Are We Really So Fearful?

By Ariel Dorfman
The Washington Post

Sunday 24 September 2006

Durham, North Carolina - It still haunts me, the first time - it was in Chile, in October of 1973 - that I met someone who had been tortured. To save my life, I had sought refuge in the Argentine Embassy some weeks after the coup that had toppled the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende, a government for which I had worked. And then, suddenly, one afternoon, there he was. A large-boned man, gaunt and yet strangely flabby, with eyes like a child, eyes that could not stop blinking and a body that could not stop shivering.

That is what stays with me - that he was cold under the balmy afternoon sun of Santiago de Chile, trembling as though he would never be warm again, as though the electric current was still coursing through him. Still possessed, somehow still inhabited by his captors, still imprisoned in that cell in the National Stadium, his hands disobeying the orders from his brain to quell the shuddering, his body unable to forget what had been done to it just as, nearly 33 years later, I, too, cannot banish that devastated life from my memory.

It was his image, in fact, that swirled up from the past as I pondered the current political debate in the United States about the practicality of torture. Something in me must have needed to resurrect that victim, force my fellow citizens here to spend a few minutes with the eternal iciness that had settled into that man's heart and flesh, and demand that they take a good hard look at him before anyone dare maintain that, to save lives, it might be necessary to inflict unbearable pain on a fellow human being. Perhaps the optimist in me hoped that this damaged Argentine man could, all these decades later, help shatter the perverse innocence of contemporary Americans, just as he had burst the bubble of ignorance protecting the young Chilean I used to be, someone who back then had encountered torture mainly through books and movies and newspaper reports.

That is not, however, the only lesson that today's ruthless world can learn from that distant man condemned to shiver forever.

All those years ago, that torture victim kept moving his lips, trying to articulate an explanation, muttering the same words over and over. "It was a mistake," he repeated, and in the next few days I pieced together his sad and foolish tale. He was an Argentine revolutionary who had fled his homeland and, as soon as he had crossed the mountains into Chile, had begun to boast about what he would do to the military there if it staged a coup, about his expertise with arms of every sort, about his colossal stash of weapons. Bluster and braggadocio - and every word of it false.

But how could he convince those men who were beating him, hooking his penis to electric wires and waterboarding him? How could he prove to them that he had been lying, prancing in front of his Chilean comrades, just trying to impress the ladies with his fraudulent insurgent persona?

Of course, he couldn't. He confessed to anything and everything they wanted to drag from his hoarse, howling throat; he invented accomplices and addresses and culprits; and then, when it became apparent that all this was imaginary, he was subjected to further ordeals.

There was no escape.

That is the hideous predicament of the torture victim. It was always the same story, what I discovered in the ensuing years, as I became an unwilling expert on all manner of torments and degradations, my life and my writing overflowing with grief from every continent. Each of those mutilated spines and fractured lives -- Chinese, Guatemalan, Egyptian, Indonesian, Iranian, Uzbek, need I go on? -- all of them, men and women alike, surrendered the same story of essential asymmetry, where one man has all the power in the world and the other has nothing but pain, where one man can decree death at the flick of a wrist and the other can only pray that the wrist will be flicked soon.

It is a story that our species has listened to with mounting revulsion, a horror that has led almost every nation to sign treaties over the past decades declaring these abominations as crimes against humanity, transgressions interdicted all across the earth. That is the wisdom, national and international, that has taken us thousands of years of tribulation and shame to achieve. That is the wisdom we are being asked to throw away when we formulate the question - Does torture work? - when we allow ourselves to ask whether we can afford to outlaw torture if we want to defeat terrorism.

I will leave others to claim that torture, in fact, does not work, that confessions obtained under duress - such as that extracted from the heaving body of that poor Argentine braggart in some Santiago cesspool in 1973 - are useless. Or to contend that the United States had better not do that to anyone in our custody lest someday another nation or entity or group decides to treat our prisoners the same way.

I find these arguments - and there are many more - to be irrefutable. But I cannot bring myself to use them, for fear of honoring the debate by participating in it.

Can't the United States see that when we allow someone to be tortured by our agents, it is not only the victim and the perpetrator who are corrupted, not only the "intelligence" that is contaminated, but also everyone who looked away and said they did not know, everyone who consented tacitly to that outrage so they could sleep a little safer at night, all the citizens who did not march in the streets by the millions to demand the resignation of whoever suggested, even whispered, that torture is inevitable in our day and age, that we must embrace its darkness?

Are we so morally sick, so deaf and dumb and blind, that we do not understand this? Are we so fearful, so in love with our own security and steeped in our own pain, that we are really willing to let people be tortured in the name of America? Have we so lost our bearings that we do not realize that each of us could be that hapless Argentine who sat under the Santiago sun, so possessed by the evil done to him that he could not stop shivering?

--------

Ariel Dorfman, a Chilean American writer and professor at Duke University, is author of Death and the Maiden.

CrossCurrents

The Sixth Annual Factory Theatre CrossCurrents Festival
A Play Development Festival Celebrating Writers of Colour
April 27 – May 6, 2007, Nina Lee Aquino, Artistic Producer

CrossCurrents 2007
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
DEADLINE OCT 23, 2006, 5:00 PM

Toronto - Celebrating six years of diversity, Factory Theatre’s CrossCurrents Festival is seeking new original stage plays by writers of colour from across the nation. The only festival of its kind in Toronto, CrossCurrents celebrates the diversity of today's artists and their unique stories.

