Staff Picks #4

Eda (Artistic & Executive Director)

Eda has two marvelous dance recommendations this week. The first is a moving video by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, an excerpt from “Ounce of Faith” by Darrell Grand Moultrie featuring Khalia Campbell dancing to “Lift Every Voice And Sing”.

Also check out The Mark Morris Dance Company’s YouTube Channel, featuring new works created using the now indispensable Zoom platform.

Eloi (Marketing and Communications Manager)

Usually at this time of year, Eloi would hop on his bike after work to make his way up St-Laurent to the Montreal St-Ambroise Fringe Festival. Thanks to the resourceful MainLine Theatre, Eloi is getting his fill of exotic, crazy, wild #FringeBuzz at this year’s socially distant This Is Not A Fringe Festival, until June 21, 2020. Check out the line-up and join in the fun!

Vanessa R. (Digital Media Manager)

Vanessa made a beautiful discovery of the short animated Bàba, a delicate film by Stephanie Wong, Ryan Alexander McDonald and Ben Elliott, funded by the National Theatre School of Canada’s online initiative, #Artapart, supporting new works by recent theatre program grads. Learn more about Art Apart.

#FOLDA, Canada’s Festival of Live Digital Art, returns for its third year from June 10^th to 13^th. Investigate the future of digital theatre with online workshops and performances by artists from across Canada. All tickets to the festival are by donation.

Charlie (Building Maintenance)

He’s been listening to tons of indie music (especially local) on Bandcamp. The first Friday of every month during the pandemic, Bandcamp waives its usual fees so that all money goes directly to the artists! You can buy digital copies of songs or albums, physical media like CDs, records and cassettes, and merch. Also on these special Fridays, many artists have their own promotions, such as pay-what-you-can pricing and other discounts or bundles. There’s always plenty of free music to enjoy too.

Bandcamp is doing a JUNTEENTH promotion in two weeks, Friday June 19th, with their regular share of any money generated that day going to the NAACP legal defense fund.

Check out some of Charlie’s picks like Zachary Cale’s “False Spring” and Nova Scotia’s Dave Gunning (think: Pete Seeger and John Prine) or this compilation album: Songs for Hard Times.

Aleksandra (Accounting Manager)

There’s a lot to be said for the soothing effect the animals we live with have on us and our home. Aleks reaps lots of enjoyment from brushing her cat and Mucka’s pretty Zen about it too.
Meow Meow!

Helena (Assistant Manager, Box Office)

Helena’s pleasure during the quarantine has been searching for plants to grow into small interior trees. She’s discovered lots of plant stores in Montreal, like Vertuose, which deliver ‘contactless’.

And … because Helena lives and breathes cinema, she couldn’t survive without her expanding checklist of films to watch. For some really great Canadian pearls, she recommends Les Films du 3 Mars.