Book Expo: A collection of thoughts.

I collected a lot of business cards at Book Expo.

Clive Barker was there. He is a very famous writer. He wrote a series of books that were later turned into the Hellraiser series of horror films that traumatized me in my youth. It was nice to see him.

There were a lot of free books. I didn't really want any of them. Well...

There was one book on display that I wanted, The Tudors: Collection of Screenplays. The Tudors is a great series on Showtime about Henry the VIII that stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers. I read the first few pages of the book and I just had to have it. The writing was sexy and alive and crackling with wit. To get the book I sort of stalked it all day... seriously... just sort of hung around the Simon and Schuster exhibit like one of those creepy guys you read about. Did it work? Well. I went up to who I thought was the friendliest person at Simon and Schuster and asked if I could take it (even though I wasn't allowed). The friendly old man said yes. He had a copy in his car. He could just use that one for the display. He handed me the book and I was happy. I've already read the whole thing.

I ran into an old friend of mine from high school whom I haven't seen in years. She was sitting by the Scholastic Exhibit. We made eye contact, and I wasn't sure it was her. But then when she said my name and started hugging me I assumed it was her... because who would do that to a stranger?

Her name is Katherine. We worked in theatre together. We also went to Prom together. I have this picture of us bowling after prom (at 3am). I am wearing a wife beater and she is wearing a really nice red dress. We looked like the best couple ever... even though we've never dated. She now works at Stratford. She was at Book Expo through The World's Biggest Bookstore (where she used to work). We talked for an hour (while I was supposed to be looking for boxes to pack our exhibitor table at the end of the day). She is doing well. She looks exactly the same. I wonder if she thought the same thing about me?

She did say that I seemed happy.

Which was nice to hear.

Because everyone wants to appear happy.

My first Book Expo was a great experience. Already looking forward to next year.

Jason Maghanoy

Gotta Love LuminaTO!

I saw a really great show at the Factory Theatre last night called "Tough." It's part of this thing the Factory is doing called "The Walker Project," which is part of LuminaTO. The piece, written by Canadian Playwright George F. Walker and directed by Ken Gass, had a ton of energy, some really innovative staging, and a strong, young cast that really brought Walker's work into a fuller relief.

What I loved about the show was that it was all about "transformation:" the Factory Studio was transformed into a long rectangle, and the audience sat around it; while the ethnically diverse ensemble cast all interchanged with each other, with 11 actors playing the three hander and bringing their own personalities and interpretations to the characters as they rotated from scene to scene.

The play was a great example of what theatre could be in Toronto: Sharp. Imaginative. Relevant.

SEE IT!

Jason

PS
I'm off to Book Expo this weekend. Pretty excited. I'm gonna try and bring my manuscript and like... drop it on the floor or something... hopefully one of the big publishers will pick it up.

Not likely :).

The Word On The Street and Disapora Dialogues

If you didn't know, The Word On The Street is going to be teaming up with Diaspora Dialogues this year, as part of Nuit Blanche. Let's just say it's going to be a multi-media extravaganza with words and images and drawing all crashing together. I'm pretty excited about this partnership because I've worked with Diaspora Dialogues before - they've been a major sponsor of the CrossCurrents New Play Festival at the Factory Theatre (which I've done the past two years). I love that they're trying to bring ethnically diverse stories and story-tellers to the forefront, and showcase the dynamic, multi-cultural tapestry of Canada.

What's more Canadian than that?

They've recently teamed up with PEN Canada in something called: "The Taxi Project."

What happens when you pair up 7 of Toronto’s top artists with 7 outstanding writers in exile, give them 7 hours to develop a 7 minute presentation based on a theme revealed that day? You get the TAXI Stand Jam – an exciting evening of performance, music, theatre, writing, and surprises presented by PEN Canada and the Art for Real Change (ARC) Collective.

The featured artists are legendary Dumbek player Suleiman Warwar; award-winning dub poet d’bi.young; creator of the RED Festival and multidisciplinary artist Lisa Pijuan-Nomura; multi-disciplinary Metis performing artist Jani Lauzon; the soulful tunes of Rosina Kazi from Lal; visionary dancer BaKari Lindsay and Sudanese-Canadian musical genius Waleed Abdulhamid.

The featured writers in exile are Sheng Xue, Benjamín Santamaría Ochoa, Genc Tirana, Martha Kumsa, Tahir Aslam Gora, Emma Beltrán and Reza Baraheni.

The Jam will be hosted by spoken word artist Naila Keleta Mae.

It takes place on Tuesday, June 5th, 2007 at 8pm, at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander Street (south of Wellesley at Yonge)

$10 suggested admission at the door

All welcome. Bring your imagination.

For more information please contact Anjula Gogia at agogia@pencanada.ca or 416.703.8448 x23 or visit www.pencanada.ca

I urge you guys to check it out. I think it's gonna be pretty special.

Jason Maghanoy