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Rodrigo Beilfuss

  • Home
  • Resume
  • Bio
  • Current Projects & Blog
  • SHAKESPEARE IN THE RUINS
  • BRAVURA THEATRE
  • Become a Patron
  • SOCCER: "Futebol Thoughts"
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Rodrigo Beilfuss
This photo is from 2018. During a very lovely and calm and gentle afternoon. I want to go back there…

This photo is from 2018. During a very lovely and calm and gentle afternoon. I want to go back there…

Grasping for Meaning

Added on May 17, 2021 by Rodrigo Beilfuss.

Hiya,

The great thing about this space is that I genuinely believe no one is reading - which is so bloody liberating. In a time when there seems to be no corner of the internet left untouched, here I am. Free at last…ah.

So this is basically for myself, I guess? I guess so. A list of inane musings and a catalogue of what I have been up to in order to try and convince myself that my profession still matters - that I still matter in this, to borrow from Richard II, “all hating world.”

Ooh, got dark there for a sec.

What a mess out there, eh? My goodness.

How is this month 14 or 15 of the pandemic and we are experiencing the worst numbers ever, ever, here in Manitoba?

Is there an end to this? Will we, as Withnail asks, ever be set free?

I crave a creative project. We have begun rehearsals for The Winter’s Tale with my company, Shakespeare in there Ruins, but I am not acting in it or directing - just producing and doing damage control behind the scenes, making sure this ship doesn’t sink. Here we go…

Also, through the SIR website, you can access the TRAILER for the film version we did of Macbeth, coming out this Fall. It looks bloody brilliant. I am so proud of this work and what the directors, Sarah and Michelle, have achieved. We can’t wait to share it with you.

Speaking of brilliant, I was recently part of a panel organized by BC’s Bard on the Beach festival, in conversation with two other Shakespearean artistic directors that also produce outdoors, you can listen/watch HERE.

There’s also this interview I did, for Theatre For Change, which highlights my thoughts on Shakespeare and why I dig him so much and find him important, HERE.

My company’s website has been updated, and there’s lots there for you to dig through. There’s also a recording of a musical performance we did last month, Play On, you can watch HERE.

That’s it. I’m not feeling too inspired these days. It’s a time, eh?!

OH, I was vaccinated. That was great. An oasis of hope in a desert of uncertainty…

Thank you, Science.

It’s ok. We will come out of this. We must.

Play on, xo

RB.

2 Comments
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Deja Vu Feels

Added on April 12, 2021 by Rodrigo Beilfuss.

Hello friend,

It’s been a while.

Not much has fundamentally changed since I last wrote here; not much has - in effect - happened, and yet, everything has happened. Everything has changed. Only…it all feels the same?

We are still in a pandemic. What a time. And it looks like we will be stuck in this strange, nebulous time for a while. I hope you’re well.

My brain certainly feels painful. My heart definitely feels heavy. All of the energy and excitement that was feeding me coming off of making Hallmark’s delightful film Snowkissed has been depleted. I feel empty, creatively. Sort of…in a weird limbo.

I wrapped up my teaching gigs at the University of Winnipeg and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet for the year. Hopefully, in September, I shall resume both. I had a delightful time. I adore teaching; I really adore it.

Last week I conducted an acting/improv/theatre games workshop with SOCCER PLAYERS, at the University of Manitoba. It was truly amazing. I love the intersections between Sports and Theatre/Performance.

And I have 3 days on set for a film coming up. I’ll be playing Diego, a Chilean consular officer. I’m excited!

So yes. There is plenty to do, don’t get me wrong. Also, my theatre company, Shakespeare in the Ruins, is full steam ahead with plans to produce theatre-on-screen this year.

But…within, the artist in me is a bit…well, sad.

It’s just not a very happy time in the world, is it?

And it’s bonkers to think that I haven’t rehearsed a play in well over a year (theatre remains my lifeblood, I cannot deny that). When will we really KNOW our stages can come back full force…? We don’t know.

I miss rooms that vibrate with creative energy. I miss the electricity of discovering something together. I miss the unpredictable little events of normal daily life, like running into a friend at a coffee shop…

Anyway. You know all this already. You feel it too. I know.

So. What else is happening lately…? We are preparing for a digital season at Shakespeare in the Ruins, and I have been auditioning on/off for screen projects, while trying to keep my kids fed and clean and happy. I think I have three or four full time jobs going all at once at the moment, all done from home. One day we will look back on this time and go HOW did we even manage to put on pants in the morning?

Well, we live on Zoom, so pants are actually not even a priority anymore! Hey, a win! Down with the tyranny of the pants!

There is plenty going on, yes…but why am I finding it so hard to feel BUZZED about it all?!

I guess it’s the loss. The collective loss. It feels like Spring 2020 all over again. The uncertainty. The loss.

My home country has been registering almost 5 thousand deaths daily. My sister in Brazil had Covid, and it was bad (she’s ok now). My friends are unemployed. My baby girl still hasn’t met other babies…

It’s mess, eh?

Anyway.

Enough moping.

