At the beginning of the month I had the opportunity to sit down with co-founders, director and actors of a brand new, Windsor-based theatrical company called Tall Tale Theatre. They had just wrapped up daily rehearsals for their original production called A Bad Man’s World.
Eric Branget (director and co-founder) and Michael J. Krym (actor and co-founder) crossed each other’s path on different projects throughout the city. It turns out, they both had the same vision when it came to acting – they wanted to have original Canadian work be brought to life on stage at a professional level.
“When Eric and I got into conversation about film and theatre, we realized we agreed on a lot of the same things,” said Michael, “There is so much talent that comes out of Windsor from our BFA program, but the problem is that they get shipped out to bigger cities right away. After putting our heads together, we realized the reason why people move onto other cities is because they get paid.”
Michael and Eric spoke so passionately about their visions for keeping actors here in the city. With that being said, they are paying all of their actors. Actors, just like other artists, want to get paid. Whether it is photography, sculpting or modelling. Anything artistic. Everyone deserves to make a living wage for doing what they love.
“We wanted to start out our first season with a bang,” said Eric. “We wanted to put on two original, contrasting pieces. Starting off with an emotional drama like ‘A Bad Man’s World’ and then switching to a comedy that we are putting on at Cooper’s Hawk Vineyard for one night only. We want to be able to put on shows that make people go ‘what are they going to do next!?’”
Something interesting and intriguing that Michael and Eric are doing when producing A Bad Man’s World, is that they’re presenting it completely different than what you would normally see. Instead of rows of chairs with the stage front and centre they are doing something called “Theatre in the Round.”
The chairs are going to be in a circle surrounding the actors. The point of this is that the audience members see the show from a different perspective depending on where they are sitting. I have never attended a show done like this before so I am very excited to see how it is performed.
When speaking to the actors about their characters and the co-founders about Tall Tale Theatre, I could see they all have the same drive and passion for the performing arts. Eric talked highly about the actors he has in this show:
“I am so grateful for the performers we have – they are all so incredibly talented.”
I love where everyone’s mindset is at for this company. Putting on original pieces can definitely be scary as you have no idea what to expect the outcome to be. But with the enthusiasm these performers and production team have, I have no doubt they are heading towards amazing things.”
A Bad Man’s World focuses on an individual named Cole who is trying to get his life together after some bad decisions and their consequences catching up. He is in the process of trying to win back the love of his life, Julia, and struggling to maintain a 20-year relationship with his best friend, Jeremy. Just as he thinks everything is going according to plan, in walks, Vik, with news that will unsettle and unbalance everything.
The actors performed the last scene of the production for me and it is filled with emotion and mystery. What kind of news did Vik have for Cole? Will Cole manage to get his life back on track? Find out in Tall Tale Theatre’s first production of A Bad Man’s World.
Tickets are $20 and available online. The show takes place at SHO, Art, Spirit & Performance (628 Monmouth) from May 10-12 and 17-19 with all performances at 8pm. Tickets are also available for their comedic show For The Love of Late Night online as well.
A Bad Man’s World Cast:
Michael J. Krym as Cole
Kyle Arthur Kimmerly as Jeremy
Shannon Pitre as Julia
Somerville Black as Vik
Written by Michael J. Krym
Directed by Eric Branget
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