Company of Sirens explained

Company of Sirens
Members:	Lina Chartrand Shawna Dempsey Catherine Glen Cynthia Grant Aida Jordão Lib Spry
Location:	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genre:	Feminist theatre

Company of Sirens is a Canadian feminist theatre company formed in 1986. Company of Sirens developed the feminist play The Working People's Picture Show.

History

Company of Sirens was officially founded in 1986 by Lina Chartrand, Aida Jordão, Catherine Glen, Lib Spry, Shawna Dempsey, and Cynthia Grant.^[1] Grant came to work with the new company after leaving Nightwood Theatre to work with a theatre that was more political and had more of a collective structure.^[2] The women founded Company of Sirens after coming together to work on a commission from Organized Working Women.

The Working People's Picture Show (WPPS) was commissioned by Organized Working Women in 1985 to celebrate their 10th anniversary and began as a ten-minute piece.^[3] The show developed into a full-length play and subsequently toured Ontario. In 1987, they performed WPPS on International Women's Day with sponsorship from Canadian Action for Nicaragua and the March 8 Coalition.^[4] Company of Sirens continued to perform WPPS in various contexts for at least six years after its premiere.^[5] Lois Sweet of the Toronto Star described WPPS as "blatantly pro-union [and] pro-feminist".^[6]

In 1991, Company of Sirens received a $12,500 grant from Metro Toronto's arts budget. This funding was criticized by Toronto Star arts critic, Gina Mallet, whom the company felt to have a prejudice against small, independent, theatre.^[7]

Production history

1987

• The Working People's Picture Show^[8]

1988

• The Working People's Picture Show at From The Ground theatre festival^[9]

1990

• Shelter From Assault, as part of a fundraiser for The Denise House^[10]

1991

• Djuna: What of the Night written and directed by Cynthia Grant and Svetlana Zylin^[11]
• Whenever I Feel Afraid

1992

• Penelope by Margaret Atwood, Cynthia Grant, Peggy Sample, and Susan Seagrove^[12]

1993

• Little Miss Easter Seals written by Lina Chartrand, directed by Cynthia Grant^[13]

1994

• The Catharine Wheel written by Ingrid MacDonald, directed by Cynthia Grant, show co-sponsored by Buddies In Bad Times^[14]

1996

• A Canadian Monsoon written and directed by Sheila James^[15]

1998

• The Destruction of Eve by Svetlana Zylin^[16]

Awards

!Year!Award!Category!Work!Result!Notes!Ref.

1991	Dora Mavor Moore Awards - Theatre for Young Audiences	Outstanding Performance by a Female	Whenever I Feel Afraid		for Ellen Ray Hennesey	^[17]
1998	Dora Mavor Moore Awards - Independent Theatre	Outstanding Sound or Music	The Destruction of Eve		for Connie Kaldor and David Sereda
		Outstanding Production

Notable performers

• Susan Hogan (Djuna: What of the Night - 1991)
• Henriette Ivanens (Little Miss Easter Seals - 1993)
• Kim Renders (Djuna: What of the Night - 1991)
• Shakura S'Aida (The Destruction of Eve - 1998)

References

1. Web site: McGuigan. Lynn. 2018-01-19. Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia - Company of Sirens. 2020-07-29. Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia. Athabasca University.
2. Book: Scott, Shelley. Nightwood Theatre: A Woman's Work is Always Done. 2010. Athabasca University Press. 978-1-897425-55-8. 46. en. Google Books.
3. di Cenzo. Maria. Bennett. Susan. 1992. Women, Popular Theatre, and Social Action: Interviews with Cynthia Grant and the Sistren Theatre Collective. ARIEL: A Review of International English Literature. 23. 1. 74.
4. Bell. Laurie. 1987. Working People's Popular Appeal. Broadside: A Feminist Review. 2020-07-29.
5. di Cenzo. Maria. Bennett. Susan. 1992. Women, Popular Theatre, and Social Action: Interviews with Cynthia Grant and the Sistren Theatre Collective. ARIEL: A Review of International English Literature. 23. 1. 75.
6. News: Sweet. Lois. 1987-02-27. Show portrays women's issues in an entertaining manner: [FIN Edition]. B4. Toronto Star. 0319-0781. The company had no reason to believe that teenagers would connect with such blatantly pro-union, pro-feminist material..
7. Book: Filewood, Alan. Establishing Our Boundaries: English-Canadian Theatre Criticism. University of Toronto Press. 1999. 9781442611832. Wagner. Anton. 354–355. The Iconoclast Sceptic on the Beat: Gina Mallet at the Toronto Star, 1976-1984. Google Books.
8. News: Sweet. Lois. 1987-02-27. Show portrays women's issues in an entertaining manner: [FIN Edition]. B4. Toronto Star. 0319-0781.
9. News: Crew. Robert. 1988-04-19. Gilbert & Sullivan is no longer a staple of the Stratford Festival. But summer theatregoers shouldn't despair - Sullivan & Gilbert will be at the St. Lawrence Centre this summer.: [FIN Edition]. G2. Toronto Star. 0319-0781.
10. News: Wright. Lisa. 1990-04-19. Sirens will perform at shelter dinner to raise awareness: [EAS Edition]. E3. Toronto Star. 0319-0781.
11. News: Wagner. Vit. 1991-05-14. Djuna a stylish theatre piece: [FIN Edition]. F3. Toronto Star. 0319-0781.
12. Book: Scott, Shelley. Nightwood Theatre: A Woman's Work is Always Done. 2010. Athabasca University Press. 978-1-897425-55-8. 83. en. Google Books.
13. News: Wagner. Vit. 1993-10-28. 'I laugh, I cry, I sing - all lying down': [AM Edition]. WO10. Toronto Star. 0319-0781.
14. News: Wagner. Vit. 1994-12-04. 'Seed' shows hold promise of growth after Buddies tryout The Catherine Wheel offers an intriguing look at lesbian marriage: [SU2 Edition]. C10. Toronto Star. 0319-0781.
15. News: Wagner. Vit. 1996-06-18. Play's promise cut short by grinding political axes A Canadian Monsoon 504-7529 Written and directed by Sheila James. Set by Brenda Guldenstein. Costumes by Anita James. Lighting by Andrea Lundy. A Company of Sirens production, in association with Desh Pardesh, running to Sunday at Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson Ave.: [Final Edition]. E5. Toronto Star. 0319-0781.
16. News: 1998-05-07. [Stage]

    [1 Edition]

    . 1. Toronto Star. 0319-0781.
17. Web site: Nominees. 2020-07-29. Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA). en-US. 2021-05-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20210514103139/https://tapa.ca/dora-awards/past-awards/nominees/. dead.