Truth Collides with Fiction in the Toronto Premiere of MOCKINGBIRD CLOSE

Local indie group, INpulse Theatre, is mounting the Toronto premiere of "Mockingbird Close", by award-winning Canadian playwright, Trevor Schmidt. Grimm fairy tale meets the Suburban Dream in this poetic two-hander described by Vue Weekly as "one of the most gripping one-acts [they] have ever seen". This intense and stylish play will appear at the Red Sandcastle Theatre in Leslieville, September 8-16.

Set in a "nice, safe, crime-free neighbourhood" circa 1950, we meet the perfect family: Hank, Iris, and their small son. Suddenly the son vanishes. In a panic, the parents search the house, rack their memories, but can't seem to remember where or when or how he disappeared.

"You turn your back for a minute, say, at the grocery store, or you look away for a second...that's all it takes. For him to disappear forever. For someone to take him. For him to vanish. And if you could take back those minutes, those seconds, that instant-" ~ Iris

The parents take to the street, hoping for answers from their eccentric, disturbed neighbours (all played by the two performers). The neighbours are not forthcoming, and instead reveal dark, buried secrets - the things that happen behind closed doors. Meanwhile, "the witch" waits "at the dark black mouth that is the entrance to Mockingbird Close".

"Schmidt has an uncanny knack for giving each brief... character snippet unexpected depth"- Vue Weekly

**** - Edmonton Journal, Vue Weekly & See Magazine

Ryan F. Hughes directs; Tiana Leonty produces and reprises her roles as Iris, Lois Vent and Mona Hobbs; David MacInnis takes on the roles of Hank, Sid Craven, and Jarvis Jermaine; Justine Cargo stage manages, and Tracey Beltrano co-produces.

Fairy tale meets cautionary fable. Truth collides with fiction. And no one is quite who he or she seems.

Come see this thought-provoking 65-minute show!

Red Sandcastle Theatre (922 Queen Street East)

September 8-16, 2017

Sept. 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 16 at 8:00 pm

Sept. 10 & 16 at 2:00pm

Tickets: Online: Brown Paper Tickets

In Person: at the door, 7pm or 1pm

Facebook: www.facebook.com/INpulseTheatre/

Instagram: @inpulsetheatre

Twitter: @inpulse_theatre

About INpulse Theatre:

We are a new Toronto-based indie collective of veteran theatre artists, founded by Tiana Leonty and Tracey Beltrano. We are on a mission to stage small-cast, small-box, immediate theatre, where the performer connects with the audience verbally, physically, emotionally - in pulse with them through word, body and heart. We are particularly interested in staging Toronto premieres of work by playwrights from elsewhere in Canada, as well as new work by Toronto-based playwrights.

About the Playwright

Trevor Schmidt has been the Artistic Director of Edmonton's Northern Light Theatre (NLT) for the past 14 years, where he has won multiple Sterling awards. He has been awarded three times for playwriting (FLORA & FAWNA'S FIELD TRIP!, THE WATERMELON GIRLS, and CHANGE ROOM), and twice for directing (the Canadian premieres of THE 4TH PRESENT AN UNNAMED LOVE-SUICIDE and Carol Anne Duffy's THE WORLD'S WIFE). His plays have been produced across Canada and far away as Australia (MABEL STARK!). He has created and choreographed a one-woman dance piece entitled MARKED for the Expanse Dance Festival that was extended and nominated for a Sterling Award for Outstanding New Work. Most recently, he was awarded the DIALOG Award for Excellence in Artistic Direction as part of the Mayor's Evening for the Arts. He sits on the advisory boards of the Grant MacEwan University Theatre Arts and Red Deer College Theatre Performance and Creation programme and is an Artistic Associate of GUYS IN DISGUISE Theatre company.

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