Shakespeare in the Port Auditions!!!!

Most of you are hooked into my other blog and social media channels but just in case you aren't here's a reminder that Shakespeare in the Port auditions are tonight and next Sunday!!!!

YEA!

Anybody can audition. No matter how tall, what age or what language you speak. We need tons of actors to be involved with the festival and BONUS you all get paid a stipend for your time.

Reservations for auditions are preferred. (That way we know you're coming...) But if not walk-ins are totes welcome. We also will have monologues on hand in case you don't have anything in your rep to pull out.  If you're out of town but still want to be involved with the festival we can arrange private auditions or you can submit your monologue via youtube!

And the Nominees Are...

The public has voted and chosen the best of the best for the 2012-2013 season! Don't shoot the messenger. Each category has 5 nominees based on the highest number of votes.The nominees appear on the ballot in random order.

We had a tie in the Directing category, so we have 6 nominees in this category.

For acting awards where nominees were nominated for multiple shows, they were nominated for the show with the most votes.

Show names have been removed from the Stage Management category as many of the nominees have worked and been nominated for 3 or more productions they have worked on in the past year and we thought it easier to simply list their names.

To get access to the ballot to vote you need to enter your email into the box on the original post about the awards. It will sent to your email address to assure that the vote is fair.

Heckler Awards

If you liked my awards on my blog last year then you'll be happy to know that my new online zine will be hosting them and making them bigger and better!

These awards are to celebrate local artists in Hong Kong that create theatre and dance. No tours allowed! Nominations begin June 15th and the ceremony will be on September 3rd at Bisous!

Here's the link to the open nomination ballot:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9J56KFX

You can nominate up to 5 persons/shows in each category.

To find out more about the awards and the categories, I recommend you go to my new blog and check out the post that has all the details and has the sign up for where you can get your final ballot.

You can also sign up for the newsletter there. We'll be sending out the invites for the awards party through our mailing list, so make sure you sign up!

http://www.hkeld.com/articles/view/the-20122013-hecklers

Exciting things are afoot in Honkers!

My new job as an editor is barrelling along fine to any of you that are wondering. Right now we're working on the final ten days before we launch the website. (www.hkeld.com) Shameless plug, la!

A lot of great things have come from this opportunity so far! I was given the honor of a press pass to Detention by the Tang Shui Wing company which I'll be seeing on Sept. 6th! Very excited about this as the show looks amazing from the promo pictures and I am a big fan of Mr. Wing's work. The show is playing at the Shouson Theatre in Wanchai Sept. 6th- 9th. I think the show looks super fun, what do you think?

You can get more info on the production at the Studio's website.


Also, I'm working on a very exciting secret project for the launch. Want to know what it is?
Come to the TST Cultural Center, outside between the center and the art museum on SUNDAY, Sept 2nd at 5pm! I promise you'll have fun! If you're an artist and want to get involved with me on this super fun "secret mission" send me a message! All mediums and nationalities welcome as long as you LOVE art and LOVE Hong Kong!

Taboo- Review- City of Dreams

Every year I have an amazing time with my girlfriends and have a ladies weekend in Macau. This years' ladies weekend revolved around seeing Taboo, the new Dragone show produced at The City of Dreams. As a member of Hong Kong's Vixens and a big fan of burlesque as an art form I was really excited to see what this amazing production team could do with such a sexy theme. I really believe there is a huge market for adult entertainment in Macau that is being largely ignored. There are fifty showgirl shows in Las Vegas- some great and some tacky. I like that the team from Dragone decided to do something sexy. I think that it was a well conceived idea and was indeed a beautifully designed show. It is very sexy, the dancers cast are beautiful and extremely talented at what they do.

The Ruthless Machine

I am a ruthless promotional machine. I will go to all ends of the earth to make sure you come see my next show! I don't care if you are completely sick of hearing me talk about my work. I want you to be so annoyed by my talking that you give in and finally buy a ticket. WHY? Because I live and breathe for my work... I care so passionately for my work that I believe that I can enrich your lives by having you see my next production.

Yes, it's silly and a little sad, I'll completely admit it. My mother was an excellent nag. She would nag me to clean my room, to do my homework, to not fight with my sisters, to turn the tv off etc. etc. etc. If there is anything she taught me well by example: it is "to nag". You can thank her for that because I'm now able to nag people via the internet, facebook, twitter, pinterest, linkedon, etc: about how fabulous my next production is and why they should go see it!

My next show! GO SEE IT!

Review- Turandot- Hong Kong Ballet

I had the pleasure of going to see Turandot tonight with my pals thanks to the discount tickets I aquired by attending the preview! I was really excited to see this production as the photos of the designs looked amazing and I'm a big opera person. All and all, the show was amazing although I can't say the same for the venue, the Cultural Center in TST. We will get to that later but first onto the production.

