Ducks on the Moon: A Parent Meets Autism is launched by Hagios Press, September 29 2010

Ducks on the Moon:
A Parent Meets Autism

by
Kelley Jo Burke

 

(based on her play, and CBC documentary)

 

Carey Shaw photo

 

"Ducks on the Moon: A Parent Meets Autism" includes the text of Kelley Jo Burke's dramatic "stand-up documentary" covering the first five years in her "evolving" relationship with her autistic son, as well as current and salient interviews with other parents of children on the autism spectrum and leading experts in the field."

FALL BOOK LAUNCHES:

 
Hagios Press:

Swift Current: Wednesday, September 29 at 7:30

Lyric Theatre

Cover: $5 with a portion of the proceeds for Swift Current Home Care.

Saskatoon: Monday, October 4th - 7:00 p.m.
McNally Robinson Booksellers

Regina: Thursday, October 7th - 7:30 p.m.

Artesian on 13th, (at Angus) in Regina
Cover: $5 with a portion of the proceeds for SCEP CENTRE Society (Regina).
Cash bar and refreshments available.

 

 

launching with the very wonderful

Vidh:
A Book of Mourning, by
Phyllis Nakonechny

 

 

 

For more information
on the books visit
www.hagiospress.com

 

The Selkie Wife premiere in Toronto this month with Fly By Night Theatre

Original production poster by Louisa Ferguson

Time August 18 at 8:00pm - August 21 at 10:00pm

Location The Village Playhouse

2190 Bloor St. W

Toronto, ON

Created By Fly By Night Theatre Company

More Info:  Join FBN for an evening (or one special matinee) of amazing theatre from Toronto's best new independent theatre company as we present the closing show of our 2010 season, Kelley Jo Burke's The Selkie Wife!

We perform at the Village Playhouse, near Runnymede station in unique Bloor West Village. Performance dates are:

Wed. Aug. 18 @ 8 p.m.

Thurs. Aug. 19 @ 8 p.m.

Fri. Aug. 20 @ 8 p.m.

Sat. Aug. 21 @ 2 p.m.

Sat. Aug. 21 @ 8 p.m.

Hailed by critics as a beautifully-written story of love, longing and identity, The Selkie Wife is a strikingly original, bold and contemporary take on an ancient Celtic myth played out at the centre of a modern Canadian family. Mary has it all, a great family with her husband Callum and daughter Brigit and a life that she's built for herself – but when she gets a surprise visit from an old friend, Gen, a secret begins to surface about Mary's past that threatens to change everything. Mary is a Selkie, a seal who is able to shed her skin to come on land in order to mate with a human and then return to sea with her offspring. Years have passed and now Gen, a fellow Selkie, has come to bring Mary back to the deep waters. The Selkie Wife is filled with laughter and tension as the characters face questions of love and sex, freedom and oppression and ultimately a decision that will forever change their lives.

Starring:

Mary- Peyton LeBarr

Brigit- Shannon Shura

Gen- Laura MacDonald

Callum- Tayves Fiddis

Dylan- Paolo Santalucia

Directed by: Tom Haxell

Stage Managed by: Meredith Henry

Tickets are $20 for adults and $18 for students/seniors, except the Saturday matinee, which features the lowest price EVER for an FBN show: just $15!

Please visit www.fbntheatre.ca to purchase tickets, or e-mail us at fbntheatre@gmail.com for reservations.

You will NOT want to miss the Toronto debut of this funny, delightful play.

Fly By Night Theatre is both a non-union, not-for-profit Theatre Company and a registered Canadian charity.

Fly By Night runs on and works towards a three-tiered mandate:

*To contribute to the development of a vibrant arts community within the GTA, presenting outstanding theatrical productions and building local audiences.

*To nurture young artists by providing an encouraging, professional environment for emerging theatre artists, and offering opportunities for artistic development and training.

*To support underprivileged children in Africa by donating proceeds to Royal Seed Needy Home, an orphanage in Ghana that cares for 74 young children.

Ducks on the Moon Waddles into Victoria May 21-23, 2010

KJ's one-woman stand-up documentary "Ducks on the Moon" (previously known as "Special") plays at Intrepid Theatre's UNO Festival May 21 and 23, 2010.

See photos from the show here.

 Ducks on the Moon is a remarkably candid, humorous, and raw journey through Burke's early years as a parent of a child with atypical autism. Burke takes people inside the discovery that the kid who looks like a perfect, standard issue healthy child, the child she was expecting – is in fact a piñata full of the unexpected – a Chinese puzzle to be unlocked, a daily challenge to every parental resource, yet a fully complex human being who just happens to think, communicate, and sense a little differently that the rest of the tribe.

Kelley Jo Burke is an award-winning playwright and poet, a director, storyteller, documentarian, and broadcaster. Her plays have been produced and published in Canada, and around the world, including her stage plays, “Special”, “The Selkie Wife”, “Jane’s Thumb”, and “Charming and Rose: True Love” and her most recent radio play “Big Ocean”, which was heard in 7 countries in 2000. She is the host/producer of CBC Saskatchewan’s radio art performance hour SoundXchange, and has written and produced a number of documentaries for CBC Radio’s Ideas.

Made possible with support from the City of Regina and  Saskatchewan Arts Board.

Click here to access the UNO page, and buy tickets.

Ducks on the Moon is also an IDEAS documentary. It includes excerpts from the stage show and interviews with parents of Autism Spectrum Disorder children and specialists in the field.

Listen to or download  the podcast here.

You can request a cd of the show here.

Ducks on the Moon: A Parent Meets Autism, the annotated play, is coming out with Hagios Press this fall, and can be pre-ordered by contacting the publisher. It contains the full text of the show, plus interviews with parents, and leaders in the ASD diagnosis and treatment field, courtesy of CBC Radio's IDEAS. 

Kelley Jo Burke's Play 'Special' Premieres Sept. 10 in Regina

The premiere production of Regina playwright Kelley Jo Burke's new play Special opens Sept. 10 at the MacKenzie Art Gallery's Shumiatcher Theatre.

Photo from a January workshop of Special.Burke’s one-woman show is a candid, humorous, and raw journey through the early years with a child with atypical autism. The creative non-fiction performance piece, about a family dealing with a child who communicates differently, is written and performed by Burke and directed by Curtain Razors artistic director Michele Sereda.  It is one of two one-woman shows premiering on alternate nights.

Two Premieres

Solo Performance Mix Premiere Performance
presented by Curtain Razors
at the MacKenzie Art Gallery
Tickets at the door:  $15 or $20 for both shows

Special
by Kelley Jo Burke
September 10 and 12, 2009
7:30 p.m.

and

Navigating by Michele Sereda
September 17 and 18, 2009
7:30 p.m.

After opening in Regina, the two Curtain Razors productions will tour to Dancing Sky Theatre in Meacham (October 9 through 11, 2009 - call 306-376-4445), Prince Albert, North Battleford, Swift Current, and Yorkton (dates and times TBA).

For advance tickets or more information (including media), contact Carey Shaw at 306-543-4639 or saskcurtainrazors@gmail.com

About Navigating

Created and performed by Sereda, Navigating is a performance/installation that draws from a trip taken to Ukraine in 2006 shortly after the Orange Revolution.  Sereda retells a series of events in a piece centering on memory, identity, and deep ancestry. The piece was directed by Kelly Handerek.