Here are some fun things.

My theatre company has this coming up: LINK.

I recorded this awesome webinar with my best friend, Jessica B. Hill: LINK.

I had a great chat with a very kind artist on this podcast here (we talked life and theatre and being down in the sexy dirt): LINK.

I recorded a super fun interview in Portuguese with some fine folk in Brazil about my work in Shakespeare, here: LINK.

I also got published - in Brazil ! A small article about my love for Shakespeare is part of this book here: LINK.

And THIS podcast here with Ben Naylor on the question WHY SHAKESPEARE, had my brain on fire: LINK.

I believe that’s all for now…there’s more but I can’t remember at the moment. Hey, Covid brain. It’s a thing.

Stay well, my friend. I wish gentle days upon you.

RB.

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A Brazilian snow-shoeing in Banff, now THAT is drama!

A Brazilian snow-shoeing in Banff, now THAT is drama!

Creating in Togetherness

Added on January 27, 2021 by Rodrigo Beilfuss.

Hello amigos and amigas,

I hope you’re doing well in this time of ultra weirdness. It’s astonishing how long this age of isolation has been lasting, and will still last…I hope you’re ok.

Since my last post here, I have continued to “pivot” (what a word), and found myself fortunate enough to book a supporting lead role in Hallmark’s SNOWKISSED - premiering on TV this coming Saturday, January 30, at 8pm Central Time (check your channels).

The experience was, I must confess, a true blessing. 2020 was an impossible year of mourning, on so many levels, and this gig came to me at the end of November and it truly gave me LIFE. I adored playing opposite my fellow actors - Jen, Chris and Amy - and I shall cherish their friendship forever. I learned a BOAT LOAD about screen acting in the process (this being my first proper role on screen), AND I got to travel to Banff to shoot some gorgeous scenes in those miraculous mountains of Alberta.

I love the mountains; I have had a love affair with them since childhood, when my dad and I used to watch and re-watch “Jeremiah Johnson” (his favourite film). It is still a dream of mine to move out there one day…or at least to retire by the mountains - please don’t tell my family. We’ve moved 6 or 7 times in the last 8 years, and I think if I mention moving to my wife right now, she might have a heart-attack.

In any case, SNOWKISSED was loads of fun to make, and I can’t wait to see what it looks like on screen.

Making that film also made me fall in love with acting again. I haven’t acted much since 2018, and slowly, I’m getting my passion for it back. And, I must say, to be in the presence of others on set (all safely following strict Covid protocols) and engaging in an act of creation was a truly divine experience. We are all going through trauma right now, and we don’t yet fully understand what we are missing - we are full on in coping mode. Being in togethers with others, and exchanging that awesome energy of community with my cast mates, was an absolutely transformative and VITAL human experience. I now crave more.

Other than that, I’ve just been plugging along; running SIR and planning to announce our season soon (yep, we are planning to produce “The Winter’s Tale“ LIVE at the park this year, watch out!). At home, my baby daughter rages on and refuses to sleep through the night, and my lad is almost 5 and won’t stop talking. My wife also decided we needed to renovate the TV room upstairs, so yea; it’s been a January.

I can’t wait to see you at a theatre Opening again, xo

RB.

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My lad and I, acting together…

My lad and I, acting together…

Pivot...Pivot...PIVOT!

Added on October 19, 2020 by Rodrigo Beilfuss.

This year has been the longest decade in recent history.

I hope you’re well. I hope you’re safe and keeping hopeful amidst so much change and so much loss.

Since April - when I last published a blog piece here on this site - I lost quite a few theatre jobs and opportunities due to the ongoing pandemic. My case is not rare. In fact, EVERYONE in my theatrical trade has lost everything. At this point, nobody can say for sure when Theatre will be back; or when things will feel “normal” again…

I suspect it will take about 2-3 years for theatres - particularly the big houses - to fill up again safely. It will be a gradual process. It will be marked by uncertainty and discomfort. But it will happen, and eventually we will start to see the light a bit more clearly…

But, for now, we…PIVOT!

To my surprise, I have found myself making MOVIES this year - and quite a few of them: I acted in a Hallmark Christmas film (“Christmas by Starlight”), coming out this Thanksgiving in the States; I also played a doctor in a big horror movie called “Jessie’s Boy”; and I got cast in a Latin American film called “Intersection”, shooting in Winnipeg next Spring. I’ll be playing a Chilean consulate official called Diego - I’m very excited to be reunited with two Stratford friends for that film, Juan Chioran and Carmen Aguirre. Love my Latinx buds!

BUT, even more special, was what we did with my company Shakespeare in the Ruins recently: we made a big feature length film version of MACBETH!

That was our pivoting plan for this 2020 Fall, since we had to cancel our school tour of “The Tempest” - because Covid.

“Macbeth”, the film, was conceived by two SIR associate artists: Michelle Boulet and Sarah Constible. We wrapped shooting last week, after spending a whole month on the job. The movie features 30 actors, and a boatload of talent behind the screen too. We haven’t officially announced, so if you’re reading this here, you’re getting a sweet little scoop.

