Rex and Rita Deverell News

2011-05-25T09:38:00.000-07:00

Latest R and R News

Rita has been asked to serve another year as the Nancy's Chair in Women's Studies at Mount St. Vincent University in Halifax. She has just returned from a successful performance of Smoked Glass Ceiling at the BeCurrent Festival in Toronto. For the first time, son Shelton Deverell created a live musical accompaniment for the show.
While in Upper Canada Rita did a voice-over for James Cullingham's documentary about John Fahey (follow this link: http://www.senecac.on.ca/collegenews/articles/johnfahey.html

2011-04-05T16:56:00.000-07:00

Coming this Week!!!

A new "Swimming for Shore" opens at the Assembly Hall in Toronto this Friday (April 8) and runs to April 16.

See below:

2011-02-28T08:43:00.000-08:00

Deverell News Update

Smoked Glass

Rita will be performing her one woman show "Smoked Glass Ceiling" at Mt. St. Vincent University (Halifax) Tuesday, March 8 at 4:30. It is a touching account of her growing up in the segregated South and her coming to Canada. If you are in the area, come and see it.
Here is a link for the events surrounding International Women's Day at MSVU: msvu.ca/iwdcelebration

Swimming

Rex is off to Toronto for rehearsals of the 2011 version of "Swimming for Shore" which opens at The Assembly Hall (Lakeshore and Kipling) April 8. The show is being mounted by students in the Humber College theatre programme under the direction of Diana Belshaw.
Here is a link to an article about the production: http://www.insidetoronto.com/community/life/article/931733--swimming-for-shore-playwright-returns
For your interest and delight there is a rather insane looking picture of the author.

Mixed Company Theatre has extended its Ontario tour of "Project Act" into March.

Back Bencher

Rita is thrilled to play a modest part in Wendy Lill's terrific series, to quote the CBC website:

"Backbencher -- One Woman's Journey through the Snake Pit of Canadian Politics
A Radio Drama Series by Wendy Lill

So who are the backbenchers?
Hundreds of elected representatives from different parties arrive in Ottawa after every election, sit up at the back near the gold curtains and provide the cannon fodder for democracy. Away from home, they are subject to great temptations, kept in check by fear, insecurity, half-cocked ideals and the lure of power. They spend up to two days a week in the air, moving regularly from the rarified ceremonious environment of the House of Commons to the hardscrabble reality of their riding offices. One-third of them are gone in four years at the whim of the voters. No pension. No fanfare. They work too hard, drink too much, gain weight, go into debt, screw around and wreck marriages. They struggle with stress, travel, loneliness, the complexities and the endless contradictions.

Judy LaMarsh once said, if you don't know what you believe before you arrive in Ottawa, heaven help you.
In Backbencher we follow the story of Nellie Gordon, a paramedic from East Nova in Nova Scotia who decides to run for MP on a whim and, much to everyone's surprise, gets elected. We go into caucus meetings, the hallways of Parliament and the House of Commons itself and experience it all from Nellie's perspective each and every episode.
Life as an MP is a physical, mental and ethical workout -- every day. And that's what this series is about, a view from the backbenches of the House of Commons; one woman's journey through the snake pit of Canadian politics.

Backbencher is written by Wendy Lill, the award winning Canadian playwright and two-term MP from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Script Editor for the series is Dave Carley. The show is produced in CBC Halifax by Recording Engineer Pat Martin, Associate Producer Maggie Rahr and the Producer is Peggy Hemsworth. The Executive Producer is Tom Anniko.

Thursdays at 11:30 a.m. (3:30 p.m. NT) and 11 p.m. (11:30 NT)
Sirius 137 Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m., Thursdays at 3 a.m., Fridays at 3:30 a.m. and Saturdays at 9:30 p.m. ET"

Rita is in episode #15, April 13 and 14, but please enjoy them all.

2010-11-12T09:18:00.000-08:00

The last few weeks have been crowded with incident:
Rita's play "McCarthy and the Old Woman" was produced by the theatre department of University of Washington in Seattle. She flew back to Nova Scotia and performed her one woman show, "Smoked Glass Ceiling" in Wolfville and then, if that wasn't enough, opened a two day conference about Body Image at Mount St. Vincent University.
Rex, meanwhile, was in Toronto working with Humber College students on the new version of "Swimming for Shore" which will be staged in March, 2011. While in Toronto, he also, with Michele George and Matthew Romantini, led a workshop for Actors Equity Showcase, and revised Mixed Company's "Project Act" which is now touring schools throughout Ontario.

2010-05-20T09:31:00.000-07:00

Current Rita and Rex Deverell News

Rex Deverell has returned to Halifax after the first phase of PROJECT ACT - an amazing Mixed Company forum theatre project about fitness, nutrition, body image, and substance abuse created for the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion.
Yesterday, he led a workshop with Club Sandwich in New Minas, Nova Scotia. In the evening, workshop participants demonstrated forum theatre techniques at the Kent County Schizophrenic Society's AGM.

