Sock 'n' Buskin Theatre Company
Encyclopedia
Sock ‘N’ Buskin is a student-run, community-based theatre company, located at Carleton University
, Ottawa
, Canada
.
A number of Sock 'N' Buskin alumni have gone on to professional careers, notably actor Dan Aykroyd
and CBC
radio host Alan Neal
. Several professional theatre groups in Ottawa, such as the Great Canadian Theatre Company
and Third Wall Theatre Company have their origins in S'N'B.
Their mainstage series traditionally consists of three plays a year: one classic (often by Shakespeare
) piece, one modern (often Canadian), and one musical.
by Kenneth Lonergan
. Director: Iain Moggach
Yerma
by Federico García Lorca
. Director: Kathleen Frost
Company
by George Furth
and Stephen Sondheim
director: Dave Dawson
Other past shows include A Clockwork Orange
, Hair
, Cabaret
, Jeffrey, The Big Funk, Chess
, Unidentified Human Remains
, I Hate Hamlet, Antigone
, and many more.
in a small-scale, small-risk setting. The studio series has featured eclectic theatre styles such as French absurdism
, student-written/directed pieces, and a slam poetry series entitled "This is Hip Hop". Previously, these productions took place in Sock 'n' Buskin's permanent studio space, a 50-seat black box which was also used for auditions and rehearsals. In August 2004 the studio was torn down by Carleton University in order to build an ice rink, S'n'B was given two weeks notice to remove their stuff.http://www.charlatan.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14901&Itemid=30
Since then, S'n'B's second stage series has been without a home. Spaces such as Rooster's and the Fenn Lounge in Residence have been used for performances, and they have often had to resort to paying for rehearsal spaces. S'n'B is constantly struggling to find spaces on campus in which to do theatre.
Carleton University
Carleton University is a comprehensive university located in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. The enabling legislation is The Carleton University Act, 1952, S.O. 1952. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines. Carleton has...
, Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
History
Sock ‘N’ Buskin was formed in 1943, one year after the formation of Carleton University itself. The company have performed a variety of shows in a variety of styles every year since.A number of Sock 'N' Buskin alumni have gone on to professional careers, notably actor Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
and CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
radio host Alan Neal
Alan Neal
Alan Neal is a Canadian journalist and radio personality. After working for seven years as a segment producer, reporter and fill-in host on CBC Radio One, Neal became host of Ontario Today, the network's noon-hour newsmagazine in Ontario, in 2003....
. Several professional theatre groups in Ottawa, such as the Great Canadian Theatre Company
Great Canadian Theatre Company
The Great Canadian Theatre Company, known for short as GCTC, is a professional theatre company based in Ottawa, Canada. It was established in 1975. The company specialises in the production of Canadian plays....
and Third Wall Theatre Company have their origins in S'N'B.
Their mainstage series traditionally consists of three plays a year: one classic (often by Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
) piece, one modern (often Canadian), and one musical.
Upcoming Shows
This Is Our YouthThis is Our Youth
This Is Our Youth is a 1996 play by American dramatist and screenwriter Kenneth Lonergan.-Production history:Originally produced by The New Group, the play opened at the INTAR Theatre in New York City in October 1996. It later opened at the Douglas Fairbanks Theatre in November 1998...
by Kenneth Lonergan
Kenneth Lonergan
Kenneth Lonergan is an American playwright, screenwriter, and director.-Background and education:Born in the Bronx, New York City, New York, Lonergan began writing in high school at the Walden School .His first play, The Rennings Children, was chosen for the Young Playwright's Festival in...
. Director: Iain Moggach
Yerma
Yerma
Yerma is a play by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. It was written in 1934, and first performed that same year. Lorca describes the play as "a tragic poem."-Plot:...
by Federico García Lorca
Federico García Lorca
Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...
