ERASER Comes to RISER Project 2019

From the cafeteria to the playground, six performers guide the audience through their memories and fantasies of grade six as they navigate who they are in this world. ERASER, directed and choreographed by Bilal Baig and Sadie Epstein-Fine, and created by the Company, runs May 7-14, 2019 at The Theatre Centre.

A student arrives in Canada from Pakistan at the start of their Grade 6 year. ERASER, an immersive physical theatre experience, delves the journeys of a classroom of students as they figure out who they want to be. Six performers guide the audience through six different journeys, taking them along to the cafeteria, the change rooms, and the playground; to the places where they feel safest and most brave, vulnerable and most afraid. ERASER is created for all ages.

Spotlighting marginalized/outsider voices is central to the work that Bilal Baig and Sadie Epstein-Fine create. Bilal's recent play Acha Bacha, a co-production between Theatre Passe Muraille and Buddies in Bad Times, is about a queer Muslim man dealing with unclear memories of a childhood sexual trauma while trying to appease his genderqueer partner and manipulative mother. In May 2018, Sadie co-edited Spawning Generations: Rants and Reflections on Growing Up with LGBTQ+ Parents, published by Demeter Press, the only anthology published to date created entirely by queerspawn (the children of LGBTQ+ parents) about being queerspawn.

Over my 17 years as Nightwood Theatre's Artistic Director, I have mentored dozens of emerging artists. Rarely have I come across such a focused and dedicated emerging artist as Sadie. I know ERASER will be essential viewing for young audiences, as Sadie brings her passion and dedication for creating socially relevant theatre to this show.

-Kelly Thornton, Artistic Director, Nightwood Theatre/RMTC

ERASER premiered as a site-specific show, at Westside Montessori School in the 2016 Fringe Festival. After two years of reimagining, recreating and reshaping the show and the company, ERASER is now being presented as a Theatre for Young Audiences show.

ERASER, co-created and directed by Bilal Baig and Sadie Epstein-Fine, features an outstanding 6-person ensemble: Christol Bryan, Marina Gomes, Yousef Kadoura, Tijiki Morris, Anthony Perpuse and Nathan Redburn

Each of the artists involved in this project are some of the most daring and innovative in the Toronto Theatre scene. I admire their equal dedication to theatre making and to collaborating with young people through their development process. The Eraser Collective has shown an admirable dedication to the pursuit of an authentic exchange with their intended audience.

-Lynda Hill, Artistic Director, WeeFestival of Arts and Culture for Early Years

ERASER

By Eraser Theatre

Directors/Choreographers: Bilal Baig and Sadie Epstein-Fine

Creators: Bilal Baig, Sadie Epstein-Fine, Christol Bryan, Marina Gomes,

Yousef Kadoura, Tijiki Morris, Anthony Perpuse, Nathan Redburn

Featuring: Christol Bryan, Marina Gomes, Yousef Kadoura, Tijiki Morris,

Anthony Perpuse, Nathan Redburn

Sound Designer: Maddie Bautista

Set and Costume Designer: Christine Urquhart

Lighting Designer: Rebecca Vandevelde

Stage Manager: Cole Vincent

Technical Director: Steph Raposo

Dramaturg: Elise LaCroix

Producer: Winnie Doyle-Marshall

Presented as part of Why Not Theatre's RISER Project

The Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West, May 7-14, 2019

OPENING NIGHT: Wednesday May 8 at 7PM

May 10, 11, 13 @ 7PM

May 9, 11, 14 @ 2PM (30 minute talkback)

All Tickets Pay What You Can Afford $12, $20, $35, $60*

Purchase online at tickets.theatrecentre.org, in person at the box office, or call 416-538-0988

*A note on ticket prices for RISER Project: In order to ensure accessibility, Why Not Theatre invites you to Pay-What- You-Can-Afford. You can choose any one of four prices $12, $20, $35, $60 whichever suits your budget. All tickets are general admission, and there are no limits on any price level. Pick the price you can afford to pay for your ticket and book your seat.

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