Theatre

Project Limelight Presents “There’s No Place Like Oz”

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When I was growing up in rural Saskatchewan (and partially in Europe), the opportunity to participate in theatre was one of the greatest gifts my parents and schools could have given me. Theatre gave me a way to keep playing dress-up long after my peers no longer thought it was cool. The stage was a place where I could be confident, unselfconscious, and (blissfully) anything, or anybody, I wanted to be. Being involved in productions kept me focused, gave me something to look forward to, and brought me those weird, it-all-happened-in-the-dark, we-bonded-in-cue-to-cue type friendships that only other theatre artists can understand. In my darkest hours, the responsibility of maintaining myself as a performer (body, voice, health) kept me from making some bad choices as I tried to deal with the academic and emotional hurdles life brought me.

d58e5a79e1deb00e6b78f5f9f952197dWhen I learned about the Strathcona-based Project Limelight Society, a free theatre program for East Vancouver youth, I couldn’t think of a more positive way to engage children and young people with the arts, their community, and with their own talents. According to their website, the Project Limelight Society was founded by former film industry professionals (and sisters) Maureen Webb and Donalda Weaver, as a way to support and give back to the community they were raised in. Designed for youth aged 8-15, each four-month session teaches and develops performance skills as participants prepare for a full-length production. Enthusiasm and commitment from participants seems to be the name of the game, with no previous experience required. And of course, it’s offered at no cost to the participants.

Hold on, you say, what about that full-length production you mentioned? Oh yes! The young performers of Project Limelight will be treading the boards later this month at the Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema (SFU Woodward’s) in their upcoming production, There’s No Place Like Oz, loosely based on the children’s classics by L. Frank Baum.

Project Limelight Society presents THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE OZ, featuring 18 young performers, ages 8 – 12, who have worked together to create a show for their friends, family and community. THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE OZ, in the tradition of Pantomime, combines audience interaction, music, comedy and dance, and is suitable for audiences from the very young to the young at heart.

At Project Limelight, we want to unleash the imagination, awaken curiosity and give young people the opportunity to experience the magic of applause. Our program offers youth living in Vancouver’s Eastside, a safe place to build an artistic community.

[Read the full show description on Project Limelight’s website.]

There’s No Place Like Oz will be running for ONE DAY ONLY (two performances) so make sure you know the details:

Sunday, February 24, at 2:00 pm and again at 6:00 pm

Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema in SFU Woodward’s (Goldcorp Centre for the Arts)

Tickets are $15/$10 and can be purchased online through the Project Limelight website.

If you would like to support the work of the Project Limelight Society but will not be able to attend the show, donations to the program can be made through their website.

Happy Valentine’s Day everybody (once again, it seems, East Vancouver has stolen my heart…)!

xoxo

PuSh 2013: Opening Gala (Crossing the Line)

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unnamedOne of the things that I’ve always admired about the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival is that, well, they push the arts. They push culture. And Vancouver’s arts community is the better for it. Nowhere is that so obvious than during the PuSh Opening Galas, fun events that incorporate music and interactive performances with libations and dancing. The PuSh 2013 Opening Gala was held this year on Monday night at Club Five Sixty on Seymour.

At this year’s Gala (more than at any other PuSh Gala I think) I actually paid attention to the opening speeches (did it have anything to do with the fact that one of my favourite musicians, Dan Mangan, was an MC? Possibly). From Dan Mangan himself, and Vancouver’s Mayor Gregor Robertson, and PuSh Executive Director Norman Armour, the message rang loud and clear: the arts are important and we should protect them, fight for them, and (dare I say?) fund them. With the closure of the Waldorf in East Vancouver on our minds (not to mention other high-profile closures in the past year, including the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company), it seems to be a dark time to celebrate “crossing the line”, as the PuSh Festival is asking us to do over the next two weeks.

So why do they do it? Why spend a tremendous amount of time, effort, and money on a two-week international performing arts festival? Because we need it. Because festivals like PuSh represent a coming together of the very best of the performing arts community, and a commitment to refuse complacency, refuse mere satisfaction with where the Vancouver performing arts scene is today, and to push to the envelope (there’s that word again), and audiences, into new territory, artistically and geographically (with productions from as far away as Taiwan, Argentina, and Belgium). Only by seeing what we’ve never seen can our arts community strengthen and become what we’ve never yet been–safely sustained, more than hand to mouth, more than dependent on the capricious whims of provincial and federal funding.

