The Leigha Lee Browne Theatre
Created | Updated Jun 30, 2006
Origin:
Once upon a time there was a university-for argument's sake, let's call it "University of Toronto at Scarborough". They had a rather unusual solution to an age-old problem: the problem being that students were more than prone to skipping out on lectures, which would cost the university money having to pay for lecturers that would be coming in to give lectures no one was going to.
In an effort to prove what irrepressively smarty-pants people they were, their rather unorthodox solution was this: create an environment where students could come into a classroom in the Science or Humanities Wings, take their seats in a lecture hall, and watch a video recording of their lecturers give the lesson for the day, while they could kick back with the money they'd save by actually having professors come in for lectures rather than shorter recording sessions, and then with any luck enjoy a nice cold margarita or two.
Now this was, in fact, a rather clever plan. Naturally, according to Nestle's Law of Clever Planning, this one was destined to fail in the worst way possible. That worst way turned out to be this: regardless of all the fantastic effort being put into trying to get people to come sit and watch a lecture, the school administrators found that the students were even more prone to skipping class than ever before, as now they had a lack of any real supervision whatsoever.
The school administrators, knowing full-well that the likelihood of their ever getting a margarita hinged on their ability to solve the problem, decided that they would simply go back to the way things were before, and settle for whiskey-and-sodas instead. Therefore, they reinstated the lecture schedules, decommissioned the 'smart' classroom units back into regular lecture halls, and closed down their recording studio at the far end of the Science Wing.
Now one of the professors there-the then-head of drama, Leigha Lee Browne-pointed out that the studio that had been used for recordings need not go to waste when there were students and faculty that could use it. For one thing, the drama department had been practicing in the school for years, and with no theatre whatsoever.
The school administrators (hoping that turning this fervor to their advantage might enable them to at least afford a Gibson or very dry Martini) agreed to use school funds to create what was known as "The Massive Reno", resulting in a big, three-studio recording station being turned into a tiny black box theatre. Thus was the Leigha Lee Browne Theatre forged.
Sadly, the heroine of our story, Professor Browne, passed on over the course of the struggle to build a new theatre, but her memory and namesake shall live on forever, until the zoning department in charge of Scarborough Campus realize what a great dirty concrete eyesore UTSC can be, and decide to take affirmative action on behalf of good taste.
(On a side note, the school administrators never did get their margaritas, but it is said that one faculty member treated them to a round of Coca-Colas for their trouble).
Staff:
Leading the charge of this Dirge of the Dramatic is the current head of Drama at UTSC, Dr. Michal Schonberg. Most recently, one might have seen his collaborative work, "The Art of Living", with the Prague-Manitoulin-Toronto Theatre Group, composed of actors and performers from Prague, Manitoulin Island, and the UTSC student community.
Also to be found there is Paula Sperdakos, a true enthusiast for theatre if there ever was one-particularly for the play "Noises Off", as well as the motion picture. Most recently, one would have sen her second-year Performance class' stage reading of "The Trojan Women" for the UTSC community in late March.
Another professor of the faculty is Trisha Lamie, whose approaches towards contemporary theatre have in spring 2005 produced the original prodcution "4:48 Flesh"-a collaborative piece with contributions from her third-year production class, as well as choreography by Rebecca Bliss and music by Sandy Moore. The show-a tribute to the works of modern playwright Sarah Kane-was a huge success and a glowing tribute to the contantly eveolving nature of theatre today.
Teaching from a more television and film-based perspective is Maria Ricossa, a performer for both stage and screen who often teaches courses having to do with the nature of acting for the camera, including in-class workshops involving filmed scenes and dialogues, followed by critiques and discussion between the various members of the class.
In terms of new staff for this year, there is the new Assistant Technical Director, Scott Dutrisac. Coming from a background working with Soulpepper and numerous productions with his alma mader, Humber College, Scott has been one of the key figures in producing the technical elements seen in the many productions to come to the theatre in the year 2006, including the fully-structured and tiltable tower used for the set of this year's senior performance class production, "The Experiment of Dr. Ox".
