Urban Planner: March 20, 2013

In today's Urban Planner: TVO's Water Week takes over the Bloor, Kensington Market's historical society holds its first event, and curator Franklin Sirmans gives a lecture.

By Torontoist

The Power Plant presents a lecture by curator Franklin Sirmans. Photo courtesy of The Power Plant.

• Film: Take in two documentaries tonight as part of TVO's Water Week. Ontario filmmakers Alex and Tyler Mifflin travel to Africa to learn about the global water crisis first-hand in No Woman, No Water. And in Superfish: Bluefin Tuna, marine biologist and wildlife cameraman Rick Rosenthal documents a major species facing extinction. All three documentarians will participate in a panel discussion following the screenings. Bloor Hot Docs Cinema (506 Bloor Street West), 5:00 pm, $10. Details
• History: The Kensington Market Historical Society hosts their inaugural public event, with the help of two speakers, each the author of a book on the Kensington area. Join Jean Cochrane as she gives an overview of the changes the market has seen in Kensington Market: An Evolving Haven. Rosemary Donegan will focus on the cultural importance of the stretch of Spadina avenue between Dundas and College in Spadina Avenue: The Gateway to Kensington Market. Lillian H. Smith Library (239 College Street), 6:00 pm, FREE. Details
• Art: The Power Plant presents Los Angeles–based curator Franklin Sirmans as part of its International Lecture Series. He'll speak about his early independent work, his time at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and his work as artistic director of Prospect.3, an international contemporary art biennial that takes place in New Orleans. Harbourfront Centre, Studio Theatre (235 Queens Quay West), 7:00 pm, $12, FREE for Power Plant members. Details
• Books: Take a break from CSI, Law & Order, Criminal Minds, and the plethora of other crime shows you could watch tonight and instead go out and meet the people who like to write such stories at Authors at Harbourfront's Crime Showcase. The night features several readings— Linwood Barclay (Trust Your Eyes); Ian Hamilton (the fifth book in his Ava Lee series, The Scottish Banker of Surabaya); Becky Masterman (with her first thriller, Rage Against the Dying); and S.J. Parris (Sacrilege). A roundtable discussion will follow. Harbourfront Centre (235 Queen's Quay West), 7:30 pm, $10. Details
• Theatre: Theatre Lab and Pandemic Theatre have joined forces to present a limited engagement double feature. The Theatre Lab's To the Last Cry uses puppetry and masks to tell the story of a nameless peasant boy who braves a dangerous magical forest to save his dying brother. The Lost Sagas of Tjorvi the Flaccid, presented by Pandemic Theatre, takes us to a Viking world where Tjorvi struggles to prove himself worthier than his emasculating title. Factory Theatre (125 Bathurst Street), 8:00 pm, PWYC- $25. Details
• Dance: Experience a new side of Chinese traditional dance with TAO Dance Theater’s Weight x3 and 2. Presented by World Stage, this pair of pieces honours the old while also articulating the future of contemporary Chinese dance. Harbourfront Centre, Fleck Dance Theatre (207 Queens Quay West), 8:00 pm, $15-$40. Details
• Theatre: For Torontonians suffering from a case of cabin fever, we highly recommend traveling to Iceland this month. It might not be the most comforting trip, but it's well worth the fare. Contrary to its title, Nicolas Billon's play—the second in his Fault Lines trilogy (which also consists of Greenland and The Faroe Islands)—doesn't take place in its namesake scenic island nation. Rather, it zooms in on a single condo in Toronto's Liberty Village, and the three people whose lives intersect in one traumatic incident there. As each character reveals his or her part to play, we learn that the trio is drawn together by far more than just coincidence. Their lives are interconnected by the almighty dollar. Factory Theatre (125 Bathurst Street), 8:00 pm, $32-$42. Details

