Lukas Stark, Mystery Entertainer

Saturday 22 June, 9pm

Tickets $12/advance, $15/door.

Lukas Stark has been performing magic for so long, he can’t remember exactly when he got started. Inspired by the legendary magicians and everything from philosophical literature to psychology textbooks to sci-fi movies, Lukas engages his audiences with a thought-provoking and often startling blend of mentalism, suggestion, and sleight of hand. His props might include playing cards, antique small objects, strait jackets and recovered old creepy items. He is the impresario behind a monthly vaudeville variety show in Toronto, and performs at resorts, theatres, trucker bars and on television. Lukas encourages and challenges skepticism, and entices audiences to consider and re-consider what they understand and believe about psychology and science, possibility and impossibility.

facebook.com/starkmystery

tedxocadu.com/speakers/lukas-stark

twitter: @MysteryArts

Tranzac is proud to be a part of North By Northeast 2013

TRANZAC NXNE LISTINGS:

WEDNESDAY

Comedy in the Main Hall, featuring:

Ben Beauchemin
Rob Bebenek
Allie Myers
Adam Paisley
Justin Williams
Kyle Hickey
Luke Thayer

THURSDAY

Music in the Southern Cross, featuring:

Do Good Assassins
Blanche DuBois
Gabriel Minnikin
Julian Taylor Band

Comedy in the Main Hall, featuring:

Kriseen Von Hagen
Andrew Barr
Michelle Shaughnessy
Christina walkinshaw
Luis J Gomez
Big Jay Oakerson

FRIDAY

Music in the Southern Cross, featuring:

Tal Cohen-Shalev
Laura Moody
Jason Plumb and the Willing
Kayla Luky

Comedy in the Main Hall, featuring:

Nigel Grinstead
Kyle Dooley
Brian Armstrong
Julia Hladkowicz
Big Jay Oakerson

SATURDAY

Music in the Southern Cross, featuring:

Chris Ho
The Blank Tapes
Suzy Wilde
Gem Andrews
Dusty Sunshine

Music in the Main Hall, featuring:

Andrea Parkins
Thighs
Lean Left

Tranzac & CIUT 89.5 FM Present: the Annex Festival On Bloor Stage.

Sunday 9 June, 12:30pm – 6pm

Featuring:

The Woodchoppers Orchestra
Rambunctious
Spadina Station
Jay Danley’s Ethio Jazz Project
Michelle Rumball
Run With the Kittens
Jaron Freeman-Fox and the Opposite of Everything
OG Melody

Andy and Ariana

Tuesday 4 June, Tranzac Main Hall, 7:30pm.  $10/$5 students/unwaged

Andy and Ariana are releasing their new CD “Eye to Eye” with Chris Gartner joining them on bass.  Micah O’Connell and Delia Macpherson will be opening the show with their original music.

What happens when a half-Danish Swiss and a half-Afghan Maritimer fuse their musical lives together? Well, 9 CDs and countless performances later, the answer to that question is of course still evolving. Take an avalanche of spoken-word-style lyrics and add a bit of jazz, a dash of eastern flavour, a sprinkle of reggae, some rural Nova Scotian flare and a healthy dose of fun and you’ll start to get an idea. Oh yeah, and if you’re not watching Andy simultaneously playing guitar and percussion, beat-boxing and flirting with the audience, then you’re missing an important part of the Andy and Ariana experience. Add to that Ariana’s expressively elastic vocals, unique violin and saxophone stylings, and the interplay between two musicians who have been doing it together for 15 years and you have yourself a spectacle.
Their latest project is a CD called “Eye to Eye” which was released in April 2013. This one showcases the duo’s diverse musical experiences and influences. Employing Andy’s own mouth as lead percussionist, this album also features Ariana’s horn and string sections, and an overall feel they refer to as gypsy-soul jazz-folk. Lyrical themes tackle integrity, tolerance, and making music with random objects (burps are fine).

Andy and Ariana have spent the last seven and a half years getting to know and love Nova Scotia (ok, Ariana grew up in NS but moved away as a young adult, never to return…) This has involved much performing and recording, collaborations with other Nova Scotian acts, and presenting monthly local talent shows in Wolfville (and that’s Talent with a capital T!). The two enjoy playing music for audiences of all ages, especially when they’re all together at the same time, which is why they spend many a summer morning playing at Farmers’ Markets around the province. Not to mention that local food is the best kind of food! Nova Scotia rocks really.

Queen’s Players Toronto presents:

Thrones And Recreation

Thu 30 May, Fri 31 May, Sat 1 Jun

Thu 6 Jun, Fri 7 Jun, Sat 8 Jun

7:30pm.  Tickets available at queensplayerstoronto.com

Queen’s Players Toronto (QPT) is a not-for-profit organization that produces really, really funny contemporary alt-pop-rock musicals. Our unique style of show draws its origins from comedy cabarets produced at Queen’s University since… well… the beginning of time. (Lorne Greene and Robertson Davies were early members… we’re not kidding!) QPT was formed by Queen’s alumni in 2004 and is now happily comprised of dedicated individuals from a variety of backgrounds.