More than just a seat-warmer for an eventual condo development to move in.

One of the PuSh Gala’s interactive performances this year, Open Book (inspired by Human Library, a production brought to PuSh 2013 by Denmark’s Stop the Violence), is an excellent example of performing art’s capacity to “cross the line”, and to bring its audience with it. In the eerie Club Five Sixty basement, my TC and I had the opportunity to check out a “human book” for a 10-minute conversation. I checked out Patti, a psychic, who explained to me what being psychic means to her life (it makes it calmer, she says) and who believes that all people have the capacity to tap into their intuitive and psychic abilities. TC had a conversation with Bruce, a legally blind painter who uses acrylics to create highly textured works and who paints the irregularities of his limited vision onto his pieces. A performance like Open Book is not traditionally what one would consider theatre–and yet it is live, it is an experience, it is not designed to be therapeutic or necessarily educational but simply to push us, through the power of a simple conversation with a stranger, into a new place (in this case, another person’s, a real person’s, experience).

Of course the Gala got me excited about What To See. What to see, what to see? Every year I have to make tough choices and every year I miss something amazing, simply because most of the festival is amazing and I can’t see even half of it. Every event at the festival (and Club PuSh) seems intriguing, new, virtuosic. Two pieces in particular are calling to me–Ride the Cyclone (Atomic Vaudeville, Victoria BC) and The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart (National Theatre of Scotland, Glasgow). TC’s top pick: Reich + Rite with pianist Vicky Chow (Music on Main, Vancouver). But there’s so much more, always so much more, and so many ways to cross the line.

To see what the PuSh Festival has to offer this year, and decide how you want to cross the line, visit the PuSh website at www.pushfestival.ca. For more about specific PuSh events (plus the event calendar and program guide), visit the Festival Events page.

Disclosure: My TC and I received comps to the PuSh Gala this year, as I have every year I’ve gone, because I have blogged and tweeted, and continue to blog and tweet, about the Festival.

Relephant’s “Ordinary Days” Packs an Extraordinary Punch

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Warren (Stephen Greenfield) and Deb (Jennie Neumann). Photo: Jessie van Rijn

Warren (Stephen Greenfield) and Deb (Jennie Neumann). Photo: Jessie van Rijn

If you have a case of the Januaries (Christmas is over, winter’s still here, it’s dark, it’s cold, it’s wet, you’re back at work and your New Year’s resolutions are already broken), Relephant Theatre‘s production of Adam Gwon’s Ordinary Days may be just what you need. A tight and funny chamber musical about life in the Big Apple, Ordinary Days celebrates the very, well, ordinariness that can make city life such a drag sometimes.

A good show starts with a good script, and the folks at Relephant Theatre have picked something special. Gwon’s touching and humourous vignettes could describe life in any North American city, and this is where the script’s strength lies. There is very little in the play that I couldn’t relate to–the search for calm in a busy metropolis, apartment life (and trying to find space for all your junk), being late and stuck in traffic–and I was surprised by the way this relatability managed to tease tears from my eyes again and again (by this I mean I was actually crying a little bit through most of the play. About nothing more extraordinary than ordinary life). I was also laughing a lot–a sung e-mail from a harried grad student (Jennie Neumann) to her thesis supervisor was a particular highlight.

A play so focused on celebrating the mundane needs to work very hard to avoid cliche. Gwon does an terrific job of this right up until the end, where unfortunately an emotionally manipulative plot twist sticks out like a sore thumb. The play already had me by the heartstrings and I really hadn’t needed the extra pull. I felt alienated instead of drawn in, and removed from the ordinariness that had made the script so compelling in the first place. This is, however, a minor and personal quibble in a play that is overall so incredibly enjoyable.