Rita Deverell is finishing her first year of two as the Nancy Chair of Women's Studies at Mount St. Vincent University. (See earlier posts)

2010-05-08T08:01:00.000-07:00

Rex's Current Script Writing Projects

Diss, a Mixed Company forum theatre play about youth gangs and gun violence is touring schools in the Greater Toronto area and receiving rave reviews from students and teachers alike.
Project Act, another Mixed Company initiative is in development. Project Act is addressed to youth, grades 6-9 and is about making healthy choices related to fitness, nutrition, and substance issues. The pilot production begins its tour on Monday, May 10 and will visit schools in Ottawa, Thunder Bay, Hamilton, and Toronto.

2010-03-23T08:23:00.000-07:00

Rita Deverell receives BWCEN award.

Tuesday, March 16, Rita was honoured by the Black Women's Civic Engagement Network with 2010 BWCEN Leadership Award

The event, held at Ottawa's City Hall, recognized "the contributions of two extraordinary Canadian Women, -- Dr. Glenda Simms, former President of the Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women of Canada and Dr. Rita Deverell, founder of Vision TV, whose vision, commitment and achievements are transforming Canadian society through leadership and service."

The Deverell duo in Halifax until June, 2011.

Rita's work as Nancy's Chair: She is teaching her second course this semester in women's studies , she is working on a new screen play, Sisters Inc., which received a first draft reading Monday, and she has lectured at Acadia, Dalhousie, and St. Xavier Universities. and taught a popular course in Detective Fiction by authored by women at a nearby branch of the public library

Last Saturday, Rex appeared at a Playwrights Cabaret with four Atlantic playwrights reading from their own work. He has finished a new version of "Diss" - one of last summer's projects about youth gangs and gun violence. The play, produced by Mixed Company Theatre, is touring schools in Toronto and the surrounding area from March 23 through April. He is also in the development phase of a new project for MixedCo about health issues for young people.

Tillie Goes to the Clinic, the animated short film about quality improvement for community clinics and family health teams, was launched at the Quality Improvement and Innovation Partnership learning Collaborative in September. The film was written and produced by Rex with animation designed and directed by Shelton Deverell.

2009-07-19T14:19:00.000-07:00

"Les Miserable Old Guys" is a success at the Winnipeg Fringe

The Reviews so Far:

Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

Les Miserable Old Guys

By: Rex Deverell

RJ Deverell Productions / Toronto, ON

Our Rating:

On the surface, the only thing elderly neighbours Charlie and Eddie have in common is a backyard fence.

Something of a rake in his younger years, Charlie is a gentle soul who stops to smell the roses. Eddie is a grouch with a garbage problem.

But don’t worry, this comedy from Toronto playwright-actor Rex Deverell is not another odd couple. Charlie (Deverell) and Eddie’s (Winnipeg stage veteran Harry Nelken) relationship is based only on proximity, a missing shovel and buried resentments that surface during a chance over-the-fence conversation.

A long-held secret is exposed amid the comic-poignant bluster that follows. Nelken gets the lion’s share of the laughs as Eddie rails against local gossips, recalls the happiest moment of his miserable life and continually gripes about those darn dogs and his purloined shovel.

But Deverell gets the last, best laugh with a silent punchline. The expression on Charlie’s face in the final moment of the play is a sublime revelation.

— Pat St. Germain

Les Miserable Old Guys

Last Updated: 18th July 2009, 5:26pm

You'd better be sure to plan carefully to see this gem.
There was a full house of very appreciative patrons on just the second afternoon of the Fringe. Only one of these old guys is miserable; and, man, Ed has curmudgeon down to an art form! His more mellow neighbour, Charlie, tells him that Ed's late wife Alma thought him "the unhappiest man in the world!"
Charlie finds magical moments in the mundane while Ed lives "a life of pure irritation and annoyance." This contrast of temperaments between two men who have lived next door to each other almost their whole lives is absolutely hilarious! It is not a comedy throughout, as a secret emerges that causes the two old men to expose their hearts to each other in a deeply touching way. Plus a surprise ending! Superb theatre.
Lisa Campbell
(The Jenny Review)

4.5 stars from 107.1 FM.

Les Miserable Old Guys (Venue 2) by Rex Deverell

Brilliant! Admittedly I had incredibly high expectations and was concerned that because of this it would end up being like Spiderman 3.... dead to me. But Rex Deverell and Harry Nelken took the entire room (which was ironically packed with seniors) from gut-wrenching laughter to somber silent reflection and back again. It was played to perfection, and the one word review is worth repeating twice.. brilliant!

Possible objectional words/phrases: 4

Who should see this show?

If you like the movie Grumpy Old Men, you'll love Les Miserable Old Guys.

Les Miserable Old Guys

Venue 2, MTC Up the Alley

By Meryl Kaye De Leon

They may be miserable, but not for long.

