Second Shepherds’ Play opens tonight! Here is a slide show of photos from the dress rehearsal. Hover the mouse over the picture and click on the arrows for the next or previous photo, and click on the photo to view it in a larger size.
Tag Archives: Christmas
Audition Call:
The Second Shepherds’ Play
AUDITION CALL
NON-UNION NON-PAYING
Poculi Ludique Societas (PLS) presents
A Medieval Comedy for Christmas
The Second Shepherds’ Play
Performance dates: December 14 to 17, 2017
The Project:
Toronto’s renowned medieval and renaissance players, PLS is a non-profit, non-Equity theatre company affiliated with the University of Toronto, dedicated to the production of early plays for research and entertainment. See more at www.plspls.ca
The Second Shepherds’ Playis one of the most popular medieval Biblical comedies, written by the anonymous author called the Wakefield Master. Part of the collection of plays in the Towneley manuscript, it tells the story of the three shepherds who are the first to bring gifts to the Christ child, but only after a hilarious slapstick comedic romp involving the sheep-thief Mak and his wife Jill. This production will be based on the modernized script by David Parry and directed by PLS Artistic Director Linda Phillips.
Clown/physical comedy or stage combat training an asset but not required. Students are encouraged to audition.
What we’re looking for:
- Shepherds: male or cross-cast. They sing (badly).
- Coll – self-appointed leader
- Gyb – companion and second
- Daw – younger apprentice
- Mak: male, sneaky thief
- Jill: female, wife and accomplice
- Angel: any gender, short part – sings ‘Gloria’ to shepherds
- Mary: female, very short part – may double with Jill
Rehearsals:
Will take place during evenings and weekends beginning November 11, 2017
Audition Dates:
Friday October 27 4 – 6 pm; Saturday October 28 11 am – 3 pm; Sun Oct 29 TBD (if needed or for callbacks)
To Apply:
Please email your resume and photo as soon as possible to director@plspls.ca (with subject line: Auditions) to book your audition time and location. Come prepared with a short monologue. If you can’t make the set times, submit and we will try to accommodate you.
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The Second Shepherds’ Play
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A Medieval Christmas 2014
An annual holiday tradition returns with
A Medieval Christmas: With Song We Seek Our Saviour
A Celebration of the Nativity with Pageants and Song
Once again the University of Toronto’s renowned early drama players, Poculi Ludique Societas (PLS) are teaming up with St. Thomas’s Anglican Church to offer up a unique song-filled celebration for the holiday season. This year’s production features a sequence of Nativity pageants drawn from what is known as the York Corpus Christi Cycle, and will include the delightful pageant called “Joseph’s Trouble about Mary.”
In this amusing play, a rather woe begotten and incredulous Joseph must be convinced that his chaste wife is indeed the Virgin Mother of God. Understandably, poor Joseph is confused, hurt, and more than a little skeptical. But with a small measure of divine intervention, Joseph eventually comes around and takes Mary to Bethlehem where destiny will play itself out.
The production is directed by Kimberley Radmacher who notes, ”Although we select Nativity pageants from various medieval texts, we try to keep things fresh by conceptualizing the productions in new and interesting ways each year.” This is achieved through production design, which is overseen by PLS Artistic Director Linda Phillips and through music selection. Toronto Masque Theatre Artistic Director, Larry Beckwith, joins the team for the first time and has worked with Radmacher to create a song-scape that includes solemn medieval Christmas hymns, as well as cherished well-known carols and even a hint of contemporary music that will appeal to everyone.
PLS is celebrating 50 years of medieval and renaissance drama performance research and is part of the Centre for Performance Studies in Early Theatre (CPSET). Their robust productions have had lasting appeal with general audiences and are of particular interest to scholars and students of drama, theatre and social history.
Location
Dates
- Friday December 12, 7:30pm
- Saturday December 13, 2:30pm and 7:30
Tickets
- $20/$15 Senior/$10 Student
- To reserve tickets call 416-978-5096. Reservations are not required. Please bring cash in hand.
- The performance is 90 minutes long.
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A few stills from our last rehearsal
We’re fully into the swing of things now. Here’s a few shots I managed to grab at our last rehearsal.
![IMG_1276[1]](https://pls.artsci.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/IMG_12761.jpg)
Julia Meadows as Mary
![IMG_1255[1]](https://pls.artsci.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/IMG_12551-e1385668413454.jpg)
What’s Fr. Rob Mitchell up to?! You’ll have to come see the show to find out 🙂
![IMG_1251[1]](https://pls.artsci.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/IMG_12511.jpg)
![IMG_1227[1]](https://pls.artsci.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/IMG_12271-e1385668561351.jpg)
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