“It was a class act tonight – from the live musician (who was excellent) to the Amnesty table and concession to the shows themselves. I thought each play was smart and passionate and well directed. ” –Lucia F., Playwright

“Just got back from seeing your show and the other two Amnesty pieces. And listening to the singer in the lounge they had there. What a soul-satisfying night, I really didn’t want to leave. Exactly what one would hope a Fringe experience would be. I thought the performances were strong all round, the scripts interesting. ” –Ron Reid, Artistic Director of Pacific Theatre

“I went to the plays that Amnesty is producing at the Fringe last night and they were very powerful, well done, politically astute. Go if you can!”—Marion, International Women’s Day planning committee

“I saw Leave of Absence tonight, and I want to thank you for it. It is very beautiful in it’s own dark way and I think is full of a lot of truths. I was really touched and cried but still left optimistic.” –Linsy Rotar, theatre/dance artist

”[Lucia Franagone] is the most exquisite playwright – thank you so much for the amazingness that is Leave of Absence. It was a good thing I had a purse full of kleenex leftover from my matinee of Next to Normal” –Heather Cant, the artistic associate with WCTC

“In three short plays we are exploring some very big issues: discrimination, violence against women, homophobia, post-conflict challenges, the silencing of voices, and more. But through the presentation of these plays we are also expressing hope that these and other challenging situations around the world can and will change in the direction of greater respect for human rights for all,” said Don Wright, a regional staff person with Amnesty International.

“Had fun playing music at this set of shows last night… a thought-provoking part of the Fringe”.–Rio by Night, Musician/actress

“RECOMMENDED!!! Excellent!”–Christina Budnick, Social Worker

FRINGE NEWSLETTER

Amnesty International Comes to the Fringe. Alex Neve, the secretary general of Amnesty International Canada, will be popping by Short and Sweet: Small Plays for Big Ideas, to give a pre-show 10-minute talk about his recent mission to the Ivory Coast. Short and Sweet is compiled of short vignettes that were winners in a playwright contest that was held to celebrate Amnesty International’s 50th anniversary.”

GAY VANCOUVER

Fifty years for any organization is noteworthy, but when Amnesty International marks fifty years it is something to be celebrated. In a partnership with Vancouver-based ACTivist theatre collective, Amnesty International will mark this milestone locally with performances of Short and Sweet: Small Plays for Big Ideas at the 2011 Vancouver International Fringe Festival.

Included in the trio of shorts is Leave of Absence by Vancouver playwright Lucia Frangione, which was one of two plays chosen as part of the ACTivist theatre collective’s writing competition. Telling the story of 14 year old Catholic high school student Blake and her growing feelings towards her best friend Tracy, Leave of Absence explores broader issues around sexuality, not just homosexuality.
“It is more than just about a young girl who may or may not be gay,” explained director Jessica Nelson. “Blake is forced to deal with not only the everyday trials of being a teenager and going to school, but she also has to do this under the very watchful and strict eyes of her Catholic School. Blake isn’t given the freedom to explore her sexuality openly and discover whether she really is gay, or if she just happens to love this one person, her best friend, an isolated occurrence.”
Nelson’s connection to the play came the moment she first read it and knew she wanted to direct it for the group’s work with Amnesty International.
“Not only because I felt fiercely passionate about this work being seen but also because the oppression of the homosexual community is still happening today and yet it feels from an everyday perspective that those issues perhaps aren’t always present in our beautiful, pride parading, Vancouver city life.”
For Nelson though, when the issue of hostility towards gays around the world is viewed alongside the Catholic Church’s views on homosexuality, it takes on an even greater meaning.
“When you look at those issues in conjunction with the Catholic Church, which states that being gay is an anomaly and intrinsically disordered, the problem is quite large. To take a look at this issue with Amnesty, a company that is here to unite people against injustice, seems completely fitting.”
With its mandate to create socially aware and engaged theatre that strives to make a difference, the decision by ACTivist theatre collective to pair up with Amnesty International was a perfect fit for the group.
“I truly believe, as well as ACTivist theatre collective, that theatre can create a dialogue for change around the issues it takes a look at,” said Nelson. “This way not only is the show being presented to create change and discussion against human injustice, but also to honour the great work Amnesty has been doing all these years and continues to do every day. Plus who wouldn’t love a night at the theatre to celebrate Amnesty’s anniversary?”
With Short and Sweet playing off-island at PhotoHaus Gallery on West 7th Avenue, Nelson confesses to discovering the difficulties of the BYOV (Bring Your Own Venue) part of the Fringe.
“But this route has pushed us to go deeper and be more inventive and creative when faced with tough obstacles to tackle,” she said. “There is the slight fear that it will be harder to achieve those full houses everyone hopes for, but it has also allowed us to create more of an event in its own for the celebration of Amnesty International’s 50th Anniversary.”
Part of that celebratory event includes the addition of music, visual arts and even drinks to the theatre.
“We are having a bar for mingling, art for visual stimulation, and music for some lively interaction. All of these aspects are working together during the evening, along with our three plays, to create that party atmosphere we wanted for the shows and to help celebrate Amnesty.” –Written by Mark Robins