We will formally announce soon. We will probably release the film early in 2021. The editing process is just starting, and it will take a while. I cannot wait to share the details with you. It looks gorgeous, and the design concept is incredibly elegant and haunting. The cast is ridiculous, really. So talented.

But what I REALLY wanted to tell you is this: I got to act in “Macbeth” alongside my boy, Zeke. We played the Macduffs, and the experience is one I will never, ever forget. He was absolutely brilliant; so alive and full of heart. It was the easiest time I have ever, ever had acting with a partner. The whole process was informed by Love, and the sheer pleasure of telling a good story. I can’t stop thinking about his little eyes, looking at me attentively during our scene…

My baby girl, Indira, was also in the film, “playing” another Macduff kid.

What a special record of my family doing Shakespeare on screen together, preserved forever. I shall cherish this moment in Time for my entire life.

And it wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for Covid…

Sometimes, particularly in this profession, you just have to look at the bright side of life. Anything else is just madness and loss…

Pivot, darling. That’s what they say.

I am in awe of my community. Theatre artists are astonishingly resilient, and this moment in Time has yet again shown the world how creative and resourceful we are in this profession.

We are still storytellers, and nothing can stop us. We will keep finding ways to reach out, and to connect with YOU, worry not.

I miss you, xo

RB.

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Ron Daniels last year in Brazil, at the launch of his book “Encounters With Shakespeare”.

Ron Daniels last year in Brazil, at the launch of his book “Encounters With Shakespeare”.

“On Hope & Blind Faith – or how I learned to never let go of the thing that first made my soul sing, and was rewarded for it”

Added on April 24, 2020 by Rodrigo Beilfuss.

Hello, dear lonely reader.

I hope you’re well, in these weird, weird times of isolation.

I wrote this piece below as a Facebook post last night, on April 23rd, Shakespeare’s birthday. And I thought I should post it here as a blog piece; a little update on my current whereabouts.

My theatre company, Shakespeare in the Ruins, has recently had to cancel our production of The Winter’s Tale, and my staff and I have been working remotely from home as we weather this storm of uncertainty; valiantly trying to keep our company open as theatres around the globe go dark due to COVID-19. It’s been a trying time…

So, for a change, here’s a story of hope…I hope you enjoy it. Stay safe. We will meet again, soon:

***

Something truly special happened to me tonight, on Shakespeare’s birthday of all days, and I decided to write about it here. If you have the patience to read it, I hope it will make you feel less lonely and maybe even inspired to “keep at it”; to keep doing the thing that tickles your heart.

“On Hope & Blind Faith – or how I learned to never let go of the thing that first made my soul sing, and was rewarded for it”

When I first fell in love with Shakespeare, I was, frankly, a bit of an anomaly – I felt like an anomaly. I was 18 and I could barely speak English, fresh off the boat from Brazil. But there was something about the way my high school English teacher, Mr Gordon McLeod, allowed me to enter the world of Hamlet that was completely liberating – something cracked inside of me, and I will never forget that feeling; how lucky I am to be able to remember the feeling when my soul first opened.

Mr McLeod was brilliant enough to see in me the love I had for the material; to nurture it; to notice how elemental it was. And so, at the end of our first semester, he gifted me a special, Cambridge University Press edition of Hamlet – as a token of appreciation and extra encouragement perhaps. “Keep at it, kid”.

The book is filled with wonderful pictures from famous past productions. One of the pictures is of Mark Rylance, in a 1989 RSC production of Hamlet, wearing pajamas onstage. It’s an extraordinary photo. Prince Hamlet. In pajamas. Scandalous really, especially in the context of the traditional tastes from that stiff 1980s RSC audience.

That production was directed by a fella named Ron Daniels. In the book, there was a bit about why Rylance was wearing PJs during the “antic disposition” scenes: Daniels, the director, thought it would be a fun nod to an eccentric uncle from his childhood, whom he remembers as a very relaxed guy who used to walk to the bakery down his street in RIO DE JANEIRO…wearing nothing but his pajama bottoms.

“Rio de Janeiro”? I repeated to myself as I read that bit again. What the what?!

So, apparently, this Ron Daniels was, in fact, BRAZILIAN. And his name was, actually, Ronaldo Daniel – I had just become “Rod” myself.

I proceeded to look for more info on the man. This was when Google was still in its infancy, so what I did a lot of was searching on freakin’ ALTA VISTA instead…

And yep, sure enough, Ron Daniels was a Brazilian who, aged 18, went to study in England and fell in love with Shakespeare; ended up staying in the country; joined the RSC as an actor; and then became a director and went on to helm iconic productions with Kenneth Branagh, Brian Blessed, Roger Rees, Mark Rylance, Derek Jakobi, etc etc etc…

Suddenly, I no longer felt like an anomaly. This guy had already trodden the path I was about to walk on – hell, he created the path - and now I just needed to follow in his footsteps and pay attention to the signs.

I was 18 and that journey was already clear in my head. I just needed to keep at it.