This year CrossCurrents will run from April 27 to May 6, 2007 in the Factory Studio Theatre. Returning after last year’s successful record-breaking festival, is producer Nina Lee Aquino, Artistic Director of fu-GEN Asian-Canadian Theatre Company and director of this year’s world premier production of Singkil by Catherine Hernandez.

CrossCurrents is a play development festival open to both emerging and established artists, presenting work at varying stages of development. Selected works will receive dramaturgical support, professional workshops and a staged reading presentation. Out-of-town playwrights will receive travel expenses and per diem. One act plays, works-in-progress and proposals are welcome, though full-length pieces are preferred.

There is no prescribed theme, and playwrights are encouraged to submit all styles of work, including innovative pieces that involve multidisciplinary collaborations or test out new theatrical boundaries.

Submission Details:

Please include the following:

ø A hard copy of your script, script excerpt or proposal (please do not staple or bind)

ø A cover letter outlining your play’s development history and the artistic goals you aim to meet through the festival

ø Any support material that you feel may benefit or further explain your proposal

ø A self-addressed stamped envelope:

Send to:

2007 CrossCurrents Festival
Attn: Nina Lee Aquino
Factory Theatre
125 Bathurst Street Toronto ON M5V 2R2
Deadline for submission: October 23, 2006, 5:00 PM

CrossCurrents is the best place to get a sneak preview of what’s coming to Canadian stages in the future. From Hiro Kanagawa’s Tiger of Malaya to Vadney Hayne’s Blacks Don’t Bowl, from Andrew Moodie’s The Real McCoy to this season’s production of Singkil by Catherine Hernandez, CrossCurrents brings you the most current, cutting edge theatre from some of Canada’s finest writers. It is the intersection of established and emerging artists, of tradition and experimentation that makes CrossCurrents such an exciting festival.

37 years and counting! Established in 1970 by current and founding Artistic Director Ken Gass, Factory Theatre was one of the first companies in the nation to devote itself exclusively to producing Canadian plays. For over three decades, Factory has been at the forefront of the national theatre scene, building a theatre predicated on the Canadian playwright. The astonishing success of the Factory has indelibly changed the face of theatre in this country, as indigenous plays are now produced coast to coast. Currently the country’s largest producer of 100% homegrown creations, Factory is truly the home for Canadian theatre.

For more information on The Factory Theatre or CrossCurrents, please visit www.factorytheatre.ca or e-mail Nina Lee Aquino at nina@factorytheatre.ca

Native Voices at the Autry 2006/2007

CALL FOR SCRIPTS

*New Opportunities for Native American Playwrights*

Native Voices at the Autry is devoted to the development and production of new works for the stage by Native American writers.

Native Voices brings established, mid-career, and/or emerging playwrights to the Autry National Center in Los Angeles to workshop material with professional directors, dramaturges, and actors. Through workshops and staged readings, an annual festival of new plays, a vibrant and growing Young Native Voices: Theater Education Project, an annual Playwrights Retreat, new play commissions, and Equity productions, Native Voices at the Autry* creative processes, often from original idea to production. In addition to serving Native writers, Native Voices creates opportunities for Native actors, directors, and key theatre artists to practice and advance their craft.

*DEADLINES for Submissions*

For 2007 Playwrights Retreat
DEADLINE December 15, 2006

For 2007 New Play Commission
DEADLINE December 15, 2006

For 2008 Equity Production
DEADLINE March 15, 2007

For November 2007 Festival of Plays
DEADLINE April 15, 2007

*2007 Native Voices at the Autry Playwrights Retreat*

Application to the Playwrights Retreat is based on all work submitted by December 15, 2006 and is by invitation only. Selected playwrights will be notified by February 15, 2007 and are invited to submit a Formal Proposal to continue work on an existing script or complete a new work. From these Formal Proposals five playwrights are invited to attend a weeklong retreat at the Autry National Center where they will work with professional actors, directors, and dramaturges. Selected playwrights receive an honorarium, round trip airfare to Los Angeles, plus room and board. Selected playwrights will be notified by March 15, 2007.

*2007 Native Voices at the Autry New Play Commission*

Based on all submissions received by December 15, 2006, playwrights will be considered for a commission to write a new play on a specific topic for Native Voices at the Autry. A commissioned playwright receives an honorarium and an invitation to participate in the 2007 Playwrights Retreat.

*2008 Native Voices at the Autry Equity Production*

To be considered for production in 2008 please submit scripts by March 15, 2007.

*2007 Native Voices at the Autry Play Festival*

Up to five playwrights will be invited to work on their plays with professional actors, directors, and dramaturges during a weeklong workshop at the Autry National Center. Each play will receive a staged reading at the Autry's 215-seat Wells Fargo Theater. Submissions should be received by April 15, 2007. Selected playwrights receive an honorarium, round trip airfare to Los Angeles, plus room and board. Selected playwrights will be notified by August 15, 2007.

*WHO SHOULD SUBMIT*: All emerging or experienced playwrights writing from the indigenous experience in North America are encouraged to submit their work for consideration.

*WHAT TO SEND*: Native Voices at the Autry only accepts full-lengh plays. Solo performance artists whose work is text based should send full text in manuscript form. [Please do not send one acts, ten minute plays or outlines. Completed full-length plays, plays for young audiences or one person shows *only*.]

*ALL SUBMISSIONS MUST INCLUDE:* a bio, resume, tribal affiliation, and full contact information including an email address (if you have one, or if applicable) to be considered complete.

