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Hamilton Spectator
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
All the world's a summer camp
There was a dissection going on in the director's lounge on the second floor of Theatre Aquarius. No blood. But by the end, a lot of guts. As in confidence. The seven teenage girls seated around music teacher Treasa Levasseur were working through the lyrics of 'This Is Me,' from the Broadway musical and film 'The Greatest Showman' (starring Hugh Jackman, Zendaya and Zac Efron), figuring out how to move from one section to another. Levasseur pushed a few keys on her phone and the music spit out from a powerful speaker on the ground by her keyboard. 'Everyone feeling good about their parts?' she asked. 'Not terrible,' one girl groaned. Teenagers. These teens were one of three groups of children participating in this year's Theatre Aquarius summer camp. Three programs are offered this year: Glee-atre, a weeklong song-acting-and-dance program; a weeklong comedic acting class based on commedia dell'arte; and a creation camp, where students write the songs and story for a musical, then act and direct it in two weeks. (You read that right.) As well, each of the programs is divided by age group. There are teens (14 to 17 years old), 'middles' (10 to 13 years old) and 'littles' (six to nine years old). Levasseur asked two girls to approach a microphone for their solos. They sang. She got them to do it again. And again. Each time, pushing: 'Can you repeat that with conviction?' 'Can you give me a Superman pose?' Speak the lyric, Levasseur asked: 'I am brave, I am bruised; I am who I'm meant to be: this is me.' 'What is the feeling under this lyric?' 'Confidence,' they answered in one voice. 'Can we dial up the confidence?' You could hear the volume in your feet. Camp starts the same each day, with a group circle of all the campers, teachers, volunteers and 'emerging leaders,' or junior teachers. Last Tuesday, the day started with a round of duck-duck-goose and what's known as the clapping game, where a camper claps at their neighbour, the neighbour 'receives' the clap and then repeats the move to their neighbour and on around the circle the clap goes. Such games are normal warm-ups for acting students, no matter what age. Then the kids break up into three areas of the theatre under the direction of three teachers: music with Levasseur in the lounge; dance with choreographer Katie Edwards in the Studio theatre; and acting, under the direction of Stacy Smith on Aquarius's main stage. Stacy Smith leads the 'middles' through a session on acting. Each session culminates in a showcase where the kids perform the songs they've worked on all week for family and friends. One recent morning, the 'littles' group, comprising 16 or so girls, performed stretching exercises under the direction of emerging leader Juaneta Noman. A butterfly exercise — seated with the soles of their sneakers touching and the knees bouncing up and down — turned into a discussion about pizza toppings. Faves: cheese and pepperoni. And then 'I only like mushrooms when they're on pizza.' Noman asked the girls what kind of animals populate the world of 'The Lion King.' Answers ranged from 'courageous lion' to 'farting warthog' and 'wise meerkat.' After each answer, they moved about the stage channelling that animal. Noman pointed out that there are ways for actors to 'be' an animal on stage without crawling on hands and knees: finding a characteristic of that animal and inhabiting that. A girl pointed out that sloths sleep all day, then lay on stage. Noman seemed completely unfazed by the easy distractions. To her, being a teaching assistant to Stacy Smith was a matter of creating a welcoming environment for the children, something Smith echoed. Being on stage acting can be scary, she said. Smith said she isn't so much interested in building their confidence to get on stage than in establishing 'safe spaces where we can create.' Theatre games open the door. Theatre Aquarius campers look over the lyrics to 'I Just Can't Wait to be King.' Because the culmination of this particular session, Glee-atre, was a song-and-dance showcase, Smith's acting class was designed around getting the student performers to inhabit the lyric. One of the lyrics from the middles' song — 'Try Everything' from the movie 'Zootopia' — says 'I mess up tonight, I lost another fight.' The question to the tweens was whether they should aim to interpret that lyric as a character in the film or relate to it personally. The answers were mixed, but soon enough Smith got her neophytes to understand that in musical theatre, as in any drama, you'll lose the audience if you can't convince them of the authenticity of the emotion. To do this, she had them break down lyrics into a set of emotions they could act out in what are called 'tableaux,' like a staged still life. 'I messed up tonight' and 'I lost another fight' became opportunities to physically know what a lyric meant. Then, each actor was required to perform a dramatic reading of the lyrics. 'Don't just say the text, but make it personal, to your own story.' Later, the 14 girls and two boys stood before their campmates acting out 'I messed up tonight, I lost another fight, I still mess up, but I'll just start again.' Acting like they meant it. Acting like there were no truer words in their still-young worlds. Openings for the single-week comedy acting camp and the two-week creation camp, July 21 to Aug. 1, remain. For other summer camps in the Hamilton area, check out or .