Review- Hip Hop and Beyond

Of course, I am 100% biased on this review. I do not deny this because I am incredibly proud of watching this show. I am the drama director at LKK in Sai Ying Pun and my students invited me to their hip hop dance display at the Soho Escalator to support them. But I thought this exhibition/workshop was really awesome particularly when you considered the student's age. Most of the performers were between the ages of 14-16, all are local students at a school I work with and they can "FUCKING DANCE!" (There is no other way to state this fact...)

The Vixens Present: Snow and the Deadly Seven

The Vixens Burlesque Troupe proudly present their first full length cabaret!

Summary
Everyone knows the story of Snow White but this is a tale with a bit
of a difference! Join Snow as she escapes the beautiful but jealous
... Evil Queen, seduces a hunter and meets the 7…. Deadly Sins! These
dazzling ladies take her on a journey through Greed, Gluttony, Pride,
Lust, Envy, Sloth and Wrath, teaching our naïve heroine that sometimes being bad can be damn GOOD!

When and Where: The Backstage Live in LKF, May 17th-18th, 8pm.
250HKD including a free drink!
Limited Seating, please reserve.

For reservations please email: vixensburlesque@gmail.com

WARNING: ADULT CONTENT, NO ONE UNDER 18 PERMITTED!

Many thanks to our sponsors: The Sampson Store, Showtime Lingerie,

Preview- Turandot- Hong Kong Ballet

"I really want to see this one!"- Matthew, ageless

I was a very lucky blogger to receive an invite to the preview of HK Ballet's next project, Turandot. I wish more companies had the resources to perform previews as they are a great opportunity to learn about the process behind the piece. Turandot is a restaging of the award winning ballet that was commissioned by the HK Ballet back in 2003. Choreographed and conceived by Natalie Weir, she strived to bring Puccini's last masterpiece to life in a modern way!

All photos in this article are thanks to HK Ballet!

Turandot will perform March 16-18th at 7:30pm and the 17th-18th at 2:30pm at the TST Cultural Center. Tickets range anywhere from 580-100HKD for adults but there are also special ticket prices for seniors and students. A "starving artist" discount has yet to be seen by any of the major companies in Hong Kong. I hope it will come soon! I'm having trouble explaining to my mother the necessity to spent so much on theatre tickets each month!

UPDATED Complete Listing of Hong Kong Shows June 2011- May 2012

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. 

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.

Review- Luxuria

I stopped by Drop on Friday night to see a cabaret show presented by friends called Luxuria. I love European style cabaret. I spent some time in Paris in the cabarets (avoiding the expensive ones in Mont marte) and I love some Liza so I knew this was a show built for someone like me.

La Chiquitta returns!

Review- The House of Dancing Water

I was very happy to see The House of Dancing Water on my last trip to Macau. It is infamous for being the most expensive show in Asian History with a budget of over 2 BILLION HK dollars to produce. Created by Franco Dragone; one of the founders of Cirque du Soleil; it is a true spectacle to see. If you want to see a show with a lot of sparkles, shebang and wow factor this is definitely a show for you! Kids seem truly captivated by it when the watch it and it has no foul language so I think it's appropriate for children as young as 5. (They won't understand the sex slave, S&M feel to one of the aerial ballets. They'll just think the girls are really mean and those poor boys are being beaten around!)

We paid to have the expensive seats in the house, one because the cheap seats were sold out and two because we didn't want to get wet. If you sit in the front 2 rows of the stage it is a splash zone much like seeing Shamoo at Seaworld. Bring an umbrella or a plastic sheet to wrap around you and your little ones, or just dress in clothes that dry easy.

The PROS

There is a lot of artistry in this production. I really like the east meets west feel of the design. It kind of flips between a traditional Chinese architecture and clothing and the Baroque Architecture from the 16th century. The overall feel of the piece is opposites: Ying/Yang, Love/Hate, East/West. It is very simple to understand and there is no talking in the piece. (There are sound effects made by clowns.) Anyone no matter the age or the language barrier can understand the story (what little there is).

The pool with the cover over it

SPOILERS BELOW DON'T READ AHEAD IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW

Review- Momix Dance Theatre

The last show of my Hong Kong Arts Festival adventure was a night with the Momix Dance Theatre: Momix reMix. The Momix show was a collection of their greatest hits arranged into a two hour piece. Momix was founded by Moses Pendleton who was one of the founding members of Pilobolus Dance Theatre in the seventies. Momix was founded by him in 1980. Momix has been featured on PBS several times on various dance presents specials.

Review- Carnations- Pina Bausch

"I am not interested in how people move, but what moves them."- Pina Bausch

The men jumped and lept like bunnies within the field, until they were told to stop by a societal figure.