Ep 76: Ursa - A Folk Musical

Ep 76 - Ursa: A Folk Musical

Host Luisa Lyons chats with Sam Boer, co-founder of The Uncommon Folk Collective and one of the composers behind Ursa: A Folk Musical, a theatre-concert hybrid that received its world premier in 2022 as part of the Toronto Fringe NextStage Festival. Ursa has since been performed across Canada, and at the end of 2023, it was available to stream via StratFest at Home (Stratford Festival’s online streaming platform), and was named by The Guardian as one of the best theatre shows to stream.

In this episode, learn about learn about the Uncommon Folk Collective, and delve into the process of developing Ursa: A Folk Musical. Hear about the daunting process of filming the musical for the Toronto Fringe NextStage Festival, and the importance of funding and recording new musicals.

Sam Boer is a musician, writer, and theatre practitioner. He and Jake Schindler co-founded The Uncommon Folk Collective: a group dedicated to crafting music-forward theatre experiences. Their first original show, Ursa: A Folk Musical, was praised by The Guardian as a "winning, foot-tapping account of grizzly adolescence" and has been presented through the Toronto Fringe’s NextStage Festival, the Stratford Festival’s online streaming platform, the Kingston Grand Theatre, and Tweed & Company Theatre. Sam also records off-kilter folk music under the name Samson Wrote. His debut album Pigeon (2019), garnered a Canadian Folk Music Award nomination and led to tours across Canada and Europe.

SHOW LINKS
The Uncommon Folk Collective: 

• https://uncommonfolkcollective.com/
• Instagram

Ursa: A Folk Musical

• Trailer (Stratfest @ Home): 
• Live performance videos (recorded near Tweed, Ontario): 

Samson Wrote

• Album
• Instagram

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