REVIEW: Four Stars!

The reviews are starting to come in for Neon Nightz! Eye Magazine writes:

"Sasha and Kitty are a corrosive duo, and the love injected into their performances is palpable and utterly riveting. Neon Nightz is at once a smouldering ode to the power of stripping and a fascinating exploration of its limitations."

Woot!

Click here for the full review.

SCOOP: Zelda's Gone!

... Just in from XTRA!

This is unfortunate news for the Church Street Community. A favourite patio/hot spot/drag bar has closed. This is disconcerting for business community, since several locations in the area have closed down (Crews/Tango and Alibi) with no signs of reopening.

Our thoughts are with the many employees and performers that called Zelda's home.

For the full story click here.

INSIDE: Kick-Off Bash!

Last night was a crazy success! First, Neon Nightz opened to a packed house and standing ovation. Then, Nina Arsenault hosted the Kick-Off Bash, which included an inspiring speech by Brendan Healy, and special performances by Miss Conception and Fluffy Souffle with members of JAT. Also in attendance were: Deb Pearce, The B-Girlz, Waawaate Fobister, Trixie & Beaver, Mark Shyzer, Evalyn Parry, and Moynan King. We were there with our crappy point 'n shoot cam. Check out the photos!

Congratulations to everyone!
Here's to a successful season!

EXCLUSIVE: Brendan Healy's First Speech

Brendan Healy gave an inspiring speech at last night’s Kick-Off Bash. Healy joked, that metaphor was his schmata (which being well-versed in yiddish made this blogger LOL).

In his inaugural address Healy was humbled by the history of the Queer Theatre Company. This past, according to Healy, will not inspire him but also guide him in his leadership:

“I not only see a story of a group of artistic pioneers and mavericks, who fought to create a space for the avante-guarde in the city. I also see a community who fought and who is fighting for equality. I see a story where a theatre company and community came to together and stood in the face of intolerance and fought for the freedom of expression. And together to took leaps that were never dreamt possible.

Me as a 34-year old gay man standing here tonight my life is in part because of that thirty-year story. So, tonight as I stand here before you as the new Artistic Director of Buddies, I say that I’m about to take a step backwards into the future. And I keep my eyes on the past. And that past nourishes me, inspires me, emboldens me and empowers me. And I know that the past will shed just enough light to let me know that my feet will hit firm ground.


Thank you for thirty years, it’s a gift.”

Click here for the full video.

EVENT: Neon Nightz Opening

photo of Kitty Neptune by David Hawe

NEON NIGHTZ OPENS TONIGHT!
Join us tonight after the show for the SEASON KICK-OFF BASH hosted by Nina Arsenault with DJ Triple-X and performances by Miss Conception and Fluffy Souffle feat JAT. Meet Buddies' new AD Brendan Healy and toast the 2009/10 Season.
SEASON KICK-OFF BASH
TONIGHT
AFTER 10PM
FREE

Check out the Neon Nightz coverage in XTRA! by the fabulous (and pretty) Gord Bowness.

BEHIND THE SCENES: Neon Nightz Set

The Neon Nightz set design by Andy Moro is based on Filippo Bruneleschi's actual floor plan for the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence and was transposed at scale to the Buddies' stage with the addition of a mirrored "gyno row" and two 16 foot brass stripper poles. In short - it's friggin spectacular! Watching Kitty Neptune scale a pole to the top give Cirque du Soleil a run for their money.

EVENT: Season Kick-Off Bash

Buddies pops the cork on its 2009/10 season following the opening night performance of The Scandelles' Neon Nightz. Nina Arsenault hosts an evening of queer revelry featuring DJs, dancing and surprise performances. Meet the artists of Buddies 2009/10 Season and Brendan Healy the new Artistic Director.

Admission Free!
Everyone welcome
Thursday, Sept 24, 10pm
@ Buddies

Coverage: Xtra! Talks To Healy

Xtra! posted a conversation between Rob Salerno and Brendan Healy. Healy, articulate and optimistic and savvy, gives an overview of Buddies now and the direction he will take it in.

