Kevin Prokosh, from the Winnipeg Free Press, wrote a sweet preview ahead of our opening of Hamlet. You may read it online right here:
"To thing own self, local actor stays true: Hamlet an obsession for actor in self-produced show"
Hamlet begins...
I'm currently in rehearsals for Hamlet, yep, that Hamlet, by Bill.
Aside from playing the Dane, I'm also co-producing the project with Ivan Henwood, of company Snakeskin Jacket.
It's sheer madness, and we're still actively seeking funding and sponsorship deals. I've no idea when I shall learn my lines!
The play is directed by Sarah Constible, which is tremendous, since she has a great mind.
Hamlet will be my new company's inaugural show - Bravura Theatre's first step into the undiscovered country...
And it also marks Snakeskin Jacket's first show in their new home studio!
Cast: Rod Beilfuss, Dora Carroll, Colin Connor, Tristan Carlucci, Andrew Cecon, Michelle Boulet, Emily King, CindyMarie Small, Ian Bastin, Ivan Henwood, James Magnus-Johnston, Murray Farnell, Chris Sabel and Rafael Ferrao. It's HUGE!
See you in Denmark: April 29 - May 3rd, at Studio 315 - 70 Albert Street.
Tickets go on sale April 1st. RIGHT HERE.
RB.
Interview with podcast The Living Scene - February, 2015
I've recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Red River College Cre-Com chap Luke Daniels, who has launched a really neat podcast covering Winnipeg's rich theatrical landscape, The Living Scene.
In my rambles, I cover recent projects, future aspirations and a huge load of Shakespeare...enjoy:
Updates...Fall 2014 - Winter 2015
Hello there, you, lonely reader of this highly unimportant blog.
I've just returned from a trip to the homeland, Brazil - sister was getting married!
But now life in Winnipeg resumes in its cold realities...Winter is coming.
Cock and Bull closed two weeks ago, and boy was it ever a challenging project. Partially glad it's over, partially missing Mike Bartlett's language and my delightful cast so much...
Life.
So this is what's up for the near future:
- I've scored a really swell part-time, flexible gig with ACI MANITOBA (Arts & Cultural Industries Association of Manitoba). You can learn more about them here: creativemanitoba.ca - I'm their Communications-Marketing Coordinator. I've been having great, great fun with these guys. An office with a bunch of artists promoting other artists and their exciting works?! Sign me up.
- Additionally, I've been teaching the Shakespeare Ensemble class at the Manitoba Theatre for Young People, which is a treasure of an institution, every Thursday evening. This is a 22-week course, and it will go all the way till April, 2015. I've been having fun; the kids are great.
- I'm taking part in this lovely celebration of author MICHAEL HEALEY: MONDAY OCTOBER 27TH @ 7PM - click --> Theatre Projects
- Together with voice coach Shannon Vickers and actor Dora Carroll, I've been organizing a series of Shakespearean readings called EXPERIENCING SHAKESPEARE - essentially, we plan to read all of Will's plays...which means it will take us some 37...39 months. First one is on OCT 22 at 6pm at the U of W. More info HERE.
- I'll be doing a reading at this: WINE & WORDS FALL EDITION with Theatre by the River - happening on November 19th at 7pm.
- I'm also currently in pre-production/research phase for PRIVATE LIVES, by Noel Coward, which I will Assistant-Direct. More info on this brilliant production with the Royal MTC (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre) can be found by clicking HERE.
- And further into the future, there is a one-man show in the works, and a great directorial project with Theatre by the River for the Fall of 2015...but I'm sure other things will pop up here and there. So, you, lonely reader of this highly unimportant blog, please stay tuned!
RB.
"Cock" & "Bull", two plays in repertory - Sept 2014
REVIEWS for Bartlett's double-bill COCK and BULL:
"Cock and Bull take audiences for wild ride"
Cock and Bull are presented by Theatre by the River, with the generous support from the Winnipeg Foundation, the Winnipeg Arts Council and the Manitoba Arts Council, and staged at Platform gallery, at Winnipeg's Arts Space Building in the Exchange: Sept 13 - Oct 4.
We also acknowledge the support and partnership of the Winnipeg Pride Festival.
These two unique plays are performed by the same actors, who will take on different roles nightly, as they will be produced in repertory - that is, alternating nightly. We thought that would be a fun challenge!
More information and details can be found here: http://www.theatrebytheriver.com/#!upcoming-events/c1bpm
See you there!
RB.
"La Belle Laide" at the Fringe Festival - July 2014
Nominated for the 2014 Harry S. Rintoul Award for Best New Manitoba Play at the Fringe Festival.
CBC *4 STARS* REVIEW:
"A Victorian Gothic story redolent with romance and the supernatural, La Belle Laide tells the story of a man attracted to two women. He chooses one, they marry, and a life of marital bliss seems assured. But the jilted woman obsesses over her lost love, and hangs herself in despair. She proceeds to haunt her lost love, ultimately destroying his marriage, his sanity, and his life.
The entire story is told solely through movement. The director and creator, Jacqueline Loewen, mixes modern and classical movement to convey the action. Far from jarring, the combination of modern and classical idioms strengthen the storytelling. The classical sections describe their surface Victorian lives, while the more discordant modern work exposes the characters’ inner emotional turmoil. Very clever.
