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| Zuppa Theatre's new show is called Five Easy Steps (to the end of the world). |
As we all recover from midterms, it is heartening to hear about what Dal graduates (you鈥檒l get there too one day!) are up to in the Halifax area. Zuppa Theatre Company is a perfect
example because all of its core members - Ben Stone, Susan Leblanc-Crawford, and Alex McLean - along with many of its collaborators, are all graduates of AV俱乐部.
Zuppa Theatre Co. just returned from Cardiff, Wales where聽it premiered聽its new
show Five Easy Steps (to the end of the World) to appreciative audiences. Now back in Halifax they have set up camp in the Historic Farmer鈥檚 Market (the Alexander Keith鈥檚 Brewery building) to present their latest show to local fans. The team ended up at the market after what Sue Leblanc-Crawford calls a 鈥渕ad space hunt.鈥� They looked all over the city for a nontraditional theatre space that would suit their show鈥檚 style. The stone walls, low ceiling, bunker-like atmosphere of the historical building鈥檚 basement make it the perfect performance spot for Five Easy Steps, which takes place in a cluttered pawnshop basement.
Hot subject
The new production takes on hot subject matter - the end of the world. In recent years we
have seen Hollywood jump on the apocalyptic bandwagon with blockbusters like 2012 and The Day After Tomorrow. Ben Stone admits聽it's hard to ignore all the inspiration regarding this
topic: the recent economic crisis, 2012 predictions based on the ending of the Mayan calendar, environmental disaster and climate change are just a few examples.
Five Easy Steps centres around three friends who have gathered together on the night
before the end of the world to sing, dance and reflect on the past. The show does not dwell on
why the world is ending, in fact 鈥渢he end of the world鈥� in this context is not necessarily the end of human existence. Ms. Leblanc-Crawford describes it more as 鈥渢he end of the world as we have known it.鈥�
Mr.聽Stone adds 鈥淭he experience for the audience is like being at a party where you don鈥檛 know
anyone and catching snippets of a stranger鈥檚 life as you listen to them discuss old times.鈥�
The show is an original work, as are all of Zuppa鈥檚 genre-defying productions. The piece
actually started out as a 20-minute dance that grew into a play through Zuppa鈥檚 uniquely
collaborative create-as-you-go process, which relies on improvisation and the artist鈥檚 intuition.
Though the original music is an integral part of the production, Ms. Leblanc-Crawford would not classify the show as a "musical." 鈥淚n a musical, the songs are used to propel the plot forward,鈥� she explains, 鈥渨hereas in our show there is a lot of instrumental music that weaves through and complements the story.鈥�
Dal grads on the team
The Zuppa team behind Five Easy Steps includes grads from all divisions of AV俱乐部鈥檚
Theatre Department: acting, theatre studies, technical scenography, and costume studies. The show鈥檚 original music was composed by David Christensen - a graduate of (you guessed it) Dal鈥檚 Department聽of Music聽- in collaboration with local musician Jason MacIsaac.
Five Easy Steps cast member Sue Leblanc-Crawford (acting grad) and costume designer
Leesa Hamilton (costume studies grad) have both returned to Dal as part-time faculty in their
respective areas. The Zuppa Theatre Co. was also brought in to guest direct the first show of the DalTheatre season last year, The Fairy of the Lake.
Zuppa Theatre loves working with students (they run a workshop for students and professionals during February break), and love having them as audience. For their upcoming run of Five Easy Steps (to the end of the world) they are offering lots of student-budget-friendly ticket deals, including a pay-what-you-can performance Tuesday, Oct. 26, $15 preview performances Wednesday,聽Oct. 27 and Thursday, Oct. 28, and $20 student tickets (regular $25) throughout the run. Not to mention, if you wear a costume on Halloween weekend (Oct. 30 or 31) you will receive a $5 discount on your ticket - a great way for retired trick-or-treaters (I know it鈥檚 hard to let go) to get in the spirit!