This is a working, complete listing of EVERY local theatre/dance/musical/cabaret production in Hong Kong from June 2011- May 2012. Tours are not listed here because our awards are for local artists and companies.
I KNOW I have missed some shows! Please help me make this list complete! I'm doing this all by my lonesome by searching old issues of Timeout and online listings. I know I have missed a lot of Cantonese Productions in particular. List all missed productions in the comments and I will add them to the list or email them to me at meaghan.mcgurgan@gmail.com
ALL LOCAL PRODUCTIONS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THE LISTINGS.
A color coding system has been added.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
HK Arts Award Nomination Form
HK_Arts Nomination Form
You may nominate 5 shows or persons in each category. Do not put your name on the form. Email the form back to meaghan.mcgurgan@gmail.com for privacy. Or PM to the Hk_Arts Facebook account.
Nomination Period: June 2011- May 2012
Nomination Form Due back: May 20th.
Nominations announced END OF MAY!
(Professional Local Companies may be included; tours with international actors are not permitted. This is an award show to promote local artists!)
Nominations to be announced at the end of May. (You can nominate a show that performs in May as nomination sheets are due by May 20th.)
Award show in late June, Venue and date TBA.
1. Best Show (Non Musical)
2. Best Show (Musical)
3. Best Actor (please include show name)
4. Best Actress (please include show name)
5. Best Director (please include show name)
6. Best Designer (please include show name and type of design)
7. Best New Comer (MUST BE NEW TO THE SCENE! June 2011-May 2012)
8. Best Producer/Best Company
9. Best Stage Manager (please include show name)
10. Best Supporting Actor (please include show name)
11. Best Supporting Actress (please include show name)
12. Best Bit Role (Must be 10 minutes or less of stage time)
13. Best Charity Production (Where 50% or more of proceeds was given to charity. Please include Show name and charity.)
14. Best Cantonese Production
15. Best Theatre for Youth Production
16. Best Original Work (Must be newly produced, can be musical or non.)
17. Best Dance Show
18. Best re-occurring audience member
19. Best Local Band
20. Best Local Visual Artist
*Cantonese Performers may be included in the Actor category
You may nominate 5 shows or persons in each category. Do not put your name on the form. Email the form back to meaghan.mcgurgan@gmail.com for privacy. Or PM to the Hk_Arts Facebook account.
Nomination Period: June 2011- May 2012
Nomination Form Due back: May 20th.
Nominations announced END OF MAY!
(Professional Local Companies may be included; tours with international actors are not permitted. This is an award show to promote local artists!)
Nominations to be announced at the end of May. (You can nominate a show that performs in May as nomination sheets are due by May 20th.)
Award show in late June, Venue and date TBA.
1. Best Show (Non Musical)
2. Best Show (Musical)
3. Best Actor (please include show name)
4. Best Actress (please include show name)
5. Best Director (please include show name)
6. Best Designer (please include show name and type of design)
7. Best New Comer (MUST BE NEW TO THE SCENE! June 2011-May 2012)
8. Best Producer/Best Company
9. Best Stage Manager (please include show name)
10. Best Supporting Actor (please include show name)
11. Best Supporting Actress (please include show name)
12. Best Bit Role (Must be 10 minutes or less of stage time)
13. Best Charity Production (Where 50% or more of proceeds was given to charity. Please include Show name and charity.)
14. Best Cantonese Production
15. Best Theatre for Youth Production
16. Best Original Work (Must be newly produced, can be musical or non.)
17. Best Dance Show
18. Best re-occurring audience member
19. Best Local Band
20. Best Local Visual Artist
*Cantonese Performers may be included in the Actor category
Saturday, February 25, 2012
80 Days Around the World- Week One
Dear Fellow Challengers,
Week one has come and gone as of tomorrow and I have eaten only 6 kinds of food. I think I need to either increase my paycheck or spend less on theatre tickets to afford this challenge. Over all the week was good. We started off the challenge with Ivan the Kozak because we got a GROUPON for it! The food is always yummy but they shrunk the portions recently and we all left still a little hungry. The chairs are also the WORST at this place. My butt hurt after sitting there for about twenty minutes.
