While the pandemic may not provide the ideal conditions for theatrical gatherings (!), One Little Goat is still finding ways to bring people together, safely, through dynamic, poetic theatre. We did it in 2021 and will continue to do so in 2022. Read on to learn how. And if you can, please support One Little Goat's programming with a tax-deductible donation — as a registered charity, we depend on individual donations to realize productions, and we want to thank you for helping us make them happen. See you next year! In the meantime, wishing happy holidays and a healthy year ahead, -Adam Seelig, Artistic Director
“A WAY A LONE A LAST A LOVED A LONG THE RIVERRUN..."
Constantin Brancusi's "portrait" of Joyce (1929)
The Embassy of Ireland in Canada has awarded One Little Goat a grant to record James Joyce’s final work, Finnegans Wake. Intended to be heard as much as read, Joyce’s 628-page dreamlike novel of mind-blowing virtuosity is essentially impossible to read, and yet Dublin-born Richard Harte (One Little Goat’s Ubu Mayor, Music Music Life Death Music) has a remarkable knack for it, partly attributable to his two decades as a leading member of Toronto’s Annalivia Players, who perform Joyce’s Ulysses annually.
Andrew Moodie in Talking Masks: Oedipussy
Together with Artistic Director Adam Seelig, Harte is teaming up with celebrated actor-playwright-filmmaker Andrew Moodie (Talking Masks, Like the First Time) to capture the enrapturing cadences of Joyce’s text. In the meantime, if you’re looking for a way into the world of Joyce’s surreal book, Anthony Burgess’s introduction is an excellent place to start.
Rembrandt’s “Belshazzar's Feast,” p.18 of Finnegans Wake
Whack fol the dah now dance to your partner,
Welt the flure, your trotters shake,
Wasn't it the truth I told you,
Lots of fun at Finnegan's wake!
— 19th-century Irish American folk song
One Little Goat’s PLAY outdoors, fall 2021
PLAY REACHES 36,000 KIDS IN 140 SCHOOLS
Thanks to your support and the perseverance of actors Rochelle Bulmer, Jessica Salgueiro and Richard Harte, One Little Goat brought PLAY: A (Mini) History of Theatre for Kids to 4,500 elementary students and educators across Toronto this fall, live and in person.
Having performed PLAY for over 120 school gyms before the pandemic, we moved our performances outdoors this fall to ensure students could still experience the performing arts in person in a pandemic-safe environment. This outdoor tour fulfilled One Little Goat's goal, with support from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, of bringing dynamic theatre to 36,000 kids in over 140 Toronto schools, primarily schools with greater need, free of charge. For most of the youngest kids, this was their first live performance ever.
One Little Goat’s PLAY outdoors, fall 2021
The play was fantastic! The kids were excited during and after. In our School Council meeting that evening a parent mentioned that her kindergarten daughter was talking about Antigone [Greek Tragedy included in PLAY] after the play. How amazing is that? The students got the opportunity to experience theatre under the sky (outside) which was such a treat in light of the ban on co-curriculars due to the pandemic. The troupe was funny, and relatable. We are so appreciative of this opportunity that was given to us, at no cost.
—Cathy Chumfong, Principal, Carleton Village Public School
From One Little Goat’s Report on PLAY and Performing Arts in Schools
For more, please visit our Report on PLAY and Performing Arts in Schools:
nearly 60% of schools attend no (“Ø”) live performances in a given year
cost is the biggest barrier to performances for nearly 70% of schools
THE VAMPIRE AND THE NYMPHOMANIAC
Chants Libre, "Le Vampire," Montréal 1996
—"Ainsi la vie s’étend comme une tente de confiserie, comme un étang de liqueur mauve où le lys d’eau recueilli enflamme les joncs bleuisseurs."
—"Thus, life extends like a confectionery tent, like a pond of mauve liqueur where the contemplative water lily inflames the blueblushing bullrush."
Claude Gauvreau, paintings by Pierre Gauvreau, Montréal, 1954 (photo by Gregori)
Ray Ellenwood has nearly completed his English translation of Claude Gauvreau’s extraordinary libretto, The Vampire and the Nymphomaniac, with support from a Canada Council grant secured by One Little Goat. Although the pandemic has slowed the publication process, we are working with colleagues in Quebec to issue a beautiful bilingual edition of this “explorean” script from 1949, introducing new audiences to Gauvreau’s revolutionary writing. As Le Devoir succinctly put it, “Gauvreau is a giant!”
Student review of PLAY outdoors (Fall 2021)
PLEASE SUPPORT ONE LITTLE GOAT
As an official charity, One Little Goat Theatre Company, North America’s only company dedicated to poetic theatre, depends on individual donations to make productions possible. Your financial support is tax-deductible and greatly appreciated! Our office is volunteer-run, so 100% of your donation goes directly to programming.
How to donate:
Online through Canada Helps
E-transfer to onelittlegoattc@gmail.com
Cheque to One Little Goat Theatre Company, 422 Brunswick Ave, Toronto, ON, M5R 2Z4, CANADA