Ongoing…

• Photography: Lovers of photography and the city can rejoice at a new photo extravaganza: the Toronto Urban Photography Festival. This gigantic event features no less than 10 exhibitions, a variety of talks on the subject of urban photography, and a number of photo walks, so you too can get in on the practice of creating urban art. The exhibition also features the Disposable Camera Project, which places many disposable cameras around the city, leaving it up to whoever finds them to take a picture in the moment. And then you might possibly see the results in the festival. Multiple venues, March 9-23, FREE. Details
• Art: What might we see through the eyes of a child? ChildSight tries to answer that question by pairing selected artwork with audio commentary from children who participate in the Kaleidoscope in-school art program. The opening reception on Thursday, March 21st also includes awards presentations, drinks, and, of course, a chance to check out the show itself. Papermill Gallery (67 Pottery Road), March 13-24, FREE. Details
• Talks: The Toronto Storytelling Festival returns for another year. The week-long event will take place at venues across the city. Subject matter will range from politics, to kids' stuff, to guilty pleasures, and sexual desire. Multiple venues, March 16-24, FREE-$20, depending on event. Details
• Music: Canadian Music Week might not be as sexy as its fair-weather cousin, NXNE. There are no outdoor shows, and cycling between venues is way less fun in the freezing rain. That said, there are still tonnes of good acts. Here's the run-down, and our picks for the most promising shows... Multiple venues, March 19-24, Regular wristband $60; VIP wristband $120. Details
• Photography: Tonight (March 19), the second-annual Sound Image Music Photography Contest and Exhibition kicks off with a party. Judges Stephen Carlick (Exclaim! photo editor), Lucia Graca (creative director of Analogue Gallery), music photographer Barrie Wentzell, and Broken Social Scene's Brendan Canning will start the evening by announcing the contest's winner. The two-week-long exhibition features work from Courtney Lee Yip, Brian Patterson, Jess Baumung, Kevin Calixte, Roger Cullman, Vanessa Heins, and more. Analogue Gallery (673 Queen Street West), 12:00 pm, FREE, but RSVP required for the party. Details
• Theatre: The Whipping Man is a 2011 John Gassner New Play Award–winning play that's set during Passover in 1865. The show tells the tale of a confederate officer who has returned home after the Civil War to find his family missing, but two former slaves remaining. While waiting for the family's return, the concepts of master and slave, and those of slavery and war, are explored. Directed by Philip Akin and starring Sterling Jarvis, Brett Donahue, and Thomas Olajide. (Bonus tip: you can save 25 per cent off tickets to the March 16 and April 4 shows by buying them through Toronto-based publisher Bookclub-in-a-Box.) Toronto Centre for the Arts (5040 Yonge Street), 1:00 pm, Ticket prices vary. Details
• Theatre: Nightwood Theatre's annual festival of new creation, the Groundswell Festival, this year features a reading of a new play by Judith Thompson, productions from Montreal's Odelah Creations and Halifax's In Good Company, and nightly readings and events, including their annual Femcab Women's Day Celebration. Berkeley Street Theatre (26 Berkeley Street), 8:00 pm, $15. Details
• Theatre: One of Canada's most acclaimed and prolific young playwrights, Hannah Moscovitch, has her own mini festival at Tarragon Theatre this season. It started with This is War in January, and continues into March with three one act plays, all concerning children. Two of those three pieces make up the double bill now playing: In This World and Other People's Children. (We've got a review of the latter play here.) Tarragon Theatre (30 Bridgman Avenue), 8:00 pm, . Details
• Theatre: fu-GEN Theatre Company presents the Canadian premiere of Lauren Yee's cheeky and insightful play, Ching Chong Chinaman. The ultra-assimilated Wong family don't quite fit the Asian-American stereotype: teenaged Upton ignores chores and homework to play video games, and his sister Desi's math scores are less than stellar. Upton's solution to both problems? Hire an Asian indentured servant with an American dream. Starring Zoe Doyle, Brenda Kamino, Oliver Koomsatira, Richard Lee, Jane Luk, and John Ng. Daniels Spectrum (585 Dundas Street East), 8:00 pm, $15-$28. Details
• Theatre: The Whipping Man is a 2011 John Gassner New Play Award–winning play that's set during Passover in 1865. The show tells the tale of a confederate officer who has returned home after the Civil War to find his family missing, but two former slaves remaining. While waiting for the family's return, the concepts of master and slave, and those of slavery and war, are explored. Directed by Philip Akin and starring Sterling Jarvis, Brett Donahue, and Thomas Olajide. (Bonus tip: you can save 25 per cent off tickets to the March 16 and April 4 shows by buying them through Toronto-based publisher Bookclub-in-a-Box.) Toronto Centre for the Arts (5040 Yonge Street), 8:00 pm, Ticket prices vary. Details
• Theatre: Playwright Kat Sandler has an impeccable flair for comedic dialogue, and her plays keep getting better, from early effort LOVESEXYMONEY, to Fringe hit Help Yourself, to, most recently, clever couple swap scenario Delicacy. Sandler's newest work ROCK could be her darkest yet, about an actor (Andy Trithardt) who's begun fantasizing about murder, despite a supportive girlfriend (Jen Balen) and a rock solid best friend (Tim Walker). The Storefront Theatre (955 Bloor Street West), 8:00 pm, PWYC to $20. Details
• Theatre: The Canadian premiere of Ashlin Halfnight's Laws of Motion, about an accident that sparks a chain reaction of events, boasts a powerhouse ensemble assembled by Small Elephant Co-Op and director Chris Stanton, and is staged in a second-floor jam shop in Leslieville. Update, March 12: The show has now been extended to March 23—but they absolutely have to close after that. Jam Factory Company (2 Matilda Street), 8:00 pm, $23.53. Details
• Comedy: If there’s one thing that’s particularly impressive about Second City’s new mainstage show, The Meme-ing of Life, it’s how well balanced it is. As the title implies, Meme-ing is nominally a show about the internet, and certainly there is a fair bit of internet-centric humour. (One sketch, about a boy who falls into a YouTube-induced coma that can only be cured by reading, is particularly on point.) That said, it isn’t just a series of jokes about cat videos. Instead, it’s a well-thought-out show that manages to offer something for pretty much everyone, without stretching itself too thin. Second City (51 Mercer Street), 8:00 pm, $24-$29. Details
• Theatre: It's hardly news nowadays when an actor disrobes onstage, giving an audience a glimpse at what's underneath a costume. It's another thing entirely when the theatre itself strips down to its bare bones. For Canadian Stage's production of THIS, by Melissa James Gibson, a Canadian playwright gaining popularity in New York City, artistic director (and director of the play) Matthew Jocelyn and set designer Astrid Janson did just that to the historic Berkeley Street Theatre in Corktown. Berkeley Street Theatre (26 Berkeley Street), 8:00 pm, $22 to $49. Details

Urban Planner is Torontoist‘s guide to what’s on in Toronto, published every weekday morning, and in a weekend edition Friday afternoons. If you have an event you’d like considered, email us with all the details (including images, if you’ve got any), ideally at least a week in advance.