Charlie (Rex Deverell) and Eddie (Harry Nelken) are two lonely, aging seniors who seem to share just about everything — from shovels and coffee to Eddie’s deceased wife Elma. Separated by an incredibly short fence, eternal optimist Charlie is the only one to provide comfort and companionship to pessimist Eddie as he tries to come to terms with Elma’s death.

This wonderfully written play by Deverell explores the depth of human relationships. Directed by Stefanie Wiens, Deverell and Nelken give flawless performances that make you think about how you’re going to be at that age. But don’t worry — Les Miserable Old Guys also provides more than enough laughs to keep you from being miserable.

And who knows? Maybe you’ll even shorten your fence to talk to your neighbour afterward.

The Winnipeg Sun Rating: 4 out of 5

CBC Review:

Meet Eddie and Charlie: a latter day odd couple doing a little yard work in their respective gardens.

Eddie hates music, the neighbourhood dogs, and – one suspects – kittens and rainbows. He’s mercurial, stubborn and delights in the misfortunes of others.

Charlie, on the other hand, is a man with music in his soul. An utter romantic, he stops and listens to the birds, whereas Eddie can only fixate on the rotting pile of compost and his missing shovel.

Wisely, Charlie points out that on this particular day Eddie’s problem isn’t an AWOL garden implement, but Alma.

A fence, it soon turns out, isn’t the only thing separating these men. Each had a special relationship to Eddie’s late wife. Eddie took Alma for granted while Charlie, a bachelor, loved her from afar. Eddie eventually accuses Charlie of having an affair with Alma.

As the two attempt the negotiate this rough patch of jealousy and suspicion it becomes clear that they are bound together in grief: a couple of "frenemies" whose interactions run the gamut from tender and thoughtful to caustic, cantankerous and laugh-out-loud funny.

Rex Deverell’s script is clever and nuanced with a Corner Gas kind of folksiness. The actors deliver solid performances donning these characters like a pair of comfortable well-worn shoes.

Despite this strong command of the craft, the show still feels a little longish… probably because it is more fun to play a miserable old guy than to watch one for 45 minutes.

Reviewed by: Katie Nicholson

2009-03-16T15:31:00.000-07:00

Rita's Latest Show !!!

N O T A D R O P

MEDIA RELEASE
OMNItv.ca

Canadian Documentary Premiere on OMNI.1

Portuguese language version – Saturday, March 21st at 10PM ET
English language version – Sunday, March 22nd at 8:30PM ET

Toronto, ON (March 9, 2009) - Rogers OMNI is proud to present the world television premiere of the thought-provoking docu-drama Not A Drop to help mark International Day For the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The 60 minute documentary launches to Portuguese speaking audiences on OMNI.1, Saturday, March 21st at 10:00p.m. English language viewers are invited to tune to OMNI.1 on Sunday, March 22nd at 8:30 p.m.

From veteran broadcaster Rita Shelton Deverell, Not A Drop is set in a fictionalized University Diversity Journalism Class and based on real events. Dramatic scenes for Not A Drop were shot on the Centennial@Wallace soundstage.

“OMNI is pleased to air Not a Drop in conjunction with the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination,” says Madeline Ziniak, national vice president of OMNI. “Rita’s production brings to light a serious clash between environmental and native community issues, set against a backdrop of perspectives drawn from her experience in Aboriginal and faith-based television and work with grassroots community organizations.”

When students of diverse backgrounds -- Japanese-Chinese (Hiromi Okuyama); Caucasian (Alexandra Pope), and Afro-Canadian (Jeremy McDonald) -- claim they are already “diverse enough,” their professor, a Black, former U.S. southerner (played by Stefanie Samuels) and an Aboriginal Activist (Pamela Matthews of One Dead Indian) take up the challenge and assign the class to report on the Walpole Island First Nation, located in what the locals in Windsor, Sarnia, and Detroit call “Chemical Valley.”

“"The people of the Walpole Island First Nation feel they represent all those communities who have not yet been able to say ‘No’ to the toxic living conditions some industries create,” says Rita Deverell, producer/director of Not a Drop. “My message with Not a Drop is that while we as journalists can be serious whistle blowers, taking action isn’t always part of the story – and I am deeply grateful to OMNI for their support in helping focus attention on this particular story, in hopes that real life action will be taken.”

The result of Not a Drop is that its characters – as well as its viewers – are provided with a first-hand learning experience about the deeply troubling issues of so-called “disposable peoples” in North America.

Not A Drop was exclusively funded through OMNI's Independent Producers Initiative, a $32.5 million independent production fund that to date has supported over 200 new documentary programmes. Interested producers can access funding criteria at OMNI Television’s web site http://www.omnitv.ca/ontario/info/funds .
About Rogers OMNI
Rogers OMNI is a free, over-the-air multilingual/multicultural television system made up of five regional broadcasters serving nine major markets across Canada: in BC (Vancouver and Victoria); Alberta (Calgary and Edmonton), and in Ontario (Ottawa-Gatineau, London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton and the Greater Toronto Area) via flagship stations OMNI.1 and OMNI.2. All Rogers OMNI stations share the collective mandate to reflect Canada’s diversity through the airing of inclusive and accessible programming, and are part of Rogers Media Inc., a division of Rogers Communications Inc. (TSX: RCI and NYSE: RCI) which is a diversified Canadian communications and media company. In addition to specializing in Canadian multilingual/multicultural programming, OMNI carries well-known American and International series and films – including a station-wide schedule of East Asian Super Cinema and South Asian Bollywood Freetime Movies.