*SEND SUBMISSIONS TO*:
Randy Reinholz, Artistic Director

Native Voices at the Autry

4700 Western Heritage Way,

Los Angeles, CA 90027-1462

SUBMISSION ENCLOSED

Please write "SUBMISSION ENCLOSED" on the envelope. Scripts will not be returned.

ctronic submissions*: will be accepted in Word or PDF format. Please send electronic submissions to nativevoices@autrynationalcenter.org and type SUBMISSION in the subject line. Be sure to include a bio, resume, tribal affiliation, and full contact information for your submission to be considered complete.

*For more information*:
Contact Rose-Yvonne Colletta

Native Voices Production Manager

rcolletta@autrynationalcenter.org

*ONLINE AT*:

www.nativevoicesattheautry.org

www.myspace.com/nativevoices**

Call for Scripts

The Playwrights Of Spring is a festival for new playwrights being presented by Theatre Aurora and Shadowpath Theatre Productions. The Playwrights of Spring is requesting a:

Call For Scripts

Guidelines:

Playwrights from Ontario, we particularly encourage York Region playwrights to apply.

No Musicals, but a production with music will be considered.

Full length and One-Act plays are eligible.

Submitted scripts must not have been professionally produced.

More than one submission per playwright is allowed.

Simplicity is key. Small casts are preferable but not mandatory.

All plays must be submitted in English.

The cover page should include all contact information.

Nowhere else in the script should the playwright’s name appear.

Plays will not be returned unless a stamped, self-addressed envelope is included.

Send submissions to: Theatre Aurora, P.O Box 28532, Aurora L4G 6S6

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS – Nov 30th, 2006

Scripts will be read by a professional panel of judges:

Anthony Leo, Founder - Resurgence Theatre Company

David Ferry, Artistic Director – Resurgence Theatre Company

Ron Cameron-Lewis, Playwrights Of Spring Festival Dramaturge

The playwrights selected will have a unique opportunity to work with a Dramaturge and have a professionally staged production.

Festival Dates: April 12^th – 29^th, 2007

Festival Location: Theatre Aurora, 150 Henderson Dr, Aurora

For more info visit:

www.shadowpaththeatre.ca and/or theatreaurora@rogers.com

Selected playwrights will be notified by late Fall 2006

Hollywood's Stereotypes

Does What We See On The Screen Affect What We Think Of People?

By JOHN STOSSEL and FRANK MASTROPOLO

Sept. 8, 2006 — - Where do we get our ideas about what groups of people are like? We learn from our parents and friends, of course, but Hollywood has a big influence too.

Most Italian Americans have nothing to do with organized crime. But you wouldn't know that watching movies and TV shows like "The Godfather," "Goodfellas" and "The Sopranos." Those depictions of Italians as gangsters anger Italian activist groups like the Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA). Dona De Sanctis, OSIA's Deputy Executive Director says, Italians are "among the few ethnic minorities that it's still okay to make fun of, and that's not right."

Beginning in the silent film era, blacks were mainly portrayed by Hollywood as fools and servants. But movie roles have changed for blacks. Since the 1971 movie "Shaft," starring Richard Roundtree as a private eye, blacks have played most every type of humanity.

Hating Yourself

But that's less true for other ethnic groups. On the ABC show "Lost," Daniel Dae Kim kissed a woman. Have you ever seen an Asian actor do that?

Kim told 20/20 he'd played at least fifty roles on television and had never gotten to kiss a woman on-screen until "Lost." Kim says Hollywood stereotypes Asian American actors, relegating them to certain roles. "We've been portrayed as inscrutable villains and asexualized kind of eunuchs," Kim says. "Even Jackie Chan in his movies rarely gets to kiss his female lead."

B.D. Wong of "Law & Order SVU," a winner of Broadway's Tony award, is still waiting for his first on-screen kiss. Wong says he's constantly cast as a doctor.

"I played a doctor on Sesame Street. I played a doctor in the film 'Jurassic Park.' I play a doctor on Law & Order Special Victims Unit."

"It's beyond weird," he told me. "It's wrong … and it makes me feel somehow like I'm not cute, which pisses me off."

Growing up, Wong saw white actors playing Asian parts in what they call "yellowface." In "Breakfast at Tiffany's" the fussy Japanese landlord was Mickey Rooney, which he played with a broadly exaggerated Japanese accent while wearing thick round glasses and fake buck teeth. Some Asians say these images made them hate themselves. "I wanted to be Matthew Broderick," Wong says. "If you could have given me $150,000 and told me it was possible, I would have had that operation."

That's because Broderick was cool … while Asians were not.

Maybe Asian Americans should protest. Arab American groups, sensitive that they're portrayed too often as terrorists, have picketed theaters and persuaded nervous producers to cast them differently. Hollywood used to make lots of movies about Arab terrorists. But since September 11th, Arabs are much less likely to be cast as terrorists. The Tom Clancy best seller "The Sum of All Fears" is about Palestinian terrorists, but when the movie came out, the bad guys had become neo-Nazis.

Speaking Out

Now some Italian groups are complaining. In 2004, Italy planned to award Robert De Niro honorary citizenship, but then De Niro voiced the role of gangster Don Lino in the cartoon "Shark Tale," using language peppered with Italian expressions like "agita." Advocacy groups complained, and Italy cancelled its citizenship ceremony.

That's just silly, says Vincent Pastore, who played a mobster on "The Sopranos." Pastore told 20/20, "Italian people are gangsters. That's like saying all black people are slaves. Italian people are gangsters? It's just bizarre."

Italian American actor/comedian Pat Cooper says, "The activists don't know what they're talking about."

Cooper played one of Robert De Niro's made men in the film "Analyze This" and says groups like Order Sons of Italy are wrong--mob movies don't make people think Italians are gangsters. He says Hollywood favors Italian gangsters "because we're better gangsters ... But that doesn't mean all Italians are gangsters and all Italians are bad, that's ridiculous."