"At the heart of my pitch to Buddies was a dedication to the notion that Buddies is the centre for the creation and dissemination of queer performance culture. I want to make sure that Buddies has a really healthy infrastructure to have queer work made and disseminated outside Toronto, and build an archive of queer performance work."

Healy drops an exclusive on his upcoming collaboration with Nina Arsenault:

"Working with Nina Arsenault, at the heart of that exploration is what is an authentic gender, what is authenticity? Inside Nina is a really fascinating paradox: Someone who’s worked hard to transform herself into someone who she thinks she is authentically, but who she thinks she is is very much a media creation. If gender is a construct then what is authentic?"

Click here for the full article.

Exclusive: TICKET GIVEAWAY!

YYZ Buddies is offering 5 pairs of tickets to see Neon Nightz, Friday September 25 @ 8:30pm! Click HERE to enter!

The Love Keeps Coming In...

Jacob Zimmer posted this note via Small Wooden Shoe Blog about his friend and our new Artistic Director, Brendan Healy.

"A huge congratulations to both Brendan Healy and Buddies in Bad Times.

The announcement of Brendans' appointment as Artistic Director of Buddies is, I think, a very important thing. It marks a generational shift while maintaining the commitment to rigorous contemporary queer (both definitions) leadership from Buddies.

Of course, I'm horribly biased - I think Brendan is terrific - thoughtful, engaged and curious. He's a friend. I've worked with him before and I hope to work with him again. I've also worked at Buddies before and hope to work there again. So I can't remove any of that from my excitement, nor should I. Buddies and Brendan are two of things that I love about theatre in Toronto, and to have them together is great.

Part of change though, is the ongoing need for support from the community and the public. This, I imagine, can take many forms - buying a pass, volunteering, donating and advocating for the importance of a strong queer voice in theatre and performance in Toronto and Canada are all important. Beginnings can be hard, and as excited as I am for Brendan and Buddies, I'm sure there is a daunting learning curve and amount of work to get done.

Let's take our excitement of today and make sure we remember and contribute to the work tomorrow."

Live: Sasha Van Bon Bon On Proud FM

Our favourite sex columnist, Sasha Van Bon Bon, is live on the radio Tuesday morning. Van bon bon is having Breakfast In Bed with Patrick and Deb. Listen Live: 103.9FM or here.

Preview: Eye Magazine

Sasha Van Bon Bon sits down with Chandler Levack, Eye Magazine, and discusses her former career as a stripper. The interview is sizzling and very personal. Van Bon Bon talks about the line between love and sex and self-exploitation:

“In the same way that people go to a church and expect that the church is going to save them, men expect that we can save them from a life of loneliness,” explains Van Bon Bon. “I never fell in love with anybody at work, but I did sleep with people that I danced for. I just loved being looked at. When it’s that powerful an exchange, it can be more intimate and beautiful and life-altering than any [sex you’re having].”

Check out the full interview here. YZZ Buddies is so excited for opening night!

Buzz: Toronto Theatre Community Applaudes Decision

The Toronto theatre community exploded in texts, pokes, wall posts, blogs, and articles on Wednesday with the announcement of Buddies new Artistic Director, Brendan Healy. YYZBuddies leaked the exclusive and had over five-hundred hits within the hour! Accolades from all forums are pouring in.

Here's the word on the street:

Jon Kaplan, Now Magazine writes:

"A genial man [Healy] who tackles challenging projects that have a strong emotional resonance for audiences, Healy’s directed some fine productions in the indie community."

Evalyn Parry via her blog:

"This is the beginning of a new chapter in the history of a pretty extraordinary theatre. It feels like a significant moment. An exciting and bold decision, which i believe is going to have important and exciting implications not only for Buddies, but for theatre in Toronto and across the country. Brendan is very articulate, passionate man with a big vision."

Praxis Theatre writes:

"It’s not everyday that a genuine local indie director takes over a major theatre. It’s also not everyday that an important new theatre-related blog is launched. And well the two together."

Michael Rubenfeld writes:

"The SummerWorks Theatre Festival would like to congratulate
SummerWorks veteran, Brendan Healy, on being chosen as the new Artistic Director
of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. We are all thrilled by the decision."

