Writings
                                                      Independent producer and director

O poveste de teatru ... si viata !

Nici nu am inceput bine sa va spun povestea si incep sa-mi fac ginduri : oare, pe a cita pagina a ziarului se afla istorioara mea? Cite pagini si ziare au rasfoit cititorii  romani din Toronto, dupa ce si-au incarcat sacosele cu bunatatile de la ABC, pina sa ajunga sa citeasca despre ... teatru ?  Mai au rabdare si pentru asa ceva ?

Ce fel de artificii si trucuri regizorale trebuie sa folosesc ca sa pot rivaliza cu povestile de pe prima pagina a publicatiilor din Toronto care au nevoie de un incident, o crima, o familie destramata, un VIP sau o fata frumoasa  si trista , ca sa poata vinde truda muncii unui grup de scriitori, reporteri si oameni de arte ? 

O sa incerc ... fara interventii regizorale !  Povestea mea sper sa fie pe placul tuturor ... asa cum ne-am obisnuit in Nord America !

Ma numesc Diana Miklos si sunt director artistic si membru fondator al Teatrului ca Metafora/Theatre as a Metaphor - www.theatremetaphor.com - .  

... nu, nu sunt din Ardeal, numele de familie l-am capatat prin casatorie !  Am parasit Romania in anul 1980, cu sufletul greu, cu familia plingind, cu prietenii de opinii diferite in legatura cu emigrarea,  si cu un singur tel : de a cladi o viata  luminoasa familiei mele.

Am adus cu mine in Toronto nu numai un partener de viata si un copilas, am adus trei geamantane pline de optimism, pline de imagini ale unei copilarii fericite, de educatie implinita si dragoste, multa dragoste ... 

Dragostea pentru teatru mi-a incalzit sufletul de la 16 ani. Am avut  in plus fata de familia mea, frati si tati spirituali, care m-au sustinut in pasiunea mea pentru teatru,  care urma sa-mi devina cariera mai tirziu. 

Am copilarit in casa lui Dolfi Solomon care m-a ocrotit, m-a indrumat si mi-a deschis apetitul pentru teatru. Piesele lui de teatru, cu originalitatea si adincimea caracterelor, imi vorbeau intr-o limba noua, putin cunoscuta mie. Teatrul absurd nu era Shakespeare  pe care i-l citisem din scoarta in scoarta ... o noua modalitate de expresie se nastea in mine ! Acasa la Dolfi Solomon l-am intilnit pe Marin Sorescu care nu si-a pierdut in sufletul meu intensitatea metaforica.

Ca multe familii, familiile spirituale sunt numeroase.  Adrian Solomon, Victor Ioan Frunza, frati spirituali, au avut un rol determinant in cursul carierei mele teatrale.  

Florian Pittis, cu umorul, intensitatea, sfaturile de scena si viata, a adaugat pasiunea, flacara, care odata aprinsa, nu s-a mai stins.  

Ce a urmat, au fost ani de repetitii si spectacole de teatru la Scoala Populara de Arta a Sectorului 1, la Bulandra,  si bineinteles spectacole de muzica si poezie pe scene muncitoresti!  

In 1976 am infiintat  impreuna cu Victor Ioan Frunza, prima mea companie de teatru, Ex-Tex - teatru experiment.  Bogdan Stanoevici, actor, prieten apropiat si asociat de la Scoala Populara de Arta, si Romanita Cheorpec ( Brooks), actrita, sunt singurii cu care am lucrat in Romania dar si in Canada in 2007.

In timp ce studiam teatru la Ryerson University, am ajutat la formarea si productiile de teatru ale primului teatru romanesc din Toronto, Teatrul Taboo. Acolo l-am cunoscut pe Costin Manu, actor, regizor si actualul director administrativ la Rose Theatre in Brampton.  Dintr-o poveste binecunoscuta de noi toti : Lipsa de fonduri ... , teatrul Taboo s-a destramat. Dar nu si dorinta mea de a prezenta piese de teatru pentru publicul  canadian, flamind de flerul si cultura europeana.

Aspectul financiar dezastruos din arte in provincia noastra, Ontario, m-a impins si pe mine, ca pe multi altii, spre o alta cariera care sa-mi permita expresia artistica.

Comunitatea Waldorf mi-a fost casa si mi-a inlesnit spectacolele si initiativele artistice in ultimii  22 de ani.

Teatrul ca Metafora ( Theatre as a Metaphor - www.theatremetaphor.com ) a luat viata in 2007, functionind sub auspiciile scolii “The Oxford School of Art, Music and Theatre”, companie pe care am fondat-o in 1989. 

Ajutorul si dedicatia multor persoane, adevarati tespieni, au contribuit la spectacolele prezentate in 2007 : “Micutele Curioase” de Tristan Bernard, “Muzica si Poezie” pentru Campul Romanesc, “Music and Poetry Show”   ("...there should be as many words for love, as the Innuit have for snow..." /"...il devrait y avoir autant de mots pour l'amour, que les innuits ont pour la neige...") si doua piese scurte, "Wedding Duet" by Lauren Wilson, "Post-Its (Notes on a Marriage)" by Paul Dooley & Winnie Holzman.  

Pentru productiile din 2007, ajutorul de neinlocuit al Lianei Ignatoiu ( Llyane Stanfield ) o sa ramina distinct, ca si zimbetul ei. Bogdan Stanoevici, Simona Gherman, Mihai Colceriu, Claudia Cion, Aliona Munteanu, Romanita Cheorpec, au fost doar citiva dintre colaboratorii nostri.

