Plain Jane Theatre and Chorus Productions

have teamed up to bring a new play with music to this year’s Edmonton Fringe Festival-

 

Crescendo! A new play with music

By Sandy Paddick with original music and arrangements by Jennifer McMillan

 

Inspired by true stories, Crescendo! takes us into the lives of women in a community choir. Both hilarious and touching, it’s an examination of the need and drive for people to sing and the journey into the connections and community that make us human.

Starring

Michelle Diaz

Jenny Mckillop

 Kirsten Piehl

Dawn Sadoway

and Colleen Tillotson

 

Directed by Kate Ryan

Music Direction by Jennifer McMillan

Stage Manager Gaby Phaneuf

Dramaturge John Hudson

Poster design and photos by www.dbphotographics.ca

BYOV #12: Varscona Theatre

 

Showtimes:

Sat Aug.17 at 5pm

Mon Aug.19 at 7pm

Tues Aug. 20 at 1pm

Wed Aug.21 at 1pm

Thurs Aug.22 at 1pm and 9pm

Sat Aug.24 at 1pm

Sun Aug.25 at 1pm 


 

 

This is Jane’s first production of a new work and is looking forward to continuing this venture along with our other musical offerings to support the exciting original workhere in Edmonton.

 

Chorus Productions has been producing at the Fringe since 2004. The first show was John Hudson's critically acclaimed adaptation of The Trojan Women (Sterling Nomination, Outstanding production at the Fringe). Since then they have produced such hits as The Unseen by Craig Wright (Critic Award, Outstanding Production at the Fringe 2011 & Sterling nomination Outstanding Production at the Fringe), A Picasso by Jeffrey Hatcher (Critic Award, Outstanding Production at the Fringe 2013 & Sterling Award, Outstanding Fringe Production), Gideon's Knot (Sterling nomination, Outstanding Production at the Fringe 2015). Chorus Productions is very proud to be associated with The Plain Janes and this production of Crescendo!.

 

About the Writers:

Sandy Paddick (Playwright) is a graduate of the Grant MacEwan Theatre Arts Program and the B.F.A. Acting program at University of Alberta. Sandy has acted in various theatre companies in Edmonton including The Citadel, Shadow Theatre and Theatre Yes! Later, Sandy earned her masters in Speech Pathology and she has been working as a speech pathologist for the past twenty years. Sandy has worked with a variety of communication disorders with a focus on early intervention, motor speech disorders and Autism For Khan Communications, She developed three group programs for children with Autism – Mingle and Move, Fun with Fables and the Giggle Group. Sandy also helped to develop a First Nations, Métis and Inuit early literacy program for Northern Gateway School Division. She is also raising two teenagers with her husband John Hudson. Crescendo! is Sandy’s sixth play that she has written and is thrilled to be working with such a fabulous group of woman. She would like to thank the Chanteuse choir for the inspiration.
 

Jennifer McMillan (Composer and Arranger) is an active member of the Edmonton musical community. She is a graduate of the Music Composition and Piano Performance programs at Grant MacEwan University and has since developed into a sought-after accompanist, vocalist, clinician, composer and arranger.

As a pianist, she has played for numerous choirs, soloists, cabarets, and musicals in Canada and abroad. As a vocalist, Jen has lent her talents to many vocal ensembles and has sung for various vocal jazz and choral publishing demos. She has performed as a backup singer for Ben Folds and has been a featured vocalist in many film, television and video game recordings. A few favourites include Universal Studios Tokyo, Warframe (video game), CBS’s Hawaii Five-0 and CBC’s The Nature of Things.

Jennifer’s choral arrangements and compositions have been heard across North America and have even reached audiences in Europe, Australia, Namibia and South Africa.