By Janine Marley, Oct., 20, 2017

Looking for theatre to check out in November? Would you be even more excited if it was FREE?

Soulpepper has you covered! Soulpepper just announced its lineup for The Shen Development Festival.

Beginning on November 19th at 1pm, The Shen Development Festival includes theatre, dance, and music as well as a special screening of some of Season 2 from CBC TV’s “Kim’s Convenience.” Programmed by Shen Fellow Courtney Ch’ng Lancaster, along with Rong Fu and Miquelon Rodriguez, The Shen Development Festival has something for everyone.

The Festival is comprised of six presentations including: the Canadian Premiere of “Cassettes 100” by José Maceda presented by Byron Abalos and Andrea Mapili (Maceda’s grand-daughter); “Someone Between” by Chantria Tram; “Undercover Indian” by Ankita Kumar-Ratta; “Good/Don’t” choreographed by Ming-Bo Lam; “Love You Wrong Time” created and performed by Maddie Bautista and Deanna Choi; and a Shen Cabaret with performers including Deanna Choi, Athena Kaitlin Trinh, Bo Lam, Victoria Marie, Arlene Paculan, and more.

“Undercover Indian,” which has two performances, 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., tells the true story of a young Indo-Canadian woman, Ankita, who goes to live in India to learn more about her identity. This thought-provoking, playful, immersive theatre piece invites you to join Ankita in a yoga class (audience members can choose to sit in a chair or on a yoga mat) where she reveals, asana by asana, how her experience in India taught her to look at North American culture through a new lens.

Hilariously witty, Undercover Indian is a play about belonging, becoming and the beauty of identifying with two worlds.

For details on all the performances visit the The Shen Development Festival, website at https://www.soulpepper.ca/performances/shen-festival

There will also be a screening of episodes, that have been broadcast, from season 2 of CBC’s “Kim’s Convenience.” Based on the play written by Ins Choi (the inaugural Shen Fellow), “Kim’s Convenience” premiered at Toronto Fringe and then took Soulpepper by storm. SDon’t miss this podcast with Ins Ghoi where he outlines his path to success.

While the Festival is free, you should reserve your complimentary tickets in advance as space may be limited in the smaller venues. The Festival will take place at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts at 50 Tank House Lane in the Distillery District.

For more information about The Shen Development Festival, you can check out their website at https://www.soulpepper.ca/performances/shen-festival

Janine Marley
Janine Marley is an actor, director, and reviewer from Kingsville. Her lifelong passion for theatre and its studies took her through her Masters Degree in English Literature and taken her on many exciting theatrical adventures. When she’s not making theatre, she’s watching it and can be found in the audience at the Stratford Festival any given weekend during the summer.
Follow Janine on Twitter: @thetheatregirl