Hangman at The Storefront Theatre

Hangman by Jason Maghanoy

A bold new vision of the old west that asks what makes us good, what makes us bad, and what makes us human, directed by Daniel Pagett.

An examination of how we are shaped by our circumstances, Hangman follows the story of Alistair, a murderer who survives hanging for his crimes and finds unexpected salvation in a mysterious drifter named Winston. Winston takes what he needs to survive and has the town searching for him, greatly endangering the paralyzed Alistair who has been left for the rats under the gallows. As Alistair begins to realize he can rise above his dire situation and past life, Winston sinks deeper into the violence that is consuming the town, leading to a tragic and explosive ending.

Storefront Theatre, 955 Bloor Street West
May 13th – 29th
Tickets – $25
Opening night – Friday, May 13th – 8:00pm
Evening performances Wednesday to Saturday at 8:00 PM
Matinees – Sunday May 15th, 22nd & 29th at 2:00 PM
Pay What You Can (offer only available at the door, subject to availability) – Wednesday May 18th & 25th

Hangman written by Jason Maghanoy
Directed by Daniel Pagett

Produced by Tom McGee and Kat Sandler.
Stage Managed by Natalie Frijia
Sound Design by Jakob Ehman
Lighting Design by Melissa Joakim
Set & Wardrobe Design by Jenna McCutchen
Puppet Design & Creation by Kaitlin Morrow
Photos by John Gundy

Starring Prince Amponsah, Alexander Thomas, Vanessa Trenton, Jon Blair, and Vince Carlin, with puppeteer Kaitlin Morrow.

To purchase tickets please visit The Storefront Theatre website.

Play Reading - Touch

Touch
Written & Directed by Jason Maghanoy

Featuring
Tara Nicodemo
Araya Mengesha

Videofag, 187 Augusta Ave
Monday, February 15
8pm
PWYC

Katrina Ten Years Later: A Theatrical Response

jsquared.theatre is proud to announce that Jason Maghanoy's Storm Trilogy of plays (K, Throat and Heart) will be read in Ithaca, New York as part of Katrina Ten Years Later: A Theatrical Response, a series of staged readings examining Hurricane Katrina and its legacy.

For more information please visit the Civic Ensemble website.

Gas at the People Theatre, Tokyo

jsquared.theatre is pleased to announce that Jason Maghanoy's play Gas will be remounted in Tokyo, Japan opening on November 18, 2015 at the People Theatre, directed by Mutsumi Morii.

Stay tuned for more details soon!

Young People's Theatre Announcement

So pleased to announce that Jason Maghanoy is the new Playwright-In-Residence at Young People's Theatre for the 14.15 season. Stay tuned for more updates as the residency kicks into high gear starting this Fall.

These Kids as part of b current's Rock. Paper. Sistahz Festival!

My new play These Kids will be presented as part of b current's Rock. Paper. Sistahz Festival on Saturday, May 17th starting at 5:30pm at the Aki Studio, Daniels Spectrum (585 Dundas St. E).

These Kids is a collection of monologues capturing the diverse voices of Toronto’s young people, examining the gaps, commonalities, and world views of Toronto’s youth.  The stories are simple: from a young artist entering a banner contest in St. Jamestown, to an aspiring music video director in Dean Park, to a young woman who gets bullied by other girls at the local Walmart, These Kids captures Toronto’s diversity, and celebrates the city through the voices of its young citizens. These kids talk.  Some know each other.  Others don’t.  And in the end their stories crash and come together – a testament to an ever-changing city on the verge of growing up.

The performance features some of the most exciting young performers in the City of Toronto:

Araya Mengesha
Jessica Moss
Tawiah M'Carthy
Jessica Salguiero
Antonia Cayonne
Julian De Zotti
Rebecca Applebaum
Ava Julien

Tickets are $13.

A reading of Heart, a new play by Jason Maghanoy

Inspired by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Heart is about a young woman who returns to her storm damaged home to clean it up. While she waits for her brother to come home she gets some help from other people in her community, all looking to find a way to salvage some kind of hope, some kind of new life amidst the wreckage.

Winner of the 2013 Mario Fratti-Fred Newman Political Playwriting Contest, New York City

Featuring
Akosua Amo-Adem
Araya Mengesha
Sebastien Heins
Darrel Gamotin
Andrew Moodie

Tuesday, July 9th
8pm
Videofag (187 Augusta Ave)

PWYC

A special thank you to Northern Light Theatre in Edmonton

The squared.theatre team would like to thank everyone who supported the Edmonton production of Dust, produced by Northern Light Theatre and directed by Trevor Schmidt.

