The Freestanding Room Kicks Off 3rd Annual ShortStanding Festival Today

The Freestanding Room is proud to present their 3rd annual ShortStanding Festival of Short Performances and it's their biggest one yet, running today, February 16th, through February 28th!

So big, in fact, that they've had to program three different line-ups to fit everything in! There are 18 different performances, all under 30 minutes, ranging from readings to musicals to workshop productions of works new and old, with even a few performances happening in French!

And if that's not enough to get you excited about this year's festival, they've also added some one-off events where you can enjoy a special one- time-only presentation of a theatrical experiment, a production geared towards young audiences, a panel discussion about the state of theatre in Montreal and a collective reading of a Greek tragedy!

The Freestanding Room is a collection of creators who believe that big things can happen in small places. The ShortStanding Festival of Short Performances was established as a means to bring the independent creators that make up the Freestanding Room and other local artists together, to encourage the inception of new works, to workshop projects already in progress, to give our community a chance to showcase some of their fantastic work, and most of all, to bring the public into this little space that we call home; welcoming them with a few stories to warm them up on these cold winter nights.

Tickets: $18 regular / $15 discount / $25 two nights / $33 three nights. Reservations: shortstanding@freestandingroom.com; (514) 418-1848. Performances take place February 16-28, 2016 at Espace Freestanding Room, 4324 Boulevard Saint-Laurent #300. For more information, visit www.freestandingroom.com.

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Line-Up C:

City Boy (Plaid Thursday Productions)
After living free away from home, Max returns for his sister's engagement with an important self-discovery to share. The play asks: what is more important: your values or a family's unconditional love?
Artistic Collaborators: Kenny Streule (Writer), Amanda Goldberg (Co-Director), Len Richman (Co- Director), Sean Colby (Editor)

Apprendre à nager (Théâtre Bazooka)
Quand les préjugés de son père sont révélés, un jeune garçon apprend que le monde est pas si simple qu'il le pensait. Aideriez-vous l'homme en besoin ou fermeriez-vous les yeux?
Artistic Collaborators: Brie Wittman (Texte), Dominique Senécal (Traduction), Tommy Chouinard, Nelson Holland, Kenny Streule (Lecteurs)

Hysteria/Peeling Madness (The Orange Eyes)
A non-linear work-in-progress, loosely inspired by The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, European fairy-tales and personal memories of my mother, who suffered postpartum depression after I was born.
Artistic Collaborators: Jacqueline van de Geer (Writer/Performer/Creator), Sophie Gee (Outside Eye)

Pie(lot) Fragmented (WhyNotNowProductions)
Just how much Pie is there? Will you even be here to enjoy your share?
Artistic Collaborators: Stefanie Lynn Buxton (Co- Creator), Julie Tamiko Manning (Directorial Mentoring), Andrea Frankle & Danielle Desormeaux (Impulse/Idea Mentoring), David Oppenheim (Guitar Coach), Ned Cox (Musical Mentoring)

Have You Seen My Monster? (Lightning in a Bottle Theatre)
Grace and Joy are enjoying a cocktail in their idyllic suburban homes circa 1963. But all is not how it seems. Guilt and friendship can sometimes be a deadly combination.
Artistic Collaborators: Sterling Mawhinney (Writer/ Director), Sylvia Stewart, Eva Petris, & Roy Whybro (Performers)

À tout prix (Théâtre Cent Bon Sens)
Un bureau de Poste Canada. Trois hommes, un colis, aucunes issues. «Un bourbier ou? la chair déchire la chair, le sang abreuve le sang.»
Artistic Collaborators: Félix Chabot-Fontaine, Cédrik Lapratte-Roy, François Ruel-Côté

Line-Up D:

Between the Lines with Nic & Co (Re:Stage)
Nic from Re:Stage Reviews will be your guide for the evening, as he points an enthusiastic and inquisitive eye at the evening's performances, talking briefly around the edges of the myriad styles and themes presented before you.
Collaborators: Nic Turcotte and Matt Xhignesse

Subtraction (Uncanny Theatre Company)
A family is devastated after a child's near-death experience leaves him homebound. As the parents do their best to cope, they become increasingly forgetful and are shocked by the apparent cause.
Artistic Collaborators: Jonathan Fournier (Writer/ Producer), Jen Viens (Director), Elodie Dupuy & Matthieu Mascre? (Performers)

