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Urban Planner: November 23, 2009
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 all of its details—as well as images, if you’ve got any—to [email protected].
MUSIC: For the first time in twenty-five years, Devo (’80s pop bastion of neat-looking-yet-ultimately-functionless hats) will take to the stage for the first of two shows at the Phoenix Concert Theatre tonight. They’ll be working their way through one album each night, and tonight is the Brian Eno–produced classic Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! (which unfortunately does not include their 1980 breakthrough hit, “Whip It“—that’s saved for tomorrow night when they play their second album, Freedom of Choice). Phoenix Concert Theatre (410 Sherbourne Street), 8 p.m., $48.25 (or $99.75 for VIP meet and greet tickets).
WORDS: TSAR Publications is a small book publishing house based in Toronto that releases about six to eight works of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction a year. Tonight, they’re celebrating the launch of their fall collection at the Gladstone with free food, a cash bar, and books to be purchased and signed. Several TSAR authors will be there to read from their books, including Olive Senior (Arrival of the Snake-Woman), Michelle Muir (Nuff Said), Shaista Justin (Winter, the Unwelcome Visitor), and contributors from Her Mother’s Ashes 3. Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen Street West), 7 p.m., FREE.
IMPROV: The Impatient Theatre Company specializes in teaching and performing long-form improvisation, often utilizing the Harold method (a sort of structure that the improvisers can follow while creating scenes). Tonight, they’re kicking off their first full-length sketch revue called Who Do You Think You Are?! The show centres around a group of characters based in a high-rise condo, the Apex, in downtown Toronto. Comedy Bar (945 Bloor Street West), 8 p.m., $10.
CONFERENCE: Starting tonight and lasting until Wednesday, OCAD has put together a conference to discuss how combining health research with art, design, and cultural knowledge can improve the health and general well-being of the public. Cultural Knowledge and the Healthy Society: A Research & Innovation Summit will be held at OCAD, with experts in both health and culture meeting to share their research and present new ideas to anyone who wants to learn (the whole conference is free and open to the public). They will be discussing, for example, how the design of a rehabilitation centre can either help or hinder the progress of patients, or how medical visualizations can be improved with the guidance of a visual artist. The Canadian Institute of Health Research will be holding three Café Scientifiques throughout the summit (including one today called “Design, Art and the Healthcare Environment: Better Outcomes”). Ontario College of Art and Design (100 McCaul Street); 7 p.m. (doors and registration), 7:30 p.m. (Café Scientifique #1); FREE.