Jeff Haslam
Encyclopedia
Jeff Haslam is a Edmonton, Alberta- based actor.
Mr. Haslam is best known as a long time member of Edmonton's Teatro la Quindicina
troupe, performing the works of playwright Stewart Lemoine
, including Damp Fury, Pith!, Fever-Land, Evelyn Strange, Cocktails at Pam's, Connie in Egypt, The Margin of the Sky, At the Zenith of the Empire, Shockers Delight!, Eros and the Itchy Ant, The Exquisite Hour, A Rocky Night for His Nibs and Happy Toes. He has been part of the management structure of Teatro's home, the Varscona Theatre
, since its creation in 1994 and produces, hosts or performs in many theatre related events there including, for the last eighteen years, the live improvised soap opera Die-Nasty
and its annual fundraising event The Die-Nasty Soap-A-Thon. He hosted the Varscona Theatre's monthly variety show The Johnny and Poki Variety Hour from 1995 to 1999 as Poki Schvedtar, a character of his own creation. Since 2001, he has co-hosted the Varscona's latest variety show Oh Susanna!
with Mark Meer
.
He has worked at most of Edmonton's theatres, including the Citadel Theatre
(Burn This, Hello Dolly and Little Shop of Horrors - for which he won his third Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award
), Theatre Network (Habitat), Shadow Theatre
(Almost Maine), Edmonton Opera
(South Pacific and HMS Pinafore) as well as with playwrights Marty Chan
, Conni Massing , Lyle Victor Albert, Raymond Storey, Doug Curtis, Jocelyn Ahlf, Cathleen Rootsaert and Belinda Cornish. He received his fourth Sterling Award for acting in his own play Citizen Plate, produced by Teatro la Quindicina
.
He has performed in theatres across Canada including One Yellow Rabbit
, Vancouver Playhouse, Victoria's Belfry Theatre
, Winnipeg's Prairie Theatre Exchange
and Factory Theatre
among others. He played in Stewart Lemoine's Pith! in Toronto, Winnipeg, Ottawa and off-Broadway at The Lion Theatre on Theatre Row.
He currently resides in Edmonton. He told the Edmonton Express, in 1999, why he stays there, "...because of the community of artists who have become family. It's an amazing world to be part of."
In 2007, Jeff Haslam became the Director of Teatro la Quindicina
. In 2009 he became the Varcona Theatre's Director of Programming.
and Edmontonian blogs.
Haslam himself was later interviewed about the controversy by local news station CHQT iNews880.
On August 18, 2010, Jeff Haslam's controversy also became a trending topic on Twitter. This controversy was also reported in The Globe and Mail on August 20, 2010, and the following day in the Edmonton Journal.
Part of the backlash arose from the fact that Jeff Haslam encouraged a blogger to stop subscribing to his theatre company, while at the same time drawing attention to the fact that 60% of Teatro la Quindicia's funding relied upon grants and donations. These remarks achieved National notoriety and were held out as how not to run a theatre company by many in the internet community.
Mr. Haslam is best known as a long time member of Edmonton's Teatro la Quindicina
Teatro la Quindicina
Teatro la Quindicina is a theatre company founded by Canadian playwright Stewart Lemoine in 1982 at the Edmonton International Fringe Festival. The company is best known for producing Lemoine's original works but also produces a new comedy by an Edmonton-based playwright each season...
troupe, performing the works of playwright Stewart Lemoine
Stewart Lemoine
Stewart Lemoine is a Canadian playwright, director, and producer. Lemoine is based in Edmonton, Alberta and from 1982-2007 was the Artistic Director of Teatro la Quindicina...
, including Damp Fury, Pith!, Fever-Land, Evelyn Strange, Cocktails at Pam's, Connie in Egypt, The Margin of the Sky, At the Zenith of the Empire, Shockers Delight!, Eros and the Itchy Ant, The Exquisite Hour, A Rocky Night for His Nibs and Happy Toes. He has been part of the management structure of Teatro's home, the Varscona Theatre
Varscona Theatre
The Varscona Theatre is a live performance venue in the Old Strathcona neighborhood of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. A former firehall, since 1994 the Varscona has been operated by a consortium of small theatre companies, including Rapid Fire Theatre, Shadow Theatre and Teatro la Quindicina...
, since its creation in 1994 and produces, hosts or performs in many theatre related events there including, for the last eighteen years, the live improvised soap opera Die-Nasty
Die-Nasty
Die-Nasty is a live improvised soap opera, running weekly in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada since 1991. Die-Nastys improv comedy format features a continuing storyline and recurring characters, live music, and a director who sets up scenes for the audience in voiceover.The cast of Die-Nasty...
and its annual fundraising event The Die-Nasty Soap-A-Thon. He hosted the Varscona Theatre's monthly variety show The Johnny and Poki Variety Hour from 1995 to 1999 as Poki Schvedtar, a character of his own creation. Since 2001, he has co-hosted the Varscona's latest variety show Oh Susanna!
Oh Susanna!
Oh Susanna! is a live improvised variety show/talkshow, presented monthly in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, at the Varscona Theatre in Old Strathcona. Performances are generally the last Saturday of the month at 11pm...
with Mark Meer
Mark Meer
Mark Meer is a Canadian actor, writer and improvisor, based in Edmonton, Alberta. He is a core company member of the Canadian Comedy Award-winning live improvised soap opera Die-Nasty, and was the first performer to complete the annual 53-hour long Die-Nasty Soap-A-Thon without sleep.He is also a...