OSIA's De Sanctis disagrees. "I have to say to people like Pat Cooper& I'm sorry, your portrayals are influencing public opinion."

De Sanctis points out "The popularity of a stereotype doesn't justify it ... Cowboy and Indian movies were wildly popular for generations. But that doesn't make the stereotype right."

Pat Cooper responds, "It's an art form, it's a movie! How come nobody comes over to me and says, 'You know, you're making fun of the Italians'? I say, we got a sense of humor, I'm so proud that I'm the first one to let people know we know how to laugh."

For more information, please refer to the sources below, who helped with research for this story:

Jeff Adachi, director of a new documentary "The Slanted Screen: Asian Men in Film & Television"

Show business biographer James Robert Parish, author of "The Encyclopedia of Ethnic Groups in Hollywood"

Copyright © 2006 ABC News Internet Ventures

Gotta Dance?

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS – DANCERS

Cahoots Theatre Projects and Modern Times Stage Company are currently seeking submissions from female dancers for our production of
THE SHEEP AND THE WHALE.

SEEKING:

Female
Non-Union
Extensive background in traditional West-Indian or traditional African dance
And/or Modern African-influenced dance
Strong, dynamic physicality

SHOW INFORMATION:

THE SHEEP AND THE WHALE
Directed by Soheil Parsa
Rehearsals start January 8, 2007
Opens February 20, 2007
Closes March 11, 2007
Performances at Theatre Passe Muraille

TO SUBMIT:

Please send your picture and resume (with UNION status clearly indicated) to:

ATTN: THE SHEEP AND THE WHALE
Dance Auditions
Cahoots Theatre Projects
174 Spadina Ave. #610
Toronto, ON
M5T 2C2

For more information please contact Marjorie or 416-203-9000 x3
Please do not email your picture and resume.

Wanna be an A.D.?

Firestarter Project

OneLight Theatre
Apprenticeship for Theatre Artists

Let OneLight Start Your Fire!

OneLight Theatre is inviting theatre artists who would like to found their own company or produce their own professional productions to apply for a one-year apprenticeship with OneLight Theatre. During the year, the apprentice would work with OneLight’s Artistic Director, Shahin Sayadi, Managing Director, Maggie Stewart, and Technical Director, Jake Dambergs on all aspects of building a company and producing a show. The goal of the apprenticeship would be to help the participant plan, and possibly produce, a theatre show and to develop the skills, experience and professional connections necessary to establish a career as a professional theatre artist.

Support would be provided in the following areas:
1) understanding and articulating the apprentice’s artistic styles and methods

2) selecting and developing preliminary production plans for a show

3) developing a budget for a production

4) researching and applying for grants

5) developing fundraising skills

6) developing marketing and promotion skills

7) production and technical skills, including lighting and set design

8) incorporating a society and other administrative skills

9) basic accounting and bookkeeping


The apprentice would be invited to work in the OneLight office, use our resources, our support, advice and oversight. We would serve as mentors and liaisons to the Nova Scotia theatre community, and assist, the apprentice, as needed, to develop the skills and make the connections necessary to develop their production.

The core members of OneLight Theatre have been working together since 1998 and the company was officially incorporated into a society in 2002. Since that time we have produced 6 original theatre shows and hosted 2 theatre conferences, and we have received funding from HRM, the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada Council, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, and Heritage Canada. We are also members of various professional organizations, including The Professional Association of Canadian Theatres, Playwright’s Atlantic Resource Centre, and Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal. Currently, we are working on 2-year project to develop and produce The Veil; for this project we are partnered with Neptune Theatre, Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia, and Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto. Our office is located on Argyle St., Halifax. More information about our company can be found at our website.

OneLight Theatre welcomes applications from any theatre artist who lives in or would be willing to relocate to Halifax. We will be giving priority to a theatre artist who identifies as being a member of a minority population (including Aboriginals, visible minorities, and people who are differently-abled.) Applicants should have either training or experience in theatre and should be seeking to begin their career as a professional theatre artist.

Application Requirements

1) resume

2) covering letter that details:

a. training & experience;
b. any other pertinent information that you think OneLight Theatre should know; and
c. a brief description of the work that you would like to do during the apprenticeship.

3) 2 letters of reference from people who can speak to your abilities as a theatre artist.

4) support material (reviews of productions, video tapes, etc.) (if available)

OneLight Theatre will be giving priority to applicants who are from a minority community. Applicants are not required to self-identify, but should be aware of the goals of the program.

Applications can be sent by email or post to PO Box 1603, Hfx CRO NS B3J 2Y3.

Any questions can be directed to Maggie Stewart or Shahin Sayadi at 902-425-6812 or studio@onelighttheatre.com

..........................
Shahin Sayadi
Artistic Director, OneLight Theatre
902.425.6812, f. 492.0247
shahin@onelighttheatre.com
www.onelighttheatre.com

Canaries in record migrant influx

Almost 900 African migrants reached the Canary Islands by boat on Tuesday, a record number for a single day.

Nine boats with 898 people made it to the archipelago, rescue workers said.

The surge has prompted the head of the Canaries' government to call the influx Spain's worst humanitarian crisis since the civil war of the 1930s.

Already, more than 20,000 migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, have arrived on the islands this year - double the previous annual record.

Estimates of the number that have died en route to the islands located off the west coast of Africa range from 590 to 3,000.

The Canaries have become a main point of entry for illegal immigrants seeking to reach the European Union, following a crackdown on migration to the north African Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla in 2005.

'How many?'

