The Past |
Over the past eight years Vision Theatre has worked with over 100 different artists including some of Ottawa's best established artists, such as Linda Balduzzi, John Konsgen, Lynn Cox, Rebecca Miller, Paul Griffin, Riley Stewart, John Carter, Mark Molnar, Teri Loretto, Natalie Quesnel, Eric Paul Parent and Robin Riddihough to name a few. 2000 The Blue Room by David Hare, 2001 Almost Asleep by Julie Hébert, “… the piece is brave and the ideas worthy of further exploration…” 2002 Plaza Suite by Neil Simon California Suite by Neil Simon, Love Letters by A.R. Gurney,
2003 Love Letters _____________________________________ Never Swim Alone by Daniel MacIvor, “ Director Greg Wysynski and the actors have done a crack job of getting these rhythms exactly right…. an effective production of a strong piece. The large audience at Tuesday's performance responded with cheers.” – Steve Mazey, The Ottawa Citizen "…a brilliant denunciation of exacerbated masculinity and its ridiculous rituals… director Greg Wysynski makes this show. He has perfectly understood the play; he has choreographed the performance so that the two male creatures become perfectly interchangeable." – Alvina Ruprecht, CBC Ottawa Radio _________________________________ Proof by David Auburn, “This is the first opportunity for audiences here to see Proof, the play that won the 2001 Pulitzer prize for drama and a Tony award for best play… David Whiteley brings a geeky charm to the role of Hal…. Sheena Lessard is quite fine as the sensible Claire… Tracey Leigh Campbell as Catherine and M. Dylan Place as Robert give good performances…In bringing Proof to Ottawa, Vision Theatre has done a very good thing.” - Catherine Lawson, The Ottawa Citizen “…director Sam Al-Saber's attention to detail as far as the staging was concerned was quite remarkable and I hope we see more of Vision Theatre in the near future.” – Alvina Ruprecht, CBC Ottawa Radio ______________________________________ Work-shopped and produced the play Last Game by Heather Peterson, a local playwright. Directed by Sam Al-Saber 2004 Noises Off by Michael Frayn, (Vision Theatre partnered with The Ottawa Regional Cancer Centre Foundation for this production and was able to raise awareness and funds for the foundation) “The group behind Ottawa 's Vision Theatre are a plucky bunch, all right. They're staging Michael Frayn's Noises Off, the much-loved farce-within-a-farce famous for its technically difficult third act. Vision Theatre's heroic production manages to deliver the big payoff at the end…” 2005 Matt & Ben by Mindy Kaling and Brenda Withers, “ Directed by Sam Awwad and starring Thea Nikolic and Jennifer Scrivens as Damon and Affleck, respectively (and, too, as J.D. Salinger and Gwyneth Paltrow in brief but hilarious cameos), the 75- minute production is a wonderfully energetic and comic look at the ties of friendship that bind -- and divide -- the two actors…. Nikolic and Scrivens' performances make Matt & Ben worth seeing.” ______________________________________ Hidden in this Picture by Aaron Sorkin, “Vapid and self-absorbed - at least in stereotype - Hollywood is a sitting duck for satire. Ottawa-based Vision Theatre's often very funny production of Aaron Sorkin's Hidden in This Picture, presented at Academic Hall, bags that duck nicely.” _____________________________________ Faithful by Chazz Palminteri, Private Lives by Noel Coward, 2006 Miss Witherspoon by Christopher Durang, “In the capable hands of director John Koensgen, the production by Ottawa 's Vision Theatre is vastly entertaining…. Bravo to Vision Theatre for bringing Miss Witherspoon to Ottawa .” “Teri Rata Loretto is excellent as the bewildered Witherspoon. She is a marvellous comic actress with a sense of timing, an expressive face, good voice and someone who really squeezed every bit of humour out of the text. The way she cringes in her chair screaming, as Lynn Cox's lighting comes shooting down to reincarnate her. Or as John Carter's booming sound design makes us believe the world is crashing down around her. (And I must add that the sound and lighting were excellent as well). “ – Alvina Ruprecht, CBC Ottawa Radio 2007 Oleanna by David Mamet, “Mamet's challenging dialogue and Vision Theatre's strong production continue to provoke long after the disturbing final scene.” – Patrick Langston, The Ottawa Citizen “ Wysynski set it up as theatre in the round…We are around them like voyeurs watching this embarrassing confrontation through the keyhole. As for the acting, there were excellent moments… It made for a quite a good evening. It is worth seeing.” – Alvina Ruprecht, CBC Ottawa Radio ______________________________________ The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine, Nominated for three Rideau Awards for English language professional theatre productions in Ottawa, including Best Production , Best Director and Best Performance- Female “ Funny, cynical and played with just the right touch of soft underbelly, Vision Theatre's production of The Anger in Ernest & Ernestine, which opened Thursday at Arts Court Theatre, nails this catastrophic relationship and all that it says about the folly of our own love connections.” ______________________________________ Crazy Eights, That Other Person & Baby Food, Three One-Acts by David Lindsay-Abaire (Winner of Best Comedy at the Ottawa Fringe Festival) “Vision Theatre's production crackles with cleverness. The six actors do excellent work and Marsha Awwad's deadpan delivery is a standout… Over the past several years, Vision Theatre has done an excellent job of finding and presenting contemporary American plays that have been overlooked by Ottawa 's larger companies.” “It worked for several reasons. Author David Lindsay-Abaire gives a grotesque twist to daily happenings and this produces works full of surprises and tension. I also thought that some of the performances were excellent: Allison Brennan moves from angry urban inner city tough girl to nervous ex-fat girl. She is a good actress. I also liked Riley Stewart as an ambivalently tattooed creature who plays and then underplays similar roles in two works; he always has the right tone. I must say however that both Wysynski and Awwad are becoming some of our best younger directors in the city at the moment. Their work never ceases to amaze me. ”
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