Tuesday
Jan262010
The Auburn has a new convert
Tuesday, January 26, 2010 at 9:28PM
Here's a post from a great new blog, The Most Exquisite Moments, out of Ottawa. It's a great account of a non-Calgarian's first weekend ever at The Auburn. And really, of the many "first time at The Auburn" stories I've heard, this one's hard to beat.
January 26, 2010 by jessicaruano
The Auburn Saloon is situated right between Vertigo Theatre and Lunchbox Theatre, right below the Calgary Tower, and across the street from the Epcor Centre that contains six theatre spaces, including the One Yellow Rabbit’s Big Secret Theatre. The food is decent, the drinks are plentiful, and there’s just enough space for a monthly poetry slam. Theatre folks usually hang out here on Sunday evenings, but it is likely you’ll catch a handful of them any night of the week.
I first became acquainted with the venue shortly before seeing Blind Date: the audience was asked to spend time at The Auburn before the performance officially started, so that the Parisian clown could find herself a date for the show. For support such as this, The Auburn, I was informed, has received awards for its contribution to the theatre community. I kept returning to the venue because it was a convenient meeting place, and I didn’t mind waiting around in the comfy chairs near the front entrance.
This past weekend I realized that the Auburn was also a great place for random encounters. After seeing Blind Date for a second time, I went to the bar to order a drink, and this guy started chatting with me… and no, this story is not going where you think it’s going. Turns out that he and his friend (essentially, the Calgary equivalents of Wayne and Sterling) were regulars at the bar, and they were quite willing to chat with me about the local theatre scene and make pizza with me at 3am. Total score.
We met up again yesterday evening: there I was delighted to see Ken Cameron, Artistic Director of the Magnetic North Theatre Festival. I politely barged in on his conversation, and he introduced me to his companion, Johanne Deleeuw, from Alberta Playwrights’ Network, and… to Sharon Pollock.
As it happens, Sharon was hosting an informal discussion entitled “Theatre in Kosovo: Before and After the War” with playwright Jeton Neziraj, the Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Kosovo. I had the chance to chat with Jeton about his work, and he gave me a package of his scripts that he had stashed in his backpack. He would very much like his work to be produced in Canada — any takers? let me know, and I’ll get you in touch.
I also had the chance to chat with Sharon, the Governor General Award winning Calgary playwright. I had seen her play Blood Relations at the Shaw Festival when I was in high school, and my friend Bronwyn Steinberg will be directing that same play at the University of Ottawa this April. So, for me, this was a major Canadian celebrity encounter; and yet entirely convivial. Sharon is brazen, articulate, outspoken, and a great listener: she let me ramble about my thesis for awhile, and we discussed the legitimization of performance in Canada, with a focus on that which is not text-based. It was glorious.
—
And that is why Ottawa needs its own theatre bar: so that I can have more random encounters with celebrities that I admire. How about it, Ottawa?
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No doubt The Auburn can be a bit contentious, it definitely has it's detractors, and we've all been in the position where we're just not in the mood to hit it up some nights, but this is a hell of an example as to the role that place does have in our community. Encounters like these don't happen every where, and places like The Auburn don't exist in every city. Here's hoping Ottawa finds theirs.
Meeting Sharon Pollock (or, why Ottawa needs its own theatre bar)
January 26, 2010 by jessicaruano
The Auburn Saloon is situated right between Vertigo Theatre and Lunchbox Theatre, right below the Calgary Tower, and across the street from the Epcor Centre that contains six theatre spaces, including the One Yellow Rabbit’s Big Secret Theatre. The food is decent, the drinks are plentiful, and there’s just enough space for a monthly poetry slam. Theatre folks usually hang out here on Sunday evenings, but it is likely you’ll catch a handful of them any night of the week.
I first became acquainted with the venue shortly before seeing Blind Date: the audience was asked to spend time at The Auburn before the performance officially started, so that the Parisian clown could find herself a date for the show. For support such as this, The Auburn, I was informed, has received awards for its contribution to the theatre community. I kept returning to the venue because it was a convenient meeting place, and I didn’t mind waiting around in the comfy chairs near the front entrance.
This past weekend I realized that the Auburn was also a great place for random encounters. After seeing Blind Date for a second time, I went to the bar to order a drink, and this guy started chatting with me… and no, this story is not going where you think it’s going. Turns out that he and his friend (essentially, the Calgary equivalents of Wayne and Sterling) were regulars at the bar, and they were quite willing to chat with me about the local theatre scene and make pizza with me at 3am. Total score.
We met up again yesterday evening: there I was delighted to see Ken Cameron, Artistic Director of the Magnetic North Theatre Festival. I politely barged in on his conversation, and he introduced me to his companion, Johanne Deleeuw, from Alberta Playwrights’ Network, and… to Sharon Pollock.
As it happens, Sharon was hosting an informal discussion entitled “Theatre in Kosovo: Before and After the War” with playwright Jeton Neziraj, the Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Kosovo. I had the chance to chat with Jeton about his work, and he gave me a package of his scripts that he had stashed in his backpack. He would very much like his work to be produced in Canada — any takers? let me know, and I’ll get you in touch.
I also had the chance to chat with Sharon, the Governor General Award winning Calgary playwright. I had seen her play Blood Relations at the Shaw Festival when I was in high school, and my friend Bronwyn Steinberg will be directing that same play at the University of Ottawa this April. So, for me, this was a major Canadian celebrity encounter; and yet entirely convivial. Sharon is brazen, articulate, outspoken, and a great listener: she let me ramble about my thesis for awhile, and we discussed the legitimization of performance in Canada, with a focus on that which is not text-based. It was glorious.
—
And that is why Ottawa needs its own theatre bar: so that I can have more random encounters with celebrities that I admire. How about it, Ottawa?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No doubt The Auburn can be a bit contentious, it definitely has it's detractors, and we've all been in the position where we're just not in the mood to hit it up some nights, but this is a hell of an example as to the role that place does have in our community. Encounters like these don't happen every where, and places like The Auburn don't exist in every city. Here's hoping Ottawa finds theirs.
Reader Comments (5)
Damn. I was totally going to post this!
I love this blog, especially lately since she's been in Alberta. It's fun to see how an outsider sees our scene. Cool lady.
Wow, you guys are super sweet. Thanks for re-posting!
The discussion is getting started up for a theatre bar in Ottawa; but it's tricky because while we have a bunch of theatre spaces in the downtown core, the West-end (Hintonburg) scene is quickly becoming our new cultural haven. Hopefully we can decide on something because I LOVE The Auburn vibe, and I would love a spot that could emulate that in Ottawa.
I think it really has to start with an owner who is incredibly supportive of local theatre and build from there. And of course location, location, location, which can be tricky
Either that, or bully an owner into making his bar a theatre bar. Just get all the actors to start hanging out there and buying lots of drinks...then threaten to leave! Before long, you'll be able to convince them to take down the flat screen TV and put up some stage lights!
And what makes The Auburn a theatre bar isn't just that theatre people hang out there, but theatre happens there. In the last few days Blind Date had it's crucial pre-show there, we had our reading event for the fall playwrights circle with APN, Sharon Pollockand Jeton Neziraj had their public discussion. the idea that you can attend these theatre events and get served a glass of wine or a beer at the same time is awesome