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Martin Austin
Martin Austin is a PhD student at the University of Toronto’s Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies. Martin’s research explores the past and current state of ethics in Euro-American dance practice. He is research assistant for Category Is, a study of house ballroom communities in Toronto and Montréal, and lead administrative coordinator of the Institute for Dance Studies.
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iPhoto caption: The cast of 'Playground' at the 2025 Toronto Fringe Festival. Photo by Colleen Yates.
2025 Toronto Fringe Festival wraps with record revenue for artists
“Artists are taking home more than half-a-million dollars, and many have sold out their first shows as professional creators,” wrote Toronto Fringe executive director Rachel Kennedy in a press release. “We are proud of our staff, volunteers, and artists for this accomplishment.”
iPhoto caption: Sébastien Heins, Georgia Findlay, Isaiah Kolundzic, and Kiana Woo in The 39 Steps. Photo by Raph Nogal.
Kiana Woo clowns around in full-circle moment with Guild Festival Theatre
For Woo, coming back to the Guild for the first time in four years — after working at Shaw, Soulpepper, the Citadel Theatre, and Théâtre Français de Toronto — feels like a homecoming.
iPhoto caption: "My Narrator" photo courtesy of the Lighthouse Festival.
Lighthouse Festival unearths rarely performed Norm Foster one-acts
“There’s not much time for character development, like there would be in a long play,” says Norm Foster of one-acts. “You have to… make it satisfying, and to have it come around to a plausible ending. It can’t just be a skit… So, it’s actually a little tougher to write.”
iPhoto caption: Marie Farsi for Intermission Magazine. Photo by Dahlia Katz.
“I’ve learned how truth is revealed in translation, and I feel like that’s my job as a director,” says Farsi. “I have to translate the piece from the page to the stage, and all the meanings that can be derived from that process of translation.”
iPhoto caption: The company of 'The Comedy of Errors.' Photo by JVL Photography.
Let’s-a go: Embedded with the Fools’ Comedy of Errors
While I was preparing for the summer heat by shopping for lighter clothes, Kate Smith, artistic director of a Company of Fools, was getting ready for their next show. She called me while I was in the Rideau Centre and pitched an idea: “Would you have any interest in being an embedded critic?”
iPhoto caption: Banner provided by Theatre Aquarius.
Theatre Aquarius’ NCNM selects three new musicals for 2025-26 development
“The Danish Guest, The Blue Castle, and My Beef with Beef each bring such distinct worlds to life — from Victorian London to early-1900s Muskoka to a modern kitchen haunted by a ghost cow," wrote artistic director Mary Francis Moore in a press release.
iPhoto caption: Production still from The Nutcracker courtesy of the National Ballet of Canada.
Why should you go to the ballet?
My childhood memories of learning to dance were front and centre for me when I attended opening night of The Nutcracker, performed by the National Ballet of Canada at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.
iPhoto caption: ROSA promotional image courtesy of RUTAS.
RUTAS redefines ‘American’ theatre and performance
“I think [Latinx artists] have always been a strong voice, but now we need to be even louder to the rest of Canada,” says multidisciplinary performance artist Carlos Rivera. “The things that we can bring to the table and bring to the stages can show the beauty, and the strain, and the capacities that Latino Americans carry with us in our bodies, in our minds, in our souls.”
iPhoto caption: Original photos by Kendra Epik.
With its Spring Double Bill, Toronto Dance Theatre centres community and new voices
For the Spring Double Bill, artistic director Andrew Tay is considering how programming can be a means of supporting emerging artists.
iPhoto caption: Photos by Roya DelSol
REVIEW: Boundary-pushing TDT double bill features face-riding and odd sensuality
Both pieces in the winter double bill are par for the course with TDT’s recent artistic output: unabashedly queer and consistently experimental.
iPhoto caption: Photo by Ambra Vernuccio.
REVIEW: Jungle Book reimagined needs a little reimagining
Indeed, Akram Khan “reimagines” a historically complex story into a two-hour exposé on the environmental catastrophe. Jungle Book’s captivating visual effects and dynamic physicality brought the opening night audience to their feet. But as the choreographer’s first billing as director, Jungle Book’s storytelling doesn’t always live up to Khan’s skill as a dancemaker.
When it comes to dance made in Canada, there’s an overabundance of great work happening.
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