. Director: Kathleen Frost
Company
Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
by George Furth
George Furth
George Furth was an American librettist, playwright, and actor.-Biography:Furth was born George Schweinfurth in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Evelyn and George Schweinfurth...
and Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
director: Dave Dawson
2011-2012 season
- MacbethMacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
by William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
. Director: Matt Minter - This Is Our YouthThis is Our YouthThis Is Our Youth is a 1996 play by American dramatist and screenwriter Kenneth Lonergan.-Production history:Originally produced by The New Group, the play opened at the INTAR Theatre in New York City in October 1996. It later opened at the Douglas Fairbanks Theatre in November 1998...
by Kenneth LonerganKenneth LonerganKenneth Lonergan is an American playwright, screenwriter, and director.-Background and education:Born in the Bronx, New York City, New York, Lonergan began writing in high school at the Walden School .His first play, The Rennings Children, was chosen for the Young Playwright's Festival in...
. Director: Iain Moggach - YermaYermaYerma is a play by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. It was written in 1934, and first performed that same year. Lorca describes the play as "a tragic poem."-Plot:...
by Federico García LorcaFederico García LorcaFederico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...
. Director: Kathleen Frost - CompanyCompanyA company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
by George FurthGeorge FurthGeorge Furth was an American librettist, playwright, and actor.-Biography:Furth was born George Schweinfurth in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Evelyn and George Schweinfurth...
and Stephen SondheimStephen SondheimStephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
director: Dave Dawson
2008-2009 season
- Much Ado About NothingMuch Ado About NothingMuch Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
by William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
. Director: Dave Dawson
*Evil Dead: The Musical by George ReinblattGeorge ReinblattGeorge Reinblatt is a comedy writer from Toronto, Canada, best known for writing the off-Broadway show Evil Dead: The Musical....
,Christopher Bond, Frank Cipolla,and Melissa Morris. Directors: Matt Minter and Lisa Bishop-Spencer
2007-2008 season
- Othella by William Shakespeare. Director: David Ross Whiteley
- R.U.R by Karel CapekKarel CapekKarel Čapek was Czech writer of the 20th century.-Biography:Born in 1890 in the Bohemian mountain village of Malé Svatoňovice to an overbearing, emotional mother and a distant yet adored father, Čapek was the youngest of three siblings...
. Director: Don Fex - Bat Boy: The MusicalBat Boy: The MusicalBat Boy: The Musical is a musical with a book by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming and music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe, based on a June 23, 1992 Weekly World News story about a half-boy, half-bat, dubbed "Bat Boy", found living in a cave....
by Laurence O'KeefeLaurence O'KeefeLaurence O'Keefe is an English bassist, and has previously played in a number of bands, most notably Jazz Butcher, Levitation, Dark Star, and The Hope Blister. Since Dark Star split up, O'Keefe has toured with Sophia and Martina Topley-Bird.-External links:* *...
and Brian FlemmingBrian FlemmingBrian Flemming is an American film director and playwright.- Early career :Flemming was born and raised in California's San Fernando Valley, and studied English at the University of California, Irvine, graduating in 1998...
. Director: Dave Dawson
2006-2007 season
- A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
by William Shakespeare. Director Don Fex Producer: Chris McIlveen - Glengarry Glen RossGlengarry Glen RossGlengarry Glen Ross is a 1984 play written by David Mamet. The play shows parts of two days in the lives of four desperate Chicago real estate agents who are prepared to engage in any number of unethical, illegal acts—from lies and flattery to bribery, threats, intimidation and burglary—to sell...
by David MametDavid MametDavid Alan Mamet is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter and film director.Best known as a playwright, Mamet won a Pulitzer Prize and received a Tony nomination for Glengarry Glen Ross . He also received a Tony nomination for Speed-the-Plow . As a screenwriter, he received Oscar...
. Director: Matt Minter. Producer: Adrian Di Lullo. - What the Butler SawWhat the Butler Saw (play)What the Butler Saw is a farce written by English playwright Joe Orton. It premièred at the Queen's Theatre in London on 5 March 1969. It was Orton's final play and the second to be performed after his death, following Funeral Games the year before....
by Joe OrtonJoe OrtonJohn Kingsley Orton was an English playwright.In a short but prolific career lasting from 1964 until his death, he shocked, outraged and amused audiences with his scandalous black comedies...