Based on the two Relephant productions I’ve seen (The Exquisite Hour was a delight last spring) and my conversations with co-producer Jessie van Rijn, Relephant Theatre is a company that never bites off more than it can chew. Its productions are thematically whimsical, technically tight (even on a shoestring budget), and lovingly performed. You won’t be pushed into the obscene or completely obscure (if that’s your thing), but you will enjoy your night at the theatre.

What more could you ask for from an ordinary day?

Ordinary Days runs in the Large Studio at Carousel Theatre (1411 Cartwright Street, Granville Island) until January 19. Tickets are available at the door (cash only) or online through Brown Paper Tickets.

Logistical tip: For this production, the Carousel Studio is set up with chairs and stools. The stools provide a more unique view, but if you require back support you should stick the chairs in the risers.

Disclosure: I was asked to review Relephant Theatre’s production of Ordinary Days and provided comps by the company. I also have a friendly professional relationship with Jessie van Rijn through her past work at the Carousel Theatre Company. At no point was I asked for a positive review.

Truth Be Told Theatre presents THE LIFE GAME VANCOUVER

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lifegame(newtag)Given its spontaneous nature, improvisational theatre and comedy often go hand-in-hand. The goal of many improvisational performances is to make people laugh, and the goal is usually achieved. The Life Game, created by improv guru Keith Johnstone and presented by Vancouver’s Truth Be Told Theatre until December 16, works a little differently.

In most improvisational theatre (read: comedy) I have experienced, the focus of the show is on the performers and how well they handle the unexpected. In The Life Game, the focus of each show is a guest (a different one each time) who volunteers to describe moments of their life to the audience and to the cast, ringing a bell if the performers are re-creating the moments accurately, blowing a horn if the re-creation seems off. Guests are reminded that they are not responsible for making the show interesting, and the show works best if the guest is not concerned with this.

The performance I attended last Friday was a bit unusual, in that instead of interviewing an invited guest, the company interviewed guests from the audience. The first guest, Lisa, described her childhood and her dynamics within her family. Using stock props and set pieces, the performers set up her bedroom as it had been in childhood. It was, to put it simply, really really cool to watch performers take on Lisa’s descriptions of her life, and to watch Lisa physically step into her re-created childhood bedroom. From the day Lisa told her little sister she was adopted (a cruel lie to tell a younger sibling), to an imagined show-down between Belle (Lisa’s favourite Disney princess) and the evil queen from Snow White (Lisa’s bogeyman), Lisa’s life was the focus of the performance and it was funny and engaging.

After the intermission, I was asked to be the evening’s second guest and I accepted. It was a very interesting experience. Watching my heart break as my friend Carmen told me the boy I was infatuated with started dating someone else a week after he kissed me under the starlight broke my poor little heart all over again, but also made me laugh. When my “interviewer” turned to my current partner, TC was pointed out and he was invited to join me on the stage as we helped the cast re-create the moment of our engagement. Funnily enough, the actors we had chosen to play us were engaged in real life, and like us, had used an heirloom ring (nifty!).

Ultimately, the point of the show is that ordinary lives are beautiful, interesting, and extraordinary. Each show interviews a different person, and different life experiences are created for the audience. It’s a simple and elegant idea, and the talented cast and crew of Truth Be Told delivers. This is an innovative show you should definitely see once, but should probably see more than once, since every night is brand-new.

The Life Game Vancouver runs until December 12 – 16 at 8:00 pm, at Studio 1398, Granville Island. Tickets are available online or at the door (cash only).

Disclosure: I was invited to attend The Life Game Vancouver and provided comps. I was not asked for a positive review and my views remain my own.

“Libation Bearers (The Flame)” or “I Wrote A Play!”

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This is not the first play I’ve written, and I hope it won’t be the last, but regardless, I’m pretty excited about this. I, NiftyNotCool, have written a play (cue trumpets and confetti)!

This play is an adaptation of the Greek tragedy The Libation Bearers (also known as Electra if you read the Sophocles version), called Libation Bearers (The Flame). It is the second installment in the three-play Oresteia series produced by my friends in Rice & Beans Theatre, and will be directed by Pedro Chamale.