Tuesday's record influx came after a weekend in which more than 1,400 Africans landed on the islands.

"The dam is about to burst," the head of the regional government told members.

"How many more victims, how many pictures of exhausted bodies?" Adan Martin asked.

Opinion polls suggest immigration has become a key concern for Spaniards.

A survey for Instituto Opina released on Wednesday indicated a vast majority thought too many illegal immigrants were arriving, the government was failing to cope and the EU should get more involved.

The government has said it will not tolerate the continued arrivals.

On Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega called on African countries to help cut off the flow of migrants, and to take them back again.

Spain has accords with several African countries under which they have agreed to tackle illegal migration and accept the repatriation of their nationals, in exchange for development aid.

Spain has been criticised by European Commission Vice President Franco Frattini for a 2005 amnesty for 600,000 illegal immigrants, on the grounds that it encourages more people to try to reach Spain.

The migrants take to the seas crammed into open wooden boats for a crossing of up to 10 days. An unknown number do not make it.

'Maltreatment'

Africans make up only a small proportion of the more than half a million people migrating to Spain every year, but they put strains on the resources of the Canary Islands.

On Monday, officials said internment centres which had room for 5,446 people were already holding 5,461 - while another 700 were being held in police stations.

Thousands of migrants have already been transferred to the mainland this year, and some have been sent home.

Senegal suspended repatriation of its citizens earlier this year, after migrants returned claiming they had been maltreated.

Last week Spain called on the European Union for more help to deal with the crisis.

Experts from several EU countries have been helping identify the nationalities of migrants landing in the Canary Islands since July.

Ships from Portugal and Italy and a Finnish aircraft are also supposed to be helping patrol the West African coast.

But Spain says more boats, planes and personnel are needed.

This article appeared on the BBC News Website, September 6, 2006

Yo Young Artistes...

THE PAPRIKA FESTIVAL IS NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR THE 2006-2007 FESTIVAL!!!

The Paprika Festival is accepting submissions in all styles of writing, or in the form of a detailed project description, from young artists who want to learn about more about theatre, challenge themselves and work towards the performance of their own new work. Participants begin working with the festival in the Fall of 2006, and develop their projects with the support of a wide range of professional artists.

The festival culminates in public presentations March 15-25, 2007 in the Studios at the Tarragon Theatre.

Passionate voices, new ideas, original approaches – we want you to break new ground as the next generation of theatre and performance artists!

We are looking for submissions from young artists of all levels of experience.

Call for submissions deadline: sept 15, 2006

All submissions should include:

* A completed Application Form, available for download at
www.paprikafestival.com, (which also includes details about
applying to our Artists Lab & Playwrights Unit programs).

* A Project Description explaining your project in detail.

* A Script or writing sample.

* Information about all collaborators involved in your
production, including, your playwright, director, actors, designers
and stage managers, if possible.

* Support Material – anything that might help us get to
know you, your work and why you are passionate about your
project, and could include (but is not limited to) music CDs,
images, drawings, articles and information about past projects.

Please mail or deliver submissions to: Paprika Festival
c/o Tarragon Theatre
30 Bridgman Ave
Toronto, ON M5R 1X3

Based on the submitted proposals, selected applicants will be invited to
an interview with festival artists and staff, which will inform how
the festival’s Productions, Artists Lab and Playwrights Unit will be
programmed this year.


Please contact me with any questions!

Thank you,

Natasha Mytnowych
Artistic Producer
Paprika Festival
c/o Tarragon Theatre
30 Bridgman Ave
Toronto, ON M5R 1X3
(416) 407-7301
info@paprikafestival.com

The Submission Deadline for the 6th Annual Paprika Festival is September 15, 2006. Visit www.paprikafestival.com for more information.

Living Like a Refugee

This is a letter written to all ONE members ---

The power of song and music is universal. Even when life is hardest, at least while the music is playing, you can take your mind off everything you have been through and enjoy life.

My band mates and I are not your typical touring musicians. We met in a refugee camp in the Republic of Guinea, having escaped from the horror of the civil war in Sierra Leone. Using simple instruments we brought joy to people in the camps who were facing very difficult situations. Now we are called Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars and we have been fortunate enough to have our music recorded for an album called Living Like A Refugee, which will soon be released in the United States.

I know ONE members are working hard to help improve the lives of people in Africa. In thanks, we would like to share with you one of the songs we recorded while still in the refugee camp.

Listen or download for free "Living like a Refugee"

Two of the biggest problems we live with everyday in Africa are poverty and AIDS. They prevent entire countries from being able to take care of themselves.

While in the refugee camps, I personally worked with international aid groups teaching school and supervising youth sports programs and creative outlets like children's theatre and cultural groups. I know how a simple program can change a child's life. That is why I know your work is so important.

We have been blessed to have our story told through our music and a film made about our journey. We are eager to meet people all over the world and share our message of peace and love and the insanity of war. We hope you too will recognize that there is always hope and that, when given a chance, great things are possible.

Listen or download for free "Living like a Refugee"

Thank you,

Reuben M. Koroma, ONE Member

Nomenclature Rant

OK how many of you still call us East Indians? It is only in Canada that I have come across it. Even in the States, that morass of geographical ignorance, they call us Indians. Is it to distinguish us from West Indians and the Aboriginal population?

I look at it semantically. I am from India therefore I am Indian. What is this East Indian bullcrap? Anyway now I just say South Asian because I am never sure whether someone is Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sril Lankan, Maldivian, or Indian. Sometimes I can tell by their names but not always.

