Urban Planner: April 15, 2014

In today's Urban Planner: the business of blogging, a spring book launch, and a classic novel hits the stage.

By Torontoist

Photo by George Socka, from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

• Technology: So, you’ve got a pretty clever little blog, and you want to share it with the world. Better yet, you want to make money off of it. But how? Get started with The Business of Blogging, a helpful course from Camp Tech. Not only will you be given suggestions on how to write compelling content, you’ll also learn how to use social media, ad space, and affiliate marketing to turn your hobby into a moneymaking venture. Please register in advance for this class. Centre for Social Innovation (215 Spadina Avenue), 6 p.m., $65 + fees and HST. Details
• Books: BookThug is welcoming the warmer weather and celebrating the release of several new works with a Spring Launch event. On top of readings by Jacob Wren, Aisha Sasha John, Wayne Clifford, and Guadalupe Muro, there will be a special panel discussion, and a musical performance by Songs for Runaway Girls. Supermarket (268 Augusta Avenue), 7:30 p.m., FREE. Details
• Theatre: Broken people, obsession, loss, war, and poverty don’t usually make for the most uplifting stories. But what if love were thrown in? Of Human Bondage does just that. Regarded as one of the world’s greatest novels, it has been brought to life by playwright Vern Thiessen, and will make its world premiere on the Soulpepper Theatre stage. Young Centre for the Performing Arts (50 Tank House Lane), 7:30 p.m., $29–$74. Details

Ongoing…

• Art: If The Forbidden City: Inside the Court of China’s Emperors has a mascot, it’s Emperor Yongzheng. The image of the 18th-century Chinese ruler dominates the promotional material of the exhibition, which is one of the centrepieces of the Royal Ontario Museum’s centennial year. His portrait certainly has visual appeal, but Yongzheng is also a figure associated with surprising elements of life within the former imperial palace.
  Royal Ontario Museum (100 Queens Park), all day, $27 adults. Details
• Art: “The greatest art always returns you to the vulnerabilities of the human situation.” – Francis Bacon

  “In the human figure one can express more completely one’s feelings about the world than in any other way.” – Henry Moore

  These quotations, which welcome visitors to “Francis Bacon and Henry Moore: Terror and Beauty,” immediately establish the exhibition’s tone and focus. Each artist’s distortions of the human figure, shaped by their wartime experiences, capture the vulnerability of our mortal forms. Art Gallery of Ontario (317 Dundas Street West), all day, $25 adults. Details

• Festivals: A week of performing arts programming created by artists 21 and under, The Paprika Festival features readings, theatre and dance performances, and social events that aim to encourage youth involvement in the arts and foster the creation of art by young people. The festival boasts many alumni in the arts and arts-related fields, and this year’s crop of budding writers, directors, and performers may give young-at-heart attendees a glimpse of future Dora-winning work. There’s a double bill of workshopped shows each night of the week, with readings beforehand and late-night cabaret programming afterward. Over the festival’s closing weekend, the evenings turn into full days of arts events. All main-stage shows are $5; unlimited access festival passes can be purchased for $50. Many events are free of charge. For the full programming schedule, consult the festival’s website. Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace (16 Ryerson Avenue), FREE–$5, $50 festival pass. Details
• Festivals: Taking place in five Canadian cities for the second time, The Spur Festival brings together thinkers, innovators, and academic and creative types for a series of lectures, meetings, and performances on “nationally relevant and locally nuanced” ideas. Here in Toronto from April 3 to April 6, the festival will include noted lawyer Michael Geist on free speech, an urban planning panel moderated by Shawn Micallef, talks by author Cecil Foster and photojournalists Rita Leistner and Mike Kamber, and much more. Many of the events, including the opening and closing parties, are free; a few have ticket prices ranging from $10 to $30. For full details, visit the festival’s website. FREE–$150. Details
• Dance: Told through South American music and dance, Arrabal is the story of a young girl desperate to find out what happened to her father after the Argentine military made him disappear when she was just a baby. Her search leads her to the Tango clubs of Buenos Aires, where she discovers both the truth, and herself. Panasonic Theatre (651 Yonge Street), 8 p.m., $44–$84. Details
• Theatre: Zack and Abby are the couple that others envy—the ones who seem to have it all. But secrets hide behind the beautiful home, the loving marriage, and the promising careers. Company Theatre’s Belleville—produced in association with Canadian Stage—explores the darkness that’s revealed in this seemingly perfect relationship after Abby finds her husband at home one day when he’s supposed to be at work. Berkeley Street Theatre (26 Berkeley Street), 8 p.m., $22–$49. Details
• Music: Riding high on great reviews of their new album, Lost in the Dream, The War on Drugs are back for a two-night stand in Toronto. Night one on Monday takes place at The Horseshoe Tavern and features their tour mates, White Laces (the ‘Shoe is where the band played their first few appearances in Toronto). Night two on Tuesday is at Lee’s Palace, where Toronto’s own Andre Ethier is their opening guest. 9 p.m., $16.50. 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.