“Every breakdown inevitably leads to a breakthrough”

-Marshall McLuhan.

HARDSELL 2.0:

A HIGH SCHOOL INFORMATION LITERACY PRESENTATION

WYRD Productions is pleased to announce an exciting new outreach program designed to enhance and facilitate the teaching of information literacy in middle/high schools: HARDSELL 2.0. Adapted from the hit stage play created and performed by Rick Miller, HARDSELL 2.0 is a riveting information literacy presentation designed to challenge and inspire high school students. Much like the play, HARDSELL 2.0 is structured as a lecture/performance, with 2 clearly defined sections that present opposing viewpoints and attitudes towards the world of advertising and consumerism. Miller plays mirror images of himself: Rick, the righteous do-gooder who tries to change the world, and Arnie, the cynical showman who has essentially given up on it. Neither side represents the whole picture, leaving the students to think and judge for themselves.

Curriculum connections:

information literacy, mass media, language, the environment, live performance, biology, evolution, economics

Character education connections:

honesty, integrity, courage, conviction

Thematic connections:

consumerism, advertising and marketing, the creation of identity and meaning, inter-connectedness

The 75-minute multimedia presentation features Miller using all the skills that have made him an international star: singing, dancing, puppetry, impersonations, and clever use of image and technology. While the goal is to entertain as well as to educate, the dazzling showmanship only serves to point out that we are all salespeople of one kind or another; we are all “cells that sell”. The question then becomes: “what are we selling?”. In a world where cynicism is becoming an easier choice – and one that more and more students embrace at an earlier age – HARDSELL 2.0 is selling hope. As the allure of technology and the distractions of marketing continue to drive us further into isolated, superficial ‘cells’, Miller challenges us to “think clearly, feel deeply, and speak coherently”.


PRAISE FOR HARDSELL 2.0 (the stage play)

"A DIZZYING DESCENT into the corporate hell of capitalism... while HARDSELL acknowledges our economic and societal future seems pretty bleak, it arrives at a conclusion many seem to embrace today, mainly that it is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness." Toronto Sun

"A TIMELY CALL TO ACTION. The new dynamic between Miller and his alter ego provides strong tension to the complex relationship between human nature and greed." Blog TO

A VOCAL CHAMELEON…Miller succinctly illustrates how living in a consumer society seems to either makes hypocrites out of us or turn us into self-righteous jerks.” Globe and Mail

"STUNNING! Rick Miller is one of our most dazzling performers... Miller's greatest skill is not unlike that of a jazz virtuoso: he riffs superbly... " Toronto Star

"A STINGING CRITIQUE of the commodification of everything...but the emphasis has been placed instead squarely on Miller as an arts worker, parent and human being trying to live a virtuous life." Stage Door

"A ROUSING REMOUNT... Miller is a fantastic actor. HARDSELL 2.0 is an honest examination of how our behaviour can be controlled by marketing and a disturbing reminder of the lies inherent in advertising." Theatromania

"My dad's been taking me to plays since I was 9, and this is the first one where I actually learned something" Andy, 16.

ABOUT RICK MILLER

Rick Miller is a Dora and Gemini award-winning actor/writer who has performed in five languages on five continents. For 3 years, Rick hosted ABC’s hit primetime series “Just for Laughs”, and Entertainment Weekly has called him “one of the 100 most creative people alive today”. As artistic director of WYRD Productions, he has created and performed shows such as Art?, Slightly Bent, Into the Ring and MacHomer, which is part of Stratford’s 2012 season. His two latest WYRD Productions have been co-creations with director Daniel Brooks and Necessary Angel: Bigger Than Jesus and HARDSELL. Rick is also a frequent collaborator with Robert Lepage, on such plays as Géométrie des Miracles, Zulu Time (co-created with Peter Gabriel), Lipsynch and on the film Possible Worlds. Rick recently starred as Brian Mulroney in the satirical film “Mulroney: The Opera”. He is currently hosting a new doc series called Canadian Made, and developing various projects, including a solo documentary play called BOOM! He lives in Toronto with his wife Stephanie Baptist and their 2 daughters. www.rickmiller.ca