.
He has worked at most of Edmonton's theatres, including the Citadel Theatre
Citadel Theatre
The Citadel Theatre is the major venue for theatre arts in the city of Edmonton, located in the Downtown Core on Churchill Square.-History:Originally the "Old Salvation Army Citadel", the Citadel was bought by Joseph H. Shoctor, James L. Martin, Ralph B. MacMillan, and Sandy Mactaggart, and the...
(Burn This, Hello Dolly and Little Shop of Horrors - for which he won his third Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award
Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award
The Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award is a local Edmonton, Alberta award presented annually which honours excellence in theatre...
), Theatre Network (Habitat), Shadow Theatre
Shadow Theatre
The Shadow Theatre is an Edmonton-based theatre company born of the Edmonton International Fringe Festival in 1990.-History:Shadow Theatre was incorporated in 1992, operating under the governance of a volunteer Board of Directors...
(Almost Maine), Edmonton Opera
Edmonton Opera
The Edmonton Opera is a Canadian professional opera company in Edmonton, Alberta, it performs in the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. The opera was founded in 1963 as the Edmonton Professional Opera Association. The name was latter shortened to the current name in 1966. It was born out of its...
(South Pacific and HMS Pinafore) as well as with playwrights Marty Chan
Marty Chan
Marty Chan is a Chinese-Canadian author/playwright who works and lives in Edmonton, Alberta. His works include Something Dead And Evil Lurks In The Cemetery And It's My Dad, The Bone House, Maggie's Last Dance, Mom, Dad - I'm Living with a White Girl, and The Forbidden Phoenix...
, Conni Massing , Lyle Victor Albert, Raymond Storey, Doug Curtis, Jocelyn Ahlf, Cathleen Rootsaert and Belinda Cornish. He received his fourth Sterling Award for acting in his own play Citizen Plate, produced by Teatro la Quindicina
Teatro la Quindicina
Teatro la Quindicina is a theatre company founded by Canadian playwright Stewart Lemoine in 1982 at the Edmonton International Fringe Festival. The company is best known for producing Lemoine's original works but also produces a new comedy by an Edmonton-based playwright each season...
.
He has performed in theatres across Canada including One Yellow Rabbit
One Yellow Rabbit
One Yellow Rabbit is an adult-oriented contemporary theatre company based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.One Yellow Rabbit began as a small troupe in 1982 and has grown into one of Canada's best-known theatrical voices at home and abroad. Blending elements such as drama, dance, poetry and monologue,...
, Vancouver Playhouse, Victoria's Belfry Theatre
Belfry Theatre
The Belfry Theatre is a theatre and associated theatre company in the Fernwood neighbourhood of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The theatre is, in fact, a nineteenth-century church designed by Thomas Hooper.-Origins:...
, Winnipeg's Prairie Theatre Exchange
Prairie Theatre Exchange
The Prairie Theatre Exchange is a professional theatre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It has its origins with the Manitoba Theatre School started by the Manitoba Theatre Centre in 1960....
and Factory Theatre
Factory Theatre
Factory Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, founded as Factory Theatre Lab in 1970 by Ken Gass and Frank Trotz.Factory was the first theatre to announce that it would exclusively produce Canadian plays, but it soon became a widely emulated policy by other theatre companies...
among others. He played in Stewart Lemoine's Pith! in Toronto, Winnipeg, Ottawa and off-Broadway at The Lion Theatre on Theatre Row.
He currently resides in Edmonton. He told the Edmonton Express, in 1999, why he stays there, "...because of the community of artists who have become family. It's an amazing world to be part of."
In 2007, Jeff Haslam became the Director of Teatro la Quindicina
Teatro la Quindicina
Teatro la Quindicina is a theatre company founded by Canadian playwright Stewart Lemoine in 1982 at the Edmonton International Fringe Festival. The company is best known for producing Lemoine's original works but also produces a new comedy by an Edmonton-based playwright each season...
. In 2009 he became the Varcona Theatre's Director of Programming.
Controversy
In mid August 2010, Jeff Haslam personally lashed out at a review on the local Edmonton blog 'Only here for the Food'. This action incited a backlash on both TwitterTwitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
and Edmontonian blogs.
Haslam himself was later interviewed about the controversy by local news station CHQT iNews880.
On August 18, 2010, Jeff Haslam's controversy also became a trending topic on Twitter. This controversy was also reported in The Globe and Mail on August 20, 2010, and the following day in the Edmonton Journal.
Part of the backlash arose from the fact that Jeff Haslam encouraged a blogger to stop subscribing to his theatre company, while at the same time drawing attention to the fact that 60% of Teatro la Quindicia's funding relied upon grants and donations. These remarks achieved National notoriety and were held out as how not to run a theatre company by many in the internet community.
External links
- Teatro la Quindicina http://www.teatrolaquindicina.com
- Varscona Theatre http://www.varsconatheatre.com
- Die-Nasty http://www.die-nastyimprov.com
- Oh Susanna! http://www.varsconatheatre.com/ohsusanna
- Globe and Mail http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/theatre/edmonton-actor-jeff-haslams-entitled-nonsense/article1680125
- Edmonton Journal http://www.edmontonjournal.com/technology/world+rage+bloggers+unleash+slings+arrows+hurt+feelings/3428681/story.html