Phantom Productions

One of my hobbies is looking far in advance to see what rights have been negotiated for future theatrical productions.  (DPS is by far the easier site to negotiate, but sometimes I look at Samuel French as well.)  It is always interesting and sometimes a bit frustrating to stumble across something and then have it vaporize.  (Clearly this is a first-world problem.)  This really shouldn't be that much of a surprise, as it doesn't cost that much to lock up the rights for a couple of weeks (certainly compared to renting rehearsal space and paying the stage manager and technicians and just possibly paying the actors something...).  Then if the fund-raising doesn't quite take off, you can either let the rights lapse or potentially renegotiate for a future date.

I learned of several potential productions that never quite took off in Vancouver, which somehow didn't surprise me, as Vancouver is just not that supportive of live theatre (or perhaps everything is just too expensive relative to the potential audience).  I mentioned that "The Company" is supposed to be putting on Annie Baker's The Aliens in March, but this has vanished without a ripple.  I'm somewhat hopeful that it will be resurrected next year.  In any case, I will keep my eyes peeled for any news.

There was another one that vanished on me, but I can't even remember the details at the moment.

While looking up whether there would be any Arthur Miller or Tennessee Williams playing nearby to cross off my list (nothing aside from Incident at Vichy at the moment), I saw that this September, Tremblay's Les Belles Soeurs is supposed to be playing here in Toronto (out on Bloor West).  This is too funny since I needn't have driven to Peterborough, though my initial take on it is that this company isn't quite as professional as the Motley Collective -- and that there is a pretty decent chance that this will not come off and become another phantom production.  So I don't have any regrets on seeing that production, but if the reviews of this Toronto production are positive, I'll go again.  It is a play worth seeing twice.