November Theatre is a Canadian

theatre company Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

that started in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

but is now based in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. The company's Artistic Producer is

Michael Scholar Sir Michael Charles Scholar, KCB (born 3 January 1942) is a British civil servant and former President of St John's College, Oxford. Personal Life and Education He was educated at St Olave's Grammar School and St John's College, Cambridge ( B ...

, Jr.

History

The company was founded in 1998 by Corinne Kessel of the band Los Furios and Michael Scholar Jr. Their first production was world English premiere of the

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

operetta ''

The Black Rider ''The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets'' is a self-billed "musical fable" in the avant-garde tradition created through the collaboration of theatre director Robert Wilson, musician Tom Waits, and writer William S. Burroughs. Wil ...

'' at the

Edmonton International Fringe Festival The Edmonton International Fringe Festival is an annual arts festival held every August in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Produced by the Fringe Theatre Adventures (FTA), it is the oldest and largest fringe theatre festival in North America (based on ...

. ''The Black Rider'' was created through the collaboration of singer-songwriter

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...

, and

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

stage director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

Robert Wilson. In 1999 the were invited to bring ''The Black Rider'' to the New York Fringe Fringe Festival where it won the festival award for “Best Direction”. In 2010 November Theatre went on to produce the stage adaptation of Hard Core Logo, the Bruce McDonald film and Michael Turner book. Joe "Shithead" Keithley of D.O.A. composed new music for the show called "Hard Core Logo: Live". The script was written by Founding Artistic Producer Michael Scholar, Jr. The production premiered at Theatre Network in Edmonton in 2010 before touring to the PuSh Festival in Vancouver in 2011.

Touring history

November Theatre's production went on to tour Canada in 2004–2005 with presentations at Theatre Network in Edmonton, Ground Zero Theatre and the

Calgary Opera Calgary Opera is a Canadian opera company based in Calgary, Alberta. The company has its administrative base at the Mamdani Opera Centre, a facility in the Wesley United Church, since July 2005. The company gives its seasonal mainstage productio ...

Persephone Theatre Persephone Theatre is a regional theatre company in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The company was founded in 1974 by director Brian Richmond and sisters Janet Wright and Susan Wright and named after the Greek goddess Persephone. The first seaso ...

in Saskatoon,

Yukon Arts Centre The Yukon Arts Centre (YAC) an arts centre and gallery located in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. The art centre opened in May 1992 and contains a 428-seat theatre, and a used to hosts arts performances and exhibitions. The arts centre permanent colle ...

in Whitehorse,

Intrepid Theatre Intrepid Theatre is a Non-profit organization, not-for-profit organization in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, that produces the annual Victoria Fringe Theatre Festival, Uno Fest: Canada’s Singular Live Theatre Event, and a year-round series of ...

in Victoria and the

PuSh International Performing Arts Festival The PuSh International Performing Arts Festival is produced over three weeks each January in Vancouver, British Columbia. The PuSh Festival presents work in the live performing arts. The Festival showcases international, Canadian and local artis ...

in Vancouver. The production went on to win 6

Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award The Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award (also known as the Sterling Award) is a local Edmonton, Alberta award presented annually which honours excellence in theatre. The award covers a number of categories, including production, performance, direction ...

s in Edmonton and 6

Betty Mitchell Awards Betty Mitchell Awards were created in 1998 to celebrate and honour outstanding achievement in Calgary's professional theatre community. It is commonly called the Betty Award and is named for Calgary theatre pioneer Dr. Betty Mitchell. Awards The ...

in Calgary including "Best Production" and "Best Direction" in both major centres. In 2006 the production was presented at the

Magnetic North Theatre Festival The Magnetic North Theatre Festival is an annual festival celebrating theatre and related performing arts in Canada operated by the Canadian Theatre Festival Society in partnership with the National Arts Centre. The festival is held Ottawa every ...

in St. John's Newfoundland. The production was remounted in Vancouver, January/February 2008 for the

Arts Club Theatre Company The Arts Club Theatre Company is a Canadian professional theatre company in Vancouver, British Columbia, founded in 1958. It is the largest urban not-for-profit theatre company in the country and the largest in Western Canada, with productions tak ...

and the PuSh Festival and then in 2009 for the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto.

References

External links

November Theatre's official website
{{authority control Theatre companies in Alberta Theatre in Edmonton Theatre in Vancouver Theatre companies in British Columbia