Electra and her brother Orestes kill Aegisthus, murderer of their father

Obviously, since the tragedy dates back to ancient Greece, the plot itself is not exactly a nail-biter. The gist of the story is pretty simple and well-known: In the ancient city-state of Argos, Queen Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus murder her husband (Agamemnon). The Libation Bearers itself takes place years later, as Clytemnestra’s children (Electra and Orestes) plot to avenge their father’s death. That’s it that’s all.

But not really. If that was all no one would bother adapting the play for contemporary productions (and there are countless adaptations of the Oresteia, for countless contemporary productions). Most of us know the what of the story (i.e., what happens, which we should all know now, because I just told you), but what seems to change from adaptation to adaptation, and even from ancient Greek version to ancient Greek version, are the how and the why of it all. That’s what was interesting to me when writing Libation Bearers (The Flame) and that is hopefully what will be interesting for the actors to explore and interesting for the audience to watch.

Betrayals happen. Murders happen. Revenge is plotted. Today’s headlines are relatively similar (which is probably why these old stories live on). The reason we read past those headlines into the macabre news report below is because we want to know why this thing happened, and how such a thing could be possible. Sometimes, I think we want to see what separates us, law-abiding non-murderers, from those who commit horrible crimes. What are the steps that would have taken us to that place? What would we have done, in the same situation?

Also contained within the question of how in an adaptation of an ancient work is simply the matter of how this story is going to be told. How does my script handle the events of the play? How does the rhythm of the language guide us through? How do the characters, as I’ve interpreted them, find their way towards their actions? Once the play is written, how does the direction affect the story? How do the actors interpret their roles, and blend their sensibilities and skills which the words they’ll be speaking?

If the cast/crew list for this show is any indication, the how will be very exciting. My conversations with director Pedro Chamale about his vision for the show leave me confident that he is going to take my words and make them truly work (the only way they really can work, which is in performance). I respect the technical and stage management team. As for the actors, I’ve seen them all perform and studied with most of them. They are exciting performers. I’m excited.

I’m very excited. I hope you will see the show.

Libation Bearers (The Flame) will run for four nights only, November 21 to 24, at 8 pm in the PAL Theatre, 581 Cardero Street (Coal Harbour).

Tickets are $15/$10 and are available online through Brown Paper Tickets: http://theflame.brownpapertickets.com/

Fringe 2012: Resounding Scream Theatre presents “The Troubles”

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Photo credit: Panos Argryopoulos

On Tuesday I visited Resounding Scream Theatre‘s final pre-Fringe dress rehearsal to watch and review their upcoming Vancouver Fringe offering, The Troubles. Avid followers of mine may recall that The Troubles was part of last summer’s double bill, combining Troika!, the show I co-created, and The Troubles into one night of hot Vancouver theatre. Since its 2011 runs, The Troubles has been revised and reworked to create the one-woman show on offer at the Vancouver International Fringe Festival this year. The Troubles is written and performed by Stephanie Henderson, based on the experiences of her father and his family in Northern Ireland, and directed by Catherine Ballachey.

The issues at the heart of the play surround what was referred to by the British as “the Troubles”, a period of violent religious-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spanned the 1960s through to the 1990s. As one of the characters quips, Northern Ireland is not “all ponies and roses.” The violence which overwhelmed the region is both real and recent. The Troubles is concerned not with specific religious or political issues, or with which side was right or wrong or caused more hurt or had more justification for their part in the violence, but with the everyday people–from mothers to schoolboys to blue collar workers to “footie” fans–forced to try to continue their “normal” lives during a time when violence and conflict has become the new normal. I was particularly struck by Henderson’s depictions of the effect the conflict had on children, whose play fights and mock battles became all too real with bricks and bottles, stones and beatings, forced to take on their parents’ issues.

Photo credit: Panos Argryopoulos

One of Henderson’s strengths as a performer has always been her ability to interact with her audience while in character. Five different “people” appear onstage through the text and performance of The Troubles, and each character speaks to us (readily or reluctantly, as the case may be) in their own unique way. Henderson has understood and embodied her five characters so thoroughly that regardless of an audience member’s response to her questions and remarks, she will have a quip or a cuss word at the ready–always in character, and always (Northern) Irish.

