ONCE ENRICHMENT GUIDE Book by ENDA WALSH Music and Lyrics by GLEN HANSARD & MARKÉTA IRGLOVÁ Based on the Motion Picture Written and Directed by JOHN CARNEY Direction by Ann Hodges Play Guides sponsored by ONCE TABLE OF CONTENTS THEATRE ETIQUETTE 3 WHO’S INVOLVED 4 ABOUT THE CREATORS 5 ABOUT THE PRODUCTION 6 DIRECTOR’S NOTE 7 SCRIPT REFERENCES 8 SYNOPSIS 9-10 PRODUCTION ELEMENTS 11 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 12 FURTHER READING/REFERENCES 13 CURRICULUM ALIGNMENT 14-15 2 ONCE THEATRE ETIQUETTE Going to the theatre is an engaging and interactive experience. We want you to be an active participant when you see our shows; laugh when it’s funny, cry when it’s sad, gasp when it’s shocking, and enjoy the experience as much as possible. But we want you to do this in the most respectful way possible, for both the performers and your fellow audience members. To ensure the most positive experience, please review the following information prior to arriving at the theatre. The following items are not allowed in the theatre: •No outside food or beverages. Only beverages purchased in the lobby and placed in a Citadel Sippy and bottled water will be allowed in the theatre. Unwrapped ice cream bars may be taken into the theatre. Please enjoy all other snacks in the lobby. •Cameras and other recording devices (please note that taking photographs or other recordings in the theatre is strictly prohibited by law). Basic courtesy: •Turn OFF and put away all electronic devices such as cell phones, iPods, video game systems, etc. prior to entering the theatre. •Do not place your feet on the seat in front of you. •The actors onstage can see and hear the audience during the performance – it is important that audience members not talk, move around, or fidget during the performance, as this can be distracting for the actors, as well as fellow audience members. •There is no dress code at the Citadel Theatre, but we respectfully request that patrons refrain from wearing hats in the theatre. •For the safety of those with allergies, please refrain from using perfumes or scented products before coming to the theatre. •Please do not place backpacks or other bags in the aisle in front of your feet, as this may impair the ability of persons to exit the row in an emergency. Inappropriate behaviour: Citadel Theatre representatives watch carefully during performances for inappropriate behaviour, especially behaviour that could endanger an actor or audience member. Inappropriate behaviour includes, but is not limited to: •Talking in the audience •The use of laser pointers or other light or sound-emitting devices •Interfering with an actor or the performance (tripping, throwing items on or near the stage, etc.) Audience members identified as engaging in this type of behaviour will be removed from the theatre during the performance or at intermission. 3 ONCE CAST, CREATIVE TEAM AND CHARACTERS CAST RUTH ALEXANDER Barushka JULIEN ARNOLD Da BENJAMIN CAMENZULL Svec CHRISTINA CUGLIETTA Ex-Girlfriend EMILY DALLAS Girl OSCAR DERKX Andrej STEPHEN GUY-MCGRATH Billy RICHARD LAM Emcee LAWRENCE LIBOR Guy KAREN LIZOTTE Bank Manager LARISSA POHORESKI Reza JOHN ULLYATT Eamon ALEXA ZHANG Ivonka CREATIVE TEAM Director ANN HODGES Music Director STEVEN GREENFIELD Choreographer JULIE TOMAINO Set & Costume Designer CORY SINCENNES Lighting Designer LOUISE GUINAND Sound Designer MATTHEW SKOPYK Dialect Coach DAVID LEY Czech Translator MARTIN GALBA Assistant Director DORIAN LANG Music Captain BENJAMIN CAMENZULL Stage Manager MICHELLE CHAN Assistant Stage Manager KATHRYN BALL MUSICANS Ruth Alexander................... Accordian, cajón, tambourine, piano, melodica, concertina Julien Arnold....................... Guitar, mandolin Benjamin Camenzuli.......... Drums, cajón, banjo, guitar, mandolin Christina Cuglietta.......... Violin, cajón Emily Dallas.......................... Piano Oscar Derkx.......................... Ukelele, bass guitar, guitar, cajón Stephen Guy-McGrath..... Guitar, ukulele, cajón, tambourine, cymbals Richard Lam.......................... Guitar, piano, melodica, harmonica Lawrence Libor................... Guitar Karen Lizotte....................... Mandolin, cello, guitar, accordion Larissa Pohoreski............. Violin, tambourine John Ullyatt......................... Guitar, castanets, cajón 4 ONCE ABOUT THE CREATORS John Carney is a Dublin-based writer/director who came to the world’s attention following the box office hit and critically acclaimed musical feature film Once, which garnered multiple Independent Spirit, Sundance, and Raindance awards. Previously, John was a bassist in the Irish rock band the Frames, where he met Glen Hansard. These musical roots continue to be evident in John’s work with his latest production, Can a Song Save Your Life?. Other projects include Dogs of Babel for David Heyman and Nathan Kahane starring Steve Carrell and a feature adaptation of M.R. James’s Casting the Runes for Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson. Enda Walsh is an acclaimed playwright, screenwriter and director. His recent work includes the play Arlington and the opera The Second Violinist, which both premiered at the Galway International Arts Festival in 2016 and 2017, respectively. He also worked on the new musical, Lazarus, with David Bowie, which opened at New York Theatre Workshop in December 2015. His work has been translated into many languages and has been performed internationally since 1996. In 2014, he received an Honourary Doctorate from Galway University. Enda is currently adapting and directing Max Porter’s Grief is the Thing with Feathers for Complicite. 