“That’s not how it happened.” Why do we remember things differently? Why are we disconnected from events that shaped us, our families, our communities? And what do we do when ancestors emerge from their portraits on our living-room wall?
ALBUM, Tintamarre’s new bilingual comedy, will answer these questions February 6, 7, 8 and 9 at 8 p.m., in the Windsor Theatre Out-of-the-Box (ConvocationHall). Thirty actors will play 46 characters.
The comedic exploration of intergenerational relationships in a time of short-term memory is directed by Alex Fancy, founder-director of Tintamarre, assisted by David White, a fourth-year English and French Major.
Fancy notes that the ancestors’ pleas for attention fall on the deaf ears of people in the large, ‘non-nuclear’ 21st century family at 7 Souvenir Road.
In particular, they are disconnected from wars that shaped who they are today, and White calls this “a timely subject as we approach the centennial of the outbreak of World War I.”
White adds that, “ALBUM emerged from Tintamarre’s collaborative process that is rewarding and unique.” He plays a pacifist who lives in the basement.
Set and costumes are designed by Decima Mitchell, lights by Justin Thomas. Luke Trainor and Amber Tucker created music, with guidance from Dr. Nancy Vogan. Trainor also plays a minstrel in the family portrait who made music instead of war, while Tucker is cast as the eldest daughter who obsesses about the need to remember sacrifices made by our ancestors, a challenge in the age of tweets.
On Feb. 2, Fancy has been invited to deliver the opening keynote address at the Second International Conference on Second-Language Pedagogy, jointly sponsored by the University Of Guelph and the University of Sao Paulo, and featuring presenters from ten countries. He will be accompanied by three actor-students: David White, Rosalind Crump and Bernard Soubry, who will give a workshop on Tintamarre, theatre, and language acquisition.
For reservations and more information please contact Windsor Theatre at 364-2234.
