Playing With Time, Inc. was a Canadian independent
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
and
television production company
A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and vi ...
based in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
. Founded by
Linda Schuyler
Linda Schuyler, (; née Bawcutt; born February 12, 1948) is a Canadian television producer. She is best known for being the co-creator and producer of the ''Degrassi'' teen drama franchise, which has spanned five series over four decades. She i ...
and
Kit Hood
Christopher Hood (24 March 1943 – 20 January 2020) was a Canadian television editor, director, writer and producer. He is best known as the director and co-creator of the ''Degrassi'' franchise alongside Linda Schuyler, including the series ' ...
in 1976, it is best known for being the original production company for the ''
Degrassi
''Degrassi'' is a Canadian television franchise created by Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler in 1979. It is centred on a multigenerational teen drama about an ensemble cast of teenagers attending the namesake Toronto school as they navigate their ad ...
'' television franchise, producing ''
The Kids of Degrassi Street
''The Kids of Degrassi Street'' is a Canadian children's television series and the first in the ''Degrassi'' franchise created by Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler. It follows the lives of a group of children living on De Grassi Street in Toronto. It ...
'', ''
Degrassi Junior High
''Degrassi Junior High'' is a Canadian television series and the second series in the ''Degrassi'' franchise created by Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler. A successor but not a direct spin-off of ''The Kids of Degrassi Street'', it debuted on CBC ...
'' and ''
Degrassi High
''Degrassi High'' is a Canadian teen drama television series and the third series in the ''Degrassi'' franchise created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood. A direct continuation of '' Degrassi Junior High'', it debuted on CBC in Canada on November ...
.'' The company also produced educational short films throughout its existence. The company's work was known for its unconventional filmmaking practices, including casting ordinary people in lieu of experienced trained actors. Schuyler founded
Epitome Pictures
Epitome Pictures Inc. (later known as DHX Studios Toronto and WildBrain Studios) was a Canadian film and television production company based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded by Linda Schuyler and Stephen Stohn in 1992, the company is best known for ...
in 1992, leaving Hood in sole control of the company. By 1998, it was dormant.
History
Schuyler, a
Grade 7
Seventh grade (or grade seven) is a year or level of education. The seventh grade is the eighth school year, the second or third year of middle school, and the first year of junior high school. Students are around 13-14 years old in this stage of ...
and
Grade 8 media teacher at Earl Grey Senior Public School in Toronto in 1976,
met Hood, then an editor for television commercials, when she needed help from an experienced editor to save the "muddled footage" of one of her projects.
Hood and Schuyler found a balance; editor Hood was inexperienced in writing, and writer/producer Schuyler was inexperienced in editing, leading to their creative partnership.
The first film produced by the company was ''Jimmy: Playing With Time'', about a 73 year old marathon piano player who attempts to break his own world record by playing non-stop for 117 hours at the
Canadian National Exhibition
The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), also known as The Exhibition or The Ex, is an annual event that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the third Friday of August leading up to and including Canadian Labour Day, ...
.
The production offices were located on 935 Queen Street East,
an over 100-year-old storefront building
where the ''Degrassi Junior High'' and ''Degrassi High'' cast would routinely gather to be taken via minivan to the set. According to Hood, Schuyler would temporarily assume the name Time to Play,
before founding
Epitome Pictures
Epitome Pictures Inc. (later known as DHX Studios Toronto and WildBrain Studios) was a Canadian film and television production company based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded by Linda Schuyler and Stephen Stohn in 1992, the company is best known for ...
with
Stephen Stohn
John Stephen Stohn (born May 8, 1948) is an American-born Canadian entertainment lawyer and television producer. He is best known for his involvement with the ''Degrassi'' teen drama franchise, particularly as an executive producer on '' Degrassi: ...
in 1992. Hood began operating under the name Timeless Productions.
By July 1998, Playing With Time was no longer producing television shows, but remained semi-active, with Hood continuing to sit on the board of the non-profit Playing With Time Foundation. He also still owned the production office.
Hood later rented it out as a shelter for
abused women and children, families experiencing housing crises, and refugees.