About Rita Shelton Deverell
Producer/Director of Not a Drop, Rita Shelton Deverell is the first Storyteller-in-Residence at the School of Communications, Media and Design at Centennial College. She’s a veteran broadcaster (CBC, Vision TV & APTN), theatre artist, Journalism Professor, who has been honoured for her work with the Order of Canada. Other honours she has received include: Maclean's Honour Roll of Outstanding Canadians; Canadian Black Achievement Award; Media Watch's Dodi Robb Award and inductee, Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

To secure a screening copy of Not A Drop, photos for print or to interview anyone associated with its production please contact:

OMNI Media Contact:
Sandy Zwyer – Programme Information Coordinator, 416-260-3590 sandy.zwyer@rci.rogers.com
Koreen Ott – Director, Marketing and Public Relations, 416-764-3250
koreen.ott@rci.rogers.com

--END--

2008-09-22T09:38:00.000-07:00

Latest Rex News

TrypTych, Canada’s Passionate Advocate of the Vocal Arts

presents

“A BOILER ROOM SUITE” on Friday, January 23, 2009 at 7.30 PM

and Saturday, January 24, 2009 at 7.30 PM

at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 2737 Bayview Avenue

in Toronto, Ontario

Tickets $40/30

A FUNDRAISER FOR STREET HAVEN AT THE CROSSROADS

Housing and Social Services for Women

416 763 5066 info@tryptych.org

Edward Franko, Stage Director

William Shookhoff, Music Director

Vanessa Grant, Aggie Rose

Doug MacNaughton, Sprugg
Lenard Whiting, Pete

Sinfonia TrypTych

TrypTych, celebrating its 10th anniversary season, presents the Canadian opera A BOILER ROOM SUITE by Quenten Doolittle with libretto by Rex Deverell. This intimate gem of music theatre deals with two street people who have climbed into the boiler room of an abandoned hotel on the Prairies to seek refuge from winter and from the world, until it has turned more kind. This life-affirming work resonates more today as it did when it was written over 30 years ago.

BOILER ROOM SUITE stars Vanessa Grant (TrypTych, Opera in Concert), Doug MacNaughton (Canadian Opera Company, Pacific Opera, Opera Hamilton) and Lenard Whiting (Canadian Opera Company, Opera in Concert, Vancouver Opera), stage directed by TrypTych’s own Edward Franko (Opera Mississauga, Opera York) with music direction by William Shookhoff (Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables).

All proceeds from this production go to support Street Haven at the Crossroads ((http://www.streethaven.com/) which provides housing and social services for women. Their goal is to innovate and establish an integrated continuum of services which will improve the quality of life of women in need and bring creative solutions to their problems.

Latest Rita News

CENTENNIAL COLLEGE – Storyteller-in-Residence Appointed September 2008. .
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rita Shelton Deverell
Storyteller-in-Residence Appointed

Rita Deverell, Storyteller-in-Residence

The Centre for Creative Communications is pleased to announce the appointment of producer, director and theatre artist Dr. Rita SheltonDeverell as its first Storyteller-in-Residence at the School of Communications, Media and Design at Centennial College.

Deverell will provide storytelling expertise to all programs at the School of Communications, Media and Design, located at The Centre for Creative Communications. She will be recognized with the world premiere screening of Not a Drop, her new one-hour docu-drama set in a fictionalized University Diversity Journalism Class, but based on real events, on:

Friday Dec. 5, 2008, at 11:30 a.m, at The Centre for Creative Communications
"Storytelling is the alpha and omega," Deverell says. "And I am pleased to find myself at the cross-section of communications, media and design worlds at Centennial College."

Commissioned by OMNI, Not a Drop will be broadcast on OMNI in 2oo9, the drama portions shot at Centennial College @Wallace Studios and the documentary portions shot on location at the Walpole Island First Nation. Not a Drop is about the aftermath of Katrina and disposable peoples in Canada.

Deverell got her start in television in 1972 when she helped to create a children’s program called All In a Tube on private TV stations. Since then, she's been an on-air journalist, a producer, a university professor, a social activist, a mentor and a visionary television pioneer. In 1974, she joined the CBC, eventually becoming a producer/host of Take 30 and CBC Access. In 1983, Rita joined the University of Regina's School of Journalism and Communications leaving in 1988 to become one of the founders of the world's first multi-faith broadcaster, Vision TV. From 2002-05 she was Director of News and Current Affairs at APTN, mentoring her Aboriginal successor.