Diner was handled by the Hong Kong classic, The Flying Pan. We went to the Wanchai one after a show and the food was good. The staff was ok, but it was late and they were probably tired. Their grits are not grits. By using yellow corn, it's technically polenta. I tried to explain this to someone once and failed to get them to understand.
Cupcakes were handled by Sweet Secrets and their amazing ability to make me nut free cupcakes! I never can eat carrot cake (despite loving it) because people love to put walnuts in it. But at Sweet Secrets I can eat them and I don't have to have fear about dropping dead!
Sushi was Genki Sushi, a large chain in HK that makes good sushi at a good price. Sushi is so cheap in HK compared to America. You can eat Sashimi for 40HK which is about a 5th of the price of the same thing in the US. I will always have a hard time paying US prices now that I know how cheap it can be.
Frites is a great little Belgian Bar in Central near the Peel St. Market. Great Fries and Kreik Beer. I'm happy. The food smelled really good but I didn't really have time to eat a full dinner. (Although the schnitzel was calling my name!!!) I recommend this place for a dinner date as it is super cozy and reminded me of all the bars in Belgium!
Week one has come and gone as of tomorrow and I have eaten only 6 kinds of food. I think I need to either increase my paycheck or spend less on theatre tickets to afford this challenge. Over all the week was good. We started off the challenge with Ivan the Kozak because we got a GROUPON for it! The food is always yummy but they shrunk the portions recently and we all left still a little hungry. The chairs are also the WORST at this place. My butt hurt after sitting there for about twenty minutes.
Diner was handled by the Hong Kong classic, The Flying Pan. We went to the Wanchai one after a show and the food was good. The staff was ok, but it was late and they were probably tired. Their grits are not grits. By using yellow corn, it's technically polenta. I tried to explain this to someone once and failed to get them to understand.
Cupcakes were handled by Sweet Secrets and their amazing ability to make me nut free cupcakes! I never can eat carrot cake (despite loving it) because people love to put walnuts in it. But at Sweet Secrets I can eat them and I don't have to have fear about dropping dead!
Sushi was Genki Sushi, a large chain in HK that makes good sushi at a good price. Sushi is so cheap in HK compared to America. You can eat Sashimi for 40HK which is about a 5th of the price of the same thing in the US. I will always have a hard time paying US prices now that I know how cheap it can be.
Frites is a great little Belgian Bar in Central near the Peel St. Market. Great Fries and Kreik Beer. I'm happy. The food smelled really good but I didn't really have time to eat a full dinner. (Although the schnitzel was calling my name!!!) I recommend this place for a dinner date as it is super cozy and reminded me of all the bars in Belgium!
Friday, February 24, 2012
Review- Fool la la!- All Theatre Art Association
Presented by All Theatre Art Association, Fool la la! is a an avant guarde, super fun production about a clown going on a journey! Who doesn't love clowns or adventure?!It's dark in the way Cirque is a little dark, fun and beautifully designed. Presented at the Hk Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre in Shek Kip Mei it is TOTALLY worth the journey on the MTR. I had a really good time at this show!
(I know you expats don't like to leave the safety of the island, but do it for this show!)
If you don't know anything about the All Theatre Arts Asssociation here it is
All Theatre Art Association (ATAA) is an international multimedia production company founded in 2004 by Hoi Chiu and Maggie Blue O'Hara.
ATAA creats original shows and tours internationally at Arts Festivals, with appearances in Mainland, Macau, Taiwan, England, Singapore, Thailand, Korea and Canada.
(I know you expats don't like to leave the safety of the island, but do it for this show!)
If you don't know anything about the All Theatre Arts Asssociation here it is
All Theatre Art Association (ATAA) is an international multimedia production company founded in 2004 by Hoi Chiu and Maggie Blue O'Hara.
ATAA creats original shows and tours internationally at Arts Festivals, with appearances in Mainland, Macau, Taiwan, England, Singapore, Thailand, Korea and Canada.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Legalities in Theatre for Dummies
Being a poor artist is a fine art in itself. You need to know your rights and options when it comes to creating new and innovative theatre while protecting the few assets you have. Such as a beaten up macbook or a barely running motor vehicle.
