Happy July! I hope you are enjoying the sunshine as much as we are! Seeing all the blossoming gardens and greenery is getting us even more excited for our Perennial In Bloom Festival happening this month. Our artists will present their plays virtually on July 11th, 18th, 25th, and a final collaborative presentation on August 1st. Over at Dandelion, we have been busy bees working to organize the plays and artists we are working with. Here is your first look at the featured plays and playwrights we are working with this month:
White Man Complex - Ash Haslett Cuff
Equinox - Gus Monet
The Play, Right? - Kemi King
We don’t want to give away too much, so keep an eye out for announcements on our social media to learn more about these plays and wonderful artists. And don’t forget, these three playwrights will be working together to create a unique collaborative piece that will be presented at the end of the festival! You won’t want to miss this!
We are also looking forward to physical spaces opening up and second vaccinations rolling out, so hopefully our next project will get to be in person! What a joy it would be to experience live theatre again! Live reactions, pre-show drinks for the audience or post-drinks for the cast and crew, oh, and don’t forget awkwardly waiting around after the show in the lobby to praise your fave actor! Too much? Maybe… but you know it’s true!
Until then, we thank you for supporting us through this strange time in history! Online theatre is never ideal, but all the artists and audiences have made it so worth it! We look forward to sharing Perennial In Bloom with you and every project that follows when we can safely return to the physical theatre world!
Special Announcement:
Because we are releasing this newsletter on July 1st (Canada Day), we would like to use this time for reflection, acknowledgement, and action. Dandelion Theatre exists on land whose original caretakers and storytellers were the Wendat, the Haudenosaunee, and the Anishanabek First Nations, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Toronto (Tkaronto) is in Dish With One Spoon Territory. Dish With One Spoon is a treaty to share the territory and protect the land. “We all eat out of the Dish, all of us that share this territory, with only one spoon.”
The basis of Canada day often fails to acknowledge that the genocide of Indigenous peoples is ongoing. There is no pride in genocide. Instead of celebrating Canada’s history, this should be a time of mourning, of reflection. And we call upon ourselves, those around us, and especially those in power to act upon this time of reflection.
What can we do as settlers?
Read the Truth and Reconciliation Report
Continue to practice allyship and uplift indigenous voices
Contact government officials on lack of actions (especially in regard to the 94 calls-to-action delineated in the Truth and Reconciliation Report and lack of clean drinking water in many indigenous communities)
Donate (good places to start would be the Indian Residential School Survivors Society, or Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre among many other indigenous run programs across Canada)
Sign petitions
Educate yourself
Listen.
We will be doing the same.
Community Work:
If you have original work (poetry, short stories, dialogues, jokes, visual art, etc.), please submit to dandeliontheatreto@gmail.com and your work will surely be featured in our next edition!
With Love, Your Baby Girl (Anonymous)
I’m sorry we never met.
I’m sorry that that was my fault.
I like to think that you were
a beautiful baby girl,
so that I could raise you
not like my mother raised me.
That I’d be able to show you
how much better the world is
than the way that you got created.
Monsters do exist,
just like the one
who forced his way into me
to make you.
I just want you to know
that although you’ll haunt me,
Manifest into my own monster,
You did nothing wrong.
It didn’t take long
for me to realize you had
planted yourself,
into a Home where you felt
like you weren’t welcome.
Oh my little bean,
if only you knew
how hard I wanted to Love you.
I want you to know
that if you came into this world,
You would be
Loved so hard.
I’m sorry that I never got to show you.
I’m sorry that I never gave you a chance.
Seven weeks and Three days
Be my little angel
could you?
Hold my conscious
accountable and
keep my heart full.
Come back to me please
when you know I’m ready,
And then we can finally
Grow Together.
Recommendations:
Here you can find recommendations from Dandelion’s team members! Each diary will include a new list of our updated favourites! Have you watched or read something that you think we should know about? Shoot us a message on our facebook, instagram, twitter, or comment down below with your recommendations!
Our Numbered Days (Written by Neil Hilborn)
“If slam poetry resonates in your heart and soul as much as it does for me, buckle up for Neil Hilborn's collection of poems about love, silly heartbreak and mental health. Grounded in humour with a sprinkle of self-depreciation that some can relate to, Hilborn opens up the platform for a space to be vulnerable and honest. ‘I think that the genes for being an artist and mentally ill aren’t just related, they are the same gene, but try telling that to a bill collector.’” - Patricia Pham (Marketing and Events Coordinator)
Bo Burnham: Inside (2021)
“Obviously I’ve got to talk about Bo Burnham’s Inside. What an achievement, both technical and emotional. Any words I have are generally pretty useless because to describe this piece is to do it a disservice. Just watch it. If you value art or creation in any context this piece will have something for you. It is funny, biting, satirical, dry, and deeply, deeply beautiful. For artists I know the struggles of creation in this pandemic period will be particularly moving but Burnham’s honest articulation of how the world has ultimately failed (especially) us in the younger generations will likely shake anyone watching to their core. But he is never without hope, and after watching this magnificent magnum opus, neither am I.” - Max Ackerman (Artistic Director)
Superstore (2015-2021)
“Sometimes you just need a good ol’ sitcom to get you through to the weekend and Superstore can give you just that! Superstore is a comical and timely show that explores gender, race, and class from the perspective of department store employees. If you have ever worked in retail or customer service, like me, you will certainly giggle or sigh at a lot of the situations the characters get into. I’m the kind of person that will watch a whole season in one day, and honestly, I didn’t even feel guilty doing it with Superstore!” - Emily Doucette (Managing Director)
Recipes:
Martin Family Finn Pancake Recipe: Submitted by Reid Martin (Outreach Coordinator)
I just recently moved to Toronto and one of the first things I made in my new apartment were these Finn pancakes! They are an old family recipe and taste like comfort! They remind me of family brunches, sweet strawberries and far too much whip cream! If you try this recipe for brunch or breakfast for dinner or any other time of day I promise you will love it! (Hot tip: though they are thin, they are actually called FINN pancakes because they are a play on a Finnish recipe!)
Ingredients:
2 eggs
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp of vanilla
1 tsp of salt
1 1/2 cup of milk
1 1/4 cups of flour
1. Beat together eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt and milk
2. Slowly add in flour until there are no lumps
3. Generously fry butter in a heated pan and add a thin layer of batter
4. Fry on both sides and enjoy!