. Director: David Whiteley. Producers: Adrian Di Lullo and Chris McIlveen
2005-2006 season
- A Night of Ives: Four short plays by David IvesDavid IvesDavid Ives is a contemporary American playwright. A native of South Chicago, Ives attended a minor Catholic seminary and Northwestern University and, after some years' interval, Yale School of Drama, where he received an MFA in playwriting...
. Directors: Claudia Sicondolfo, Jason Benovoy, Colleen Kelly and Lara Gillespie. Producer: Darran Fernandez - Zastrozzi by George F. WalkerGeorge F. WalkerGeorge F. Walker, CM is a Canadian playwright and screenwriter. He is one of Canada's most prolific playwrights, and also one of the most widely produced Canadian dramatists both in Canada and internationally.-Early years:...
. Director: David Whiteley. Producer: Carlie Hopper. - GreaseGrease (musical)Grease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School , follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love,...
by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Director: Lisa Bishop-Spencer. Producer: Laura Cummings.
2004-2005 season
- The Trojan WomenThe Trojan WomenThe Trojan Women is a tragedy by the Greek playwright Euripides. Produced during the Peloponnesian War, it is often considered a commentary on the capture of the Aegean island of Melos and the subsequent slaughter and subjugation of its populace by the Athenians earlier in 415 BC , the same year...
by EuripidesEuripidesEuripides was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him but according to the Suda it was ninety-two at most...
, translated/adapted by Gwendolyn MacEwenGwendolyn MacEwenGwendolyn Margaret MacEwen was a Canadian poet and novelist. A "sophisticated, wide-ranging and thoughtful writer," she published more than 20 books in her brief life. "A sense of magic and mystery from her own interests in the Gnostics, Ancient Egypt and magic itself, and from her wonderment at...
. Director: David Whiteley. Producers: Ray Besharah and Laura Hall. - Baby with the BathwaterBaby with the BathwaterBaby with the Bathwater is a play by Christopher Durang about a boy named Daisy, his influences, and his eventual outcome.-Act I:Two parents who are completely unprepared for parenthood bring home their newborn baby. The two cannot seem to name the baby. John thinks the baby is a boy, but Helen...
, by Christopher DurangChristopher DurangChristopher Ferdinand Durang is an American playwright known for works of outrageous and often absurd comedy. His work was especially popular in the 1980s.- Life :...
. Director: Adam Smith. Producer: Darran Fernandez. - How to Save the Day by Matthew Domville. Director: Matthew Domville. Producer: Meaghan Harding. (at the Ottawa Fringe FestivalOttawa Fringe FestivalThe Ottawa Fringe Festival, founded in 1997, is a celebration of the non-mainstream performing arts. Held indoors and out, it is a ten-day event, held in June.-Performance Spaces:Performances all take place in downtown Ottawa...
)
2003-2004 season
- HamletHamletThe Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
by William Shakespeare. Director: Dave Dawson Producer: Meaghan Harding - Beyond TherapyBeyond TherapyBeyond Therapy is a play by Christopher Durang.The farcical comedy focuses on Prudence and Bruce, two Manhattanites who are seeking stable romantic relationships with the help of their psychiatrists, each of whom suggests the patient place a personal ad. Bruce is a highly emotional bisexual who...
by Christopher Durang. Directors: Heather MacDonald and Heather Moulaison Producer: Melissa Thornton - TommyTommy (rock opera)Tommy is the fourth album by English rock band The Who, released by Track Records and Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and Decca Records/MCA in the United States. A double album telling a loose story about a "deaf, dumb and blind boy" who becomes the leader of a messianic movement, Tommy was...
by The WhoThe WhoThe Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
. Director: Lisa Bishop. Producers: Heather MacDonald and Heather Moulaison
2002-2003 season
- Women of ManhattanWomen of ManhattanWomen of Manhattan is a play written by John Patrick Shanley and originally performed in 1986. It revolves around the lives of three women who are living in Manhattan: one has recently split up with her boyfriend, one is married, and one is considered a "fag hag" by the other two as she often...
by John Patrick ShanleyJohn Patrick ShanleyJohn Patrick Shanley is an American playwright, screenwriter, and director. He also contributed articles on the performing arts to The New York Times among other publications.-Life and career:...