Vue Weekly Review
"Dust is a short play, with spare lines of dialogue punctuated by long moments of silence. Feeling uncomfortable during these suspended moments is precisely the point, and both actors demonstrate a masterful ability to convey the pathos of their characters without uttering a word."

The Edmonton Journal Review
"“If you miss home, you gotta make home.” In the chilling little two-hander currently running in the Northern Light Theatre season, that standard chin-up sentiment might just be the scariest thought of all. Right after the old truism that you should enjoy your work. Right before the one about world peace: “you can find it in an oatmeal cookie.” And women, incidentally, are the backbone of America; don’t you forget it."

The Edmonton Sun - Review
Prison play raw, compelling.

The Edmonton Journal - Interview with Jason Maghanoy
"“I like exploring the tension between cruelty and love,” says the light, friendly voice on the phone.

It belongs to Jason Maghanoy, a young and starry Toronto-based up-and-comer — actor, director, playwright — who unlike many theatre artists of his generation has found his inspiration, and his settings, not in some murky interior labyrinth but out there in the big, bad world."

Vue Weekly - Preview - Interview with Director, Trevor Schmidt
"'I always want to go to the dark side of things."

Northern Light Theatre has built its reputation on staging little-known plays that explore specific relationships between individuals, often pitting hope against despair in the same moment. Artistic director Trevor Schmidt explains that he's simply drawn to these types of scripts—and if he's going to stage a love story, as in the case of the upcoming production of Dust, it's certainly not going to end with happily-ever-after."

Special Thanks!

The jsquared.theatre team would like to thank everyone who came out to support Ally & Kev as part of this year's SummerWorks Theatre Festival.

It was an incredible theatrical experience!

REVIEWS

Five stars and a must-see from The Torontoist
"The acting is very strong, and Cara Gee turns in a perfectly disturbing portrayal of Ally. The sparse staging and small venue of Passe Muraille’s backstage provide an intimate encounter with the characters; in other words, there’s nowhere for the audience to hide. The pair are haunted by their respective dreams, which exist as the only safe venue to explore disillusionment, shame, and loss. This challenging, dark performance is an absolute must-see."

Four stars and a Critics Pick from NOW Magazine
"Playwright Jason Maghanoy's sometimes poetic, occasionally cryptic script is filled with strong dialogue, while his direction of the excellent cast (Cara Gee, Jeff Irving and Rosemary Dunsmore) is first-rate; he always keeps the stakes high. A play about love, need and dreams, some of which turn out to be dangerously contradictory."

Five stars from Theatromania
"A revenge fantasy-turned nightmare, Ally and Kev is a tight production, featuring a simple but effective set, eerie lighting and sound design and outstanding performances by a top-notch cast. Gee steals the show as the frighteningly manipulative Ally; Irving’s Kev is perfectly damaged and vulnerable, and Rosemary Dunsmore makes an unforgettable appearance mid-story. Maghanoy’s poetic script creeps up on the audience, making for a suspenseful theatre experience with definite remount potential. A must-see at this year’s SummerWorks Performance Festival."

A strong review from artsvox
"This dark and unsettling tale of revenge from writer/director Jason Maghanoy is not easy to watch, but impossible to look away from. Like Hannah Moscovitch’s 2011 Summerworks entry, Little One, Ally and Kev‘s central characters are a sibling duo with some serious issues..."


PREVIEWS

A BlogTO Must See Show!
"When Jason Maghanoy has a play in a festival, it's best to just go out and see it. One of the more exciting young voices on the Toronto theatre scene, Maghanoy's past work (Say Yes, The Corner, Dust, Gas) has been a regular feature at both SummerWorks and Next Stage. In his newest play, Ally & Kev, two siblings break into a house and wait for someone special to arrive home."

A Torontoist Must See
"Playwright Jason Maghanoy’s got an impressive track record when it comes to festival productions in Toronto, with previous hits like Dust and Gas. His new play, featuring Cara Gee (who we loved at last year’s SummerWorks and elsewhere) and Jeff Irving, as two siblings waiting in an empty house for the owner’s return—and having dark plans for what happens when they do."

Post City picks the Best of SummerWorks!
"In Toronto playwright Jason Maghanoy’s latest offering (he’s been an exciting fixture on the Toronto theatre festival circuit for a few years now), Ally and Kevin, brother and sister, have broken into someone’s house and now they’re waiting for his return. Spooky."

