About

Founded in Vancouver in 2009 and now based in Toronto, MachineFair is committed to developing original work with a focus on effective story-telling. Our vision is to create:

  • well-built theatre machines with every element - text, performance, design - working to enhance the story-telling and thematic content;
  • work that is intellectually stimulating, emotionally truthful and accessible.

2009 in Review

What a year we’ve had. MachineFair has been involved in the launch of not one but two world premieres by Andrew Templeton: This Mortal Flesh, which took place at the Firehall Arts Centre in March and Biographies of the Dead and Dyingwhich was part of this year’s Vancouver International Fringe Festival. This Mortal Flesh was nominated for a Jessie for Outstanding Original Script while Biographies was one of the hits of the Fringe, playing to packed houses at the Havana Theatre.

Even more importantly, we’ve worked with some amazing artists this year including: David Bloom, Tanya Marquardt, Billy Marchenski, Kate King, Nina Hirlaender Hinton (twice!), Natasha Kanji, Sarah Reid, Darren Boquist, Jeremy Waller, Heather Lindsay, Simon Driver, Emma Hendrix and Kyla Gardiner. What an incredible group to have spent this past year with and what an honour to work with them all.

Billy Marchenski and Tanya Marquardt in This Mortal Flesh.

Billy, Tanya and a pair of rubber gloves; photo: Natasha Kanji

Andrew Templeton

Now based in Toronto, credits include Babylonia (Radix Theatre, Free Fall Festival Toronto), What You Want (MachineFair, Vancouver Fringe), Fever (Radix Theatre, part of HIVE 3, Vancouver), Biographies of the Dead & Dying (productions in Vancouver, MachineFair and Craning Neck Theatre, and Toronto, SummerWorks), This Mortal Flesh (MachineFair, presented by the Firehall Arts Centre, Jessie nominated for Outstanding Original Script), Portia, My Love (Ensemble Theatre Company at Pacific Theatre, Jessie nominated for Outstanding Original Script),Howard Johnson Commits Suicide (London, UK); Branwell Alone (London, UK), Ken Dolls (also adapted for television) and Hazardous Cows (also adapted for radio).

He was a member of the 2005 Banff Playwright's Colony. He is currently working on The Last Occupant of Troy (developed through Vancouver’s Playwrights Theatre Centre at their Playwrights Colony in 2010). Scenes from another new work, Angus Drive, were featured in November 2011 and May 2012 Buzz Festival Theatre Passe Muraille.

He was also one of the winners of the 2011 Crazy8’s competition with the script Funny Business (directed by Russell Bennett).

He is co-founder of Plank Magazine and his writing on theatre has been published in the Vancouver Courier, the Canadian Theatre Review and Australian-based RealTime.