PLANK MAGAZINE

Protection for human rights violations is a heavy topic for any Fringe play. There’s a temptation to be preachy. Mostly, the three short plays in Short and Sweet manage to avoid clichés and cardboard stereotypes to deliver engaging performances that are sometimes funny, sometimes sad and always entertaining.
The first play, Possible Lives of Dolores Garcia Rodriguez, tells the story of a poor pregnant woman in a Latin American country where religiously-infused laws prevent doctors from even helping prevent miscarriages, much less carrying out abortions. A photo-journalist tries to intervene for reasons both altruistic and professional. The two women are complete contrasts; one, a desperate and troubled woman with little future; the other, independent and confident, though vulnerable in her own way. A cold and pragmatic doctor who has resigned herself to an unjust system balances out the other two. It’s a complicated, moving tale.
The Apartment is the shortest but perhaps the most powerful play in the series. A woman in the former Yugoslavia returns to her old home after her jealous neighbor has already taken it over. Their dialogue dances around, though their politeness can barely conceal the deep enmity these two have for each other.
In Leave of Absence, a teenage girl in a Catholic school is bullied, manipulated and brutalized by her fellow pupils, former friends and a stern and unsympathetic school administrator. A caring and intelligent priest tries to mitigate the damage. In the process, we get to see a very thoughtful performance asking questions about the nature of God, religious dogma and human nature.–Jonathon Narvey

GEORGIA STRAIGHT

Fringe Festival audiences know that they have to be prepared for anything—from pissed-off Brits to gold-lamé-clad Cancer. Well, if you’re heading to the ACTivist Theatre Collective’s 7 p.m. showing of Short and Sweet this Friday, you’ll get an added surprise. The Straight has just learned that the secretary general of Amnesty International Canada, Alex Neve, will be making an appearance before the show, where he’ll give a 10-minute talk that is sure to be an eye-opener. Neve, who is in Vancouver for meetings, will discuss his most recent mission to the Ivory Coast and other current issues. A longtime human rights activist and former refugee and immigration lawyer, he is featured in this Amnesty International video clip about an AI report, We want to go home, but we can’t , on Côte d’Ivoire’s continuing crisis of displacement and insecurity—JESSICA WERB

SOUL FOOD VANCOUVER

Lucia developed “Leave Of Absence” with…Pacific Theatre, but in its original full-length form it was just too big a project for us to afford to produce. She’s been working on a new treatment that we’ll be considering for our 2012-13 season. But meantime, Cia’s pared the piece down to its essential core to be staged by ACTivist Theatre Collective as part of a trio of short plays marking the 50th anniversary of Amnesty International, which will be shown as part of the Vancouver Fringe Festival.—soul food Vancouver

“Just got back from seeing (the) Amnesty pieces. And listening to the singer in the lounge … there. What a soul-satisfying night, I really didn’t want to leave. Exactly what one would hope a Fringe experience would be. I thought the performances were strong all round, the scripts interesting. ” –Ron Reid, Artistic Director of Pacific Theatre

“It was a class act tonight – from the live musician (who was excellent) to the Amnesty table and concession to the shows themselves. I thought each play was smart and passionate and well directed. I wish you and everyone all the best. I could not have been happier with Jessica. She was fantastic to work with: smart, respectful and soulful.” –Lucia F., Playwright

“I went to the plays that Amnesty is producing at the Fringe last night and they were very powerful, well done, politically astute. Go if you can!”—Marion, International Women’s Day planning committee

Buy tickets online www.vancouverfringe.com

The two plays that were chosen from our playwriting competition are The Apartment, by Trina Davies, and Leave of Absence, by Lucia Frangione.  We are so honoured to be presenting the work of these wonderfully accomplished Vancouver women and know that the directors of each piece, Amanda Konkin and Jessica Nelson, respectively, are having an amazing time bringing both texts to life.

The artistic director of ACTivist Theatre Collective, Zoe Green, is also in the final stages of developing an original work for this performance along with local writer Jordan Hall.  The Possible Lives of Dolores Garcia Rodriguez is being created specifically for this festival and accomplished UBC MFA directing graduate Brian Cochrane will help Zoe bring the script to the stage as a co-director for the piece.

The program for the fringe festival is now online and can be accessed through their website, www.vancouverfringe.com. The site also has tickets on sale so be sure to purchase one soon so that you don’t miss out on this special collection of plays!

We look forward to seeing you at Photohaus Gallery, Sept 9- Sept 18^th.

Get Your Tickets Here