Results tagged “eastend”

If you're into the idea of kids with bigger, shinier brains and programs that facilitate such things, you might be familiar with Now Hear This!, Toronto's very own not-for-profit literary outreach organization. With a mandate of education through the arts, they do good things like hold Satire and Fake News Writing workshops for kids, complete with handouts from The Onion. Kind of idealistically akin to Dave Eggers' ass-kickingly progressive nonprofit, 826 National.

Today’s Contest:

As the Luminato Fest continues, two more George F. Walker plays open at the Factory. Escape from Happiness is the sequel to already-opened Better Living, while Tough! is another one of Walker's East End Plays, focusing on a different group of characters. The entire play, which is only about an hour and twenty minutes long, is composed of a single scene: a confrontation between three young people in a park. Tina knows Bobby cheated on her at a party, which makes her especially mad because she's pregnant with his child, something Bobby is about to discover. Tina brings her friend Jill along for back-up, who has a long-standing grudge against Bobby and could happily "kick him to death".

George F. Walker, one of the country's most prolific and most produced playwrights, not to mention the creator of the sadly defunct CBC drama This is Wonderland, hasn't written a play since 2000's controversial Heaven, and he claims he may never write one again. But that doesn't stop him from getting produced at Factory about every year. This year, as a part of the innaugural Luminato Festival, Factory will be producing three of his East End Plays—Better Living, a remount of last year's Escape from Happiness, its sequel, and a workshop production of Tough! with a cast of 12 multi-racial young actors.

ROFL for real—Sunday May 6 is World Laughter Day 2007. Founded in 1998 by Dr. Madan Kataria, this event is now celebrated in over 50 countries, and there are more than 5000 laughter clubs around the globe. Everyone has heard the saying “laughter is the best medicine”—it may well be true. Laughter is an effective way to reduce stress, which is implicated in many serious illnesses such as heart disease, depression, and cancer. It encourages deep breathing which increases oxygen in the blood for enhanced stamina and mental focus. Laughter gives you a boost in immunity, releases endorphins, and gives you an overall sense of well-being and positivity.

The Star reports on the visit of controversial British Imam Sheik Riyadh ul-Haq, who has publicly vilified Jews and Hindus in speeches. There are calls for Immigration Minister Monte Solberg to deny him his entry. He's made four previous visits to Canada and many in the Muslim community defend him as a legitimate and well-regarded speaker.

The province has given municipalities the power to set closing time for bars. Toronto even gets the power to add additional taxes to booze. The province might even give this power to other municipalities if it works well in Toronto.