Deverell has helped to advance the careers of visible minorities and Aboriginal people and is credited with influencing positively the portrayal of women onscreen. She was named to Maclean's Honour Roll of Outstanding Canadians, was the recipient of the Canadian Black Achievement Award, the Media Watch's Dodi Robb Award, was inducted into the CAB Broadcast Hall of Fame, and in 2005 was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada.

The Centre for Creative Communications is Canada's premiere school for Communications, Media and Design and offers forward-thinking and hands-on programs in Art + Design, Advertising + Public Relations, Integrated Media and Journalism + Publishing.

Media Contact: Paul Koidis, Manager, Communications, Marketing and Development pkoidis@centennialcollege.ca / 416.289.5000 ext. 8609

2008-09-02T08:31:00.000-07:00

McNally Robinson Books
Rita Shelton Deverell with Femfest (Reading)
Thursday Oct 02 2008 7:00 pm, Winnipeg, Polo Park location, in the Events Alcove

Deverell will read from her plays McCarthy and the Old Woman and Smoked Glass Ceiling, as well as her essay Power Wrinkles. Deverell is a playwright, performer and filmmaker. On October 4th at 3pm, Deverell will present her docu-drama Not A Drop at Femfest. It follows a University class in Diversity Journalism from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to Aboriginal communities in Canada where there are severe water problems. Deverell's innovative journalism helped found Vision TV and brought her success as a television host and network executive. Deverell appears through the assistance of the Playwrights' Guild of Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Rita Shelton Deverell C.M., Ed.D. Rita's career in journalism has been one of pioneering innovation and creativity. With an unceasing drive for social justice, she is one of the first Black women in Canada to be a television host and a network executive. A founder of Vision TV, the world's first multi-faith network, she held several senior positions there as well as the network anchor job. From 2002 until 2005 she was head of News and Current Affairs at the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network mentoring her Aboriginal successor. In 2002 she was inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' Hall of Fame and in 2005 Deverell was appointed to the Order of Canada. In 2007 she became the first CanWest Global Fellow at the University of Western Ontario. In 2005 Rita was determined to return to her first profession, drama. She has written and performed two one-woman plays, Smoked Glass Ceiling (2005) and McCarthy and the Old Woman (2006). In 2007-08 her 6-part series of solo television dramas, Solo Flight, went to air on OMNI, SCN, and APTN. She is currently working on a television docu-drama, Not a Drop, is a member of the Playwright's Unit of Obsidian Theatre, and is developing a 2-act version of McCarthy and the Old Woman with the assistance of Nightwood Theatre.

FEMFEST runs September 26th to October 5th. Events take place at the Colin Jackson Studio Theatre, Prairie Theatre Exhange, 3rd Floor Portage Place Mall. For tickets and information contact Sarasvati Productions at 204.586.2236 | WWW.SARASVATI.CA.

Events with Rita Shelton Deverell:

3pm (TV Docu-Drama) Not a Drop Produced for OMNI/Rogers by Rita Shelton Deverell

4pm (Workshop) Low Budget Shorts facilitated by Rita Shelton Deverell, Presented by Film Training Manitoba

2008-07-09T10:39:00.000-07:00

Rita on CBC TV's Test the Nation!!!

Sunday, September 7 is the official broadcast date for Test the Nation: Canada, eh?! Tune in from 8-10pm anywhere in Canada to CBC Television!

The website will go LIVE on Thursday, August 7 so invite your family and friends to take a practice test before the show. http://www.cbc.ca/testthenation

RITA AT THE 2008 WINNIPEG FRINGE

Big Ease, Big Sleaze: Six Characters in Search of Disaster makes its world debut at Winnipeg's Fringe
Winnipeg, July 2, 2008

Remember the images of Hurricane Katrina? Remember being a helpless witness to that massive loss of life, watching the unbelievable official indifference to the destruction of' families, homes, whole communities? What if you could revisit those traumatic days in 2005? What if you could lend a hand now and change the experience for some of the victims? Would you do it in the Big Easy? Or some of the world’s other trouble spots?

Big Ease, Big Sleaze is the story of six zany characters, one of them Canadian, who chose to do just that. They are ordinary people whose humour and heroism will move you beyond cynicism to laughter, to tears, and hope.

Rita Deverell is the creator of two previous Winnipeg Fringe Festival Hits: Smoked Glass Ceiling (2005) and McCarthy and the Old Woman (2006) She also appeared as a compelling witch in Rex Deverell's standing room only production of Wild Magic (2007).

When Katrina hit New Orleans, Rita Deverell was News Director at Winnipeg's Aboriginal People's Television Network.” As s black woman from the South, I suffered nightmares from the endless photos of Katrina’s dead. And my Aboriginal colleagues convinced me that the same death and destruction could be, and is, visited on them. Big Ease, Big Sleaze was born in my soul in those post-Katrina days.”

