Royce Vavrek
Encyclopedia
Royce Vavrek is a Canadian filmmaker, librettist, playwright
and musical theatre
writer known for the film From Sky and Soil
, which was created as part of the Corus
Young Filmmakers Initiative for broadcast on the W Network
through a prize administered by the Canadian Film and Television Production Association. His one-act opera with composer Jeff Myers, The Hunger Art
, created while in residence at American Lyric Theater, premiered in concert at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater Symphony Space in New York City, and was subsequently presented by Center City Opera Theater
in Philadelphia on September, 2008. Scenes from his new opera, Dog Days, with composer David T. Little were premiered at Carnegie Hall
on May 9, 2009, followed by a presentation as part of New York City Opera
's VOX Contemporary Opera Lab on April 30, 2010.
In 2001, another of Vavrek's plays, I Can Fly!, competed at the Alberta Provincial One-Act Play Festival, again in Edmonton, Alberta. Later that year, the play was featured during the opening night performance of the Mass of Madpeople Players' production of The Tainted Heart Trilogy.
Vavrek's play Motherless Pig was featured in the collective production of Menagerie by Sound and Fury Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta, in a production that garnered an Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award nomination for Best Production by a Collective in 2002. In a review for See Magazine, Gilbert Bouchard called the work a "deeply satirical, highly entertaining fable." In the same review he wrote: "With his sharp, crisp, witty script, Vavrek deconstructs identity politics without ever dipping into the pedantic or falling prey to either easy sentimentality or unvarnished pathos."
In May 2009, Vavrek premiered lyrics in four original songs written for Mikhael Tara Garver's nonplay, a work loosely based on August Strindberg
's A Dream Play
. Songs include Pins and Needles composed by Matt Burns and Joy Son, and Et Cetera, Goodbye, My Little Lover, and Gravitylessness composed by Andrew Gerle.
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
writer known for the film From Sky and Soil
From Sky and Soil
From Sky and Soil is a short film created as part of the Corus Young Filmmakers Initiative for broadcast on the W Network in Canada. Written and directed in 2004 by Royce Vavrek, the film has undergone two major cuts, one in 2005 by Evie Farmer for documentation at the , and another in 2007 by...
, which was created as part of the Corus
Corus Entertainment
Corus Entertainment Inc. is a publicly traded Canadian media and entertainment conglomerate.Corus is a leading Canadian specialty television and radio producer, with additional assets in pay television, advertising services, television broadcasting, children's book publishing and children's...
Young Filmmakers Initiative for broadcast on the W Network
W Network
W Network is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. W Network broadcasts lifestyle and entertainment programming aimed at women....
through a prize administered by the Canadian Film and Television Production Association. His one-act opera with composer Jeff Myers, The Hunger Art
The Hunger Art
The Hunger Art is an opera in one act by Jeff Myers, to a libretto by Royce Vavrek after Franz Kafka.Written while in residence at American Lyric Theater, the opera was performed in concert at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theatre at Peter Norton Symphony Space in Manhattan, New York on January 7,...
, created while in residence at American Lyric Theater, premiered in concert at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater Symphony Space in New York City, and was subsequently presented by Center City Opera Theater
Center City Opera Theater
Center City Opera Theater is an opera company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1999, CCOT is the only professional opera company in the United States whose mission is the creation of new opera works, guiding works from inception to stage through a series of workshops...
in Philadelphia on September, 2008. Scenes from his new opera, Dog Days, with composer David T. Little were premiered at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
on May 9, 2009, followed by a presentation as part of New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
's VOX Contemporary Opera Lab on April 30, 2010.