Now, if you don’t know who Ron Daniels is, please do Google him. Now you can, as Alta Vista is, like, so 2001.

Ron continues to be a massive theatrical force, working mostly in opera and the classics, all over the US, Europe and Brazil. He moved to the UK in 1964, and stayed there after the military coup in Brazil, never to return permanently again. Among his many historic achievements is the fact that he and Christopher Bond were the artists who first adapted SWEENY TODD to the stage; and it was their play that inspired Sondheim to write the incredible musical. Ron was the first human to direct that bloody play. As he said in an interview: “Chris took credit for writing it, and I for directing the first production”.

Fast-forward a few years in my life. I continued to do my thing, and on/off I’d see news online about what Ron was up to. It always made me smile. “He’s still at it, my Brazilian brother, still pursuing Shakespeare and still discovering, still digging…I guess I’ll continue too”.

In 2016, while visiting me in Stratford, my Dad told me that one of his college friends had a son who was also an actor: Andre Hendges. And so, dad put me in touch with him.

Andre turned out to be a total delight; we are from the same State in Brazil, and we started to message and to exchange ideas and theatrical tales.

At one point, Andre told me he had recently played Ross in Macbeth, in a production in Sao Paulo, in a new translation, adapted and directed by…Ron Daniels.

And I went “what the what…”

Apparently, Ron is a total delight too. Andre told me the experience was brilliant, and working alongside Thiago Lacerda, one of Brazil’s ‘superest’ superstars as Macbeth, was a gift.

And thus, I stayed on course; ever inspired. Ron was, after all, still at it.

And then...I received a message from Andre last week.

“Ron has been organizing Zoom meetings and Shakespeare readings, I sent him your email address, hope you don’t mind”

And I was like “what the what”.

Two days later, an email drops in my inbox.

“Hi Rodrigo, Andre sent me your email. I’d love to hear more about your journey and theatre work, in Canada and Brazil…Ron”

Listen, you gotta understand this: I have had “get in touch with Ron Daniels” on my “forever To Do” list for, like, forever. And it is insane that HE is the one that ends up emailing me first.

I reply that night. I tell him everything; how much his work means to me, all of it – but I make sure I sound real cool too, ya know. I resist the temptation to fanboy. Although inside I am all butterflies.

He replies, and he invites me to his Zoom project, which he has been doing every Thursday evenings. He calls it “The Shakespeare Salon”, and he says this:

“The Shakespeare Salon is simply a group of actors who meet with me online on Thursdays to play with Shakespeare's language and verses. Most of them are well-known actors, who have worked with me, which means we know each other very well. In a way, the Salon exists in response to an email that a theatre actor sent me from the set of a television show where he had been recording for months: “Help! I feel brain dead!” Then I said as a joke, that the Salon is a kind of retreat, or even a "rehab" clinic, which allows actors to go back to their roots and do "restorative" work, as Gower says in the Pericles prologue! The important thing is that everything is very informal, without any preciousness, but that aims to give freedom back to the actor, and to offer him an alternative to what I call Fatal Fluency! Well that's it, for now.... If you want to stop by the Salon next Thursday, you are welcome. Just click the link below.”

“What the what”.

Nevermind the astonishing invitation from this man who has been my touchstone for nearly 20 years, but the way he phrases things…the incredible articulation of the thought behind the eternal quest to “do Shakespeare better"...it’s amazing. Simply beautiful.

6pm arrived today, on Shakespeare’s Birthday, and I logged on to the Zoom call. I made sure to down a glass of Campari first. I was incredibly nervous.

Ron was, indeed, a total delight. We spoke Portuguese to each other for a bit, before the rest of the group joined. I had to explain to him where Winnipeg was.

Then the other 9 artists arrived. Some top actors. I kept Googling their resumes (yay Google) as they entered Zoom. “What the what” over, and over again.

Ron introduced me to the group, in his perfect British-posh accent: “I’d like to introduce you to this astonishing creature, Rodrigo, this anomaly who happens to be Brazilian! And who has done quite a bit of work at Stratford Ontario!” – which generated a lot of “ooooo, wow, nice” from the Americans, most of them based in NYC. Apparently, indeed, “Stratford Ontario”, as the Stratford Festival is known in the States, is quite popular among geeky American stage actors.

And then we jumped right into it. For the next two hours, no breaks, Ron and the actors worked on Titania’s “These are the Forgeries” speech. No breaks. Just that speech.

Actors would read different sections and then talk about it, and then Ron would offer some astonishing insights, and then they’d go back and read again, and again, and again. His turns of phrases and vocabulary were a revelation. He spent most of the two hours analysing “caesuras” as a device in Shakespeare’s language; the several possible functions of caesuras as a tool.

I particularly loved this thing he said, so I wrote it down:

“Caesuras are not pauses. They are not a stop. A caesura is a weapon of new, clear thoughts”.

Another brilliant nugget:

“When a character is engaged in a caesura, he or she is obsessing whether the image about to come out is the right one or not”. To which an actor then added: “I’d say it’s not just the discovery of the ‘right’ word the character wants to say next, but also the discovery of the very meaning of those words, as they come out in the moment.”