Finally, there is the Technical Director of the Theatre, Kevin Wright. Not only is the man in charge of all things technical in the theatre, but he has been saved for last in this entry since he is one of the most DEVOUT h2g2 fans to be found in Scarborough. Capable of reciting many passages from the Guide from memory, he is a force to be reckoned with in the way of the towel. He is also responsible for every show that gets produced in the theatre getting the time and attention it needs to get itself off the ground.
The Drama Society (Fakin' It Since '56):
Known campus-wide for their random dance-offs, their unusual ticket sales tactics, and a row of men's asses from last school year's Triple Bill, the UTSC Drama Society is one of the few forces of the school that has a unique level of independence from the rest of the student organizational body. It does report to SCSU to some degree, as well as the newly-created SHADO, but for the most part DS is an autonomous club that tries to show UTSC the creative side hidden under the concrete.
During this summer, DS is unfortunately in a state of stasis until closer to the beginning of the school year, at which point students of the school will begin to see announcements for more outrageous plays and shows, coupled with some of the more daring live ticket-sales acts people in the school are used to.
The Second Coming; The Massive Reno Part Two:
One of the major issues affecting UTSC Drama this coming year is the new renovation that is sweeping the theatre, which should improve the entire operations of the S-Wing for the coming few years. When the reno is completed, there should be a whole new age for the theatre itself as a fully-functional THEATRE, instead of a Black-Box leftover from the sixties (needless to say, the amont being spent on the theatre is MORE than your average margarita).
Of course, with prgress comes the inevitable halt that it brings-namely, that in order for new things to be built and improved, old working things have to be stopped from working (such is the way of progress in Scarborough-sigh). Therefore, the LLBT asks patrons to be patient with any delays or relocations to be done over the course of the next few years. Short of sabotaging the bulldozers by lying in front of them in bathrobes and slippers, there's very little that can be done to stop a system that doesn't really work come in to stop a system that almost kind-of works. Life-don't talk to us about life. Not much else to do but grab a towel and hope the sun doesn;t get in your eyes. Cheers.
Once upon a time there was a university-for argument's sake, let's call it "University of Toronto at Scarborough". They had a rather unusual solution to an age-old problem: the problem being that students were more than prone to skipping out on lectures, which would cost the university money having to pay for lecturers that would be coming in to give lectures no one was going to.
In an effort to prove what irrepressively smarty-pants people they were, their rather unorthodox solution was this: create an environment where students could come into a classroom in the Science or Humanities Wings, take their seats in a lecture hall, and watch a video recording of their lecturers give the lesson for the day, while they could kick back with the money they'd save by actually having professors come in for lectures rather than shorter recording sessions, and then with any luck enjoy a nice cold margarita or two.
Now this was, in fact, a rather clever plan. Naturally, according to Nestle's Law of Clever Planning, this one was destined to fail in the worst way possible. That worst way turned out to be this: regardless of all the fantastic effort being put into trying to get people to come sit and watch a lecture, the school administrators found that the students were even more prone to skipping class than ever before, as now they had a lack of any real supervision whatsoever.
The school administrators, knowing full-well that the likelihood of their ever getting a margarita hinged on their ability to solve the problem, decided that they would simply go back to the way things were before, and settle for whiskey-and-sodas instead. Therefore, they reinstated the lecture schedules, decommissioned the 'smart' classroom units back into regular lecture halls, and closed down their recording studio at the far end of the Science Wing.
Now one of the professors there-the then-head of drama, Leigha Lee Browne-pointed out that the studio that had been used for recordings need not go to waste when there were students and faculty that could use it. For one thing, the drama department had been practicing in the school for years, and with no theatre whatsoever.
The school administrators (hoping that turning this fervor to their advantage might enable them to at least afford a Gibson or very dry Martini) agreed to use school funds to create what was known as "The Massive Reno", resulting in a big, three-studio recording station being turned into a tiny black box theatre. Thus was the Leigha Lee Browne Theatre forged.