Selected filmmography
| Film | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Sacrifice | 2003 | |
| Good Woman | 2004 | starring Marc Bouwer |
| From Sky and Soil From Sky and Soil From Sky and Soil is a short film created as part of the Corus Young Filmmakers Initiative for broadcast on the W Network in Canada. Written and directed in 2004 by Royce Vavrek, the film has undergone two major cuts, one in 2005 by Evie Farmer for documentation at the , and another in 2007 by... |
2005 | Winner of the CFTPA Corus Young Filmmakers Initiative, 2004 |
| I Will Not Be Sad Anymore | 2005 | Winner of the Quebec Cooperative Filmmakers Initiative "No Sweat" Competition, 2005 |
| Pig and Bear Pig and Bear Pig and Bear is an experimental short film by Royce Vavrek, internationally screened throughout North America in 2008. Created while at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema at Concordia University, the film is being distributed across the United States and Canada as part of North Country Cinema's... |
2008 | International screening as part of TELEGRAMS from the New Canadian Cinema |
Selected theatre
In 2000, Vavrek's play Small Sad Saccharine Sins was showcased at the Alberta One-Act Play Festival in Edmonton, Alberta.In 2001, another of Vavrek's plays, I Can Fly!, competed at the Alberta Provincial One-Act Play Festival, again in Edmonton, Alberta. Later that year, the play was featured during the opening night performance of the Mass of Madpeople Players' production of The Tainted Heart Trilogy.
Vavrek's play Motherless Pig was featured in the collective production of Menagerie by Sound and Fury Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta, in a production that garnered an Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award nomination for Best Production by a Collective in 2002. In a review for See Magazine, Gilbert Bouchard called the work a "deeply satirical, highly entertaining fable." In the same review he wrote: "With his sharp, crisp, witty script, Vavrek deconstructs identity politics without ever dipping into the pedantic or falling prey to either easy sentimentality or unvarnished pathos."
In May 2009, Vavrek premiered lyrics in four original songs written for Mikhael Tara Garver's nonplay, a work loosely based on August Strindberg
August Strindberg
Johan August Strindberg was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg's career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over 60 plays and more than 30 works of fiction, autobiography,...
's A Dream Play
A Dream Play
A Dream Play was written in 1901 by the Swedish playwright August Strindberg. It was first performed in Stockholm on 17 April 1907. It remains one of Strindberg's most admired and influential dramas, seen as an important precursor to both dramatic Expressionism and Surrealism.-Plot:The primary...
. Songs include Pins and Needles composed by Matt Burns and Joy Son, and Et Cetera, Goodbye, My Little Lover, and Gravitylessness composed by Andrew Gerle.
Selected musical theatre
| Musical | Year | Collaborator |
|---|---|---|
| Slaughtersung: The Sheepera | 2005 | Moon Hee Park (composer) |
| Dreamers = 1 + 1 + 1 | 2006 | Joy Son (composer) |
| The Popesical | 2007 | Brian Valencia (composer) |
| A Lot'A Nerve, Naomi Grubenstein | 2008 | Jay Anthony Gach (composer) |
| Untitled Bear Musical | 2011 | Nicholas Martin (composer) |
Selected opera credits
| Opera | Year | Collaborator | Premiere |
|---|---|---|---|
| Song From the Uproar | 2012 | Missy Mazzoli (composer, co-librettist) | Beth Morrison Productions/The Kitchen The Kitchen The Kitchen is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary art and performance space located at at 512 West 19th Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City... |
| Angel's Bone | 2011 | Du Yun (composer) | Mann Center for the Performing Arts Mann Center for the Performing Arts The Mann Center for The Performing Arts is a 14,000 seat summer musical venue located in Philadelphia's West Fairmount Park. The venue operates as both an indoor performance hall and an outdoor music venue... |
| Selections from The Beach The Beach The Beach may refer to:*The Beach , a 1996 novel by Alex Garland**The Beach , a 2000 movie based on the aforementioned novel*The Beaches, a neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, also commonly known as "The Beach"... |
2011 | Andrew Gerle Andrew Gerle Andrew Gerle is an American composer and pianist known for his musical adaptation of "Meet John Doe" with librettist Eddie Sugarman which premiered at the Ford's Theater in Washington. He is the recipient of four Richard Rodgers Awards administered by the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a... (composer) |
