The Most Popular Intermission Articles of 2016
We’ve published so much work we’re proud of since we launched earlier this year. Below are the ten most popular Intermission articles of 2016, plus ten other pieces we think you should check out.
The 10 Most Popular Articles of 2016
1. Christine Horne, “Wrestling With ‘Success’”
This brave, candid account of the difficulty of balancing creative fulfilment with financial stability resonated with readers across the globe in a way that completely surpassed what we thought Intermission was capable of. People connected with Christine’s candour all across Canada, and in the US, Germany, Australia, France, and beyond.
2. Mikaela Davies, “Female Kings”
A few months into the process of playing both male and female roles in Breath of Kings at Stratford, Mikaela penned this thoughtful piece about cross-gender casting. Integrating interviews with her Stratford co-stars and her personal experiences acting in both contemporary and classical productions, she examines what it really means for a woman to take on a man’s role.
3. Rick Roberts, “Barbara Fingerote: Super Audience!”
Rick Roberts put together an tribute video honouring Barbara Fingerote, Toronto’s most dedicated theatre fan.
4. Bahia Watson, “How Old Are You? An Age-Old Question of No Importance”
This exploration of age and the other kinds of categories that humans tend to group one another into is compellingly poetic.
5. Richard Ouzounian, “Spotlight: Krystin Pellerin”
This interview with Krystin Pellerin just before she started her critically acclaimed run as Lady Macbeth at Stratford explored her take on the iconic role, her career trajectory so far, and her craving for chicken hearts.
6. Fab Filippo, “Kate Sandeson. This is You. Everybody Look at Her.”
What exactly does a stage manager do, and what does being a great stage manager look like? Fab’s profile of stage manager extraordinaire Kate Sandeson, who worked on his play The Summoned, answers those questions (and more).
7. Rae Ellen Bodie, “Remember to Breathe”
“Posture Class for Girls at Barnard College,” photo by Walter Sanders, New York 1954
From her point of view as an acting and voice coach, Rae Ellen wrote a sensitive, informative piece about the physical process of acting, and how it can involve learning to speak, move, and even breathe differently.
8. Jesse LaVercombe, “Naked Men on Small Stages”
Have you ever performed entirely naked in front of packed houses in a tiny venue? Jesse has.
9. May Antaki, “Spotlight: Ravi Jain”
Intermission’s co-editor May Antaki spent time with the creative powerhouse to talk about family history, studying in France, and how to create theatre.
10. Ari Cohen, “That Night in Toronto”
Ari Cohen’s account of how it felt to watch the Tragically Hip’s last Toronto show after Gord Downie’s cancer diagnosis is reflective and raw.
10 More Articles You Should Check Out
Ten articles feels like too few to really illustrate all the creative people and great writing we’ve been lucky enough to showcase in 2016. Here are some of our other favourites from this year.
1. Richard Ouzounian, “The Love Story Behind Come From Away”
Irene Sankoff and David Hein
Richard went into the home of Irene Sankoff and David Hein, the talented, funny, and razor-sharp couple behind the Broadway-bound smash hit Come From Away.
2. Anonymous, “The Heart of Paradox”
An articulate, verbose, and hyper-perceptive young actor (who prefers to remain anonymous) wrote one of the first pieces we ever published about the problems that come with trying to balance artistic integrity with the very real need to put food on the table.
3. Ivana Shein, “Eating in LA”
A different perspective on food on the table, from a Toronto actress who moved to LA, where everyone thinks she’s thrown her life away to play a dead girl who gets tossed into a trunk in an episode of CSI. (Even though, in her words, “no one talks about how hard it actually is to get cast as a dead girl in a trunk on CSI.”)
4. Courtney Ch’ng Lancaster, “Performing and Parenting: Michelle Monteith“
The very first interview in Courtney’s Performing and Parenting series set the tone for the conversations that followed: it’s honest, candid, and hopeful.
5. Rick Roberts, “A Final Checklist Before You Print up Your Play”
In Rick’s opinion, not enough contemporary theatre includes puppets, modern dance, or long pauses.
6. “In the Round: 2016 Doras, Outstanding New Play”
All three of our video roundtables, featuring nominees for this year’s Dora Awards, are worth a watch. In this one, five playwrights nominated in the Outstanding New Play categories talk about what it feels like to show audiences unfinished work.
7. Maija Kappler, “A Crack in Everything”
Joanna McIntyre, Lynne Deragon, Frank Moore, Hardee T. Lineham, and Graham Greene in the lobby of the Centaur Theatre
In advance of Factory Theatre’s production of The Crackwalker early this year, our editors sat down with playwright Judith Thompson and several members of the original cast to talk about staging the play that’s now recognized as a Canadian classic, in storefront theatres for crowds that often walked out.
8. Richard Ouzounian, “International Spotlight: Rufus Norris”
The outspoken artistic director of London’s National Theatre opened up about London Road, theatrical boredom, and “political correctness gone mad.”
9. Ruth Goodwin and Liz Johnston, “The Show Show: Kat Sandler, Tom McGee, and a Tipsy Fringe History”
The first episode of The Show Show, which took place during Fringe, consisted of members of Ruth and Liz, along Sex T-Rex and other several other Toronto actors and comedians re-enacting a conversation between Kat Sandler and Tom McGee about the history of Fringe festivals after several VERY full glasses of wine.
10. Aaron Willis, “All Our Heroes Are Flawed”
While he was directing Colm Tóibín’s The Testament of Mary, Aaron considered the particularities of his own religious journey, and the importance of recognizing that even the holy have their flaws.
Nappoholics Gems to Tide You Over Until the New Year
Watch exclusive footage of what happens at a Nappoholics Anonymous meeting and revisit Nappo’s best musings in this roundup of the theatre world’s greatest column.
iPhoto caption: Salt Water Moon, Factory. Photo by Joseph Michael.
We asked some of Intermission’s regular contributors and core team members for their favourite theatre experience of 2016.
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