And then there is this Asian concept. Asia for Canadians encompasses only East Asia and South East Asia. So when Canadians say Asian they could mean anyone from Burma to China including Vietnam, Korea, Phillipines, and Japan. But the rest of Asia is excluded. Hey, last I heard India, Iraq and Uzbekistan were still in Asia. Am I wrong? Has there been a geographical revolution since I was last in school?

And then there is the Middle East. Turkey to Afghanistan. Middle of what? East of what? East of Europe. Middle of … a trade route? Something to do with old colonial concepts of Far East, Near East and then Middle East. I dunno, you tell me. Does not South West Asia make more sense? I’ll try and post a map of Asia and let’s open it to the public.

I think we need compulsory standardised testing in geography for all Canadians. Don’t argue. Immigrants are forced to take a stupid culture test on Canada before they are given their Canadian passports. The majority of Canadians would fail that test. Why is the burden of a national Canadian identity being hoisted on us immigrants? And to compound the humiliation we have to swear allegiance to a decrepit, redundant monarchy, a queen in whose name our countries were colonised, pillaged, exploited and generally reduced to rubble and sectarian ashes. And speaking of the queen and colonialism, you know why the Brits can have free admission to their museums and do you know what’s in their museums? COLONIAL PLUNDER!!! LOOT!! STOLEN GOODS!! But I digress. Did you notice I digressed? So anyway, you will not be allowed to renew your driver’s license until you take a world geography test.

by: Isaac Thomas

ARCfest!

ARCFEST PRESENTS:

Art as Resistance, Resistance as Art

August 25-27, 2006, Harbourfront Centre,

Toronto, Ontario

Featuring artists:

- daryl james bucar

- JORIAL

- Natalyn Tremblay

- Natalie Wood

Curated by: Syrus Marcus Ware

Join us for a panel discussion and interactive talk about art and activism

on Sunday August 27, 2006, from 3-4pm.

Panelists include Rosina Kazi (LAL), Natalie Wood and Gein Wong

ARCfest 2006 will be taking place from October 22nd-29th. For more

information about Art as Resistance, Resistance as Art, or ARCfest, contact

Josh Bloch at info@arcfest.org, 416-538-4637 or visit www.arcfest.org

Apology Rant

Now Harper is speaking of apologising for the Komagata Maru incident. Another cheap ploy to get the brown vote. What’s the point? What will an apology achieve? Does that change anything? Does it change atitudes? Does it change the fact that almost a century later, successive governments of all stripes succesfully ensure that immigrants are under-employed or unemployed and create this highly educated underclass, clinging onto this great hope that Canada will remain a land of freedom and opportunity?

Forget the apology – ensure that immigrants are employed in the field of their training not working with Group Four Security and Diamond Taxi. Deal with the systemic racism that shuts out pigmented MBAs from upper management. Then apologise.

Some background - in 1914 the Komagata Maru, a ship sailed from Calcutta via HK to Canada. The Canadian government did not want South Asian immigrants bringing their wives into this country because my god they would over breed and over populate the West Coast. It would be fine if they just came in to work and died child-less. Already the white Canadian population was terrified about Chinese immigrants daring to employ vestal white girls, and the dangerous possibilities of miscegenation would only be compounded by libidinous Hindoos (sic) coming into the country.

So they kept the ship in the harbour while disease swept through the passengers. Then they hurriedly changed their laws to say that immigrants had to travel non-stop to this country. And finally sent the ship back to India.

This was just before World War I, when the Globe and Mail lauded the brave Indian soldiers sent in as cannon fodder to protect imperial lands. Strictly speaking Indian soldiers were dying for the British Empire; but Canadian newspapers of the time spoke with the voice of the Empire. Bleed for the country but don’t breed in the country!!!

by: Isaac Thomas

Me Power

I checked out "Me Power" this weekend... This was put on by The Circle Playhouse, directed by Josh Bloch. It is a theatre initiative to create community for Youth in Care or formerly in care.

I was really surprised at the end of the show when only 3 people came out for a bow -- they are played multiple characters, and actually I would have guessed there were 6 or 7 of them in the cast -- they did a great job of making the whole piece feel very full! The production was a great example of using everything that you have; I understand that one of their actors went back to Latin America just 2 weeks before the show - so they changed everything around - kept her character as a audio character who wrote home to friends about her life.

The characters talked about some hard stuff: alcoholic parents, feelling isolated, not being "good enough", seeking approval from parents -- brave stuff!

And on top of that, they were so funny!!

An interesting audience make-up too. Actually, I think it was the most age-diverse audience I've seen. The youths' peers were present, as were program coordinators and other professionals who had helped out in various ways. You start to wonder who's teaching who, though -- which is lovely.

(yes, Isaac, this was another ulla-positive post!)

Grandmothers to Grandmothers

Toronto hosted a very unique and important conference this weekend: As part of the annual AIDS conference, the Stephen Lewis foundation created a “Grandmothers to Grandmothers” gathering. 100 African grandmothers were flown into Toronto (women who had never even left their village), and joined 200 grannies from across Canada. In fact, unknown to me, there exist many many Granny groups across our country – women who have come together with the avid desire to help the world in this way.

The conference aimed to create a dialogue between the African grannies and the Canadian ones. It opened up a conversation so that the Canadian Granny chapters could respond to what exactly the African grannies needed. The other thing that happened – that was so evident – was camaraderie between them. There was a profound respect for the African Grannies; women who have lost their own children to AIDS, who have never had the opportunity to grieve for this lose, who are now caring for sometimes dozens of grandchildren.

