Written by Nuns’ Island resident Christine Rodriguez, The Arrangement is a play that revolves around a group of women who’ve been friends for over a decade. When the central figure of this circle of friends passes away, an arrangement that she made before her death comes to light, adding pressure to existing rivalries between the friends. The story criss-crosses between the past, establishing the relationships between the women, and the present, as the friends mourn but also learn things about each other that are shocking, and at times unpleasant. It all leads to a showdown between the women as they unwittingly become locked in a contest to determine which among them are better friends.
Guest director Jacqueline van de Geer is originally from The Netherlands where she obtained her Masters in Theatre from the Rob van Reijn Mime Academy and her Masters in Fine Arts from the Willem de Kooning Academy of Fine Arts.
Island resident Christine Rodriguez just recently played the lead in the play CALLBACK by American playwright Bill Svanoe at the 2011 Montreal Fringe Festival to great audience reviews. She also appeared in the video segments of 8 Ways My Mother Was Conceived by Michaela Di Cesare which also appeared at the 2011 Montreal Fringe Festival. She plays the lead role in Fast Love: Second Chances by Black and Blue Productions, directed by Seema Arora. Christine also appears in Beyond Man, a short film with ran at the 2011Festival des Films du Monde.
In her blog at The Charlebois Post: http://charpo.blogspot.com/2011/09/artists-blogs.html Christine, like many local artists pondering their pursuit of an elusive audience and the many obstacles to a creative life, wonders what it’s all for.
“Actors put in hours and hours of rehearsal, experience gut wrenching moments living the lives of characters going through hell. The director pushes the actors beyond their limits, loses patience. The playwright hides in a corner wringing her hands and cringing at each misspoken line...” Christine writes.
“I know that every night we will be there to deliver the best show we possibly can, bearing our hearts and souls, whether only one person shows up or whether the theatre is packed to the brim. That’s the point,” she concludes.
Christine’s website: http://christinerodriguez.workbooklive.com/
La Tigressa Productions: https://sites.google.com/site/latigressaproductions/home
Dates and Times
The Arrangement will be running:
October 25th to October 30th
Shows:
Tuesday October 25th 8pm (pay-what-you-can preview)
Wednesday October 26th 8pm
Thursday October 27th 8pm
Friday October 28th 8pm
Saturday October 29th 2pm & 8pm
Sunday October 30th 2pm
Tickests: $25 ($20 seniors, students, PWM, QDF members)
Reservations highly recommended (limited seating available): For reservations please contact: latigressa@live.ca
Where: Espace 4001, 4001 Berri Street, Montreal QC
Starring: Julie Barbeau, Luiza Cocora, Michaela Di Cesare, Marie-Noëlle Dufour and Christine Rodriguez.