Sadly, the heroine of our story, Professor Browne, passed on over the course of the struggle to build a new theatre, but her memory and namesake shall live on forever, until the zoning department in charge of Scarborough Campus realize what a great dirty concrete eyesore UTSC can be, and decide to take affirmative action on behalf of good taste.
(On a side note, the school administrators never did get their margaritas, but it is said that one faculty member treated them to a round of Coca-Colas for their trouble).
Staff:
Leading the charge of this Dirge of the Dramatic is the current head of Drama at UTSC, Dr. Michal Schonberg. Most recently, one might have seen his collaborative work, "The Art of Living", with the Prague-Manitoulin-Toronto Theatre Group, composed of actors and performers from Prague, Manitoulin Island, and the UTSC student community.
Also to be found there is Paula Sperdakos, a true enthusiast for theatre if there ever was one-particularly for the play "Noises Off", as well as the motion picture. Most recently, one would have sen her second-year Performance class' stage reading of "The Trojan Women" for the UTSC community in late March.
Another professor of the faculty is Trisha Lamie, whose approaches towards contemporary theatre have in spring 2005 produced the original prodcution "4:48 Flesh"-a collaborative piece with contributions from her third-year production class, as well as choreography by Rebecca Bliss and music by Sandy Moore. The show-a tribute to the works of modern playwright Sarah Kane-was a huge success and a glowing tribute to the contantly eveolving nature of theatre today.
Teaching from a more television and film-based perspective is Maria Ricossa, a performer for both stage and screen who often teaches courses having to do with the nature of acting for the camera, including in-class workshops involving filmed scenes and dialogues, followed by critiques and discussion between the various members of the class.
In terms of new staff for this year, there is the new Assistant Technical Director, Scott Dutrisac. Coming from a background working with Soulpepper and numerous productions with his alma mader, Humber College, Scott has been one of the key figures in producing the technical elements seen in the many productions to come to the theatre in the year 2006, including the fully-structured and tiltable tower used for the set of this year's senior performance class production, "The Experiment of Dr. Ox".
Finally, there is the Technical Director of the Theatre, Kevin Wright. Not only is the man in charge of all things technical in the theatre, but he has been saved for last in this entry since he is one of the most DEVOUT h2g2 fans to be found in Scarborough. Capable of reciting many passages from the Guide from memory, he is a force to be reckoned with in the way of the towel. He is also responsible for every show that gets produced in the theatre getting the time and attention it needs to get itself off the ground.
The Drama Society (Fakin' It Since '56):
Known campus-wide for their random dance-offs, their unusual ticket sales tactics, and a row of men's asses from last school year's Triple Bill, the UTSC Drama Society is one of the few forces of the school that has a unique level of independence from the rest of the student organizational body. It does report to SCSU to some degree, as well as the newly-created SHADO, but for the most part DS is an autonomous club that tries to show UTSC the creative side hidden under the concrete.
During this summer, DS is unfortunately in a state of stasis until closer to the beginning of the school year, at which point students of the school will begin to see announcements for more outrageous plays and shows, coupled with some of the more daring live ticket-sales acts people in the school are used to.
The Second Coming; The Massive Reno Part Two:
One of the major issues affecting UTSC Drama this coming year is the new renovation that is sweeping the theatre, which should improve the entire operations of the S-Wing for the coming few years. When the reno is completed, there should be a whole new age for the theatre itself as a fully-functional THEATRE, instead of a Black-Box leftover from the sixties (needless to say, the amont being spent on the theatre is MORE than your average margarita).
Of course, with prgress comes the inevitable halt that it brings-namely, that in order for new things to be built and improved, old working things have to be stopped from working (such is the way of progress in Scarborough-sigh). Therefore, the LLBT asks patrons to be patient with any delays or relocations to be done over the course of the next few years. Short of sabotaging the bulldozers by lying in front of them in bathrobes and slippers, there's very little that can be done to stop a system that doesn't really work come in to stop a system that almost kind-of works. Life-don't talk to us about life. Not much else to do but grab a towel and hope the sun doesn;t get in your eyes. Cheers.
