More Than Skin-Deep: Northern Light Theatre Sashays Online with the Look

2/7/2021 Arts Roundup: More than skin deep: Northern Light Theatre sashays online with The Look - Taproot Edmonton

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Thursday, January 21, 2021 · By Fawnda Mithrush share this

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More than skin-deep: Northern Light Theatre sashays online with The Look Last fall Northern Light Theatre (NLT) opened its 45th anniversary season at the Arts Barns last fall with We Had a Girl Before You, an actual in-person play, perhaps one of the last we'll see for the foreseeable future.

The NLT season was programmed to feature stories about women "of a certain age" — that is, mature beyond their 20s and 30s. Though artistic director Trevor Schmidt was initially reluctant to pivot online, as told to your correspondent in an early 2020 interview, NLT is now shifting to digital delivery for its upcoming production of The Look by Australian playwright/screenwriter Alexa Wyatt. It is set to stream Jan. 22-31.

Linda Grass stars in The Look, by Alexa Wyatt. (Northern Light Theatre)

Simply hitting a record button is definitely not what Schmidt wanted to do for https://mailchi.mp/taprootedmonton/arts-roundup-january-21-2021?e=1ae4c12fc6 1/7 2/7/2021 Arts Roundup: More than skin deep: Northern Light Theatre sashays online with The Look - Taproot Edmonton The Look.

"It's hard!" he says, of mounting the show for film. "With We Had a Girl Before You, we had to adjust to different audience/actor relationships within a much larger venue than we intended, as per COVID safety regulations and restrictions. But the actual show was pretty much the same, with a larger, grander set and scale."

"With this one, knowing (shortly) beforehand that we were going straight-to- video meant a lot of extra planning for shots, lighting, editing, and sound. It's been like doing two shows, the play and performance itself, and the ballet that is camerawork and editing. It's been exhausting!"

The show stars actor Linda Grass as Marilyn, a former cover girl reminiscing about her glory days gracing the pages of fashion magazines. Many of the fictional campaigns were recreated for the show.

In a Director's Circle video, Schmidt notes that despite being written back in 1992, The Look indeed predicted beauty industry trends, like the insurgence of eyelash culture and edgier cosmetic brands like Urban Decay.

"I think we should just be honest about things, and that's what the play says as well," he says, noting that COVID has perhaps helped people accept their aging appearance — and their grey hair — a little more easily. It's a darkly comic look at an identity crisis, with a twist at the end.

"Well, we always play a trick, a little bait and switch," he says. "I think people will be coming for the comedy and we'll sucker punch them with the drama, which is always my favourite thing ever."

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Headlines https://mailchi.mp/taprootedmonton/arts-roundup-january-21-2021?e=1ae4c12fc6 2/7 2/7/2021 Arts Roundup: More than skin deep: Northern Light Theatre sashays online with The Look - Taproot Edmonton Local singer-songwriter D'orjay The Singing Shaman was named Apple Country Music's Rainbow Artist for January. Her debut album, New Kind of Outlaw, was released last November.

Playwright and queer historian Darrin Hagen has been named MacEwan University's next writer-in-residence.

Hollywood celebrity and Edmonton homeboy Nathan Fillion provided his familiar, dulcet tones in the narration for a delightful and educational romp through a new Virtual Forest Tour produced by Alberta Forest Products Association.

Metro Cinema is running a retrospective showcasing the films of visionary Hong Kong director Wong Kar-Wai until Feb. 19. Buy a pass for all seven films, or catch them one by one. (If you're hankering for a "California Dreamin'" earworm, try out Chungking Express. You won't be disappointed.)

Paul Brandt and kd lang were among many who echoed Corb Lund's recent message to the UCP government to reconsider plans for coal mining in the Rockies.

Recent UCP acts have also provided loads of creative fodder for satirical painter Tim Mikula, who continues to add to his collection of works for sale at ABLegGitShop. Choice titles of recent works include "Jason Kenney Feeding Alberta’s Money into a Grabby Little Dumpster Fire", and "The United Conservative Party getting married to a coffin full of nickels by a slot machine in the neon pandemic fever dream of a casino."

Artist Erina Harris is collecting words from the public for Donated Words: A Living Gallery, where she'll explore their etymology, with plans to eventually publish a book from the process.

Playwrights Daniel MacIvor and Matthew MacKenzie have co-created a new show to livestream for one night only on Jan. 30. The Situation We Find Ourselves In Is This examines the teachings of beloved Canadian dramaturge Iris Turcott.

Playwright and performer Todd Houseman was named to the Top 30 Under 30 list by the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation.

Citing inspiration from celebrity pals like Joni Mitchell, Alberta Ballet's Jean Grand-Maître has taken up visual art, with a collection of over 900 works in his repertoire to date. With stages dark in these pandemic days, Grand-Maître is optimistically looking forward to mounting the https://mailchi.mp/taprootedmonton/arts-roundup-january-21-2021?e=1ae4c12fc6 3/7 2/7/2021 Arts Roundup: More than skin deep: Northern Light Theatre sashays online with The Look - Taproot Edmonton company's next "portrait ballet" using the music of David Bowie, Phi, in spring 2022.

