News (Media Awareness Project) - CN ON: Prince Of Pot |
| Title: | CN ON: Prince Of Pot |
| Published On: | 2006-01-21 |
| Source: | London Free Press (CN ON) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-01-14 18:40:26 |
PRINCE OF POT
A play recalls the adventures of bookstore owner Marc Emery, the
marijuana crusader who has drawn praise, fury - and charges.
Art is slated to come face-to-face with real life at the world
premiere of Citizen Marc.
Marc Emery will be in the Arts Project on Friday, viewing the play
profiling the London native whose controversial views on a host of
social issues made him both an admired and disdained figure.
"It's a new and pretty weird experience to be portraying this guy and
knowing he's sitting right there in the front row. For sure, that puts
extra pressure on me," says Jeff Werkmeister, who plays the title role
in the drama scripted by Jason Rip and Chris Doty.
Like the actor playing him, Emery is feeling some anxiety about
Citizen Marc.
"It's peculiar . . . being the subject of a play," says the
47-year-old editor and publisher of Cannabis Culture magazine. "I've
been the subject of a movie this year (Escape to Canada), but that was
a documentary, and that's like being in the TV news, where I appear
with some regularity, so that's not so odd."
Directed by John Gerry, the new stage vehicle spans 1975 to 1992, when
Emery owned City Lights Book Shop and was an outspoken advocate of
Sunday shopping, free speech, pornography and myriad other causes.
His campaigning for the legalization of marijuana has repeatedly
landed him in trouble with the law. The self-proclaimed Prince of Pot
is living in Vancouver and fighting U.S. government efforts to
extradite him to face charges of drug trafficking and money laundering.
"Marc's a very interesting fellow who makes some good points, but he's
also erratic and has an overwhelming haste to get things done," says
London historian/filmmaker Doty, producer of the play that features
the tagline "Love him. Hate him. Just don't ignore him."
"Subtlety and patience simply aren't words in Marc's vocabulary," adds
Doty, whose 1992 documentary about Emery, Messing Up the System,
inspired the play.
"He's a man of action and there's no hesitancy in him. Marc always
thinks he's better than everybody else and, sometimes, he's been
right. And no one can deny his courage. Marc Emery has never allowed
anyone to intimidate him. To me, he's like the Thames River, flowing
over or around any obstacles that are put in front of him."
Never one to feign modesty, Emery confesses he's flattered to be the
focus of Citizen Marc.
"It means a group of people got together, spent money on a facility,
devoted part of their lives to recreating my formative, activist years
in London, and tried to get inside my head to project my form of
idealism. Then to let the community pass judgment on both the play and
my views mixed together and for the actors to take the brunt of any
criticism that may follow, well, that's commitment!"
"I'd like audiences to come away from our play with a grudging
admiration for Marc Emery," says Doty. "A lot of people don't like
him, so they dismiss his causes. But that's a much too simplistic and
unfair way of viewing this man."
Werkmeister realizes the public will come to the play with
preconceived notions, either for or against Emery.
"He was a thorn in the side of city officials here in London and a
real media hound, so just as many people loved him as hated him,"
recalls the 38-year-old actor. "My biggest challenge will be to play
him, not as a character, but as an actual, living person.
"There's a line in the script that says 'London is going to be a less
interesting place without Marc Emery' and I think that rings true."
As for Emery, he's reserving judgment on Citizen Marc.
"I love that my beloved old bookshop is the setting for the play,"
explains the Prince of Pot. "But I deliberately avoided reading the
script because I want to experience the play as much as a member of
the viewing audience as possible."
IF YOU GO
What: Citizen Marc: The Adventures of Marc Emery, by Jason Rip and Chris
Doty; a Doty Docs production directed by John Gerry; featuring Jeff
Werkmeister, Ray Bowen, Meaghan Chenosky, Serge Saika-Voivod, Virginia
Pratten, Ben McCabe
When: Tuesday to Jan. 29; and Jan. 31 to Feb. 4, 8 p.m.