5 ONCE ABOUT THE PRODUCTION Based on the award-winning film of the same name by John Carney, Once is an unforgettable story about going for your dreams and the power of music to connect us all. Winner of eight Tony awards, including Best Book and Best Musical, the musical premiered at New York Theatre Workshop in 2011 and moved to Broadway in 2012. Earning rave reviews, the show also earned a 2012 Drama Desk Award for Best Musical and a 2013 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album. With a book written by Enda Walsh and music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, the cast of Once also acts as the orchestra, bringing their musical talents to life on stage. Act I Leave – Guy Falling Slowly – Guy & Girl North Strand – Ensemble The Moon – Andrej (as Ensemble) Ej, Pada, Pada, Rosicka – Ensemble If You Want Me – Guy, Girl, Ensemble Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy – Guy Say It to Me Now – Guy Abandoned in Bandon – Bank Manager* Gold – Guy & Ensemble** Act II Sleeping – Guy When Your Mind’s Made Up – Guy, Girl, Ensemble The Hill – Girl Gold (A Cappella) – Company The Moon – Company Falling Slowly (Reprise) – Guy, Girl, Ensemble *composed by Martin Lowe, Andy Taylor, and Enda Walsh **composed by Fergus O’Farrell 6 ONCE DIRECTOR’S NOTES If you have ever sung in a choir, played in a band, or even just clapped along to a great tune, you may have experienced the joyful and transformative power of making music with others. But why is music-making so transformative? I believe one reason is that making music, while lots of fun, is also rather risky. Play a wrong note and everyone hears it. Start a phrase early and you risk the withering glare of the conductor. Sing too high, your voice might crack. It takes courage to just jump in and commit, because everyone will hear if you make a mistake. Also, making music requires breath. However, the way we breathe can reveal feelings we’d rather keep hidden: fear, excitement, sadness. But musicians need to breathe with their music, and sometimes they need to look into each others’ eyes and breathe together. They also need to listen to each other, and themselves. There’s nowhere to hide, really, when making music with someone else. It’s risky. But we take these risks because music-making has such a transformative power. We are different at the end of a song, simply by singing it, playing it, or hearing it. That is why I think that music-making is also an act of great generosity — because by sharing music with others, we are offering them the possibility of transformation. Once is the gentle love story that took Broadway by storm in 2012. Based on the tender 2007 film, the musical explores the transformative power of music in a uniquely ‘non-Broadway’ fashion. Played by multi-talented actor-musician-storytellers, the songs take us deep into the heart of the characters, or explode past the footlights and seem to transcend reality. The story is a simple one, of Guy, an Irish busker, and Girl, a Czech immigrant, who, like all the characters in the play, are ‘stopped’ in life in some way. But through the act of making music with each other, each not only becomes ‘unstuck,’ but also helps those around them move forward in life. And, each learns that love, like music-making, requires risk, courage, breath, listening, and great, great generosity. -Ann Hodges, Director 7 ONCE SCRIPT REFERENCES Da — British slang for Dad. Bach — Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. Since the 19th-century Bach Revival, he has been generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time. Bartok — Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Liszt are regarded as Hungary's greatest composers. Brahms — Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist of the Romantic period. His reputation and status as a composer are such that he is sometimes grouped with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven as one of the "Three Bs" of music. Bono — Paul David Hewson, known by his stage name Bono, is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician, venture capitalist, businessman, and philanthropist. He is best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of rock band U2. Cork — A city in south-west Ireland, in the province of Munster, which had a population of 125,622 in 2016.