This is the second Deverell play directed by noted Winnipegger Cairn Moore, known for her work with Prairie Theatre Exchange and the University of Winnipeg.
Big Ease, Big Sleaze, Rita’s third one-woman show, is at the Exchange Community Church.

Media Contacts: lesleyhughescanada@yahoo.com or at 204-275-5757
Rita Shelton Deverell, 416-434-0758; http://deverellblogspot.com/ -- in Winnipeg from July 14.

RJ Deverell Productions

2008-05-01T18:21:00.000-07:00

See a great page on Diversity in Canada (including a short article by Rita about mentoring tips. )
Go to at www.diversipro.com and DiversiPro Coach April 2008.pdf

2008-04-12T12:47:00.000-07:00

Saturday, April 12, 08

The RJ Deverell Productions Blog Site
Rita Shelton Deverell & Rex Deverell
About RJ Deverell Productions.
RJ Deverell Productions is a company dedicated to the creation of thought provoking drama and documentaries. Rita and Rex Deverell are creative artists in theatre and in electronic media. Rex Deverell is a director, actor, and award winning playwright. Rita is a noted television host-producer and performer. She has written several one person theatre pieces which she has presented in fringe festivals across Canada.

Here is an invitation from Phil Aken, Artistic Director of Obsidian Theatre re the Mussorgsky Project 2 (in which Rita participates.)
"This is an great evening of new short plays that have been created by the Obsidian Playwright's Unit and I couldn't be prouder of all their hard work and delightful characters that they have created. Each piece is approximately 20 minutes long and they cover a wide range of subjects and ideas. The playwrights for this year are: Rita Deverell, Leah Simone Bowen, Rosemarie Stewart and Rachael-Lea Rickards.
The M-Project takes off on May 8th, 8pm at the Factory Theatre {Studio Theatre} 125 Bathurst Str {Corner of Adelaide and Bathurst}. This is a Pay What You Can event and it would be great to see you all there."
The Mussorgsky Project 2 is in association with Factory Theatre and the National CrossCurrents Festival 2008.

Rita's Concordia lecture about diversity and the air waves can be read via the following link:
http://www.leadership.tv/Diversity-April08.html

2008-02-26T12:20:00.000-08:00

RJDEVERELL NEWS

Rita News:

CRARR
460 Ste-Catherine Ouest
Suite 610 Montreal,Quebec
H3B 1A7
514.939.3342 Fax: 514.939.9763 crarr@primus.ca
CENTRE DE RECHERCHEACTION SUR LES RELATIONS RACIALES
CENTER FOR RESEARCHACTION ON RACE RELATIONS COMMUNIIQUÉ

BROADCAST EXECUTIVE AND AWARD-WINNING PRODUCER RITA SHELTON DEVERELL TO SPEAK AT ANNUAL LECTURE ON DIVERSITY IN CANADIAN MEDIA - MP AND ACTRESS TINA KEEPER WILL ALSO JOIN CEREMONY TO HONOR FORMER CONCORDIA DEAN GAIL GUTHRIE VALASKAKIS For immediate release Montreal, February 11, 2008 ---
Dr. Rita Shelton Deverell, one of Canada’s most respected broadcasters, TV roducers nd directors, performers, actors and journalism educators, will be the keynote speaker at the third Annual Lecture on Diversity and Canadian Media. Her lecture is entitled, “Who Will Inherit the Airwaves?”. The event will take place on Thursday, February 28, 2008 from 6:00 to 8:30 pm at the Samuel Bronfman Building of Concordia University, at 1590 Dr. Penfield, Montreal.
A co-founder of Vision TV, Dr. Deverell has held several television executive positions including Director of News and Current Affairs for the Aboriginal Peoples television Network (APTN); producer/director of the TV drama series, Solo Flight: International, broadcast on OMNI, and producer and host of numerous award-winning Vision TV programs. She has also received numerous honors, including: the Canadian Black Achievement Award, membership in the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, and an appointment in 2005 to the Order of Canada.
The lecture (at 7:30) will be preceded by a ceremony (at 6:30) to officially name the
Annual Lecture after the late Dr. Gail Guthrie Valaskakis, one of Canada’s leading experts on Aboriginal communication. Dr. Valaskakis was Chair of the Concordia’s
Communication Studies Department and Dean of the University’s Faculty of Arts and
Sciences; Research Director of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and a CRARR director.
She was also a recipient of the National Aboriginal Achievement Award. Ms. Tina Keeper, MP (Liberal - Man.) and award-winning actress on the hit CBC TV series North of 60, will deliver a speech at the ceremony. Ms. Keeper, who has worked intensely in community development in Manitoba, is a member of the Order of Manitoba
and a recipient of the National Aboriginal Achievement Award. She is also Special
Advisor for Aboriginal Outreach to Liberal Leader Stephane Dion.
Other guests of honor include Mr. Paris Valaskakis, National Account Director with the Canadian Management Center; Ms. Vera Houle, Director of News and Public Affairs of APTN, and Dr. David Graham, Dean of Concordia’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
Created in 2005 as a joint initiative between CRARR and Concordia’s Communication
Studies Department, the Annual Lecture aims to promote research and other initiatives
with the industry, government and the community on issues involving Canadian media and diversity. RBC, the Institute for Research and Education on Race Relations and the Wilfrid Laurier University Press are the event’s key sponsors.
Attendance is free. Due to limited space, seats may only be reserved for participants who register before February 26, by email at crarr@primus.ca