New York City Opera New York City Opera The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and... 's VOX Contemporary American Opera Lab |
| Selections from Maren of Vardø | 2011 | Jeff Myers (composer) | New York City Opera New York City Opera The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and... 's VOX Contemporary American Opera Lab |
| Vinkensport, or The Finch Opera Vinkensport, or The Finch Opera Vinkensport, or The Finch Opera is a comic opera by David T. Little, to a libretto by Royce Vavrek.Commissioned for the Bard College Conservatory, the world premiere of Vinkensport, or The Finch Opera was presented at the Richard B. Fisher Center on February 26, 2010 performed by students in Bard's... |
2010 | David T. Little David T. Little David T. Little is an American composer and drummer known for his orchestral and operatic works, including his theatrical cantata "Soldier Songs" which was included in New York City Opera's VOX Contemporary American Opera Lab in 2008... (composer) |
Bard College |
| The Bully Pulpit Bully pulpit A bully pulpit is a public office or other position of authority of sufficiently high rank that provides the holder with an opportunity to speak out and be listened to on any matter... |
2010 | Kristin Hevner (composer) | Metropolis Opera Projects |
| Prairie Dogs | 2010 | Rachel Peters (composer) | Premiere TBA |
| Scenes from Dog Days Dog Days "Dog Days" are the hottest, most sultry days of summer. In the Northern Hemisphere, the dog days of summer are most commonly experienced in the months of July and August, which typically observe the warmest summer temperatures. In the Southern Hemisphere, they typically occur in January and... |
2009 | David T. Little David T. Little David T. Little is an American composer and drummer known for his orchestral and operatic works, including his theatrical cantata "Soldier Songs" which was included in New York City Opera's VOX Contemporary American Opera Lab in 2008... (composer) |
Osvaldo Golijov and Dawn Upshaw Young Artists Concert (Carnegie Hall/Zankel Hall) |
| Mermaid in the Jar | 2009 | Rachel Peters (composer) | AMONG OTHERS: The Music of Rachel Peters |
| The Hunger Art The Hunger Art The Hunger Art is an opera in one act by Jeff Myers, to a libretto by Royce Vavrek after Franz Kafka.Written while in residence at American Lyric Theater, the opera was performed in concert at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theatre at Peter Norton Symphony Space in Manhattan, New York on January 7,... |
2008 | Jeff Myers (composer) | American Lyric Theatre Presents 'Opera in Eden' |
| Nora at the Altar-Rail Nora at the Altar-Rail Nora at the Altar-Rail is a one-act opera by Jay Anthony Gach, to a libretto by Royce Vavrek. The libretto is based on the Book of Genesis and inspired by Thomas Hardy's poem "At the Altar-Rail" which is prominently featured in the piece.... |
2008 | Jay Anthony Gach (composer) | American Lyric Theatre Presents 'Opera in Eden' |
Selected concert contributions
| Song | Year | Collaborator | Event | Performer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I [XX] | 2011 | Matt Marks (composer) | 21c Liederabend | Mellissa Hughes |
| Last Nightfall | 2011 | David T. Little David T. Little David T. Little is an American composer and drummer known for his orchestral and operatic works, including his theatrical cantata "Soldier Songs" which was included in New York City Opera's VOX Contemporary American Opera Lab in 2008... (composer) |
21c Liederabend | Mellissa Hughes |
| Gaspar Yuste Castro | 2010 | Kristin Hevner (composer) | The Coterie un/plugged, Volume One: Lauren Worsham and Friends | Lauren Worsham |
| A Legacy in Cherry Wood | 2010 | Andrew Gerle Andrew Gerle Andrew Gerle is an American composer and pianist known for his musical adaptation of "Meet John Doe" with librettist Eddie Sugarman which premiered at the Ford's Theater in Washington. He is the recipient of four Richard Rodgers Awards administered by the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a... (composer) |
The Coterie un/plugged, Volume One: Lauren Worsham and Friends | Barbara Walsh Barbara Walsh Barbara Walsh is an American musical theatre actress who has appeared in several prominent Broadway productions. Walsh is known for her Drama Desk Award winning and Tony nominated role as Trina in the Broadway production of Falsettos.... |
| Little Nimrod | 2009 | Mark Baechle (composer) | The Coterie @ Joe's Pub | Amanda Pabyan |
| In America, They Execute Elephants | 2009 | Rachel Peters (composer) | State of the Union (Spotlight Series) | Molly Hager |
| Love Is | 2008 | Rob Shapiro (composer/additional lyrics) | Open Bar Mitzvah: The Songs of Rob Shapiro | Liz Carbonell |
| Hybrid Dreams (BunnyPony) | 2007 | Julia Meinwald (composer) | Worst Case Scenario: The Songs of Julia Meinwald | Lauren Worsham |