So, how’s it been?
Songs and Stories from our town
In the summer of 2020, theatre artist and Stratford resident Liza Balkan first began interviewing people who live and work in this town, asking after how they were doing through the fulsome and challenging initial months of the pandemic. She met with business owners, employees, artists, nurses, retirees, actors, parents, kids, farmers... The months became a year and the interviews continued. So many stories.
So, how’s it been? is a song cycle co-created by writer / director Balkan and composer / musical director Paul Shilton, inspired by – and using – the words from these recorded conversations. The songs and poetry are moving, surprising, funny, harsh, wild, curious, and empowering. And true. With music composed by Paul Shilton plus an additional song or two by Katherine Wheatley, Bruce Horak, and others, join extraordinary performers Marcus Nance, Barb Fulton, Trevor Patt, and Evangelia Kambites as they share a reflection of this highly particular time in this highly particular town. It's a concert. It’s a conversation. How’s it been for you?
August 17th - September 5th
Cast and Creative
Creator / Director: Liza Balkan*
Creator / Musical Director: Paul Shilton
Cast: Marcus Nance*, Barb Fulton*, Trevor Patt*, Evangelia Kambites*
*“The participation of these Artists is arranged by permission of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association under the provisions of the Dance Opera Theatre Policy (DOT).”
Liza Balkan
Liza is a director, librettist, writer, educator and Dora–award winning actor. A few pre-pandemic directing credits include Every Brilliant Thing, (Grand Theatre, London) Much Ado About Nothing (Canadian Stage / Shakespeare in High Park), Llandovery Castle (Opera Laurier), and the Canadian Premiere of the chamber opera Anais Nin (Koerner Hall / RCM). As a resident artist at The Theatre Centre in Toronto, she developed her documentary /verbatim project, Out the Window, about policing, use of force, mental health, accountability, and the law. The show was produced at TTC in 2012 and at the Luminato Festival in 2018. Liza’s collaborations as a librettist have been produced by Tapestry Opera, 5 Boroughs Song Book (NYC), Scrag Mountain Music (Vermont), Opera McGill and Bicycle Opera Project. Upcoming in Jan. 2022: the text for composer Brian Current’s Gould’s Wall, directed by Phillip Akin, at Koerner Hall/RCM. She is hugely grateful for the generosity of all the wonderful people who have been sharing their stories over this past year. Thank you Here for Now Festival! www.lizabalkan.com
Paul Shilton
Paul most recently composed the music for the Stratford Festival Production of Julius Caesar. Other Stratford composing credits include Romeo and Juliet, The Adventures of Pericles; Edward the 2nd; An Ideal Husband; and Dark Lady of the Sonnets, (a Stratford / CBC radio co-production recorded live at the Glenn Gould studio). He also composed the music for The Hobbit at the Grand Theatre in London and composed the music for last year’s production of All’s Well That Ends Well at Stratford, which we hope will rise again.
He is a member of Larry’s Jazz Guys who appear regularly in the Forum series with the Stratford Festival, as well as at the Jazz Room and the Registry Theatre in Kitchener / Waterloo. He has produced and arranged two Cds of jazz standards featuring his wife, singer Barbara Fulton.
Marcus Nance is equally at home in theatre, opera, concert, film, and cabaret. The New York Times described him as, “a thrillingly powerful bass baritone” and Backstage NY said he has “a voice that flows like melted butter”. Marcus Nance’s credits include ten seasons at the Stratford Festival, two seasons at the Shaw Festival, Jesus Christ Superstar and Baz Luhrmann’s La Boheme on Broadway and many more television/film, theatre, opera, orchestral and cabaret performances all across North America. Marcus Nance is also on the faculty of Sheridan College’s Musical Theatre Department where he teaches vocal tutorials. His CD, The Voice Next Door can be found on iTunes and cdbaby.com; For more information visit marcusnance.com.
Trevor Patt
Trevor is so incredibly grateful to Here for Now for the opportunity to be on stage again. He been fortunate to perform professionally at theatres across Canada for the past 11 years. Some of his favourites include 5 seasons at the Stratford Festival, the Charlottetown Festival, the Grand Theatre, the Citadel Theatre, Theatre Aquarius, Rainbow Stage, Drayton Entertainment, the Manitoba Theatre Centre, Theatre Orangeville, and the original development workshops of Come From Away. He also is a songwriter and musician. Endless love to Jade.
Evangelia Kambites is a singer/songwriter, actor, dancer, and multi-instrumentalist based in Toronto. Notable stage credits include Hadestown (Citadel), Billy Elliot, Little Shop of Horrors, You Can't Stop the Beat Cabaret (Stratford Festival), the META Award-winning production of The Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God (NAC / Centaur / BTW), The Hockey Sweater (Segal Centre / NAC) I Think I'm Fallin' - The Songs of Joni Mitchell (Belfry Theatre), for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf, The Secret Chord: A Leonard Cohen Experience, 27 Club (Soulpepper), the Jessie Award-winning production of Avenue Q (Arts Club), A Whole New World: The Magical Music of Alan Menken (Angelwalk Theatre), Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story (Theatre North West). For television: Minority Report (FOX), Heroes Reborn (NBC), Incorporated (SYFY / CBS), The Boys (Sony / Amazon), Y: The Last Man (FX). Debut album Feel The Fall available now on all platforms! Twitter / Instagram: @ekambites
Barbara Fulton is a singer, actor who has worked primarily in Music Theatre. Until March of 2020 she was working in Come From Away at the Royal Alex as Diane. She worked with the Stratford Festival for 22 seasons. Of note, A Little Night Music, The Lion, Witch and The Wardrobe, Fiddler on the Roof, Electra, Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, Into the Woods, The Mikado, The Miracle Worker and Bonjour la, bonjour. She is a recipient of numerous Guthrie awards from Stratford and a Dora award for ensemble work in ‘Life After’ by Stratford native Britta Johnson. Barbara has sung with the Stratford Summer Music Festival, notably, with The Duke Ellington and Glen Miller Orchestras. She and husband Paul Shilton produced 2 Jazz standard CDs.