As an audience member, you will need to work a bit to keep up with Henderson’s North Irish lilt and the speed with which many of her characters speak. Overall though, the frank and good-humoured nature of her portrayals and the weight of her subject matter were enough to pull me in and keep me through the whole of the performance.

Photo credit: Everette Jelley

The Troubles will run September 7 – 16 at Studio 1398 (Playwright’s Theatre Centre) on Granville Island. For more information and specific show dates, please visit Resounding Scream’s Upcoming Projects web page. Tickets to The Troubles may be purchased online through the website of the Vancouver International Fringe Festival, or with cash at the door.

Disclaimer: Stephanie Henderson and Catherine Ballachey of Resounding Scream Theatre are personal friends of mine, as well as theatrical colleagues. However, I agreed to review The Troubles in my capacity as a blogger first and foremost, with the understanding that this disclaimer would be necessary. I do not feel as though my experiences of the show, reviewed here, were compromised by our personal friendship.

The Artist-Audience Contract (and Why You Shouldn’t Break It)

/ Lauren / 1 Comment

When I was in theatre school, we were told to “see everything” we could, and that doing this would help our growth as artists. We were also encouraged to “do everything” (although obviously it was understood this wouldn’t quite be as possible).

It seems that I really took this maxim to heart. In the three years since graduating with my BFA and especially since I’ve begun blogging, I’ve made it a mission to attend shows, support my peers, and, by and large, be a part of the theatre-going community (it helps, of course, that since graduating I have had much more money and time at my disposal). In this time, I have taken in a lot of great theatrical and cultural events (and still missed many good ones, much to my chagrin).

But I’ve also suffered through a lot of stinkers. Yeah, I said it. STINKERS. And I think maybe I’m done. With stinkers.

There comes a time when some of the wisdom imparted to you by your betters is no longer relevant. It is this time when you realize that your betters, in their infinite wisdom, imparted the information to you that you needed at the time, but knew you likely wouldn’t stick with it forever. When I was a student, everything was a learning experience. I hadn’t developed my taste yet, and the more I saw, the more theatrical tools I’d have at my fingertips (and the more theatrical pitfalls I would know to avoid). To my teachers I say thank you for this piece of wisdom, and I know you will understand why it is now time to show this particular piece of wisdom the door.

The reason is this: not all theatre is equal, and not all artists are the same, but one thing that every show worth its salt SHOULD have is a respect for the unspoken artist-audience contract. What I mean by the artist-audience contract is the understanding that the artist(s) presenting the show have worked hard on what the audience is about to see. As an artist, if I expect someone to pay for a ticket, ride the bus, walk through the rain (’cause let’s face it, if you’re seeing a Vancouver show it’s probably raining), hang out awkwardly in a lobby wearing their wet coat and finally sit through my show for however long it is, I need to damn well ensure that I have done everything I could on my end to show respect for this person.

This does not mean making a show accessible to everyone, or to everyone’s tastes. This does not mean avoiding controversial subjects (or conversely, deliberately taking on a provocative theme so the audience can feel hard-core). This does not mean high-tech magic, fancy venues, or avoiding spontaneity (hell, improv performers work very hard at what they do). Having respect for my audience means taking their time as seriously as I expect them to take mine. If we want an audience to respect us enough to sit quietly during our performances and not leave unless they absolutely have to (even if they hate what they’re seeing), we need to respect them. The way to show respect for our audience is to work hard and PREPARE adequately.

For the most part this is a given, and most artists I know would never dream of putting their audience through a poorly-prepared or under-rehearsed production (the exception to this would of course be workshop or developmental showings of work in preparation for a more polished script/production). Sadly, however, there are some stinkers out there. For whatever reason, it seems these stinkers are so confident in the undefinable power of their talent/script/personality/vision that they take their audience for granted. They take a warm audience’s humouring of their lack of preparation for enjoyment of and connection to their “work”. They take their audience’s uncomfortable laughter as a sign that their train wreck of a show is funny. Or something. And they tend to do all this with either a big shit-eating grin on their face or a snooty high-brow attitude that just screams “I’m an artiste and my work is important!”

You know what, stinker? It’s not. And if you fail to prepare adequately for what you are presenting, you hardly have the right to call that theft of my time work. If I have to sit through your ill-prepared piece of crap, I’m the one doing the work here, and maybe you should need to buy a ticket from me to compensate me for my time.

