6 Visitors + 7 Stories = One Unforgettable “6-7” TFS Acting Showcase
If the internet has taught us anything lately, it’s that even simple numbers like 6-7 can spark a surprising amount of cultural imagination – and this term, Toronto Film School’s Acting for Film, TV & the Theatre students are bringing that meme-inspired energy to the stage with a theatrical twist.
From December 10-12, TFS’s fifth-term performers will tackle two thematically rich productions at Native Earth’s Aki Studio: 6 Visitors, a playful and unexpectedly shocking Pirandello-inspired dive into destiny, performance, and the roles we all play, and 7 Stories, Morris Panych’s absurdist, darkly comic reflection on life’s meaning from a ledge seven storeys above the ground.
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In 6 Visitors, director Andy Massingham has adapted Luigi Pirandello’s 1921 satiric play, Six Characters in Search of an Author for a contemporary audience, taking into account the “amazing talents” of his young actors.
“It is a play-within-a-play-within-a-play, and a huge challenge for actors, as the main themes are: what effect does acting have on fellow actors and ultimately, the audience? And, in a larger sense, do any of us have control over our destiny?” he said.
“Playful, ridiculous, and unexpectedly shocking (the original play caused a riot on opening night!), 6 Visitors will have audiences debating and questioning the roles we all play, every day of our lives.”
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Meanwhile, director Aaron Willis and his talented cast of young TFS actors are primed to challenge audiences to ponder: ‘Is there actually any meaning to our life? If not, what are we living for?’ in their production of Morris Panych’s 7 Stories.
“Writing in the tradition of the Theatre of the Absurd, which explores the tension between our need to make meaning for ourselves and the universe’s complete indifference to our happiness, Panych looks at all this from the perspective of a ledge on the side of a building seven stories above the ground,” Willis said of the play.
“What I appreciate so much about 7 Stories is how it tackles this heavy question with such lightness, offering us both the chance to laugh and to wonder a little at the mystery of our being alive.”
Both shows will take to the stage at Native Earth’s Aki Studio for a three-performance run from December 10 to 12 as follows:
Wednesday, December 10
7 p.m. – 6 Visitors
9 p.m. – 7 Stories
Thursday, December 11
7 p.m. – 7 Stories
9 p.m. – 6 Visitors
Friday, December 12
7 p.m. – 6 Visitors
9 p.m. – 7 Stories
Native Earth’s Aki Studio is located at 585 Dundas St. E. Tickets are free and available on a first-come, first-served basis at the door.
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The Creative Team Behind 6 Visitors
Owen Anderson as Stage Manager
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Juan Felipe Rojas Andrade as the Junior Apprentice
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Thomas Reid Sinnige as the Leading Man
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Karlie Milks as the Leading Lady
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Taylor Bailey as the Ingenue
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Phoebe Fawcett as the Director
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Viktoria Kozul as the Security Guard
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Kaitlyn Doucher as One
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Soroush Saber as Two
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Alex Hopkins as Three
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Carter Pyle as Four
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Ethan Adam Dyer as Five
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Hahyoon Kim as Six
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Andy Massingham – Director
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Angelina Marjanovic – Stage Manager
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The Creative Team Behind 7 Stories
Brooklyn Brix as Man
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Rylee Toth as Charlotte
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Ameliya Kimora Sutherland as Joan/Jennifer
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Yaz Savas as Nurse Wilson
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Christopher Gutierrez Ramos as Rodney
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Patrick Molyneaux as Marshall
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Braxton Mitchell as Percy
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Hannah Boulay as Lillian
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Emma Zappulla as Rachel
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Neil-Erine Palmaria as Leonard
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Renée Pilon as Al/Michael
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Aaron Willis – Director
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Liam David Michael Sharpe – Stage Manager
