From Press Release
“…You neglect the duty, you make ripples in reality that will take a century to heal…
All in all, boy, not a good start to your first job.”
Socratic Theatre Collective is proud to conclude its second season with a sitespecific
production of Terry Pratchett’s Mort, adapted by Stephen Briggs, presented at the 2012 Toronto Fringe Festival.
Terry Pratchett’s Mort is a stage adaptation of the fourth novel in Pratchett’s awardwinning
Discworld series. It tells the story of the anthropomorphic personification of Death and his hapless apprentice Mort, and how both are caught between duty and the appeal of human connection; Death is lured away from his work by the joys of an extended holiday, while Mort threatens the balance of the universe through a misguided (well, hormone‐guided) attempt to save the life of a beautiful princess.
As part of the Site‐Specific program at the Toronto Fringe, the production will take place in the University College Quadrangle on the University of Toronto’s St. George campus. This unique and eclectic setting provides the perfect venue for Terry Pratchett’s Mort; according to director Ruth Pe Palileo, “we will create a living version of the Discworld by highlighting the unique architectural character of the University College Quadrangle. The audience will move through different areas, thereby creating the sense that they are journeying with us through the Discworld.
This particular play is very much about the journey that the main character makes around the Discworld, and by giving the audience the experience of movement, we will enrich their understanding of his journey.”
It is Pe Palileo’s hope, along with Socratic’s Artistic Director Liz Bragg, that the production will fill a void in the theatre landscape by bringing unapologetic fantasy to the stage. Bragg says, “When we went to Toronto Comic‐Con to promote Mort, someone came up to us and said ‘They never do stuff like that here!’ And that’s exactly how Ruth and I had been feeling, so we decided to do something about it.”
Ruth Pe Palileo is the first guest director to work with Socratic Theatre Collective. Based in Las Vegas, she has recently directed Ionesco’s The Chairs (Best Production of 2011, Las Vegas Citylife) and a sold‐out production of Sarah Ruhl’s Dead Man’s Cell Phone. She is a writer/director with Centre for Immigrant Resources and Community Arts (CIRCA)/Pintig in Chicago.
The production features returning Socratic Theatre Collective members Dave Heppenstall (Tom in Wrong Number) as Mort, Vanessa Graymason (Laertes in Hamlet) as Princess Keli, Erin Hamilton (Ismene in Ismene) as Goodie Hamstring and others, S.R. Kriger (Guildenstern and others in Hamlet) as King Olerve and others, and Amanda O’Halloran (Sadie in Wrong Number) as the Duchess of Sto Helit and others. It also features the Socratic Theatre Collective debut of Artistic Director Liz Bragg as Ysabell. The cast welcomes new members Basel Daoud
(Robert Damien in Evil Genius’ upcoming film Shelter) as Death and Lorne Mandelzys (The Phoenix Wright Musical Project’s Turnabout Musical) as Cutwell.
Socratic Theatre Collective is a non‐professional company dedicated to producing “theatre that creates a dialogue.” The 2011/2012 season is the second produced by the company. Entitled “Don’t Fear the Reaper”, it included the world premiere of S.R. Kriger’s The Dark Room and the short play Wrong Number, which won the Fresh Spice Award at the 2012 What Are You Doing BACK There?! Festival. The first season was “Women, Power and Tragedy”, featuring William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Princess of Denmark and Jeremy Menekseoglu’s Ismene.
Socratic Theatre Collective presents
TERRY PRATCHETT’S MORT
Adapted by Stephen Briggs
Directed by Ruth Pe Palileo
Performing at the Toronto Fringe Festival
Performance Dates:
Saturday, July 7
Sunday, July 8
Friday, July 13
Saturday, July 14
Sunday, July 15
Friday‐Saturday 7:00pm & Sunday 2:00pm
Tickets: $10 at the door; $9 in advance ($2 service charge applied). The Toronto Fringe Festival also offers Value Packs available online or by telephone from June 1 or in person from July 4. Available at fringetoronto.com or by calling 416‐966‐1062 x1 or in person at the Festival Box Office: Parking lot behind Honest Ed’s at 581 Bloor Street West
Location: University College Quadrangle, 15 Kings College Circle. University of Toronto St. George Campus. Entrance gate is at the north‐west corner of the building, opposite the soccer field. Note: Due to the outdoor nature of the venue, our rain policy is to proceed as long as the performers’ safety is not impaired. Cancellation due to rain will be announced 15 minutes before any performance in question.