The cast, Rodrigo Beilfuss, Janelle Hacault, and Tanja Woloshen, are wonderfully expressive performers. Beilfuss, in particular, captivates with his heart-wrenching portrayal of a man in torment.
Elegant and haunting, La Belle Laide is a superb example of physical theatre." - Michelle Palansky
****
The FRINGE FESTIVAL: arguably the best two weeks to be alive in Winnipeg - one of those rare occasions when it actually feels like we live in a global city. Kind of.
"La Belle Laide" is the name of the piece I'm working on, and it's a highly original script. There will be NO words, and ALL dance/movement. I'm the only actor in it, and the other two cast members, Tanja and Janelle, are professional contemporary dancers. It's terrifying, and I'm learning a lot.
The plot of the this dark fairly tale was developed by the great Jacqueline Loewen, who's also facilitating and directing the piece. I hate to call it a "devised" piece of theatre (because it sounds pretentious), but that's what this is (devised, not pretentious). It's a highly physical (I'm sporting several colossal bruises on my knees and arms), fun, dark and cheeky play - we've been calling it a "physical musical". So come check it out!
Below you shall find all of the details:
"A young man who must marry is forced to choose between two equal but different women. One is chosen and life shuffles on, but the path not taken becomes more and more scintillating with every step he takes further into the mundanity of wedded "bliss".
Exploring the power of our obsessions with what could have been, La Belle Laide (The Beautiful Ugly) is a Victorian Gothic fairy tale told through theatre, movement and the dusty sounds of an old Victrola."
Cast: Rodrigo Beilfuss, Janelle Hacault, Tanja Woloshen.
Director: Jacqueline Loewen
VENUE 6: MTC Tom Hendry Warehouse
Show dates/times: July = 17 9:30PM, 19 12:00PM, 20 4:45PM, 21 10:30PM, 23 1:00PM, 25 7:15PM, 26 3:45PM
Length: 45 mins.
Tickets: $10
"The Comedy of Errors" - June, 2014
I'll be tackling this wonderful little farce by Shakespeare for the second time, having performed in it with Theatre by the River in their inaugural show, back in 2006...we were young, we were winning...
The Comedy of Errors is presented by Shakespeare in the Ruins (SIR). I'll be playing Angelo, the persistent jeweller, and the show is directed by Canadian treasure Ron Jenkins.
Rehearsals begin May 5th, and the show opens on June 5th. Hope to see you there!
"Shakespeare & Me: Beilfuss Bard Bash" - April, 2014
Had he been an immortal Jedi, William Shakespeare would be turning 450 on April 23, 2014...
Curiously enough, that's also my birthday month!
"Shakespeare & Me" is a workshop/reading of a one-man show I have been working on, which covers a bit of biographical history and fun Shakespearean anecdotes, as well as performances of key monologues and scenes from the plays. The goal is to educate, celebrate, and perhaps to shed light on the mysterious man behind the words.
As the show is as much about Shakespeare as it is about my personal relationship with his works, some of the speeches will be performed in English AND Portuguese - my native language.
Presented on Wednesday, April 30th at 8pm, at Ace Art inc: 2nd floor 290 McDermot Avenue. PAY WHAT YOU CAN AT THE DOOR!
"About Love & Champagne" - Jan/Feb 2014
REVIEWS for "About Love & Champagne"
"...Beilfuss lays out his insecurity with his home, his career, his cultural appropriations and his identity. That all seems very intellectual and removed, but there’s a clawing away at both the guts of being a man and the idea of being a Winnipegger that’s very visceral in this one-man show...Romantic without being emotionally self-indulgent, witty, About Love & Champagne is a gutsy, vulnerable response to Chekhov from one of our own..." - The Spectator Tribune
"...Beilfuss taps into [Chekhov's universality] by mixing it in his own story of emigrating here and blending that with Chekhov’s writing in a very clever way. It’s another one that is also very funny at points, especially in the opening, with a great personal monologue..." - CBC Radio
"...[Beilfuss] begins his monologue with a Russian toast and then says, "It's been a long time since I drank champagne," which just happens to be the last words of Anton Chekhov. Soon Beilfuss brings the subject of his chat around to himself, which might be dismissed as self-indulgent, but his story, and the ease with which it is told, earns audience attention....The engaging actor/playwright presents himself as a tortured romantic figure who has an overheated farewell scene with his forbidden love." - The Winnipeg Free Press
"...Beilfuss’s thesis is that Chekhov is a universal writer, but also one who speaks profoundly to an audience in our particular time and place. His performance is natural and compelling throughout." - CBC Scene
=> A heart-to-heart. A few drinks. An original monologue from a desperate man, based on Chekhov's short stories. The themes are classic: love, loss, and longing - with a touch of the darkly funny.
Devised and performed by Rodrigo Beilfuss. Produced by Stephanie Plaitin.
PART OF "CHEKHOVFEST 2014" - http://www.masterplaywrightfest.com/
ALL PERFORMANCES at:
aceartinc. 2nd floor, 290 McDermot: http://www.aceart.org/contact/
Call 204-894-2111 / email fancybredtheatre@gmail.com