Persephone troupe beating the odds
by WAYNE HILTZ
Getting a new theatre company off the ground and established is certainly no easy feat. Under the direction of Westmounter Gabrielle Soskin, Persephone Productions is trying very hard to beat the odds after a successful run of its second production Playhouse Creatures.
"It's so easy to give up when people wonder how can you think of having another English-Language theatre in this city," said Soskin, who taught drama at Roslyn School for several years during the 1970s, "but with a lot of determination and going slowly one step at a time, I think that it could very well work."
Persephone Productions was incorporated earlier this year. The next important step for Soskin will be to gain charitable status so that the company can properly raise funds from foundations and individuals and start paying the cast and crew. Both comprise either recent drama graduates or those with a few years' experience. The company's mandate is to give young professional artists a chance to show off their skills.
Soskin, who has taught at John Abbott College for nearly 20 years, emphasized that she definitely wants her troupe to become a professional, not a community, theatre. "I want Persephone to be a real entity on the Montreal theatre scene."
A new troupe typically faces the dilemma of not having enough funds to put on a long run that can them lead to fewer theatre critics bothering to show up, write reviews, and take the company seriously.
"It's often not worthwhile to review a play if it's not on for more than a week," she explained, "but the longer you have the theatre, the more expensive it is."
With their production last year of Anna Karenina, the troupe put on a starkly setted eight- day run with a gap of two days in the middle to help build up word-of-mouth buzz.
Persephone productions opened Playhouse Creatures with a Tuesday-to-Sunday run and a more elaborate setting. If they wanted to stop for a few days, the technical crew would have had to spend several hours taking everything down and again putting it back up, Soskin said. That resulted in some supporters not being able to show up since they thought that it was over a two- week period or couldn't make it that week. Still, more than 500 people showed up for the seven shows of Playhouse Creatures. There were two sell-outs and the others were filled to about 70 percent capacity. She's confident that those missing their latest show will come back next time. Soskin commented that enough people say Playhouse Lambert, Lisa Morneau, Stepharue Creatures and were pleased with the quality of the acting and the production.
Because the play is set in 17th-century England, the five actresses (Dawn Lambert, Lisa Morneau, Stephanie Youlande Farrell, Elissa Bernstein and Anana Rydvald) had to master the accent. Indeed, it was very hard to tell that they weren't English. The playwright's script also presented a few problems since it lacked some cohesion and had sharp transitions, she noted.
But the story about pioneering English actresses (women were not allowed on the stage until 1670) appealed to Soskin on several levels. Besides loving plays about the theatre, she identifies with the theme of women struggling and striving to find their own voice.
"I've been a theatre professor at John Abbott for' a long time, but I've never directed or had a strong position until the past six years," she said. "It also goes back to my upbringing when women just weren't directors and very few were playwrights." While her first two Persephone plays featured strong female roles and themes, she wants to take another direction for her next production. Soskin also realizes that she may have to put on more than one show a year if she wants her company to establish a place for itself. With the fierce competition among theatre companies, "people do forget in the year that goes by."
But she also has to balance that need now with her full-time teaching job. After next year's play, Soskin will decide whether her company will be an on-going concern and commit more time and energy to it.
"People who came up to me after the play said 'You're doing a wonderful thing.' Now the other pieces have to fall into place."
Résumé: Gabrielle Soskin de Persephone Productions est en train de bâtir sa nouvelle troupe de théâtre pas à pas. Persephone Productions a déjà produit deux pieces, Playhouse Creatures et Anna Karenina et est maintenant incorporé et cherche le statut de société à but non lucratif afin d'aller chercher l'argent qui financera l'expansion.
Reprinted from THE/LE WESTMOUNT TIMES
Getting a new theatre company off the ground and established is certainly no easy feat. Under the direction of Westmounter Gabrielle Soskin, Persephone Productions is trying very hard to beat the odds after a successful run of its second production Playhouse Creatures.
"It's so easy to give up when people wonder how can you think of having another English-Language theatre in this city," said Soskin, who taught drama at Roslyn School for several years during the 1970s, "but with a lot of determination and going slowly one step at a time, I think that it could very well work."
Persephone Productions was incorporated earlier this year. The next important step for Soskin will be to gain charitable status so that the company can properly raise funds from foundations and individuals and start paying the cast and crew. Both comprise either recent drama graduates or those with a few years' experience. The company's mandate is to give young professional artists a chance to show off their skills.
Soskin, who has taught at John Abbott College for nearly 20 years, emphasized that she definitely wants her troupe to become a professional, not a community, theatre. "I want Persephone to be a real entity on the Montreal theatre scene."
A new troupe typically faces the dilemma of not having enough funds to put on a long run that can them lead to fewer theatre critics bothering to show up, write reviews, and take the company seriously.
"It's often not worthwhile to review a play if it's not on for more than a week," she explained, "but the longer you have the theatre, the more expensive it is."
With their production last year of Anna Karenina, the troupe put on a starkly setted eight- day run with a gap of two days in the middle to help build up word-of-mouth buzz.
Persephone productions opened Playhouse Creatures with a Tuesday-to-Sunday run and a more elaborate setting. If they wanted to stop for a few days, the technical crew would have had to spend several hours taking everything down and again putting it back up, Soskin said. That resulted in some supporters not being able to show up since they thought that it was over a two- week period or couldn't make it that week. Still, more than 500 people showed up for the seven shows of Playhouse Creatures. There were two sell-outs and the others were filled to about 70 percent capacity. She's confident that those missing their latest show will come back next time. Soskin commented that enough people say Playhouse Lambert, Lisa Morneau, Stepharue Creatures and were pleased with the quality of the acting and the production.
Because the play is set in 17th-century England, the five actresses (Dawn Lambert, Lisa Morneau, Stephanie Youlande Farrell, Elissa Bernstein and Anana Rydvald) had to master the accent. Indeed, it was very hard to tell that they weren't English. The playwright's script also presented a few problems since it lacked some cohesion and had sharp transitions, she noted.
But the story about pioneering English actresses (women were not allowed on the stage until 1670) appealed to Soskin on several levels. Besides loving plays about the theatre, she identifies with the theme of women struggling and striving to find their own voice.
"I've been a theatre professor at John Abbott for' a long time, but I've never directed or had a strong position until the past six years," she said. "It also goes back to my upbringing when women just weren't directors and very few were playwrights." While her first two Persephone plays featured strong female roles and themes, she wants to take another direction for her next production. Soskin also realizes that she may have to put on more than one show a year if she wants her company to establish a place for itself. With the fierce competition among theatre companies, "people do forget in the year that goes by."
But she also has to balance that need now with her full-time teaching job. After next year's play, Soskin will decide whether her company will be an on-going concern and commit more time and energy to it.
"People who came up to me after the play said 'You're doing a wonderful thing.' Now the other pieces have to fall into place."
Résumé: Gabrielle Soskin de Persephone Productions est en train de bâtir sa nouvelle troupe de théâtre pas à pas. Persephone Productions a déjà produit deux pieces, Playhouse Creatures et Anna Karenina et est maintenant incorporé et cherche le statut de société à but non lucratif afin d'aller chercher l'argent qui financera l'expansion.
Reprinted from THE/LE WESTMOUNT TIMES