by Jen McNeely
Yes, Birdtown and Swanville is a theatre troupe made mostly of twenty something chicks. But no, the name is not a play on the fact that young women are often referred to as birds. The name encompasses their roots of Stratford, where swans dwell freely, and the area spanning Trinity Bellwoods to Brock Ave, where there is an unusually high density of birds that swish past your head with alarming fury.

I met them by the tennis courts in Trinity Bellwoods, fell in love and left remarking this to my accomplice:

"Shit, those girls would be fun to drink with."

Alas, this is not an article about me contorting some wild plan to party with Birdtown and Swanville; but to explain why you should pay attention to them.

Frustrated with being rejected by theatre festivals, Birdtown and Swanville are on a mission to alter Toronto theatre and the way it is received by audiences. "TOO MANY RULES!" they cry. By showcasing their plays in unconventional spaces, incorporating mulitdisciplanary artists into productions and billing their plays as fun (while still professional) versus pretentious, they are hoping to grow the insular circle of what Toronto theatre currently is to a more inclusive art and cater to those who opt for the Silver Dollar over Theatre Passe Muraille.

Traditional means of funding, through the likes of Ontario Art Council and Council for the Fine Arts, are traded for keg parties; really big ones.

Actor Nika pipes up: "The granting process is really competitive. Plays often have to have an element of Canadiana or have a particular message, which isn’t necessarily bad, but it is limiting."

I applaud them for breaking the rules, and putting on the kind of plays they want to. Having been an audience member for last summer’s masterpiece, "36 Stories about Hopeless Girls", I’m confident that you will find their new production, "Things I Have Found and How They Got There" to be equally relevant, good humoured and exploding with expression. You will likely leave feeling that the stories and themes weaved out on stage are your very own.

So what exactly is "Things I Have Found and How They Got There" all about? Exactly how it sounds. Writer and Director Aurora Stewart de Pena does a show n’ tell:

"I was in the conservative small Ontario town of St. Mary’s when I stumbled upon this in Valu Village."

She tosses out the most garish of purses; multi coloured, with a random elephant climbing the zig zag leather print staircase.
"When I looked inside the purse, I found this."

De Pena pulls out a mini zip loc baggie with one glittery purple press on fingernail.

"What girl would have been in St. Mary’s, ditched their elephant bag, clipped their nail, bagged it and left it in their for my delight?"

So you see, this play revolves around weird objects found in unusual places and the unsuspecting stories of how they got there.

I ask them if it’s a comedy, as, very impressed by 36 stories, my reaction was to liken it to Second City.

De Pena remarks with echoes of laughs from the rest:

"We are just really funny people, can’t help it."

She further goes on to explain that there will be more moments of seriousness this time round; sadness mixed with laughter.
Birdtown Swanville was started by Aurora Steward de Pena, Nika Mistruzzi and Stephanie Sinclair, and the troupe has now grown to include over a dozen peeps who hail from all over Ontario and studied theatre at Concordia, The Randolph Academy, York and beyond. They have even opened the doors to a male drummer.

You should support them because:

A) They are super cool, especially when riding bikes through Kensington.
B) They will make you laugh because De Pena’s plays touch on the ridiculousness of our lives that we sometimes are embarrassed to admit
C) They dance and make funny faces, and you only wish you could join their conga line
D) Their plays are genius
When the girls aren’t rehearsing they make fun of Toronto’s insane bike culture, get drunk in parks, knock back cheap drinks at Communist Daughter, munch brunch at Auntie’s and Uncle’s, head down to Harbourfront for free shows, get lost in Dufferin Mall and cool off in Scadding Court pool. Their favourite party night is "Doing it to Death." With the really super awesome, amazingly cool DJ Wes Allen. (okay slight nepotism here; wink wink).
Lying on the grass looking across at where Egor’s bike theft operation is caution taped off, I suggest they take the quirks of the Toronto biking community and do a play where a hunchback Egor lives in a dark cave of bikes and trades weed to thieves in return for illicit acts of theft.
And then a shrill cry from the group:

"FUCK EGOR, HE STOLE FIVE OF MY BIKES!"

…a good opening line for the next play?

Check them out at the Tranzac Club

Aug 1-3, 8PM
Aug 8-10 8PM
Tranzac Club, Bloor and Brunswick
$12