{"id":103161,"date":"2024-04-09T14:48:10","date_gmt":"2024-04-09T18:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=103161"},"modified":"2024-04-11T15:25:40","modified_gmt":"2024-04-11T19:25:40","slug":"interview-eli-pasic-from-berklee-to-musicals-to-comedy-and-hitting-toronto-with-friendly-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2024\/04\/09\/interview-eli-pasic-from-berklee-to-musicals-to-comedy-and-hitting-toronto-with-friendly-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Eli Pasic: From Berklee To Musicals To Comedy And Hitting Toronto With Friendly Fire"},"content":{"rendered":"
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L: Writer Eli Pasic; R (upper): Breanna Maloney; Kevin Hare; (lower): Kevin Forster; Isaiah Kolundzic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Toronto-based writer Eli Pasic<\/strong>\u2019s latest show is a comedy that will premiere at Tarragon Theatre\u2019s Extraspace on April 11<\/strong>. Pasic began his career with music, and his one-man operetta was a hit at last summer\u2019s Toronto Fringe Festival.<\/p>\n

He talks to us about his journey from ambitious high schooler to theatre professional, and his latest shows.<\/p>\n

From Music To Comedy To Musicals<\/h2>\n

\u201cI studied at Berklee College of music for a year,\u201d Eli says. That includes piano and composition. After that, reality got in the way. \u201cIt cost a fortune,\u201d he says, \u201cbut the one year I spent was wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with the cost, he realized he was a bad fit for the institution, given his primary interest leading from high school into college: To become an orchestrator of musicals in a style that was considered out of date. \u201cI loved Cole Porter,\u201d he says. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.<\/p>\n

He made the transition to scriptwriting, and went on to write comedies and musicals, collaborating with the likes of Henry Krieger, the composer of Dreamgirls. At the same time, he continued studying music in his own way.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a groovy thing that happened to me in high school,\u201d he explains. As a 16-year-old high school student, he wrote an email to Larry Blank, a Brooklyn-born and Tony-nominated conductor and orchestrator. To his surprise, Blank responded, and over the years, Eli would send him his orchestral scores. Blank would return them with corrections and notes via email, an arrangement that continued for some time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m convinced that all those lessons in orchestration he taught me helped me write comedy,\u201d he says. \u201cDialogue is music,\u201d he explains. \u201cYou know when there\u2019s wrong notes.\u201d He described dialogue as having pitches and melodies. \u201cI think any person that writes comedy has a sense of that rhythm and music. It\u2019s very much instinctual, yet I think anyone can tell when it\u2019s off.\u201d<\/p>\n

The funny parts are probably the easiest. \u201cThe challenge in my racket is the blend of story and comedy.\u201d The frame of humour has to come with the usual dramatic elements of story. \u201cThe actual lines and jokes. It sort of comes naturally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Horror + Operetta<\/h3>\n

A recent project, The Exorcist: An Operetta<\/strong>, brings both threads together.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the convergence of two passions,\u201d he says. The Exorcist is one of Eli\u2019s favourite films, and opera one of his favourite art forms. Eli\u2019s one-man show, based on the seminal 1970s horror film, combines narration, dialogue, and song \u2014 with Eli at the piano \u2014 and premiered in late 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was in control of the writing and performance.\u201d It became a hit at the 2023 Toronto Fringe Festival.<\/p>\n

Musicals, though, have a drawback. \u201cIt\u2019s very expensive and difficult,\u201d he says. Hence a solo show. \u201cI wanted to do it because I wanted to keep all the money,\u201d he laughs. Funding, as he notes, has changed since the pandemic. \u201cYou have to get ready to lose money,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s always harder than I remember.\u201d<\/p>\n

Friendly Fire<\/h3>\n

His new show, which hits the Tarragon Theatre stage on April 11, is called Friendly Fire: An Evening of Seven Pocket-Sized Comedies<\/strong>. While Eli writes and directs, he\u2019s gathered a cast of four Toronto performers to flesh them out, including Kevin Forster<\/strong>, Kevin Hare<\/strong>, Isaiah Kolundzic<\/strong>, and Breanna Maloney<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The theme is the general absurdity of modern life, including toxic workplace romances, activists, corporations, TED talks, and more. No one is spared.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt all flows together nicely,\u201d he adds. Some of the stories come from unused material he already had. The newest part ends the show. He describes it as a parody of Oedipus Rex.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very funny,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s not just funny because of the writing, but because of the wonderful comic actors,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

Independent theatre is still, as he points out, one of the only places to experience unique perspectives and original artistry. \u201c[It\u2019s] what I love about the theatre,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s not like anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n