To which Ron then said: “yes, caesuras are a search”.

I’ve always used the word “reach” when directing Shakespeare. But I think “search” is much better. ‘Reaching’ implies that you know where the thing you’re going for is; whereas with “search”, the mystery remains alive and electric – and that’s really the sort of thing we want to see bubbling in the actor/character.

I’m sitting here typing and reliving all that and I don’t really know what else to say. As Hermia says in Midsummer, “I am amazed and know not what to say”…

After we said our goodbyes, I went back downstairs to put Zeke to bed with the biggest smile on my face. I felt re-charged after Ron’s Zoom excavation – and what a brilliant use of Zoom: a private little clinic, not a performance, but a rehearsal; a safe, quiet space. Indeed, it was a “rehab” for my soul – particularly at this moment, in this lonely Spring we find ourselves in; together in bitter, alienating isolation.

I love Shakespeare.

He is my church, my sanctuary and my bottomless well of inspiration. I cannot live without the sounds and the mysteries of his words. I continue to smile as I type this; smiling at the improbability, the impossibility of it all.

An 18-year-old Brazilian immigrant carving out a whole life from a long dead Englishman – and apparently, not alone in this pursuit.

How magical it was to finally cross paths with Ron, and to spend this sunny, spectacularly balmy Winnipeg night with him on my computer screen, celebrating the Bard’s birthday while obsessively trying to crack the code, the poetry and the meaning of it all.

All of that, from a picture in a book, given to me by an inspirational teacher. A picture of a man in pajamas, pretending to be a mad prince.

Thank you, Mr McLeod. Thank you, Andre. Thank you, Ron. Thank you, Will.

“This, above all: to thine own self be true…”

RB.

1 Comment
The graduating class of the Theatre department at the university of Winnipeg in rehearsals for Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost // Set and Lighting designs by Adam Parboosingh.

The graduating class of the Theatre department at the university of Winnipeg in rehearsals for Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost // Set and Lighting designs by Adam Parboosingh.

2019 has been one big labour of love

Added on November 23, 2019 by Rodrigo Beilfuss.

It’s been a year.

Life has been full to the brim this year. It’s all good stuff. I have been one lucky man, indeed. I am fully aware that I am a very privileged artist; after all, it’s 2019 and William Shakespeare - even though he’s been dead for over 4 centuries - pays my bills. But life has also been challenging, and I haven’t had any time at all to rest and reflect on this transformative time in my life.

The move from Stratford to Winnipeg is finally complete. My final project with the Festival in Ontario was my workshop presentation of Calderon’s LIFE IS A DREAM - one of my favourite plays from the Spanish Golden Age - at the end of October (no more flying back and forth now!). It went real well! Dora Carroll - an old friend - was my assistant in that presentation. I feel like I ended my 4 year stint at Stratford on a high note. “Ended” sounds a bit dramatic; I hope to return one day…

But right now I must focus on Shakespeare in the Ruins - but, of course, because I am insane, I am already splitting my focus. For the past 6 weeks, I have been in rehearsals for Love’s Labour’s Lost with the U of W, as their guest director (apparently, I am old enough to be one of those wise professional artists that get hired to share bits of brilliance and experience with actors in training now…god help us).

It’s been a packed month, full 12 hours daily, between the SIR office and the rehearsal hall - while at home my wife and son succumbed to bronchitis. No one is sleeping well these days, and I bet I will get severely sick as soon as this play opens: which is THIS WEEK, on November 26.

There’ still so much unpacking to be done at home…I need time to stop and absorb the present tense - or as they say in the Theatre: to be in the moment.

And, even though I was offered the job of leading SIR in January, it all still feels way too fresh, and I’m still fumbling away playing catch up every second of the game.

There is always something to tackle *right away*; there is always a deadline that’s *right now*; there’s always an email that should have been answered *OMG this should have been answered last week*…and there’s always a show going into pre-production whose team must be assembled. Don’t get me wrong, it is thrilling and exciting; but this first year – and especially now, as I’m solo on the job and the overlap with my predecessor is done – is all about playing catch up and becoming familiar with the artistic and financial cycles of the company.

It will take me a while to feel somewhat comfortable; to feel like I am, in fact, a proper bona-fide Artistic Director.

And that’s ok. Humility is important. Especially in this job, whose main function is, indeed, begging for money, and searching for new ways to grow the company’s revenue and capacity to offer more to our audiences.

This may sound nuts, or somewhat grand, but I have been flirting with the idea of becoming an AD of a theatre company for a long, long time, and I truly think it is something I was…ok, here it goes: born to do. The idea has always turned me on: the vast possibilities of the job, of developing a project you truly believe in, and of organizing a community - it’s all intensely romantic and beautifully challenging. And I feel incredibly grateful that SIR and the Board have invested their trust in me as their new leader.

So here’s to living the dream!

Yours,

RB.

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That's it: Back to Winnipeg!

Added on June 16, 2019 by Rodrigo Beilfuss.

