Each year, the University of Toronto Drama Coalition sponsors a festival at Hart House Theatre for students from each college to write, produce, direct, and star in original plays. Those plays are performed once each and judged by an expert in the field who will name, at the festival’s conclusion, its winners and losers. This year, blogUT will be attending and reporting on all of the plays at the 2012 U of T Drama Festival and letting you know how your college matches up to others in the dramatic arts.

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Each year, the University of Toronto Drama Coalition sponsors a festival at Hart House Theatre for students from each college to write, produce, direct, and star in original plays. Those plays are performed once each and judged by an expert in the field who will name, at the festival’s conclusion, its winners and losers. This year, blogUT will be attending and reporting on all of the plays at the 2012 U of T Drama Festival and letting you know how your college matches up to others in the dramatic arts.

(more…)

I have taken the adventurous step. I now have mail.utoronto.ca.

If you use Hotmail or the Window’s mail system then this shouldn’t be a whole new world for you. In fact it’s exactly like the Window’s Live emailing system… because that’s what it is. But for those who would like to get some information here’s a screenshot:

Let’s go through this!

1. This is your list of mail! Yay!
2. Here you find the different folders you can organize your mail into. You can create folders to organize yourself!
3. Reply, reply all, or forward. Other actions are there too.
4. You get your own calendar! And contact list! And tasks to keep yourself organized!
5. This is the interesting part: online messaging. If another friend is online at the same time then they should appear online. It seems I don’t have many friends since no one is ever online on this thing.

Short, sweet, and kinda-sorta-maybe-almost to the point.

That’s how I’d best describe the Trinity College Drama Society’s (TCDS) production of Woody Allen’s one-act play God, which ended a few weeks ago much to the chagrin of this belated reviewer.

The play revolves around a Greek playwright and actor who, while creating a new work, come to realize that they are merely characters in a piece by Woody Allen. Some faux-audience interaction later (really? The girl in costume and full make-up was actually part of the show?), a quest created by one of the show’s 29 characters and some existential queries propel the characters of God through a series of self-referential jokes about theatre, the meaning of life, and God. The script is light – just short of schticky – without sacrificing meaning.

Steven Conway’s direction goes a long way to give life to a play that was never meant to be staged.  Stars Willa Cowan and Arun Radhakrishnan keep the audience’s interest with their superb comedic timing. Cowan especially shines as Ancient Greek actor Diabetes, delivering her many punch lines with clarity and character. The rest of the expansive cast perform ably as well, given the difficulty of maintaining sincerity in a play that apparently has none, but occasionally mumble or lose a line due to what may be lack of energy in a hectic and chaotic piece.

Nic Farber’s set gives just enough Ancient Greek context without being too distracting and  the tricky transitions run off without a hitch. The same cannot be said for Raven Kaur’s costumes, which offer just a little bit too much knowledge of which cast members have tattoos and where the sound and lighting were strong.

Overall, God is a deep, meaningful journey into the fundamental questions of human existence that isn’t afraid to laugh at itself and everything around. The cast keeps the audience laughing and the production values are excellent, making God an enjoyable fifty minutes or so of theatre.

Unfortunately, God’s run has ended.

If you are interested in TCDS’ plays, check out their shows in the upcoming Hart House Drama Festival and their production of Spring Awakening this March.

For more information about PARTY FOR A CAUSE, visit their facebook page.

Source: Letters from Iran (Unfortunately the video I watched that fueled this post seems to have been removed from the Al Jazeera website)

In Iran, the planned and controlled oppression of the young voice is drowning the brightest minds of a country daily.

Iran’s sons and daughters know no freedom.  But freedom knows them.

The fabric of restraint tied around the throats of a nation is slowly ripping and that indomitable force known as the human spirit, is like a dull knife becoming sharper over time; cutting and cutting through the binds of modern slavery to a new era of Arab freedom.

Our lives involve a much less violent form of oppression and control. Gone are the days of unveiled open slavery inflicted on us by others.  We now suffer collectively as western nations from forms of self-inflicted restraint.  Wars are now waged internally; man against himself.

We have become our own greatest enemies.

In the 20th century, the ocean of freedom washed over our western nations and swept away plights of racism, sexism and other basic human rights.  Upon the water’s receding, we entered a new era of freedom of expression, liberation and innovation.  Freedom reigned, whilst in the background the once powerful human spirit, which brought on our evolution to free selves, began quietening and regressing ,as we deservedly began enjoying the fruits of our toils, the spoils of our innovation.

Consequently, less thought oriented we have become.  The poison of laze runs through many of us and a new self-imposed slavery binds us to our halls of freedom where we once triumphantly marched.  Self-progression is halting, but thankfully we are noticing.

Hear today the voices again crying out:

“Repression, we are living lives of repression……”

“Our governments hold us back……”

“We don’t receive what we deserve……”

“Our dreams never realized; our struggles never cease…….”

Do you feel this very fabric tightening around your own throat?  Does difficulty plague your everyday living?

Is your answer, Yes?  If it is, I challenge you to rip the fabric.

You were born into a free world.  You were given the opportunity of a level playing field.  What will you do with these gifts and advantages?  It is time that we return to our grass roots nature, as the power to change; to obtain; to excel, exists within us all.  Pursue what you deserve!  Why are you playing small?  Why are you settling?  Make today the final day tht you live driven by acceptance.  Instead, drive your life forward with your influence.

The same powerful human spirit that broke chains and rewrote history in the 20th century exists inside of all of us.  Believe in yourself and your rights to success and to the true life you were born to live. Like the youth of Iran, step forward in defiance of all forms of oppression; internal and external.  Do not allow self-pity to slow your progress.

You were born into freedom and with more power than you know.

Rip the fabric holding YOUR OWN development back.

Surge forward and prosper.

Thanks to UTTV, UofT now has their own video following the trend of “Sh*t _____ says” viral videos. Check it out below: