The Trinity College Dramatic Society’s fall production opens this Thursday! This rarely performed German play by Georg Büchner has been translated, adapted and directed by 4th year student Chris Pugh. Follow the adventures of angst-ridden Prince Leonce when he decides to run away from the Kingdom of Popo with a hobo sidekick to avoid an arranged marriage. Robots may or may not be featured.

When: Oct 21-23, 8pm
Where: George Ignatieff Theatre (15 Devonshire Place)
Tickets: Student $5, Adult $10

Tickets can be bought at the door or reserved by emailing trinity.dramatic.society@gmail.com

After being away for a month, I’ve got to say, Toronto is a great city. Sure, we’ll make fun of it and the rest of the country can hate us but if you came to U of T, you might as well explore this place. It’s rather upsetting to hear from graduating students who aren’t from Toronto that they have never been on the islands or they’ve never really set foot outside of campus during their 4 year residency here. In any case, here’s a list of places and things to do while you’re stuck here:

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picture from maplesyrupfest.com

The Sugarbush Maple Syrup festival at Bruce’s Mill was not just a time to drink maple syrup (the best syrup I have ever tasted by the way!), eat pancakes, pet animals, and learn the good ol’ Canadian tradition of getting our beloved Maple sap, but it was also a time to rejoice and bring people of all backgrounds together.  I went with my family and boy did we have great time. (more…)

This year’s production of The Wiz directed by the awesome Daniel Bennett of the Trinity College Dramatic Society definitely hit a high note with its audience. I loved the characters, each of them were so unique and hilarious in their own way. The dance chorus, comprised of amazingly talented performers had amazingly choreographed routines. Furthermore of course, was the music. The Wiz without its music is like spaghetti without spaghetti sauce. I had pasta afterward, hence this terrible analogy, sorry. I also really appreciated that there was a live orchestra who helped guide the entire production just outstandingly. Finally, I want to comment on how lively and energetic the whole production was which obviously kept the audience engaged and laughing the entire time.

Here are some memorable quotes and highlights I remembered (in no particular order): (more…)

Waking up in the morning is always an ordeal for me. Seeing that I sleep at 3 or 4 in the morning, nothing is harder than dragging yourself out of bed at 8:30 to get to your 10AM class. To make the process of waking up easier, my iPod docking station is always there to wake me up with lovely tunes at the proper time. Admittedly, my favourite music to wake up to has to be the music from Carmen – even if it is overused figure skating music. (Also, yes, I have opera on my iPod, go ostracize me if you dare.)

Anyways, tonight, I had the wonderful fortune of getting one of the rare tickets to the Carmen dress rehearsal staged by the Canadian Opera Company. (My source of dress rehearsal opera tickets told me that they were completely sold out.) Tickets for the regular shows – on from January 27th to February 27th -  may also be sold out, but if you’re interested and perhaps lucky you can purchase tickets on the Canadian Opera Company website.

As for the show itself, I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The orchestra and sets were very impressive (my favourite set being the one from Act II where the gypsies are in front of an inn) and the cast, although rather large was charismatic and fun to watch. Rinat Shaham – who played the title character – had the misfortune of stumbling upon this reviewer (who is, admittedly, an opera newbie) whose standard Carmen is the legendary Maria Callas, who has no equal; however, she held her own for most of the performance. The unfortunate corporal, Don José performed by Bryan Hymel was well cast and delivered a steady and touching performance. Songs by the two gypsy girls, played by Teiya Kasahara and Lauren Segal were also highly entertaining and formed some of the best parts of the opera.

My special mentions however, will go to Jessica Muirhead, who played the innocent Micaela with so much commitment and passion that she sent shivers up my spine when she was pleading with Don José to return to his mother. Another special mention will be sent to the youth or children’s chorus who displayed a kind of professionalism that was beyond their age.

All in all, it was a lovely evening of beautiful music, interesting choreography and a wonderful opera. I highly doubt that Carmen needs any more advertising as it is, but if you do get a chance, I encourage you to see it.

Picture by the Canadian Opera Company.

You won’t be know how much it takes to make a music video until you get yourself involved! Just before the end of 2009 drew near, I got a chance to help out on a set of shooting a music video for U of T’s upcoming film festival. It was my first time getting involved in events like this and boy what a pleasant experience that was. Being on a set of video shoot can be chaotic sometimes, but you have to be pleased with the effort everybody puts in!

The theme of the music video is social justice and was directed by award-winning Iranian film director Babak Payami, who studied cinema at the University of Toronto decades ago.

Some technical stuff: When shooting a music video, usually the same sequence will be shot around 11 times so that it will provide enough material for the editors to edit during the post-production stage. However, the song will be played over and over again! By end of the day, almost everyone who worked on the set has the song inked in their heads!

Some additional photos:
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As December rolls right in, we are constantly reminded of our material desires as shopping malls are filled with Christmas trees, deals and stores with gift-wrapping services for the gift-wrapping-challenged. Nonetheless, although I can’t personally give presents to every single one of the wonderful readers at blogUT, I shall offer this article, which will hopefully offer fond memories and just maybe, reclaim the soul that you lost when you came to U of T. Think back to your childhood days as you slept in and had free time, do you remember asking for these things (or paraphernalia relating to these things) for Christmas/Hanukkah/name your winter holiday? (Warning: if you were not born in the late-80s or early 90s, these things may not apply to you. If that is the case, I entitle you to shake your head and mutter, “Crazy kids, back in my day…” and then write an entry on your own childhood fads and phases.) (more…)