SummerWorks 2012

jsquared.theatre is pleased to announce that its new play Ally & Kev will be presented as part of the 2012 SummerWorks Theatre Festival, from August 9th to 19th. The play will showcase three of the most exciting actors in city: Cara Gee, Jeff Irving and Rosemary Dunsmore, with set and costume design by Akiva Romer Segal, lighting design by Alaina Perttula, stage management by Nicole Myers and original music by Petty Victories. Stay tuned for more details and for more information on the festival please visit the SummerWorks website.

Dust in Edmonton - Northern Light Theatre

jsquared.theatre is please to announce that its play Dust, written by Jason Maghanoy, will be receiving its Western Canadian Premiere as part of Northern Light Theatre's 37th Season (Edmonton). Congratulations to Jason from the rest of the jsquared.theatre team!

Hangman at the Tarragon Theatre

My new play Hangman is going to be read at the Tarragon Theatre on Thursday, November 17th, starting at 8pm, as part of the Tarragon Playwrights Unit, new play reading week! Information below:

Hangman
Written by Jason Maghanoy
Directed by Richard Rose

Event Details
Thursday, November 17, 2011
8pm
Tarragon Theatre
30 Bridgman Avenue

NOW Magazine Fringe Wrap-Up

Congratulations to the cast and crew of Swoon! Not only was the play selected as a Patrons Pick at this year's Fringe, it was also selected as an Outstanding New Play, Outstanding Production and Outstanding Ensemble in the Fringe Festival Wrap-up Issue of NOW Magazine!

Playwright-In-Residence, Theatre Passe Muraille

Congratulations to Jason Maghanoy who will be the new playwright-in-residence at Theatre Passe Muraille this fall! Jason will be writing and developing a hip-hop musical called Cypher, working with Artistic Director Andy McKim, as well as some of the most exciting local hip-hop/r&b artists in the city. Congratulations to Jason from the rest of the jsquared.theatre team.

Swoon!

To swoon is to faint. To become enraptured. To enter a state of hysterical ecstasy. How can it happen? Through a fire-alarm romance. Sending tapes to a former lover. Trying to hold on to your wife. The Nation of Brohams, in association with jsquared.theatre are proud to present Swoon!, a brash, highly theatrical and wondrous look at young people, desire and the absolute moments of our lives. Featuring new work from some of the city's most exciting theatre-makers, including Jordan Tannahill, Jessica Moss, Jason Maghanoy, Chris Mitchell, Ryan Griffith, Paul Robinson, Haley McGee and Alisa Palmer, Swoon! is a play about how we meet, how we stay together, how we fall apart... and how we meet again.

Part of the 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival!

Nothing by Mouth

Five portraits of voices silenced by the state: an ex-gang leader, a dictator's wife, an activist, a disabled patient, a Canadian youth... each in their final, all-too-human moment. A piece that explores the ways we collectively punish with, and permit, death.

Being developed through a residency at Theatre Passe Muraille.

Staged reading at Theatre Passe Muraille's Buzz
April 20th @ 7:30pm, Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson Ave. Toronto

Written by Jason Maghanoy, Jordan Tannahill, Erin Shields, Andrew Moodie and Judith Thompson. Directed by Alisa Palmer.

Pipeline

Hangman was selected as the winner of the Write-On-Q Playwriting Contest in Montreal, and will be presented as part of Infinitheatre's Pipeline Reading Series on Sunday, December 12th, starting at 2pm. For more information please check out the official invite (above).

Also: a very special thank you to Montreal-based artist Sophie Jodoin for the remarkable artwork (Collage, 2010, 24 x 19 cm).

TPM

jsquared.theatre and Suburban Beast will be in-residence at Theatre Passe Muraille, starting this fall as part of TPM's 2010/2011 season! We will be developing a new work tentatively titled Ketchup and Biscuit, about death row inmates and their last meals. Jordan Tannahill (Artistic Director of Suburban Beast) and Jason Maghanoy will be co-writing the piece with some of the best playwrights in the country: Judith Thompson, Erin Shields, Andrew Moodie, dramaturged and directed by Alisa Palmer.

Playwriting Contests

Some great news this week:

Throat won 2nd place in The Uprising National Playwriting Competition: Peace, Politics and Society, and Hangman won 1st place in Infinitheatre's annual Write-On-Q Playwriting Contest! Congratulations to playwright Jason Maghanoy from the jsquared.theatre team.

NTS and Playwrights Workshop Montreal

Jason Maghanoy will be giving a Biz Seminar at NTS and will be a playwright-in-residence at Playwrights Workshop Montreal from November 1st-7th. Congratulations to Jason from the jsquared team!