For the past few years we’ve had the most fun at the silly Ross Petty holiday stage productions. We look forward to his shows as he brings a familiar classic tale to life but cleverly embellishes and re-imagines the story to a whole new zany level. This year’s production of Peter Pan in Wonderland is particularly of interest as it will be the final on stage performance by Ross Petty himself.

Peter Pan picks up loosely on the story we’re familiar with but then mashes it up with Alice in Wonderland. It’s still about a boy who never wants to grow up but here he finds himself in the city of Toronto (gorgeous backdrop by the way!) where he and Tinkerbell (aka TBum) gets into hilarious situations.

Why you must put this particular show on your must see list, you ask? Here are just a few reasons…

• It’s the 20th anniversary of the production company and Petty is retiring his “dame” characters. So, it’s your last chance to witness all the Booing…yes, it’s encouraged actually. I can recall our first Ross Petty show and we were quite taken back at first but then realized it’s tradition. When it happens Petty side tracks off the story and gives sharp witted one-liners.

• It’s pantomime theatre – a type of musical comedy originally from England that is performed around Christmas season designed for families..but trust me, you don’t need kids to go and see this.

• Dan Chameroy is an audience favourite as his character Plumbum returns for the 7th year as TBum. We can’t get enough of his loveable character with a big heart. JUST CAN’T GET ENOUGH.

• This show brings in the talented comedian Jessica Holmes as the Queen of Hearts who has a Russian lisp. If you didn’t know she sings, you’ll be amazed!

• The kids from the wildly popular TV hit series The Next Step are in this production. Kids in the audience who recognized Jordan Clark, Lamar Johnson, and Taveeta Szymanowicz went bananas.

• Kids also love the injection of current pop tunes, My niece loved that her favourite songs were incorporated into the show…okay, I did too!

• The sponsors of the show (Porter, Toronto Star, Star Touch, CIBC, Hilton Hotels) get their own special treatment “commercial breaks.”

• Be sure to check out the collection of costumes and production posters located on the lower level.

Peter Pan in Wonderland is fun fractured tale for the entire family. It’s a fast paced show that is highly entertaining.  On stage until January 3, 2016 at the Elgin Theatre. Visit rosspetty.com for details.

Here’s an idea idea of what happened over the past 20 years….

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Located in Hudson, NY, The MAI building was designed by architect, Rem Koolhaas.  Abromovic described Koolhaus as a “mastermind of Architecture”. At the institute, Abramović’s aim is to raise visitors’ consciousness. Abramović described the MAI as the “new Bauhaus, a new community to change consciousness today”. For Abramović, it is important to influence the public body. She does this through the institute, her performances, and her interactive art objects, in hopes of influencing the public through experience.

When visiting the MAI, individuals must agree to at least a six hour commitment. Abramović explained that only long performance work can change us because “we need time”. Abramović asserted that we live in a “completely disconnected society”, and the institute focuses on fostering a reconnection with the self. She called this “The Abramović Method”, in which an individual connects with themself on their own time.

As a public figure, Abramović excels at the difficult task of keeping secluded in order to maintain her interesting character as an artist. In Abramović’s lecture, she distinguished a mediocre artist from a great artist: a great artist has the “disease to work”, separating themself from everything else in order to be interesting. Abramović hardly uses the internet. She asserted that technology has ruined taste and aesthetics. In her opinion, contemporary technology allows “the biggest piece of shit look good visually”. According to Abramović, “technology took everything away from us.”

Abramović emphasized the importance of focusing on the moment. For her, there is no past and no future. There is only the present. Abramović epitomized this idea in her performance work, “The Artist is Present” (2010). The work was a 736-hour and 30-minute silent work in which she sat immobile at the MoMa in New York City. The installation attracted more than 750,000 visitors and has been the most successful performance piece in MoMa history.

According to Abramović, performance art is about investigating the question, “what is the body?” Throughout her career, Abramović has used her body as a medium. Abramović taps into what she calls “Body Limits” in her performances, pushing the limits of her physical and mental being. When Abramović reviewed examples of great performance works, she described pieces that successfully utilized particular parts of the body: head, chest, hands, stomach, arms, and eyes. Abramović referenced the famous Surrealist film, “Un Chien Andalou” as an exemplar. In particular, the lecture audience viewed the video clip of a young woman close-up, with a man holding her eye open. The man sharpens his razor and then slits the woman’s eye with the razor. In this work, the man and woman transcends boundaries of the body and investigates the limits a body can take. Metaphorically, Abramović is interested in experiencing the edge, without falling off into the cliff of death. She said, “Only when you can understand death… you can focus on what is really going to matter”.

Another element that Abramović taps into in her performance work is “rest energy”: the energy a body musters in life threatening situations. Abramović literally pushes the limits of her body by putting herself in danger. In her performance work, “Rest Energy” (1980), Abramović endangered herself by transforming her body into a passive victim of an engaged crossbow, that was pulled back by her partner, Ulay. Abramović and Ulay leaned backwards, making the bow taught while pointed directly at Marina’s heart. Abramović and Ulay’s increasing heart rates were recorded by microphones that were attached to their chests. The recording of their beating heartbeats is a materialization of the rest energy their bodies mustered during this life threatening action.

Abramović described performance art as reality. This differentiates performance art from other types of performance entertainment like theatre. She stated, in performance art, “blood is blood” in contrast to ketchup in theatre. Abramović has been a pioneer in performing hyper intense installations that focus on violating and physically harming her sensorial body.

Learn more about MAI by visiting http://www.marinaabramovicinstitute.org/

You can follow MAI at on Facebook @MAIhudson, on Instagram @hudsonMAI, and on Twitter @hudsonMAI.

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