My own role was a volunteer with the film crew. We were filming testimonials from both the African and Canadian Grandmothers. One interview was with a woman who spoke Zulu. She told her story to us with a translator sitting next to her. Another woman, we went over-over-over time with --- and just after we finished and turned off the camera, she told us “no wait, turn it back on, I have something else to say.” There is something very empowering for these women to tell their stories to a camera, and to hope that it will be heard. The intimacy of these interviews I think came from the openness of them. There was no specific agenda for them, but rather they provided an opportunity to give voice to whatever these women needed to express. Breakthrough Films provided the crew for the filming, all of who were volunteers. I think the eventual form of the video is TBA - for the moment I think it was mostly gathering and will be used in a few different ways for the Stephen Lewis foundation. The director of the documentary was Shelley Saywell. She created the film Martyr Street about the lives of a Jewish and a Palestinian girl living in Hebron, which won the Best Canadian Documentary prize at Toronto's Hot Docs International Documentary Festival.

And then there were the celebrations! I arrived to the evening dinner at the same moment as a busload of African Grannies and was caught (happily) in the middle of them as we danced and sang all the way into the building. And the rest of the evening saw many Grannies go to the front of the room and take turns singing for the crowd! There's something to dancing and singing that can bring hope and determination to action, I'm sure of it. This was absolutely a bonding experience for the grannies from different sides of the world.

There was one strong exclamation of negative energy --- the fact the PM Harper did not make an appearance, nor will he at all at the international AIDS conference. He was 'booed' loudly by the crowd - and deservingly so. I am so upset by this. To be honest, I was so proud to be a woman and to be a Canadian this weekend. This is a Canadian initiative - these are Canadian Grandmothers who want to help and who are helping; who showed compassion and action; who will encourage grandmothers from the rest of the world to act; who are starting a movement. Yes, I did feel pride, amongst a million other emotions, but this pride was hurt enormously by Harper's inability to show Canada's commitment to this issue - to the world.

Loyal-T

Sun Aug 6, 3:30pm Wed Aug 9, 6:30pm Sat Aug 12, 11am Tickets. $10/ $13 Box Office. 416.504.9971 Loyal-T Dear Friends of Cahoots, Cahoots Theatre Projects came across an extraordinary play about teen violence written and performed by a group of high school students from North Etobicoke. The play is called LOYAL-T and it was created by youths from North Albion C.I. The director of the play, a young woman named Mila De Battista, was inspired to create LOYAL-T after the horrifying funeral shooting at the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Using African and Caribbean dance and music, the play is a moving expression of the students' outrage and sorrow. We feel that LOYAL-T has the potential to engage young people and to inspire them to say no to violence. I hope you have a chance to come and see the show. Regards, Jovanni North Albion C.I. proudly presents Loyal-T A collaborative play led by student director and lead writer Mila DeBattista. The original recorded musical score is composed and performed by students Yadpreet Singh and Ramandeep Bansal. Choreography is created by Rochelle Stultz and Patrick Parson. Loyal-T follows the lives of four youth as they struggle to make difficult choices with issues close to their hearts in a volatile urban community. Loyal-T’s breathtaking scenes, heart stopping music, theme of friendship and honour, and powerful plea to end violence has brought audiences to their feet with every performance. Recently Loyal-T received several awards of excellence in writing, directing, production and performance at the Provincial Competition of the 60th Annual Sears Drama Festival. The community in where these students live has been brought to the media’s attention on several occasions but not in a positive light. Gang related activity and other violence surround these students on a daily basis. The words, the voices and the images of this play are real. The students have opened their hearts, their minds and their creativity to put forth an artistic piece that is authentic to their experience. The show has been generously supported by the Pitblado Foundation and Cahoots Theatre Projects. To be removed from this mailing list, please send us an e-mail with "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

Race class visa rant

I’m Isaac Thomas. I received a grant from Theatre Ontario for a part of this summer to work as an intern in dramaturgy and artistic direction. I have been primarily reading scripts, and been peripherally involved in Sheep and the Whale which I will be stage managing in the fall.

In thinking about the Sheep and the Whale, my mind had been swirling around issues of race, class, immigration, and refugee status.

And then in my own small world it suddenly came to the fore. My mother, who lives in India, had been planning to visit us this summer. For one week. She has been missing her grandchild and regrets not being able to see him grow up. And I suppose she misses seeing me.

She called me with the Canadian visa requirements. Previous to this my mother has received the visa with merely a letter from a close friend stating that he will be financially responsible. She has been to Canada several times both personally and professionally. This time with the change in government or change in foreign policy the list was longer.

Along with that same letter of financial support, the Canadian High Commission required my tax returns from the previous two years; my companion’s tax returns; 6 months of our bank statements - checking account; letters from our employer stating that we were indeed employed; and the usual immigration and citizenship documentation. From my mother they required the same.

But what call for all this extra documentation? Why now? Is it the war on terror? Will this screening weed out terrorists? Is our Canadian foreign policy’s nose rammed so firmly up US foreign policy’s derrière that they cannot see anything but the Great Brown Threat? Is a 79 year old grandmother likely to pose a threat to national security? Or is it that in a 1 week visit she will decide to settle down here, bilk our decaying health system, and attempt to leach the system for every last dollar.

And what matters my bank account and tax return? It must be to check my class. Am I wealthy or at least comfortably middle class enough to support her if she falls ill? Or is my mother a worthy visitor only if I am in a particular tax bracket? Canada revenue already checks all financial transactions over $5000, so it can’t be a terror check. Would these same demands be made of a white nation? Of an Israeli visitor?