Dupa o perioada de seceta artistica, indusa de lipsa de fonduri si donatii, Theatrul ca Metafora a initiat un nou ciclu de spectacole in 2009, “AN EVENING WITH THE ARTS”, bazat pe proiectele artistice de obtineri de fonduri pe care le-am creat pentru Comunitatea Waldorf din Toronto.

Povestea nu se incheie aici ... se incheie in viitor cind povestea v-a fi rescrisa de o alta iubitore si facatoare de teatru , cum spunea Dolfi Solomon, care sa continue istoria teatrului romano-canadian.


Diana Miklos

Director Artistic/Membru Fondator

Teatrul ca Metafora/Theatre as a Metaphor 

www.theatremetaphor.com 

www.theatremetaphor.com

MEDIA RELEASE 

Toronto, ON - June 1, 2009 - Diana Miklos, Founding Artistic Director of  Theatre as a Metaphor - www.theatremetaphor.com - announced today the production of “Marriage ... the Eternal Quest”. This is the first show in the cycle AN EVENING WITH THE ARTS / 2009/2010 Season.

Diana Miklos welcomes back the production of "POST-ITS" (Notes on a Marriage), One-act play by Paul Dooley & Winnie Holzman, produced by special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc. (www.playscripts.com ). "POST-ITS" (Notes on a Marriage)  will be presented as part of the multi art show, 
“Marriage ... the Eternal Quest” .

In this homage to Love Letters, an actor and actress read the Post-It notes between a couple,  that span the duration of their lives together. Hilarious and moving, Post-Its explores the ups and downs of a relationship that were unexpectedly captured on scraps of paper.

Diana Miklos directs this moving story, featuring Costin Manu and Hanna Peltoniemi-Fam as the married couple.

 In a long career, Costin Manu has produced over fifty plays, directed almost twice as many, from classics and contemporary dramas, to comedies and farces, and acted in over seventy productions.  Costin has worked extensively in the theatre in Europe, in Romania and the United States and has also appeared in many feature films, TV series and commercials. Costin is now Manager of Programming, Marketing and Development at The Rose Theatre Brampton.

Beautiful and talented Hanna Peltoniemi-Fam  was featured in Stage Centre Productions 2008/2009 Season: Mrs. Elvsted in Hedda Gabler, Masha in The Seagull and 2007/2008 Season: Peggy Evans in Come Blow Your Horn, Chlotilde in An Italian Straw Hat.

“Marriage ... the Eternal Quest” will also include a short film, a musical performance by Lyne Tremblay and friends and visual art by MONIKA AEBISCHER and THEODORA ROMAN.

"SENTENCED TO MARRIAGE" (2004),  a  documentary by Anat Zuria, produced by Amit Breuer - www.amythosfilms.com , was Nominated for a Silver Wolf at IDFA. 

This shocking documentary exposes the Kafkaesque process of divorce for women in Israel where secular law does not exist, and divorce is dealt with according to archaic and fundamentalist orthodox Jewish law.
The film premiered at the Jerusalem Film Festival July 2004 where it won the Wolgin Award for the best documentary. It was shown in numerous festivals around the world and also won later best Israeli film at Hot Docs film festival Toronto 2005.


Amit Breuer is an Israeli-Canadian Award-winning Documentary Producer-director. The founder of Amythos Films Inc., an independent company producing provocative and commercial films within the international market since 1992. Her award winning films are: "The Specialist", “Purity”, "Junction",  "Sentenced to Marriage ", “Checkpoint” “Between Two Notes/Le blues de l’Orient” among others. She is currently developing and producing new projects for traditional media as well as for New Media.


LYNE TREMBLAY ( www.lynetremblay.com )  

Was nominated for best jazz vocalist, National Jazz Awards 2004.  
Sultry, sexy, eurojazz vocal stylings are destined to move and inspire you.
Since breaking into the English market as a young Quebec-born performer, Lyne Tremblay has not only become an acting and singing mainstay in the Toronto Francophone theatre community but managed to write and co-produce her debut CD “Break 'n Enter”(2004). “Break 'n Enter” received national radio exposure and reviews, was selected by JazzFM in 2004 on their “Top 10 CDS” list. Geoff Chapman (jazz critic, The Toronto Star) said “an abundance of style and sophistication on these 13 tunes”. That same year she was also nominated for the Canadian National Jazz Awards “Vocalist of the Year”. Marina Sturdz, The Globe and Mail said “Tremblay is a stunning, riveting performer with a great gutsy voice”.

MONIKA AEBISCHER ( www.monikaaebischer.com ) : Mixed media fine art

Textured, layered surfaces speak of the passage of time, transformation and survival; a sense of whimsy brings importance to surviving tragic events in life. Personal symbols used in the work are not the familiar emblems of mainstream iconography, but intensely personal, private, obscure and ambiguous references. The imagery depicts interpretation of more than specific cultures -- it represents universal human experiences; what makes us human: memory, the body as a corporeal vessel, mark-making, ephemeral, ritual and honoring.

THEODORA ROMAN - Fine art

“There is a direct relationship to what I do as an artist and what I experience in my personal life. I have found that my eyes and soul are attracted to the things which are beautiful to me, finding the figure as the most interesting, challenging and complex subject  to study. I am interested in capturing human emotion and thoughts. My art can be described as investigations of the human condition through paintings occupied by serene and ambiguous figures placed in psychological space...”



Don’t miss this one night only show to be presented at GEORGE IGNATIEFF THEATRE 
15 Devonshire Pl., Toronto  on June 20, 2009 @ 7:30 P.M.


TICKETS can be purchased from UofTTix (www.uofttix.ca) online, by phone, and in person:7 Hart House Circle, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H3  / Phone: (416) 978-8849
www.uofttix.ca   



MEDIA CONTACT: 
Diana Miklos, Publicist 
contact@theatremetaphor.com
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