1. Cabaret Law
When producing a cabaret, one adds different songs from different artists into a self created story line and characters. They key here is different. You cannot legally use two songs by the same catalog or it's no longer considered Cabaret. You would then need to the pay the artist for the right to use their songs in the show. The easier thing is to use all different catalogs. The MAJOR label you have to avoid doubling up on is Walt Disney Co. they are infamous for suing little artists because they have enough money to sue everyone and like to make examples out of the people. This includes all music from disney movies, although a song may be written by Randy Newman, it's partially owned by Disney Co. for being put into Toy Story.
You have to also watch RCA records when dealing with vintage records and songs as this company owns a majority of classic music from the 40's and 50's and you run a risk of doubling when you are picking a lot from this genre. In your program you must list the song and the holding artist. The font of the songs and artists must be no smaller than 12, Times New Roman.
If you lip sync you must include the original vocal artist, but if you're singing to a backing track you only need list the composer and the owner of the copyright. (If they differ.)
You may have to consider this when choosing your song choices for a sound design.
Review- Private Lives- Stylus Theatre
"Noel Coward's script is extremely witty. This production doesn't showcase the script to the best of it's abilities."- Anonymous
"Shirley Sheung is the standout actress tonight."- Mary
"Bad Wig." Jake, 21
"The production 5 years ago was better."- Jake, 51
"Did I just pay 200 dollars to watch someone's marital therapy session?"- Anonymous
"Not Funny."- Eric, 34
______________________________________________________________________________When I started this blog I knew it was not going to be all love and roses. I made a vow to myself to be honest but nice when it came to judging my peers work. I felt that the Hong Kong community was lacking a voice that saw everything and gave an opinion on the quality of the work. Ticket sales and Sold out runs do not mean the show is good, it means the advertising is good and that the theatre has an excellent relationship with the community.
Today's review is going to be a difficult one for me, because I have to write and tell artists that I love and respect that I did not enjoy the show tonight. And from the overall opinion of people in lobby, the consensus was that the show was not a positive experience.
A little background on the show, Noel Coward's Private Lives is a British Comedy written in 1930. Coward's style of comedy is known as the Comedy of Manners. The Comedy of Manners is a style which satirizes the manners and habits of the social classes. Particularly the upper crust. Oscar Wilde, Moliere and even the comedy, Modern Family are examples of the style of Comedy of Manners.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Around the World in 80 Days- The Challenge
So, my friend Matty just offhandedly said one day, "The boy and I are thinking of trying to eat all the different kinds of food in HK." I of course, cannot just hear something like this without thinking of how I can turn it into a challenge/game for myself and my friends to compete in.
So, I told Matty "I have an awesome idea. Let's try to eat all the food in HK in 80 days and go around the world cuisine wise in 80 days." We can do it as a team and try to hit as many as possible in twice the amount of time as baby Jesus spent in the desert.
So here are the kinds of cuisine we're going to hit.
The last 10 we had to get really creative on because we ran out of countries! Let us know if we have missed a major one or know of secret spot we should check out!
We are working in a team, we don't have to eat together for every meal. Rules to come later with posting about first meal!
So, I told Matty "I have an awesome idea. Let's try to eat all the food in HK in 80 days and go around the world cuisine wise in 80 days." We can do it as a team and try to hit as many as possible in twice the amount of time as baby Jesus spent in the desert.
So here are the kinds of cuisine we're going to hit.
The last 10 we had to get really creative on because we ran out of countries! Let us know if we have missed a major one or know of secret spot we should check out!
We are working in a team, we don't have to eat together for every meal. Rules to come later with posting about first meal!
Friday, February 17, 2012
Rabbit Hole- HK Rep- Cantonese Version
Emotional tour de force by Louisa So and Poon Chan Leung
in the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Rabbit Hole
HKREP season finale strikes at audience’s heartstrings
[Hong Kong Repertory Theatre] How does one ride through the storm in the face of the loss of a loved one? Who can fill that gaping hole left by bereavement? The Hong Kong Repertory Theatre presents its season finale—Rabbit Hole—the 2007 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by David Lindsay-Abaire subsequently adapted into a film starring Nicole Kidman. This production is helmed by HKREP Resident Director Fung Wai Hang featuring special guest star Louisa So and her distinguished stage partner, Poon Chan Leung. The cast also includes such veteran company members as Lui Si Lan, Wong Wai Chi and Ling Man Lung. Together they project emotional finesse and explosive tension onto the stage. Rabbit Hole will be presented at the Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre, from 17th March to 1st April. Because of overwhelming advance sales, two performances have been added to the original schedule. Tickets are now available from URBTIX outlets.