Where: The Arts Project, 203 Dundas St.
Tickets: $25; $15 for previews (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday); $40 for
Friday's opening night show and reception.
A play recalls the adventures of bookstore owner Marc Emery, the
marijuana crusader who has drawn praise, fury - and charges.
Art is slated to come face-to-face with real life at the world
premiere of Citizen Marc.
Marc Emery will be in the Arts Project on Friday, viewing the play
profiling the London native whose controversial views on a host of
social issues made him both an admired and disdained figure.
"It's a new and pretty weird experience to be portraying this guy and
knowing he's sitting right there in the front row. For sure, that puts
extra pressure on me," says Jeff Werkmeister, who plays the title role
in the drama scripted by Jason Rip and Chris Doty.
Like the actor playing him, Emery is feeling some anxiety about
Citizen Marc.
"It's peculiar . . . being the subject of a play," says the
47-year-old editor and publisher of Cannabis Culture magazine. "I've
been the subject of a movie this year (Escape to Canada), but that was
a documentary, and that's like being in the TV news, where I appear
with some regularity, so that's not so odd."
Directed by John Gerry, the new stage vehicle spans 1975 to 1992, when
Emery owned City Lights Book Shop and was an outspoken advocate of
Sunday shopping, free speech, pornography and myriad other causes.
His campaigning for the legalization of marijuana has repeatedly
landed him in trouble with the law. The self-proclaimed Prince of Pot
is living in Vancouver and fighting U.S. government efforts to
extradite him to face charges of drug trafficking and money laundering.
"Marc's a very interesting fellow who makes some good points, but he's
also erratic and has an overwhelming haste to get things done," says
London historian/filmmaker Doty, producer of the play that features
the tagline "Love him. Hate him. Just don't ignore him."
"Subtlety and patience simply aren't words in Marc's vocabulary," adds
Doty, whose 1992 documentary about Emery, Messing Up the System,
inspired the play.
"He's a man of action and there's no hesitancy in him. Marc always
thinks he's better than everybody else and, sometimes, he's been
right. And no one can deny his courage. Marc Emery has never allowed
anyone to intimidate him. To me, he's like the Thames River, flowing
over or around any obstacles that are put in front of him."
Never one to feign modesty, Emery confesses he's flattered to be the
focus of Citizen Marc.
"It means a group of people got together, spent money on a facility,
devoted part of their lives to recreating my formative, activist years
in London, and tried to get inside my head to project my form of
idealism. Then to let the community pass judgment on both the play and
my views mixed together and for the actors to take the brunt of any
criticism that may follow, well, that's commitment!"
"I'd like audiences to come away from our play with a grudging
admiration for Marc Emery," says Doty. "A lot of people don't like
him, so they dismiss his causes. But that's a much too simplistic and
unfair way of viewing this man."
Werkmeister realizes the public will come to the play with
preconceived notions, either for or against Emery.
"He was a thorn in the side of city officials here in London and a
real media hound, so just as many people loved him as hated him,"
recalls the 38-year-old actor. "My biggest challenge will be to play
him, not as a character, but as an actual, living person.
"There's a line in the script that says 'London is going to be a less
interesting place without Marc Emery' and I think that rings true."
As for Emery, he's reserving judgment on Citizen Marc.
"I love that my beloved old bookshop is the setting for the play,"
explains the Prince of Pot. "But I deliberately avoided reading the
script because I want to experience the play as much as a member of
the viewing audience as possible."
IF YOU GO
What: Citizen Marc: The Adventures of Marc Emery, by Jason Rip and Chris
Doty; a Doty Docs production directed by John Gerry; featuring Jeff
Werkmeister, Ray Bowen, Meaghan Chenosky, Serge Saika-Voivod, Virginia
Pratten, Ben McCabe
When: Tuesday to Jan. 29; and Jan. 31 to Feb. 4, 8 p.m.
Where: The Arts Project, 203 Dundas St.
Tickets: $25; $15 for previews (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday); $40 for
Friday's opening night show and reception.
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