Well hello, there!

It’s been a bloody while, hasn’t it?! Yes it has.

Well, a bloody lot has happened since closing the 2018 season at Stratford. I spent November in Brazil visiting family, then December in Winnipeg for Christmas AND a big job interview (more on that anon), and then between January and April, I split my time between Stratford and Winnipeg quite manically, flying back-and-forth some 4 or 5 times…

The short of it all is: I have been offered the position of Artistic Director at Winnipeg’s leading Classical theatre, SHAKESPEARE IN THE RUINS (SIR) - and I’m bloody excited about it. Terrified, yes. Nervous, you bet. But, mostly, excited as heck.

This may sound nuts, or somewhat grand, but I have been flirting with the idea of becoming an AD of a theatre company for a long, long time, and I truly think it is something I was…ok, here it goes: born to do. The idea has always turned me on: the vast possibilities of the job, of developing a noble project and of organizing a community - it’s all intensely romantic and beautifully challenging. And I feel incredibly grateful that SIR and the Board have invested their trust in me as their new leader.

SO, what this means is that I am moving to Winnipeg this year, permanently, and leaving Stratford - the hometown of my 3-year-old lad, and where I have been for the last 4 years as a member of the Stratford Festival…

It sucks to leave such a great community behind, but the possibilities of making new connections, and to lead the changes, are indeed seductive.

I spent two weeks in February in Winnipeg teaching Theatre and Shakespeare at the Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) - which was a total pleasure - and then back to Winnipeg in April and May full-time, rehearsing my first show with SIR: HAMLET…that piece of cake. It is now up and running, until June 22, and I’m largely pleased with my first directing job for the company. Sure, I wanted to make a ‘declaration of intent’ with it, but mostly I just wanted to not screw up. :)

The cast and crew were a complete delight, and I learned a lot - a lot - particularly how to stage a show in that challenging, gorgeous space that is the St Norbert Monastery Ruins. Outdoors Shakespeare: bonkers!

In any case, I am back in Stratford now, rehearsing my final project with the company: The Front Page, the classic 1920s American newspaper satire. I am Assistant Director to Graham Abbey, whom I am a huge fan of. We are both actors by trade, and are both newly minted ADs and both going through a transition from acting into directing. It’s a fun room to be in…

Once the Front Page is up and running, I’m off to Winnipeg to begin my full-time life as Artistic Director…

We’ll see where that leads me…

Cheers,

RB.

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2018 Stratford Season Up & Running

Added on June 11, 2018 by Rodrigo Beilfuss.

Oh, hi!

And here we are, up and running at Stratford's 66th season, and my 3rd. 

I've been having a blast with the funniest and most generous group of actors in the Comedy of Errors, playing the Goldsmith Angelo (picture above). It's a wacky and colourful production, and we've been selling out at the Studio Theatre. 

Other than that, I've been keeping up with my understudying duties for the mighty show Long Day's Journey Into Night - I cover Jamie Tyrone, the volatile, drunk older brother. It's been a challenge: how to lift and own these words without really rehearsing at all...I'm learning a lot. 

And on top of all that, I'm just living the Southern Ontario life, raising a toddler and trying to stay out of trouble. Some 2019 plans have started to take shape, but nothing is for certain yet...

Nothing ever is for certain, ain't that the truth...

xo

RB.

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Post Stratford 2017 Life...

Added on November 8, 2017 by Rodrigo Beilfuss.

Hello there,

Well, another season at the Stratford Festival has ended - and I'm already signed up for another one, my third! I'll play the fun goldsmith Angelo once again (having played him in Winnipeg at Shakespeare in the Ruins in 2014) in The Comedy of Errors (photo above, featuring Jessica B. Hill and Qasim Khan as 'the Antipholi'), as well as understudying the intense role of Jamie Tyrone Jr. in Miles Potter's production of Long Day's Journey Into Night, by Engene O'Neill. 

But for now, I rest and act the part of Full Time Dad - needless to say, it's been way more demanding than anything I've ever done onstage. My 21-month-old keeps me earnest, and tired, but totally engaged and the days go by fast...I can't believe people are already talking about Christmas; Halloween has barely left us...

On the professional front, I have signed with a new agent, Rich Caplan at NCA, and I'll hopefully be spending a good amount of my Winter auditioning for projects in Toronto. Fingers crossed! 

More info on tickets and the 2018 Stratford Festival playbill HERE. 

Talk soon, y'all. XO

RB. 

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Stratford's 65th Season is Up & Running

Added on June 19, 2017 by Rodrigo Beilfuss.

Hello there!

Here we are: another season at the Stratford Festival of Canada - my second.

Acting in 3 shows at the very same venue (the beloved in-the-round Tom Patterson Theatre) has been a completely unique experience; last year, I was in 3 shows in 3 very, very different spaces. Indeed, this season has that delightful "summer camp" feel to it. I welcome it. 

The three shows also feature, for the most part, the very same cast; so bonding and backstage jokes have been flowing freely - I also welcome that! And what a brilliant group of actors...