Brian Webb Dance Company launched a new video series, Without the dancing, there ain't no dance, which features talks about dance with Webb and various community members. The first instalment, Episode 1: Favourite Dance Experiences, is with filmmaker and Shumka alum Les Sereda.

Charlie Mackesy, Karina Vernon, and Rupi Kaur topped the respective fiction, nonfiction, and poetry bestseller lists in Edmonton from the Book Publishers Association of Alberta for the week ending Jan. 17. Check out the Alberta bestseller lists for the week ending Jan. 10.

Jobs, calls and opportunities

Chinook Series and the Expanse Movement Arts Festival, running March 25 to April 4, have issued a call for submissions for two emerging performers comfortable with site-specific and highly physical work to be included in the collective performance troupe The Lobbyists. The deadline to submit is Jan. 27.

Bent River Records has announced a new songwriting competition, open to students in the music department at MacEwan University. The deadline for entries is Jan. 31.

Nextfest Arts Company is accepting submissions for musical artists and bands for Nextfest 2021, happening June 3-13. Like the 2020 festival, this year’s festival will take place online. Bands and solo artists can apply until Jan. 31.

Good Women Dance Collective is seeking artist submissions for the Creative Incubator series to be held in May 2021. This opportunity is free and open to all disciplines and levels of experience. The deadline to apply is Feb. 21.

Telus Storyhive Community Channel is seeking creators to share video projects of any length. Alberta and B.C.-based creators are eligible to submit their work on an ongoing basis.

Taproot Edmonton Presents: https://mailchi.mp/taprootedmonton/arts-roundup-january-21-2021?e=1ae4c12fc6 4/7 2/7/2021 Arts Roundup: More than skin deep: Northern Light Theatre sashays online with The Look - Taproot Edmonton Igniting Innovation, a six-part podcast series that explores how startups and investors are coming together in Edmonton's tech innovation sector. Featuring cover art by Kirra Kent and music by Dave Von Bieker.

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Events & Exhibits

Tim Mikula's surrealist portraiture of provincial politicos from his controversial ABLegGiftShop is now on display at The Paint Spot through Feb. 6. The Works Art & Design Festival is now displaying Wildflowers: Metis Women of Fort Edmonton, 1785-1910 by Sharon Rose Kootenay, curated by Brittany Cherweniuk, in the west-facing windows at 9698 Jasper Avenue, and Transformation: Promise and Wisdom by Sharon Rose Kootenay and Jason Symington in Sir Winston Churchill Square. Both exhibits are on display through Jan. 21.

Online offerings

All libraries, museums, and art galleries are temporarily closed. Luckily the AGA, EPL, and RAM all have online programming available.

Art From Here is a collaborative project between MAG, Latitude 53, Ociciwan Contemporary Art Collective, and Snap Gallery. Each month a new work or project is showcased, culminating in a virtual studio visit with the artist.

The Blueberry Bluegrass Festival is hosting a series of acoustic music workshops with instructors from across North America every Thursday until April 4. The sessions are free to members of participating music clubs.

BPAA hosts the Alberta Reads Book Club. The January-February selection is Pourin' Down Rain: A Black Woman Claims Her Place in the Canadian https://mailchi.mp/taprootedmonton/arts-roundup-january-21-2021?e=1ae4c12fc6 5/7 2/7/2021 Arts Roundup: More than skin deep: Northern Light Theatre sashays online with The Look - Taproot Edmonton West by Cheryl Foggo.

Mitchell Art Gallery is displaying Dress & Escapism: Performance of Identity through Drag and Burlesque Costume, curated by Josée Chartrand and on view, virtually, Jan. 26-March 27. Curator talks will stream on Feb. 9 and March 3.

The National Arts Centre is streaming Grand Acts of Theatre, wherein twelve Canadian theatre companies were engaged to create large-scale, new works in response to the pandemic, performed and filmed outdoors in various locations in 2020. Catalyst Theatre is among the companies participating.

Northern Light Theatre is streaming The Look by Alexa Wyatt, starring Linda Grass, from Jan. 22-31.

Pandemic University is offering online writing classes for a variety of projects and formats.

Rapid Fire Theatre is offering weekly shows, workshops, and family improv classes on YouTube.

Theatre Network is running a book club (for plays!), a monthly online meet-up where audiences can discuss Canadian plays with Edmonton playwrights. January's selection is Michel Tremblay's Hosanna, led by Darrin Hagen.

The Winspear Centre for Music and ESO present the Evolution of the Arts in a Digital World Symposium through Feb. 24. The online, free conference explores emerging digital technology and practical discussions about the new era of arts presentation.

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