After its dissolution, Epitome Pictures assumed the rights to the ''Degrassi'' shows produced by Playing With Time.
Casting practices
The company became known for casting ordinary people in their work, as opposed to professional or experienced actors. In 1983, Linda Schuyler explained that trained actors were "overblown and stagey" and would ruin the natural effect of their work.
The actors were also encouraged to make their own contributions or corrections to the scripts of the shows produced by the company.
Both Schuyler
and Hood stated that they disliked the term "star" to refer to their actors, instead considering their productions a team effort;
anybody involved in the production, including Schuyler
and Hood
themselves, would be used as extras or background characters.
Repertory company
Playing With Time was notable for its usage of a
repertory company
A repertory theatre is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation.
United Kingdom
Annie Horniman founded the first modern repertory theatre in Manchester after withdrawing ...
(referred to by PWT insiders as the 'Repco'),
which at its peak consisted of sixty-five kids.
The repertory company consisted mostly of the cast members of ''Degrassi Junior High'' and ''Degrassi High'', although certain actors would appear in other films made by the company. The repertory company system led to an unconventional approach in which minor cast members could be promoted to a bigger role at random, whereas major cast members could occasionally serve as just background extras, giving a majority of the actors significant focus at various times throughout ''Degrassi''
's run.
During the second season of ''Degrassi Junior High'', the company established the Playing With Time Foundation, a non-profit organization that provided support to active members of the repertory company.
The foundation gave its actors "scholarships",
and also helped fund the independent video creations of some of its cast members.
Through the organization, actors such as
Neil Hope
Philip Neil Hope (September 24, 1972 – November 18, 2007Cited ''Toronto Star'' report states he was likely dead for more than a week prior to discovery.), better known and credited as Neil Hope, was a Canadian actor who was best known for por ...
(who played
Wheels
A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be ...
) created their own movies; Hope
directed a video called ''The Darker Side,'' a documentary about the children of alcoholics,
and another film named ''Blood, Sweat, and Tears,'' that starred several of his co-stars.
Schuyler stated that she encouraged the teenage actors to try their hand at film and television production themselves, as a result of being regularly exposed to it.
Filmography
* ''Jimmy: Playing With Time'' (short film)
* ''Our Cultural Fabric'' (1978, short film)
* ''
The Kids of Degrassi Street
''The Kids of Degrassi Street'' is a Canadian children's television series and the first in the ''Degrassi'' franchise created by Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler. It follows the lives of a group of children living on De Grassi Street in Toronto. It ...
'' (1979–1986)
* ''Growing Up with Sandy Offenheim'' (1980, five shorts)
* ''Pearls in the Alphabet Soup'' (1980, short film)
* ''Don't Call Me Stupid'' (1983, short film)
* ''Advice on Lice'' (1985, short film)
* ''
OWL/TV
OWL/TV is a Canadian children's educational television series that aired on CBC, from 1985 to 1990, and then later on CTV, from 1990 to 1994. It focused on nature and science discovery, emphasizing to viewers how they can affect their own envir ...
'' (1985–1986) ("Real Kids" segments)
* ''Danger Keep Out!'' (1987) (co-production with the Construction Safety Association of Toronto)
* ''
Degrassi Junior High
''Degrassi Junior High'' is a Canadian television series and the second series in the ''Degrassi'' franchise created by Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler. A successor but not a direct spin-off of ''The Kids of Degrassi Street'', it debuted on CBC ...
'' (1987–1989)
* ''
Degrassi High
''Degrassi High'' is a Canadian teen drama television series and the third series in the ''Degrassi'' franchise created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood. A direct continuation of '' Degrassi Junior High'', it debuted on CBC in Canada on November ...
'' (1989–1991)
* ''
Degrassi Talks
''Degrassi Talks'' is a Canadian non-fiction documentary Television program, television series and part of the ''Degrassi'' franchise created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood. Running six episodes from February 29 to March 30, 1992, it revolved arou ...
'' (1992)
* ''
School's Out'' (1992)
References
Sources
*
{{Degrassi
Companies based in Toronto
Television production companies of Canada