Hamilton Spectator
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
Ginger Minj: Beyond the eye gloss, pancake and glitter
'Life should be a party, not a prison sentence. Wear too much blush, cover yourself in glitter and put on that damn tutu if it makes you feel like your fabulous self.' Ginger Minj, drag star extraordinaire, is talking about grabbing hold of life and shaking things up a bit. She's talking about putting on the big red wig and letting herself go wild on stage. She's talking about stepping out, being part of the party, not hiding in shadows, afraid of living life. 'My show is all about the songs and moments from my life that shaped me into the LGBTQ+ person that I am today.' But just a minute here. An alumni of series seven of superstar 'RuPaul's Drag Race,' Minj admits she's shy in real life. Who Ginger Minj Where Theatre Aquarius, 190 King William St. When Thursday, June 5, 7.30 p.m. Tickets Regular $55, VIP meet the star $75 plus fees and taxes. Call 905-522-7529 or boxoffice@ 'Some people would probably call me a wallflower. If I'm not writing music or shows or books, I'm cuddled up with the husband and dogs, watching the Food Network. 'You know, as a little country boy from a small Christian conservative town in North Florida, I never thought I'd have a clear path to my dreams, but 'Drag Race' gave me that, and I'll be forever grateful. It opened so many doors for me. I've done movies, theatre, written a book and toured the world several times over this past 10 years.' When you ask Minj where her stage persona came from, she's not shy about answering. Ginger Minj is a contemporary and bold image in a world of drag that has moved on from just being female imitation, Gary Smith writes. 'Ginger gave me my voice and the permission to speak up. I based her on all the church ladies I grew up around, the ones who would give you the shirts off their backs, but read you to filth for not having your own in the first place. What I do is sassy, it's dry, but it all comes from a place of love.' The thing is, Ginger Minj is a contemporary and bold image in a world of drag that has moved on from just being female imitation. 'Unlike a lot of drag artists from the past, my persona is more of a heightened, emboldened version of myself than a wholly separate character. Audiences can spot a phoney from a mile away, so I just try to be as open, honest and grounded as possible when I'm on stage, even in the midst of the most ridiculous situations. 'I'm an old-fashioned Broadway belter for sure, but I'm probably best known for my quick wit and work with the crowd. The best part of this job is getting to know new people every single day, and my favourite thing to do is banter with someone I don't know. It keeps the show fresh, fun and funny.' Once an actor in Christian films and chosen as Miss Gay United States in 2012, Minj admits she's sometimes performed in front of folks who were hostile to the notion of drag. 'My philosophy has always been to use my platform to change minds and curate conversation. Unless someone poses a threat to me, or the audience, I encourage them to think why they're feeling that way, when everyone else is having so much fun. I noticed when hosting 'Drag Race Live in Las Vegas' that the most hostile people at the beginning were the ones singing and cheering the loudest by the end.' Asked about U.S. President Donald Trump's edict banning drag and woke shows at the Kennedy Center Theater in Washington, she's philosophical. 'People try to suppress what they don't understand and seeing people like us, living our best lives out loud, is frightening to folks who have spent their entire lives trying to blend in. I've grown up around these people and I've seen first-hand how earth-shaking it can be when they see someone, not just flaunting, but celebrating themselves, flaws and all.' But that's just one side of things. 'Let's make it clear, the world has loved RuPaul since the '90s. I think that's because she and other beloved queens have been unapologetically themselves for so long. What we do gives other people permission to put it all out there, laugh at themselves when needed, celebrate the flaws and live for the moment. 'Drag has been around for centuries and it's not going anywhere. Get on board and celebrate with us or stay miserable in your own little bubble.' Minj admires stars like Harvey Fierstein. 'He's so uniquely himself in and out of drag, demanding respect and attention at a time when that was truly taboo. I learned early on from him to be honest. If there's no space for you at the table, start your own banquet. I admire anyone who is willing to put on a wig and heels and hold their head high in public. It takes a lot of courage to stand out from the crowd and that's something that should always be celebrated and encouraged.' Offstage, Minj is Joshua Eads-Brown. 'I used to work hard to keep those two separate,' he says. 'However, since we appear out of drag for more than half of 'Drag Race' the audience gets to know both Joshua and Ginger beneath all the makeup. It was scary to blur those lines at first, but it's been a beautiful gift in the long run. 'The artistry is what gets people in the room, but the humanity, is what makes them stay.'
CBC
20-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Tragically Hip jukebox musical debuting in 2026
Social Sharing The Tragically Hip's songbook is getting the jukebox musical treatment under the guidance of Come From Away producer Michael Rubinoff. Named after a Hip song, the show dubbed It's a Good Life If You Don't Weaken promises to draw on the band's deep catalogue of Canadian classics, including lyrics by late frontman Gord Downie. WATCH | The official video for 'It's a Good Life If You Don't Weaken': Rubinoff will be assisted by fellow producers David and Hannah Mirvish. "The Tragically Hip are a foundational part of Canadian culture and music. We are thrilled to support a musical that uses their music to tell a wonderful and uniquely Canadian story," they said in a press release. The book is written by Brian Hill, who worked on the Broadway musical The Story of My Life, and Ahmed Moneka, a nominee at this year's Juno Awards for global music album. Producers say the musical will premiere at Hamilton's Theatre Aquarius next year with plans to further develop the project at Toronto Metropolitan University's theatre school. An open casting call is set for March 9 at the Creative School Chrysalis at Toronto Metropolitan University. The song "It's a Good Life If You Don't Weaken" appeared on the Hip's 2002 album In Violet Light. "Some of the country's best theatre makers have come together to create a show that honours our music," said the Tragically Hip in a press release. "It's exciting to see our songs interpreted in a new way that will continue to connect audiences, while supporting a compelling story for the theatrical stage."
