THIS IS AN ARCHIVE OF A PREVIOUS EVENT THAT OCCURRED NOV 11 - 21st, 2021.
Produced by Workshop West Playwrights’ Theatre
Dates: November 11 - 14, November 16 - 21 @ 7:30pm | Preview Nov. 11th, Opening Night Nov. 12th
PG 13: Drugs, Sexual Content
RUNNING TIME: Approx. 90 minutes
LOCATION: Backstage Theatre (ATB Financial Arts Barns, 10330 84 Ave NW)
A NEW AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL journey BY EDMONTON LEGEND, darrin hagen
The WORLD PREMIERE of an autobiographical origin-story by award-winning Edmonton playwright/performer/historian Darrin Hagen. Metronome is about falling in love with music, and the very special Ennis & Sons piano which changed Darrin’s life. From growing up queer in small town Alberta, through his move to the ‘big city’, the play follows Darrin’s journey through discovery, loss, and heartbreak as he recounts the story one of the most beautiful and influential loves of his life: his piano. This brand-new, home-grown work by an Edmonton tour-de-force affirms the importance and power of music and storytelling to unite and transform us, making it an ideal antidote to the trials of all things pandemic.
(SCROLL DOWN TO VIEW the creative team and bios)
This production was made possible thanks to the generous support of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association.
“Darrin is a master storyteller whose work is funny, truthful, and emotionally charged. As we cautiously come together again in public, I wanted to share a story that affirms the possibility and power of community connection and the importance of art in creating it. Darrin’s warm-hearted story chronicling his love of music will take the chill out of your November evening.”
The Playwright and Performer
Darrin Hagen is an award-winning playwright, author, composer and Queer historian. He has written (or co-written) over 40 plays, and has been produced across Canada, America and in Europe.
He launched Guys In Disguise in 1987, dragging a group of underground Queens to the surface, eventually becoming a Fringe drag juggernaut that has endured for 35 years. Guys In Disguise creations have been enjoyed by audiences in Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer, Regina, Meacham, Winnipeg, Whitehorse, Vancouver, Kelowna, Toronto, Ottawa, Minneapolis, Seattle, Key West, Rehoboth Beach, West Hollywood, and Ireland.
He hosted live television in Edmonton for over a decade, and came out of the closet on the air five minutes into his very first live broadcast, becoming the first openly queer and openly genderfluid TV host in Canada.
His award-winning 1996 debut, The Edmonton Queen was expanded into a book-length project published by Brindle & Glass Publishing, now in its fourth printing. Other published work includes the much-loved Tornado Magnet: A Salute to Trailer Court Women and Queering The Way: The Loud & Queer Anthology, as well as several short stories and essays. He has received 7 Sterling Awards for his work in Edmonton Theatre, and over 40 nominations. He received an AMPIA for Best Male Host for the Life Channel Series Who’s On Top? He also hosted the online TelusOptik series Queer Places, produced by Frederick Kroetsch.
Witch Hunt at the Strand and The Empress & The Prime Minister showcased his ability to breathe life into history, as did the digital documentary Pisces, created for the 40th anniversary of the Pisces Spa raid. Other plays by Darrin include international hits With Bells On (currently being adapted into a musical by Live & In Colour in New York); BitchSlap! and Typhoon Judy; as well as the multimedia performance Buddy. With Trevor Schmidt he co-created Flora & Fawna’s Field Trip; Flora & Fawna Have Beaver Fever; Prepare For The Worst; Don’t Frown at the Gown; Puck Bunnies; Dragula; Crack in the Mirror as well as the multi-award-nominated musical Klondykes.
He has also composed music or created sound design for nearly every theatre company in Edmonton. During the pandemic off-season he has composed a string quartet, an album of electronica, and an entire suite of music for piano and strings. Most recently, he collaborated with Mile Zero Dance artistic director Gerry Morita on Shadow of a Doubt, an installation dance performance hosted by Artists in the Fallow. He also created and directed The Foxy Lady Disco Dancing Lounge Rhinestone Turkey Baster Relay Marathon for Fruit Loop as part of Pride 2021.
He has served as Playwright in Residence at Theatre Network and Workshop West Playwrights’ Theatre, and as Writer in Residence for Edmonton Public Library, The University of Alberta, and Macewan University. He was named one of 100 Edmontonians of the Century, as well as one of the 25 Most Influential Alberta Artists in the last 25 years (AFA). In 2013 he was inducted into the Q Hall of Fame Canada.