Healy will be present at the 2009/10 Kick-off bash. Sept 24, 10pm. Free! Hosted by Nina Arsenault.

Drumroll please...

AWARD-WINNING THEATRE INDIE DIRECTOR TO LEAD BUDDIES IN BAD TIMES THEATRE

Brendan Healy, an acclaimed and award-winning theatre director and actor, has been named Artistic Director of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, the Board of Directors announced today.

Healy, age 34, is originally from Montreal where he began his career as an actor, appearing most-notably in Peter Hinton’s production of Girls!Girls!Girls! presented at the 2000 TransAmériques Festival. Since relocating to Toronto, Brendan has established himself as a central figure in the city’s independent theatre scene and his work has been presented across the country. Recent productions include Doug Wright’s I Am My Own Wife, Martin Crimp’s Fewer Emergencies, the multiple Dora-nominated Breakfast, Moliere’s Dying to be Sick and Wallace Shawn’s A Thought in Three Parts.

He has worked as an instructor and a director at Concordia University and the National Theatre School of Canada. Brendan is a graduate of the National Theatre School’s directing program, and has also trained with one of the pioneers of the American avant-garde, Anne Bogart and the SITI Company. He is a recipient of the Ken McDougall Award for emerging director and was recently awarded the 2009 Pauline McGibbon Award. Currently, Brendan is the associate artist at Crow’s Theatre. This season at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, he will be directing two shows: Nina Arsenault’s The Silicone Diaries and the Independent Aunties’ Breakfast.

“It will be a great honor to lead this organization into the next chapter of its development,” said Healy. “Looking back over the company’s incredible thirty-year history, I find not only an extraordinary group of artistic pioneers and mavericks fighting to create a place for the avant-garde in this city; I also encounter the story of an entire community struggling to find equality. It is an honour to take on this new role and ensure that Buddies maintains a powerful and resonant queer voice in our city and beyond. I am grateful to the Buddies’ board for giving me this opportunity to play a dynamic role in the company’s unfolding story.”

Healy will begin his full time tenure at the company this fall; former Artistic Director David Oiye programmed the 09/10 season and is currently directing Neon Nightz, opening September 24.

“On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Buddies staff and the overwhelming number of company supporters who demonstrated their tremendous commitment to the theatre this past season. This is a very exciting time for the company. Buddies is moving forward under strong artistic leadership, in a solid financial position,” said Board Chair Halferty.

Established in 1979, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is a Canadian, not-for-profit professional theatre company dedicated to the promotion of gay, lesbian and queer theatrical expression. During the past 30 years, it has evolved from a small, roaming troupe into the largest queer theatre company in the world. Buddies has made an unparalleled contribution to the acceptance and celebration of queer lives while supporting some of Canada’s most innovative and important cultural artists.

TIFF Exclusive: Inside Out Gay Flambe

YYZ Buddies crashed Inside Out's Gay Flambe last night in full style. The Inside Out Festival hosted its annual TIFF bash at the beautiful National Ballet School. We caught some familiar gay faces at the VIP pre-party and tried to get the scoop on who was expected to make an appearance. An little bird told us that Drew Barrymore and Ellen Page were on the guest list so our eyes were glued to the red carpet all night. We didn't make it past midnight (too many complimentary gin and tonics!) so we still don't know if they showed or not. Past celeb Flambe crashers have included Michael Stipe, Sir Ian McKellen and Tilda Swinton (hot!).
Erika Hennebury and Mark Peacock. Upcoming queer theatre director Jordan Tannahill (right) with his very handsome friend, Adrien.

Interview: Sasha Van Bon Bon

Become a YYZ Buddy

Welcome to the new online forum for Buddies In Bad Times Theatre. YYZ Buddies promises to keep you up-to-date on shows, festivals, events, parties and more. This blog is your personal backstage pass to Buddies 2009/10 Season. We’ll give you access to exclusive ticket giveaways, special promotions and insider info on Canada’s premiere queer theatre. YYZ Buddies will host podcasts, videos, articles and conversations about Canada’s hottest independent performers, award-winning artists and groundbreaking queer creators.

Become a YYZ Buddy and follow us backstage.