. Director: Dave Dawson. - Romeo and JulietRomeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
, by William Shakespeare. Director: David Whiteley. Producer: Carly Ray - Moo by Sally Clark. Director: Brent Rouleau. Producer: Joel Bernbaum
- The Rocky Horror ShowThe Rocky Horror ShowThe Rocky Horror Show is a long-running British horror comedy stage musical, which opened in London on 19 June 1973. It was written by Richard O'Brien, produced and directed by Jim Sharman. It came eighth in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals"...
by Richard O'BrienRichard O'BrienRichard Timothy Smith , better known under his stage name Richard O'Brien, is an English writer, actor, television presenter and theatre performer. He is perhaps best known for writing the cult musical The Rocky Horror Show and for his role in presenting the popular TV show The Crystal Maze...
. Director: Lisa Bishop. Producer: Angie Chiang
2001-2002 season
- Measure for MeasureMeasure for MeasureMeasure for Measure is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604. It was classified as comedy, but its mood defies those expectations. As a result and for a variety of reasons, some critics have labelled it as one of Shakespeare's problem plays...
by William Shakespeare. Director: Brent Rouleau. - Seven Stories by Morris Paynch. Director: Dave Dawson.
- Jesus Christ SuperstarJesus Christ SuperstarJesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...
by Andrew Lloyd WebberAndrew Lloyd WebberAndrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
. Director: Lisa Bishop.
Other past shows include A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange is a 1962 dystopian novella by Anthony Burgess. The novel contains an experiment in language: the characters often use an argot called "Nadsat", derived from Russian....
, Hair
Hair (musical)
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
, Cabaret
Cabaret (musical)
Cabaret is a musical based on a book written by Christopher Isherwood, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. The 1966 Broadway production became a hit and spawned a 1972 film as well as numerous subsequent productions....
, Jeffrey, The Big Funk, Chess
Chess (musical)
Chess is a musical with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA, and with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other;...
, Unidentified Human Remains
Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love
Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love is a 1989 stage play written by Canadian playwright Brad Fraser. Set in Edmonton, Alberta, the comedy-drama follows the lives of several sexually frustrated "thirty-somethings" who try to learn the meaning of love — during a time in which...
, I Hate Hamlet, Antigone
Antigone
In Greek mythology, Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, Oedipus' mother. The name may be taken to mean "unbending", coming from "anti-" and "-gon / -gony" , but has also been suggested to mean "opposed to motherhood", "in place of a mother", or "anti-generative", based from the root...
, and many more.
Second Stage Series
In addition to their mainstage, they also have a second stage series (formerly the studio series) featuring independent and underground theatreUnderground art
Underground art, as with underground music and underground film, is a term that seeks to describe art forms that are aloof to the mainstream art world, are illegal, taboo, unconventional, rebellious or revolutionary...
in a small-scale, small-risk setting. The studio series has featured eclectic theatre styles such as French absurdism
Theatre of the Absurd
The Theatre of the Absurd is a designation for particular plays of absurdist fiction, written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, as well as to the style of theatre which has evolved from their work...
, student-written/directed pieces, and a slam poetry series entitled "This is Hip Hop". Previously, these productions took place in Sock 'n' Buskin's permanent studio space, a 50-seat black box which was also used for auditions and rehearsals. In August 2004 the studio was torn down by Carleton University in order to build an ice rink, S'n'B was given two weeks notice to remove their stuff.http://www.charlatan.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14901&Itemid=30
Since then, S'n'B's second stage series has been without a home. Spaces such as Rooster's and the Fenn Lounge in Residence have been used for performances, and they have often had to resort to paying for rehearsal spaces. S'n'B is constantly struggling to find spaces on campus in which to do theatre.