The funny part is that my mother will visit my brother and his family in Denmark. She will be staying there for a month after her Canadian visit. The Danish government gave her the visa upon merely receiving a letter from my brother stating that he will be financially responsible for her costs. That was all that was required. She had the Danish visa in her passport; but the Canadian High Commission wanted to confirm that my mother had no diabolical plan for the one week she would be here, so they sent her for this barrage of medical tests. By the time the second set of tests were done and the passport had been shuttled between Chennai and Delhi it was too close to her date of departure. So she rebooked her ticket to just a Copenhagen return, and has given up any hope of coming to Canada again.

The Dane’s have a far less open immigration policy. But getting a visa from them was not an issue. The Canadian’s on the other hand who pride themselves on their immigration policy haul us into this bureaucratic maze. The Liberals’ motto was “Give us your PhD’s, your Doctors, your Engineers, your IT specialists and we will make of them taxi drivers”. Is Reform’s, sorry the Regressive Conservative’s motto “Keep your brown skins out of our land unless they are gilded with Swiss Bank account numbers”?

If I wanted a group of immensely talented theatre artists – poor, brown and S.Asian - on a theatre exchange program would any of them get visas? What does this story say of Canadian immigration policy? What does it say about this nation and our obscenely underemployed immigrant population?

Call for Submissions - Vancouver

Green Thumb Theatre is currently casting the role of "Stan" in the premier production of "Cranked" by Michael P. Northey. "Cranked" uses spoken word and hip hop to explore addiction and drug culture. This character must rap and freestyle throughout the entire play, therefore actors must show ability in this area of performance.

Cranked will tour throughout BC from October - December, with rehearsals beginning in September. Actors from all Provinces will be considered.

email: natalie.ackers@greenthumb.bc.ca
Phone: 604-254-4055

Equity members will be seen first at all open audition calls. Equity members cast in this production will be engaged under an Equity form of contract. CAEA members: please bring your membership card to the audition.
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* Source: Equity e-drive

Auditions held to play Middle Eastern Villagers - G&M

Auditions held to play Middle Eastern Villagers

Canadian Press

EDMONTON — Dozens of people hoping to help Canadian soldiers prepare for duty in Afghanistan auditioned Saturday for the chance to play Middle Eastern villagers in realistic training scenarios.

The auditions were organized by DB Entertainment, a production company which has been hired by the military to produce realistic exercises for its soldiers at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright this fall.

The cast will live in mock villages and experience simulated suicide bombings and riots. It's all part of a plan to help Canadian soldiers understand Middle Eastern conflicts, culture and language, the production company said.

Many of those auditioning on Saturday were Muslims, and some with Afghan backgrounds.

Zahir Azizi, who was born in Afghanistan, said he is glad to have the chance to help educate soldiers and in turn, people in the Middle East.

"When these soldiers go to Afghanistan everything is strange to them, the topography, the culture and the traditions," Azizi said.

"In villages (in Afghanistan) the people are mostly uneducated and they can't understand why they (Canadian soldiers) are there. They just take what the Taliban or other parties or groups tell them about the soldiers."

Azizi is hoping to get a $250 per day speaking role.

People who can speak fluent Farsi, Pashtoun and Dari are being offered $100 more a day than people without the language skills.

Ninety people from Edmonton and Calgary will be cast for the training. A security screening is required to take part.

Casting organizers said that similar training has helped the United States and Great Britain reduce their incident, injury and death rates.

Kris Rurka, a casting agent, said the actors would not be cast in a stereotypical way.

"I think people are comfortable because they are helping so many people in their own countries," he said.

A military spokesperson was not available to comment.


Source: Globe and Mail

Modern Times at SummerWorks Theatre Festival

"I hold that the world is sick of armed rebellions." - Mahatma Gandhi

Modern Times Stage Company presents the English-language premiere of:
Interrogation
by Mohammad Rahmanian

A chair. A shaft of light. A voice.
Two youth are questioned after their participation in a violent ideological revolution. Their stories tell a timeless truth: nothing enduring can be built on violence.

translated and adapted by Soheil Parsa and Peter Farbridge
directed by Soheil Parsa
sound design by Thomas Ryder Payne

Featuring Leanna Brodie, Michelle Latimer, Ali Momen, Earl Pastko
Stage Manager Brenda Kamino


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Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace - 16 Ryerson Ave (Queen & Bathurst, Toronto)
August 5 - 1:30 pm, August 7 - 7:30 pm, August 8 - 9:00 pm,
August 10 - 10:30 pm, August 11 - 4:30 pm, ugust 12 - 6:00 pm

No latecomers will be admitted once the show has started.
Tickets $10 at the door, $12 in advance (416-973-4000)

Part of the SummerWorks Theatre Festival


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Modern Times Stage Company presents Interrogation, by internationally acclaimed Iranian playwright, Mohammad Rahmanian. This English premiere directed by Soheil Parsa promises to be one of the most timely and incisive performances of the Festival.

Two youth, Naeem (Ali Momen) and Safiya (Michelle Latimer) are being questioned after their participation in a violent revolution. Unable to stop their acts of violence once the war is won, they have continued to commit crimes, this time against those closest to them.

Interrogation is set in Algeria, 1962, yet the historical context is irrelevant. In Naeem and Safiya, we see the complexity of young people in countries around the world who have sacrificed youth and passion for ideology. Their stories tell a timeless truth: nothing enduring can be built on violence.

Translated and adapted by Soheil Parsa and Peter Fabridge, with a supporting cast of Earl Pastko and Leanna Brodie, and sound by Thomas Ryder Payne.

Modern Times is an artistic collaborative dedicated to creating culturally inclusive, alternative theatre experiences. Creators of the 2002 SummerWorks hit: Stories from the Rains of Love and Death.