Timon of Athens and The Changeling (photo above) are up and running, and I've found my groove in those plays; learning more and more after every performance and constantly finding new ways to deepen the work - it's endlessly challenging. There's no question about it: rep theatre is indeed the best training ground for an actor. It expands the imagination and enforces rigorously physical and mental discipline. And yes, I welcome it! :) 

We began rehearsals for Madwoman of Chaillot two weeks ago, and since I don't do much in that show, I have had - to my delightful surprise - quite a lot of free time in the last 3 weeks. YES, I welcome it! It's been great spending time with family - Zeke is already 16 months old, and he's running around and spewing words like a little human person...it's astonishing...constant transformation. 

I hope you can catch these shows. I'm immensely proud of the work we've achieved in bringing these classics to 2017 in such fresh, immediate and gorgeous ways. I absolutely love, love performing them every time, and am already dreading having to say goodbye to the wonderful cast and the magical worlds we've created in these shows in the Fall...

Life in the Theatre: constant suffering...

See you at the theatre, amigos. 

RB. 

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As You Like It

Added on January 17, 2017 by Rodrigo Beilfuss.

Hello, you.

Here we are, approaching the end of my time with the Stratford Festival's Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre.

There are 4 weeks left, as I type this.

It's been an absolutely intense couple of years - plus a full Festival season in between.

As part of our last project, we will present Shakespeare's highly "Chekhovian" tragicomedy AS YOU LIKE IT, fully mounted, at the Studio Theatre in downtown Stratford - directed by a truly sweet American, Jon Kretzu, from Portland. 

Kretzu is intensely passionate about the play, and it's been a pleasure to watch him unfold his vision for our production during rehearsals.

For my part, I'm having a go at Jaques (sad-looking picture above), the melancholy traveller. I absolutely adore it, as it allows me to truly explore that mysterious "humorous sadness" that is so common in Anton Chekhov's work (whom I'm a fan of).

I hope to see you at the Studio; you'll have only two chances to see the show: Feb 10 +11, both performances at 2PM - it's free! 

After that, I'll enjoy a bit of a break: two weeks in Winnipeg; and then back to Stratford for rehearsals for the 2017 season...it's all happening pretty quickly. Life!

RB. 

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Back Into The Conservatory (and an international project...)

Added on December 14, 2016 by Rodrigo Beilfuss.

Hello!

Quick update, because, once again, as always, life is bonkers and the bonkers season (the Holidays) are upon us.

My first season at Stratford has come to a closure. 'Twas a brilliant challenge. I'm already scheduled to come back for a second season, appearing in The Changeling, The Madwoman of Chaillot and Timon of Athens - all three productions will take place at the lovely Tom Patterson Theatre (pictured above).

Currently, I'm back in training, in my second (and final) year at the Stratford Festival's Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre (I'll be done in February, 3 weeks before rehearsals for the season begin). We are presenting Marlowe's rare jewel DIDO QUEEN OF CARTHAGE this week, before we break for Christmas. 

Fatherhood is awesome and I'm perpetually exhausted, but that's ok. 

AND, finally, Bravura Theatre, my Winnipeg-based company, is collaborating with a school in Belize on a Shakespeare project. My awesome Associate Artistic Director Dora Carroll will teach a workshop at the Ocean Academy High School. MORE INFO AND DONATION LINK, RIGHT HERE.

Stay warm and generous, my friends. X

RB.

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Stratford Season Enters the Fall...

Added on September 7, 2016 by Rodrigo Beilfuss.

Well hello there.

It's been a while...

As the kids say, it's been all "hashtag blessed" stuff from this end over here. That is not to say, however, that it's all been peachy peachy bed of roses. Indeed, between fatherhood, moving to a new place, teaching workshops with the Festival and running three shows in rep, this summer has been one deliciously challenging mountain. 

The Aeneid (picture above) is a challenging mountain of its own. The rehearsal process was highly physical (it is primarily a movement-based piece of theatre), and the story itself, the plight of refugees, requires great emotional commitment. I love doing the show every time, but it does break my heart - if you come see it, and you know me, you'll know why specifically. 

I've been rather lucky in that I got to experiment with my "acting muscles" this season, in terms of style and tone of performances. Macbeth requires me to be "butch" and incredibly efficient (I only speak some 4 lines, but I change costumes some 18 times and run around like a mad man); All My Sons requires me to be light, comic even - it's pretty fun; and The Aeneid is made of the heavy Roman Tragedy stuff that requires deep dramatic commitment. 

I truly hope you can catch these pieces; stick around after the show and let's grab a pint - it's the best ritual in this business. :)

All My Sons and The Aeneid both close on the first week of October. Macbeth runs until November 5th. Tickets can be found here -> Stratford Festival

RB. 

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Playing at the Stratford Festival

Added on June 6, 2016 by Rodrigo Beilfuss.

As you can imagine, being a new Dad and opening my first season at the Stratford Festival of Canada has kept me pretty wildly busy.

