Arts Weeks

 DYING TO SEE IT

 You know something ghoulish is afoot when a play puts the audience in a collective trance while going through the motions of a young woman's funeral. "We're trying to fuse a funeral mass with a hypnosis session," says Melanie Conroy of her play The Funeral Mass of M.R. Conroy. "The psychedelia that we came up with helped unify the effect," she ventures. "But it's not me, it's not my personality in the play. Just my name," Conroy quickly points out in reference to the spooky use of her name in the title. Under a strobe-lit ceiling, Russian import Tatiana Soloviava plays the deceased girl, and local actor Gilles Hannu performs the service as Pastor John.

 "It's a satire of the death industry," Conroy explains. "I had a number of deaths in the family this year and I was shocked at the lack of personal touches--people get reduced to a name. And the industry insinuates that if you don't spend that $5000 on a coffin, then you didn't really love the person." Macabre musical accompaniment comes in the form of Anna Friz's accordion and theremin jams while the expressionist sets were designed by Ingrid Hu.

 Local musical mavericks Goa Gajah and Toronto's Panda Riot hit the stage once the play expires. Wednesday, July 18, doors 8 p.m., show 9 p.m at the Jailhouse Rock Cafe. Info: 844-9696. :

 --Genevieve Paiement

 CAFE CHATTE

 "It's about getting the chance to just slow down and enjoy a moment during the day," says artist Kelly Lynne Wood of her new performance piece, Come for Coffee... Wood, in a frilly pink dress, invites interested participants and passers-by to sit down, have a cup of tea or coffee, nibble a biscuit and engage in what she describes as "perky" conversation.

 Initially conceived of as a way to finally get together with all the people she'd wanted to have coffee with but never had a chance to, Come for Coffee... soon became a public event, set up in a little nook set up in the window space of Elle Corazon. Because, in her words, "tea time is a time when people often bring out photographs," Wood has compiled a little collection of old found photos to chat about with her guests, dialogues that will form the basis of a collaborative book-project. Wood will be greeting visitors at Elle Corazon (176 Bernard W.) Tuesdays and Saturdays throughout the month of July. You can make an appointment by calling 931-3385, or just stop in if you happen to be passing by and feel a yen to yak. : --Mark Slutsky

 UNDERGROUND SOUNDS

 Quartier ephemere, the folks behind the beloved sonic tower Silophone, are at it again. Continuing in their industrial takeover vein, they've created Tunnel, an installation project nestled in the Wellington tunnel. The project aims to bring out the "poetry and strangeness" of this abandoned industrial site, using sound and projection. Spanish luminary Francisco Lopez offers us his interactive sound piece Sonic Beast until July 24, while Russian-American duo Portable Palace (Evelina Domnitch and Dimitry Gelfand) will provide eerie projected images (Aug. 26-Sept. 14). Enter at your own risk at the corner of Wellington and de la Montagne. Info: 392-1554. :

 SLAM ON THE LAM

 A squadron of five slam superstars is setting its sights on Montreal for the mid-point of its 40-city Ignition tour. Alexis O'Hara is the only Canuck in the crew, which features San Francisco poets Tarin Towers and Daphne Gottlieb, Eitan Kadosh from L.A., and Phoenix's Eirein Bradley. According to O'Hara, "We met mostly through the national poetry slam circuit. Because of the network that exists, people are able to crisscross the country performing at slams and also doing non-slam shows."

 The five poets have all been semi-finalists or better at the annual National Poetry Slam. By the time they hit Montreal, they'll already have eight West Coast shows under their collective belts, a swing through much of the Southern United States, and a fistful of East Coast dates. "The tour is going rather well. We're not rich but we're not too far in the hole either," says O'Hara. "It's the smaller towns that have proven to be the highlights. In Flagstaff, we had a huge audience who bought our merchandise, bought us dinner and filled the hat to the brim with yankee bucks." Ignition ignites this Tuesday, July 17, at Jailhouse (30 Mont-Royal W.), 9 p.m., $5. :

 --Vincent Tinguely

 IS IT ART?

 Get lost: In keeping with the veritable frenzy of summer activities to take part in at the Old Port, the H-16 Labyrinth is a new adventure for avid thrill-seekers and their ilk. Loosely based on an old Montreal myth about a phantom ship and a shadowy captain (according to the poorly translated English press release), the maze is made up of five connected game zones. A mystery must be solved and keys must be found, all this in a foggy, ahoy-matey atmosphere. Fork over 9-11 bucks and you too can lose yourself. At Shed 16 in the Old Port. Info: 499-0099. :

 ARTSHOLE

 African nights: Looking to escape city life? Why not take a virtual trip through the African continent courtesy of the Vues d'Afrique festival? Their series of music and film evenings under the stars kicks off tonight (July 12) and runs through Sunday, July 15. Catch the live music at 7:30 p.m., followed by a film at 9 p.m. in Lafontaine Park's Theatre de Verdure, for free. Call 499-FINA or visit www.festnuitafric.com for details. * Innu views: Based on the diaries kept by one Pere Le Jeune in the 1630s, Sheueu: Echos du passe des Innuatsh takes a look at the Innu culture at the time of their first contact with Europeans. Featuring texts by Jean-Louis Fontaine, paintings by Ernest Dominique, music by Kashtin's Florent Vollant and a video by Mario Bacon, the exhibit aims to probe the Innu nation's rich past. At the Maison de la culture NDG (3755 Botrel) until Sept. 1. Info: 872-2157. :

 Artistat: Century the photos in Souvenirs sportifs de Lachine date back to: 18th :
 

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