Shaking Things Up: Kristen Thomson & Crow’s Theatre

Toronto theatre artists are jumping right into the New Year, and we at Volcano are particularly pumped to see Kristen Thomson on stage again.

In Ross' words: "Kristen Thomson has that rare mix of instinct and intelligence as an actor. She can work from the gut, but can also analyze this work with rigour and specificity. We were lucky to have her step into Peggy Pickit Sees the Face of God (Roland Schimmelpfennig's contribution to Another Africa at Canadian Stage). In fact, we're all lucky to have Kristen working in this country. Her new play will be worth checking out, I'm guessing..."

#understatement

Kristen Thomson in Peggy Pickit Sees the Face of God,
part of Another Africa at Canadian Stage. Photo by John Lauener.
From left to right: Tom Barnett, Kristen Thomson, Tony Nappo, and Maev Beaty.

Kristen is performing at the Berkeley Street Theatre in her latest piece, Someone Else, presented by Crow's Theatre. You can read her recent interview with The Grid here to learn more.

Crow's has been the talk of the town this week (here, here, and here, for starters) over their brand new theatre space in Leslieville: the ground floor of a new condo building. The project is a partnership between the theatre company, the City (through Councillor Paula Fletcher), and the private developers. An effective use of Section 37 funds, the new Crow's theatre space is a story worth following: in periods of economic uncertainty and fiscal restraint from all levels of government, the issue of alternative revenue generation is a critical topic for not-for-profit organizations. What Crow's does in the next few years will almost certainly be a case study for the sector.

You can read about a similar case study (the Galapagos Arts Centre in Brooklyn) here, one of the models that Crow's looked to when developing their own plan.