I currently have two shows up and running, Macbeth (photo above, where I stand in the background looking pretty scrappy), and All My Sons (wonderful, wonderful production). I begin rehearsals for my third show, The Aeneid, this week. You can get tickets and more information right HERE. 

The most challenging experience thus far since joining the Company has been keeping up with my understudy duties. It's bloody hard stuff, because you're given very little rehearsal time to practice the roles you cover, and at the end of the day you're left alone; desperately trying to find free time within your own personal agenda to memorize lines and go over bits. 

I cover 4 actors in Macbeth (roles of Malcolm, Menteth, Donalbain and Seyton), and the lead (actor Tim Campbell) in All My Sons - the role of the son, Chris Keller. So many lines...so many lines...

Also this week, aside from getting started on the Aeneid, we will perform the one-off Understudy Runs of both Macbeth and All My Sons. It all comes crashing this week. 

It's indeed pretty neat that we are given this one public performance in our understudy parts; it's a great chance to have a crack at big meaty roles in front of people. But yes, I am also shitting my pants, since I feel - due to the very panic-filled nature of the understudy experience - pretty ill prepared. 

But hey, living the dream, am I right?!

My baby boy, Zeke, is the best. He's the jewel of our lives. His smiles and bright eyes fill me with the hope that humanity might just get it right one day...

RB. 

 

Thoughts on Citizenship...

Added on December 3, 2015 by Rodrigo Beilfuss.

I would normally refrain from posting something of this nature - as I find even the mildest expression of patriotism rather irrational (unless we're talking soccer; then I'm all "Olé Olé Brazil", etc) - but maybe this will help to clarify certain things, as the Internet keeps exploding in bullshit whenever people debate the current refugee crisis and immigration policies:

I became a Canadian citizen today. Yes, finally! Feels great. Many of you probably thought I was one already. Well, no. You know why? Because it's not easy. It takes time. A long time. AND a lot of money. No matter who you are, or where you come from, or who you marry or don't marry - even if you come into this country as a refugee: you pay. And you wait. And you wait. And you wait.

I was an International Student for a number of years. And then a Temporary (Worker) Resident for a couple of other years. And then a Permanent Resident (Landed Immigrant) for nearly 6 years. I applied for Citizenship on December 2012, and only now I was finally allowed to take my Oath of Citizenship.

Granted, my moving to the UK delayed the process, as one isn't allowed to apply for Citizenship from abroad; but, regardless: the backlog in applications is quite scary (just go to the Canadian Immigration website and have a look at the application processing times. Everything takes ages to get done; years - it's a tremendously complex system).

So, here's my point: shockingly, many people persist in thinking that it's relatively easy for one to just pack up, find himself a nice Canadian, get married, and voila: passport.

The reality couldn't be further from the truth. It takes time. And yes, as already mentioned: money.

The system was completely revised under the Conservatives. Fees were hiked and everything took much longer to get processed. The goal, of course, was to ultimately discourage people from moving to Canada - as simple as that. The passive-aggressive politics of fear at work.

So why bother coming into this country at all, you might ask?! "You didn't HAVE to move here", you may add. "If you don't like it, go home", you may reply - if you are, you know, mean.

Well, this is the 21st century. People move about for all sorts of reasons: work, love, health, survival...I assure you, nobody, not one living soul in the world, wakes up one morning and simply decides to leave his or her home-country on a whim. There's always a reason. A valid reason behind it all. A human reason often dictated by need. Real effin' need.

Need.

I love living in Canada. It's my home. People I love live here. The work I love to do is here. My child will be born here. I invested my time, effort and, yes, my money into the idea of becoming a citizen. And yes it was worth it, of course! Canada is a truly remarkable place to call Home.

Do I feel "proud", or do I think "omg I love Tim Horton's coffee" right now?

No. Citizenship wasn't magically bestowed upon me - as if it were a sweet gift from benevolent Gods that promptly re-wires one's whole brain. It is not a complete reboot of one's identity.

It is, above all, an exchange of mutual respect; a formal expression of commitment: and *both* parties have a lot to offer to each other.

Citizenship is never just handed to you. You have to earn it. I earned it. And it was about time. I was tired of having to prove myself; tired of filling out nonsensical forms, and having to deal with that Conservative-designed Citizenship Guide in preparation for the Test...

So, bottom line is: let's not be silly. Let's not say daft things about immigrants. I'm a relatively posh and privileged case; but imagine the torment these refugees are facing in their journey. Imagine the unthinkable trauma. Take a quick moment and just imagine that. Properly imagine that. Imagine how long it will take them to get to where I am now, as a full Citizen...

People have always wandered this Earth in search of a space to breathe. That's all.

People just want to be able to breathe.

Breathe.

Huge thanks to Rosie, the Stratford Festival Company Manager, who drove me to Kitchener and attended the ceremony as my guest (seriously, how cool is she? She drove me there! The Stratford Festival takes such great care of us actors!)

And, of course, massive thanks to Liz and her family, who've been such supportive, patient anchors in my Canuck journey.

But right now: gimme some proper Canadian bacon + Canadian Club whisky, on the rocks, please.

RB.

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