Friday, February 10, 2012
VDay 2012-HK- Venue Change
Our Venue has changed for HK VDAY 2012.
We are now located at Dramatic English Studio on February 14th, 8pm.
191 Woosung St. 1st floor, Jordan
Many thanks to Dramatic English for sponsoring the venue.
We are now located at Dramatic English Studio on February 14th, 8pm.
191 Woosung St. 1st floor, Jordan
Many thanks to Dramatic English for sponsoring the venue.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
The Inevitable Venue Shuffle
The plight of the theatrical artist in HK always seems to revolve around one thing. VENUE. Where do you perform? What weeks are free at the Fringe club so you don't have to pay out the ass at the Arts Centre? Fighting the 3 month deadline at most government theatres and then getting your paperwork back denied AFTER you've already cast the damn play.
I think the one major problem with HK's art scene is the lack of accessible cheap venues for theatre performers. It makes it nearly impossible for an artist to make a living in this town. My frustration with this problem came to a head recently when I was working on the Vday charity event. COMING SOON! (Where, I can't really tell you...) We are running in conjunction with #SMWHK and Hk_arts to put on this event. So please come out and support us.
I think the one major problem with HK's art scene is the lack of accessible cheap venues for theatre performers. It makes it nearly impossible for an artist to make a living in this town. My frustration with this problem came to a head recently when I was working on the Vday charity event. COMING SOON! (Where, I can't really tell you...) We are running in conjunction with #SMWHK and Hk_arts to put on this event. So please come out and support us.
Monday, February 6, 2012
V Day 2012- HK- Vagina Monologues
In celebration of V Day, women and #SMWHK
HK_arts will be hosting a charity reading of
"The Vagina Monologues"
LKF Sitting out area, 8pm, FEB 14
A staged reading of our favorite monologues about the favorite parts of our body! Come support your fellow theatre actresses who have volunteered their time fo...r a great charity!
Harmony House is a domestic violence shelter in Hong Kong dedicated to helping and supporting battered women and children.
100% of the money raised from the reading will be given to Harmony House.
NO Entry Fee, DONATIONS ONLY!
Just come visit the sitting out area and listen to some girls talk about their vaginas and THEN go out for your valentine's dinner!
BONUS PERFORMANCE BY THE VIXENS!
Thanks for your support in advance,
Meaghan
Even if you cannot attend please pass this invite along on facebook or twat about it on twitter. We really would love to raise a lot of money for Harmony House.
HK_arts will be hosting a charity reading of
"The Vagina Monologues"
LKF Sitting out area, 8pm, FEB 14
Harmony House is a domestic violence shelter in Hong Kong dedicated to helping and supporting battered women and children.
100% of the money raised from the reading will be given to Harmony House.
NO Entry Fee, DONATIONS ONLY!
Just come visit the sitting out area and listen to some girls talk about their vaginas and THEN go out for your valentine's dinner!
BONUS PERFORMANCE BY THE VIXENS!
Thanks for your support in advance,
Meaghan
Even if you cannot attend please pass this invite along on facebook or twat about it on twitter. We really would love to raise a lot of money for Harmony House.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Artist of the Month- February- Leo Lakerson
This months Artist of the Month is Leo Lakerson, the manager of the art gallery, Future Industries in Sheung Wan. I had the pleasure of meeting Leo on a roof top party. We share a love of using social media to spread the love of art. He's a pretty cool guy and is the host of the first ever ZINE event in HK. Don't know what zine is? Then you should come! It's Feb 10th at the Future Industries Gallery in Sheung Wan. There will be artists, zines, live music (which HK is sorely lacking) and general awesomeness. If the event is even half as cool as Leo's music choices at the roof top party then it should be a pretty awesome event! (He picked a lot of Johnny Cash, a way to my heart... *sigh*)
You can attend his event the 10th of February at 7pm! 21 Square St., Sheung Wan! It's right by Man Mo Temple. So get your blessing on, see some cool zines and listen to some great local music!
*I also especially love his answer to number 8, his process is very right to point*
*I also especially love his answer to number 8, his process is very right to point*
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