Scott McFarland, Toronto-based photo conceptualist, poses at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto on Monday, May 12, 2014.The Globe and Mail
Vitals
Theatre companies have been attempting to stimulate young people of late, in the hope of developing new audiences and enlivening the local scene. So now comes Vitals, a performance that answers the 911 call and resuscitates like nobody's business. Patrons meet and are dispatched to an actual home in the Roncesvalles neighbourhood, where an actor playing an emergency medical services worker responds to a crisis. Tickets are being snapped up like crazy; it appears we have a pulse. To June 1. $25 to $30. Off-site venue; meet at 149 Roncesvalles Ave., passemuraille.on.ca or 416-504-7529.
21C Music Festival
You don't need to be Feist or Daft Punk to receive help from Chilly Gonzalez. The latest project from the pianist and sought-after collaborator is Re-Introduction Etudes, a manual for lapsed keyboardists and any others looking to learn to play in minor or major ways. As part of a festival of new music, Mr. Gonzalez gives a free master class (May 24, 2 p.m.), one day before fellow pianist Marc Andre Hamelin shows off with a 70-minute solo. (May 25, 3 p.m., $32). To May 25. Koerner Hall and Mazzoleni Concert Hall, 273 Bloor St. W., 416-408-0208 or rcmusic.ca.
Scott McFarland: Snow, Shacks, Streets, Shrubs
The photographer Scott McFarland does not believe in snapshots or even single shots. Instead the Hamilton-born lensman uses software to layer individual exposures for his meticulously constructed images. His solo show at the Art Gallery of Ontario comprises about 40 works of photographic documentation, covering urban scenes and foliage and other things that caught his eye again and again and again. To Aug. 10. $11 to $19.50. AGO, 317 Dundas St. W., ago.net or 416-979-6648.
Elvis and the Man in Black
The only thing darker than Johnny Cash's closet was the shade of shoe polish in Elvis Presley's hair. A double bill of James Kudelka's Man in Black from 2010 and Laurence Lemieux's new Looking For Elvis is a celebration of a pair of baritones who sold millions of records and embodied a rebel American spirit. In her critique of Looking for Elvis, Globe reviewer Paula Citron detected hints of hip swivels, but noted lunges and arches that conveyed a deep inner angst – a condition shared by the two jukebox heroes. To May 31, 8 p.m. $20. The Citadel, 304 Parliament St, 416-364-8011 or colemanlemieux.com.
Small Press & Literary Fest
Guy walks into an indie literary fest and finds out how to make it as a joke teller. But seriously, folks, dozens of local magazine, book, comic, and zine publishers will offer their wares at the Gladstone Hotel on Sunday. Among the vendors is Chris MacLean, whose awarding winning publication How to Start in Stand-Up Comedy: A Guide to Becoming a Comedian in Toronto is nothing to laugh at. May 25, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Free. 1214 Queen St. W., torontoindieartsmarket.com.
Brad Wheeler