Information: Adrienne Gibson
Communication and Research Officer, CRARR: (514) 939-3342

#2 – NOT A DROP

March 8 principal photography begins on “Not a Drop,” a 1-hour docu-drama for OMNI 1 TV on the aftermath of Katrina and Aboriginal communities in Canada with serious water related problems. The team includes actresses Pamela Matthews and Stefanie Samuels, and two former APTN videographers. Rita is the producer/director/screenplay writer.

#3 – “Smoked Glass Ceiling” on OMNI 2

--06-Apr-08 SOLO FLIGHT - SMOKED GLASS CEILING PUNJABI 7-8pm. REPEATS MONDAY & THURSDAY
--16-Jun-08 SOLO FLIGHT - SMOKED GLASS CEILING ENGLISH 11pm-12am
--20-Jul-08 SOLO FLIGHT - SMOKED GLASS CEILING PUNJABI 7-8pm REPEATS MONDAY & THURSDAY
--25-Aug-08 SOLO FLIGHT - SMOKED GLASS CEILING ENGLISH 11pm-12am

REX NEWS

February 29: a new translation of Rex's play "Weird Kid" opens in Magdeburg, Germany.

STOP/LOOK
FEBRUARY 21, 2008

FINAL REPORT
STOP/LOOK
A Humber Theatre production

How do we perceive one another in our diverse urban culture? Set on a busy city intersection, people are rushing past each other, caught in the traffic of their own lives, assumptions and prejudices. Gradually, the masks come off and people are revealed in all of their pain, conflict and commonality.

This 50-minute performance was written by the third year graduating class of Humber’s Theatre performance program under the mentorship of award-winning writer Rex Deverell, The cast of seventeen young people, representing a typical cross-section of Toronto’s multi -cultural reality, with director Nina Lee Aquino, wove their own experiences together with original music and dance. The performance was supported by the work of students in the Humber Theatre Performance program.

THE PROCESS OF CREATION

In the Fall of 2007, the graduating performance class at Humber set off on an exploration into issues of diversity and inclusion. The production was commissioned by Humber College’s Committee on Diversity and Inclusion and Committee members, Sabra Desai and Gina Antonacci, met with the company early in the process to discuss equity and human rights issues with them.

The troupe began with a certain hesitancy. There were more questions than answers. There was some fear as to where the process would lead and how it would affect their own inter-relationships.

They reviewed their own experiences, interviewed other students, faculty, friends and family. Step by step they discovered how diversity intersected with their own lives. Finally the image of a busy city intersection became a vibrant and essential metaphor for the presentation.

The play took shape as a series of raw confrontations. The language at times emerged as violent and shocking, but under it was a search for commonality and kindness. As the process went on, the definition of diversity broadened from a euphemism for racial differences to the uniqueness of linguistic, religious, physical, mental, and class perspectives. The aspect of identity became important. How do we identify ourselves? How do we identify with others? Do we let the identity of our community impose itself on our self-identification. Are we privileged or are we victims? What is the story we tell ourselves about ourselves?

-2

Rex is currently working on a production with Mixed Company's Cobblestone Youth Troupe: "Street Song" about a homeless young woman's first experiences living in shelters. The play will be touring in Toronto, May of '08.

2007-09-08T08:22:00.000-07:00

SOLO FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL WORLD PREMIERE ON OMNI 1
this September.

“She Said Saffron,” with remarkable, funny, talented, performer/dancer/writer Lisa Pijuan-Nomura. Lisa tells all about the slings and arrows of growing up Spanish in Brampton, Ontario.

“Bonhoeffer” an award-winning, sold out, truly riveting drama about the life, faith, and death of a 20th. century hero. Well known South African actor/writer/pastor Peter Krummeck is Dietrich Bonhoeffer. We are with the German pastor who rescued hundreds of Jews from the Nazis during WWII, in the last hours before he is hanged.

“She Said Saffron,” in Spanish, Sept. 15 & Dec. 15 – 10pm-11pm ET
In English, Sept. 22nd. & Dec. 22 – 9pm – 10pm ET

“Bonhoeffer,” in German, Sept. 22 & Dec. 22nd. – 10-11pm ET
In English, Sept. Sept. 29 & Dec. 29th. – 9-10pm ET

Rita Shelton Deverell is the Producer/Director of Solo Flight International
RJ Deverell Productions –

WILD MAGIC

The company performed Rex's exciting new play "Wild Magic" at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival in July.