Swimming Lesson (Bazooka Theatre)
As his father's prejudices are revealed, a young boy learns that the world is not as straightforward as he thought. Would you help the man in need or turn a blind eye?
Artistic Collaborators: Brie Wittman (Playwright), Ned Cox, Jeremy Cox, & Nic Turcotte (Readers)

A is for Arsenic (Rabbit in a Hat Productions)
Three unlikely women are drawn together by a sinister circumstance putting a triple dose of femme fatale in this film noir misadventure.
Artistic Collaborators: Lexy Howe (Playwright), Sara Rodriguez (Director), Nadia Rowsell (Costumes), Jody Burkholder (Lights), Julia Borsellino & Kelly Lopes (Performers)

Origin (Caroline Gauthier)
Origin tells the story of young heartbreak through song and movement. It is the first draft of a performance that will hopefully have a long and varied artistic evolution. Artistic Collaborators: Caroline Gauthier

boKa (Possiblement Théâtre)
Birth of boKa. The clown awakens to its new world. It will risk a small step for a clown, trying not to get hit in the face by the giant leap of mankind. boKa will find itself facing simple choices that will later define what it is.
Artistic Collaborators: Kathleen Aubert (Creator/ Performer)

Line-Up E:

My Favourite Deaths (Oimoi Productions)
Lynn Kozak mixes performance and improvisation in tackling the Iliad's deaths-her favourite deaths- focusing on a different character each show.
Artistic Collaborators: Lynne Kozak (Performer), Joseph Shragge (Associate Director)

The Psychology of Plants (That's What She Said Productions)
What is the perfect woman? Does she exist? Is she French? Is she effortlessly graceful with rock hard abs? Rue Hazell examines this as she painstakingly prepares for her office's annual beauty pageant. Artistic Collaborators: Kathleen Stavert (Writer/ Performer)

Empty Rooms (BullPen Productions)
A want-to-be actor comes home for his mother's wake, where he's forced to deal with his grief and guilt, all the while confronted by his estranged twin sister.
Artistic Collaborators: Katherine Turnbull (Artistic Director of BullPen Productions/Co-Creator/ Performer), Michael Lortie (Co-Creator/Performer)

A Weekend Away (Ad Hoc Theatre Collective)
Coupledom, children, house, work, housework...All work and no play. Is grown up life supposed to be like this? Can we take a break? Can we have some fun? Artistic Collaborators: Miranda Handford (Writer/ Performer), Simon Fadel (Performer)

Miranda and Dave Begin Again (Gender Rubble Collective)
Miranda is curating a used underwear archive. Her boyfriend Dave is experimenting with stalking women. Her sister Eden is tired of just giving blowjobs. Is this the end, or just the beginning?
Artistic Collaborators: Rhiannon Collett (Playwright)

Musical Excerpts from Captain Aurora II: A New Dawn (Kaleidoscope Theatre Montreal)
After sold-out performances at the Montreal Fringe and Wildside Theatre Festivals, the superhero musical saga continues. Catch a glimpse of the all-new adventure starring Captain Aurora and the SkyGuard. #spoileralert
Artistic Collaborators: Trevor Barrette (Book/Music & Lyrics/Director), David Terriault (Orchestrations/Musical Director), with Zachary Creatchman, Dane Stewart, Kenny Wong & others!

One-Offs:

State of the Onion: Peeling Back the Layers of the Montreal Theatre Scene (Re:Stage Reviews)
The perfect opportunity to dig deep into the heart of Montreal theatre, as a diverse array of talented local theatre-makers talk about making art happen in the city.

Tragic Saturday Afternoon (Oimoi Productions)
Come and read a play out loud together with us (H.D.'s Choruses from Iphigenia in Aulis). There will be beer. And chips. And fun.

Wake Up Sleeping Beauty! (The Live Action Theatre Project)
Wake Up...! explores a classic fairy tale with a twist. Our audience teams up to wake the Princess and take ACTION to save herself and her Kingdom! Designed for kids ages 6-12 but entertaining for all audiences.

Chaos Theory: Phase One: Early Trials (an experiment) by Ned Cox
Twenty-six years after conceiving Chaos Theory, Ned Cox & Co will again be using pure chance to create a piece for actors and dancers. Cards, dice, coin-filps -- everything adds to The Chaos.

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