of Canada’s favourite musicians and songwriters, including old favourites and new material by Charlie Angus, Greg Keelor, Andy Maize and Josh Finlayson, and Suzie Ungerleider.

Andrea Nann --Dance, Music and Video Inspiration
Artistic Director Andrea Nann will feature two dances: INK and Shostakovich.

INK, a rich, deeply expressive work, was choreographed by Nann for a trio of women (Kate Alton, Jessica Runge and Nann), with an original score composed by John Gzowski. This abstract, contemporary work, inspired by Hornby Island potter and ink painter Wayne Ngan (brought to life by video artist Samm Higgison), explores a rich, internal world of breath and movement found in Chinese ink painting.

Shostakovich is a solo dance choreographed and performed by Nann, created in collaboration with filmmaker Peter Mettler. Inspired by Dimitri Shostakovich’s somewhat maniacal Piano Trio No. 2, Nann’s Shostakovich explores the haunting despair and devastation of Shostakovich’s war-torn 1940s Soviet Russia. A recording of the third movement of the Shostakovich piece performed by Andrew Burashko’s The Art of Time Ensemble rounds out this performance. Both dances feature lighting designs by Aisling Sampson and costumes by Cheryl Lalonde.

Matinee Program for Youth, May 3 at 1 p.m.
The ANDDC is committed to facilitating enriched arts learning and experiences for youth by providing opportunities for young people to work and learn with experienced artists. In addition to the evening performances, the ANDDC is working in partnership with the Harbourfront Centre School Visits Program to offer students a 35-minute mini-Shebang program, followed by a 20-minute Q&A period. Artists featured on this program include Kate Alton, Jessica Runge, Souvankham Thammavongsa, Suzie Ungerleider, Andy Maize, Josh Finlayson and Andrea Nann.

This mini-Shebang program, on May 3 at 1 p.m., will act as a preview for the media; cameras are welcome.

Official Website: http://www.dreamwalkerdance.com/shebang.htm