WILD MAGIC is the story of MacBeth from the Witches' point of view. The play featured veteran Winnipeg performers, Nancy Drake and Stefanie Wiens with Rita Deverell

More News from RJD

"Bonhoeffer," Peter Krummeck's play about the theologian jailed and executed by the Nazis has been nominated for an award at the Yorkton Film Festival. "Bonhoeffer" is one of a series of fringe festival plays Rita Deverell has produced for the small screen.

A further series, SOLO FLIGHT WEST. will be broadcast on SCN. (Air dates not confirmed as yet)

"WishWorld" Rex Deverell's script about cyberbullying toured Toronto High Schools this spring to acclaim.

"A Home of my Own," a play written with street youth in Toronto, toured shelters and drop in centres in February.

(Both of the above plays were produced in association with Mixed Company. The director was Simon Malbogat, the company's Artistic Director.)

Shelton Deverell has posted a portfolio site of illustration, webdesign, printwork, music and animation. The link is http://www.skyenvelope.com/.

2007-07-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

RJDeverell Productions. Wild Magic

News from the Winnipeg Fringe!

Wild Magic opened Wednesday to a full house. The second and third show were sold out! The cast is wonderful. The photo shows Stefanie Wiens, Nancy Drake, and Rita Deverell (left to right). We received a 5 bar (star) review from Dean Jenkinson on the CBC and a 4 1/2 star review from Wendy Burke at the Winnipeg Free Press.

Playing in: Venue #7 The Conservatory of Music- 211 Bannatyne, Winnipeg

CBC Review:

It turns out William Shakespeare was a bit of an historical revisionist. So say the three witches who 1000 years ago told Macbeth he’d be king. They’ve since retired to cottage country, and as they reminisce on their role in the whole affair, old resentments and new regrets surface. I worried I’d find a self-indulgent and inaccessible show, but this is an absolutely terrific production. More than Shakespearean in-jokes, this is a very thoughtful meditation on guilt, atonement, and the indelibility of mistakes. How do you walk humbly in the world, and still do justice? How do you cope with unintended consequences? How do you avoid the infectiousness of bitterness and cynicism? Author and director Rex Deverell is interested in these things and more, and balances it all with a wonderfully sly sense of humor that earned belly laughs. That his script is in the hands of three tremendous actresses is icing on the cake. CBC Rating: Five Bars Reviewed by: Dean Jenkinson

Winnipeg Free Press Review:

WILD MAGIC RJ Deverell Productions The Conservatory (Venue 7), to July 28
The three witches from MacBeth have retreated to a quiet lakeside dock. They're sitting around tired, lethargic even, from the weight of the world's history. But something is rolling around in the back of their minds.
It's a Shakespearean witch-bitch. There's a funny side -- and an angry side -- just like in regular bitching.
Sephanie Wiens plays the slightly off-kilter Lydia, who seems to be not fully tethered to her Adirondack chair. Plagued by visions of doom, and regret, she interferes with the thoughts of Verleen (Rita Shelton Deverell) and Cleo (Nancy Drake,) who are just trying to look at the lake and forget about Macbeth and the whole Scottish thing. Soon the three are reminiscing and complaining about Shakespeare (whom they refer to as the "BIRD of Avon"). They try to make sense of their role in Macbeth's rise to power and connect the dots of men, their warfare, and their history. Do things ever change? Did they really have any influence? Can they ever?
Wiens brings her left-of-centre energy to the stage and is beautifully balanced with solid performances by both Deverell and Drake, veteran actors who can move with ease from sharp humour to deep sorrow in these well-crafted roles from playwright Rex Deverell. Who says there are no good parts for older women?
-- Wendy Burke
Winnipeg Free Press rating: 4 1/2 stars

Reviews from audience members on the CBC site:

Wild Magic makes you think while being entertained. The three witches of the Scottish play meddle in history that has reverberations right to the Twin Towers. Three wonderful actresses are well cast as the witches and magic goes astray. The best play I've seen this Fringe. Yeah, Rita Deverell, Yeah, Nancy Drake, Yeah, Stefanie Wiens. Great Fringe 2007 20 years and counting!
Posted by: Jayne Whyte July 21, 2007 03:29 PM

Great performances by a strong cast with locals Nancy Drake and Stephanie Weins complementing Rita Shelton Deverell. A thoughtful examination of the three witches from MacBeth, the meaning of life, whether you can retire gracefully, and a whole lot more. Opening night nearly sold out, so advance tickets might be the best bet.
Posted by: Kevin Longfield July 19, 2007 11:42 AM

I saw Wild Magic last night and I wanted to say what incredibly strong actors these three ladies are - powerful, captivating, and humorous! It would be hard for me to see any others perform this play - they were perfect for their roles! The plot of the play drew me in, and the ladies made me want to stay. It's a wonderful play and they could not have found any better actors for the parts.
Oh, for those of you who haven't read the review – the play is about Shakespeare’s Macbeth as seen from the witches’ point of view. Don't you want to go see it now?
Posted by: D. Woodfine July 19, 2007 11:29 AM