But, as hilarious as the shows are, and as fun as they are to produce, QPT has also always had a very strong charitable component to its mandate. In fact, to date, QPT has donated over $100,000 to wide variety of fantastic charities.

Over the past eight years, we have produced ten full-scale, sold out shows.

Songs We Write; Covers We Love

Wednesday 22 May, 10pm, FREE/pwyc

Featuring music by Robin Dann (of Bernice)

Michelle Willis

Thom Gill

Charles James

Mackenzie Longpre

The Slocan Ramblers & The Boxcar Boys

Tranzac Main Hall, Friday 17 May, 7;30pm.  $12 advance/$15 door

Tickets available at theboxcarboys.ca

The Boxcar Boys:

“21st-century eclectics, mixing Roma, roots and plain-old rambunctious whimsy… [The Boxcar Boys] are guaranteed to put a smile on your face and a spring in your step.”-John Terauds, Toronto Star

The Slocan Ramblers:

“The Slocan Ramblers put on one of the most vibrant shows of acoustic music I’ve seen in some time. It’s rare for Canadians (especially young Canadians) to play this music with such authority, passion and yet ability for experimentation. Chops galore, and a handsome bunch of fellas”  -Tom Power, host of CBC’s Deep Roots, and Radio 2 Morning

Riverrun

Thursday 25 April, 10pm, FREE/pwyc

Riverrun is a quartet made up of some of Toronto’s strongest musical personalities. Their sound has been described as “electro-chamber-jazz” and “minimalist-avant-garde-pop”. Cinematic, delving and disciplined, Riverrun cuts across stylistic boundaries and goes deep into the moment.

Tom Richards, leader, composer and keyboardist, has played with Engine, The Hidden Cameras, Dan Mangan, Spoon, and The Wooden Sky, among many others. In this project, he brings his cross-genre compositional style to the forefront – navigating through diverse worlds of sound using a combination of nimble technique and envelope-pushing electronics.

Peter Lutek, clarinet, has been a pillar of the contemporary music scene in Toronto for decades. A virtuosic multi-instrumentalist, Peter tends to make his own rules: In Riverrun he plays a Turkish clarinet which allows him to split the octave into 48 parts. His sound is transformed electronically through homemade computer hardware and software.

Scott Peterson, bass and vocals, is the mystic of the group. While exploring the Peruvian jungle, he spontaneously learned to throat-sing in the traditional Tuvan style. He tunes his bass in fifths and employs a wide palette of electronic signal-processing which he controls with his feet.

Jake Oelrichs, drums and xylophone, is one of the most sought-after drummers in Ontario. Anyone who has ever seen Jake play with Run With The Kittens or Muskox has had their understanding of the drums changed forever. His deep sense of groove underpins every moment of Riverrun’s sonic exploration.

NAGs Players Present: I’ll Be Back Before Midnight

May 2 – 11: shows Thursday, Friday, Saturday evenings, 8pm.

Tickets $12 – $20, available at www.nagsplayers.com

A couple from the city rents an old farmhouse in the country. Their dream of quiet becomes a nightmare when they find out about a murder in the house and the vengeful ghost that is reported to stalk the night. Laugh-out-loud funny and scream-out-loud scary.

Vendredi 12 Avril et Vendredi 19 Avril, 19h.  $15

Les Productions Nemesis et Les Improbables s’associent pour joindre le théâtre à l’improvisation dans :

Effeuilletage

Dépouillement de courts textes de théâtre écrits par des dramaturges francophones de Toronto et mis en vie par des improvisateurs aguerris.

Inspiré de The National Theater of the World’s “The Script Tease Project”, les quatre comédiens recevront les textes dans une enveloppe scellée sur scène pour la première fois. Ils en feront la lecture, puis improviseront la pièce pour une trentaine de minutes. Deux pièces d’auteurs différents seront présentées durant la soirée.

Sonia D’Amico, Mathieu St-Laurent, Thomas Gallezot, Guillaume Touzel-Bond vous transporteront dans leur imaginaire pour votre plus grand plaisir.

Une primeur dans le milieu théâtral francophone!

En deuxième partie, les Improbables vous présenteront un Royal Rumble. Un championnat d’impro durant lequel les improvisateurs s’affronteront dans des duels infernaux.

Une vingtaine de joueurs se disputeront l’unique titre de vainqueur, décerné par le public.

Et dans un troisième temps, vous êtes invités à rester des nôtres pour faire la fête et danser sur les rythmes de notre désormais célèbre DJFab!

Une soirée qui se promet haute en émotions!

Soyez du rendez-vous!  Entrée 15$