The Creative Team
Beyata is an Edmonton-based designer/illustrator and recent grad of the UofA's Theatre Design program. She's primarily attracted to newly written works and processes that involve design and aesthetics from an early stage of development, but she also loves a good ol' fluffy musical now and again - or anything based around a musical score really. Favourite credits include EDay (Serial Collective Theatre), Silence (Timms Centre for the Arts), Bug (Bleviss Laboratory Theatre), A Midsummer Night's Dream and Julius Caesar (Malachites). She's also worked extensively as an assistant designer at the Banff Centre, Freewill Shakespeare and most recently at the Shaw Festival - to which she'll be returning to in 2021.
Beyata Hackborn
Set, Prop and Costume Design
Chris gears up for this Theatre Season joining Workshop West for the first time, (besides tending a fire pit), helping create this new story, Metronome! Once again ready for whatever dynamic challenges this production will present, Hicks is stoked to be working, creating more face melting pieces!
Like many I'm sure, Chris has been successfully navigating the feast or famine, zero to sixty entertainment climate that has been the last 2 years. Including helping make the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, The Grindstone Theatre's 3 events, UP+DT, Thousand Faces Festival and a couple venues for Fringe happen this summer. He is very proud of everything we've all accomplished making art still happen. However, who wants to run away to the mountains with him?!
Chris Hicks
Technical Direction & production Management
Heather is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada and is an award-winning director, producer, and dramaturg whose career has taken her across the country. In 2019, Heather was nominated for the Playwrights’ Guild of Canada’s Bra D’Or Award, recognizing her support and promotion of Canadian women playwrights via Theatre Yes. Heather has directed and assistant directed over 40 productions, many of which have been new Canadian works. Credits include: The Shaw Festival, Citadel Theatre, Workshop West Theatre, Northern Light Theatre, Azimuth Theatre, Theatre Junction, Gordon Tootoosis Nikaniwin Theatre (SK), Live Five (SK), The Doppler Effect Productions (NS), Alberta Playwrights Network, Saskatchewan Playwrights' Centre, Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre, The Notable Acts Festival (NB) and Universities in Edmonton, Calgary and Saskatoon. Heather has received Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Award (2014) for her work at Theatre Yes, the Edmonton Artists’ Trust Fund (twice), the Celebration of Women in the Arts Award (twice), and the Telus Courage to Innovate Award (Edmonton). Nine of Inglis’ productions have been nominated for 17 Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Awards, including 7 nominations for Outstanding Independent Production and nominations for Outstanding Director and Outstanding Fringe Director. Theatre Yes received a special Sterling Award for Outstanding Innovation in Theatre (2014).
Heather Inglis
director
Ian is delighted to be back at Workshop West Playwright's Theatre. Past Multi-Media Design work includes: THE LOOK, SPEECH AND DEBATE, I GOOGLE MYSELF, URBAN TALES (multiple years), WATER’S DAUGHTER, KAFKA’S AMERICA.
THE UGLY DUCHESS was Ian’s fourth production this season as NLT’s Cinematographer and Film Editor.
Ian is grateful to the Edmonton Theatre community for giving him three Sterling Awards for Multi-Media Design over his career. Ian is also an accomplished professional photographer and videographer.
Ian Jackson
Video Design
Jason Kodie is a musician born bred and based in Edmonton and is thrilled to be part of the Metronome crew.
Accordion/Piano, equally versatile.
Sound designs, 30+ for theatre both live and touring.
Musical Director of ‘Ze Punterz - Late Nite Cabaret’ (Edmonton Fringe).
Musical curator for the Flying Canoe Volant festival.
Band member and collaborator (Captain Tractor, Le Fuzz, John Guliak).
Awards and nominations.
2nd nicest guy I know.
Jason Kodie
Sound Design
Gina is very please to be working on WWPT’s production of Metronome.
Past Stage Management credits include: Titus Buffonicus, The Empress and The Prime Minister, The Last 5 Years, and Little One for Theatre Network; The Bad Seed, Lessons in Brio, The Talking Turk, Shocker’s Delight, For The Love of Cynthia, and Sleuth for Teatro la Quindicina; Craniatrium for Firefly Theatre; 6.0 How Heap and Pebble Took on the World and Won for NLT; The Colour Purple, Three Mo Tenors, Three Mo Divas, Cooking at the Cookery, Trying, Einstien’s Gift, Wit and Skylight for the Citadel Theatre. Theatre; Enchanted April, The Retreat From Moscow, and Trying for Theatre Calgary. Gina is a two –time winner of the Elizabeth Sterling Haynes award for Outstanding Achievement in Production.
Gina Moe
stage Management
Adam Tsuyoshi Turnbull is a multi-talented technician, technical director, production manager, and lighting designer. He is extremely happy to be working with Workshop West Playwrights’ Theatre and this fantastic team of humans. He has been honoured with multiple Sterling nominations for design and production, and was awarded with a Sterling Award for Outstanding Achievement in Production for the 2014/2015 season. He currently works for the City of St. Albert.