Often the stinkers I encounter are the usual suspects–the so-called “emerging artists” who have big ideas perhaps, and big dreams, but spend all their energy on venue and promotion and forget, it seems, to make a decent show to go with their hot air. These stinkers really get on my nerves because they give REAL emerging artists (i.e. people who work really hard on their craft and on what they present but haven’t built a reputation or funding strategy yet) a bad name. Being “emerging” is not an excuse to do your work badly. It is not an excuse to disrespect your audience and their money and time. The emerging artists I call my friends are able to produce good (albeit underfunded) work on less than a shoestring budget, the whole time working paying jobs on the side. They understand their duty to their audience, and they understand their responsibility to themselves and to the people they work with. If you want recognition and exposure, you have to prove yourself. And proving yourself takes work.

Some of these stinkers don’t realize what they’re doing. They believe very strongly in their vision and can’t (or won’t) understand why it isn’t working for an audience–they’re giving a lot of time and energy but they aren’t using their heads and they’re not working effectively. These stinkers I feel sorry for. The stinkers I really can’t abide are the ones who know they haven’t prepared, who know that what they have to offer is not something they’ve worked hard on and for some reason they Just Don’t Care.

I want to make very clear right now that getting up on a stage and simply “being charming” and flying by the seat of your pants is not admirable. Your lack of preparation does not make what you managed to pull out of your butt any more impressive. It is what we in the theatre world like to call “wanking”. It is disrespectful to your audience and to the other artists you’re working with. Don’t do it.

“Wanking” is not unique to emerging work. There are also stinkers to be found among professional companies. I have sat through professional productions WHERE EVERYONE SHOUTED THE WHOLE TIME. I have sat through productions that had budgets that talented emerging directors would KILL for, and though the costumes were nice and the set was cool, the direction was merely perfunctory. I have sat through productions where every single transition was a black-out (adding, I’m not kidding, an extra 30 min to the show). I have sat through plays that were 40 min too long because of a clear lack of dramaturgy. The fact that I had to pay extra to see it at a “professional” production just made the breaking of the artist-audience contract that much worse.

Art deserves support. It can touch us, teach us, and add so much colour to our lives. Artists work very very hard to make this happen for their audience and I am pleased to support that. But there are some stinkers out there screwing it up for the rest of us, and to them I say this:

I am done.

To hell with what my teachers said. I am an intelligent adult and I know enough about theatre to know when I am being disrespected as an audience member. If you don’t take your work seriously, why the hell should I? Smarten up. Until you do, you will not be seeing me at your shows.

Hive: The New Bees 2 (Get your buzz on May 24-26)

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Are you in need of a great night of arts and culture, but can’t decide what to see? Do you wish you could have the opportunity to experience a variety of work from a variety of theatre companies, without having to leave the venue? Do you wish that instead of watching one two-hour show, you could watch ten-minute shows, have a drink at the bar, and then just keep watching more bite-sized pieces of theatre? If so, Hive: The New Bees 2, produced this year by Resounding Scream Theatre, may just be the show for you.

In 2009, Simon Fraser University BFA Theatre graduates Aliya Griffin, Gina Readman, Natalie Schneck, and Caroline Sniatynski organized and produced the original Hive: The New Bees as part of the 2009 Vancouver Fringe Festival. The mission behind the original New Bees was to showcase the work of recent Vancouver-based theatre graduates from SFU, UBC, and Studio 58. This year, Catherine Ballachey and Stephanie Henderson of Resounding Scream Theatre have taken up the mantle to produce Hive: The New Bees 2, showcasing the work of 12 emerging Vancouver theatre companies (many of which had participants in the original Hive: The New Bees).

For those of you who have never been to either Hive: The New Bees or to any of the three Hives produced by Vancouver’s professional companies in past years, you are in for a wild and fun night. You can stay as long as you like. You can see as much or as little as  you want to. If  you want to try to watch every single show, you can! If you want to watch one show again and again and again, you can! If you want to sit by one of the two bars and watch roving performances or our musical and comedic guests, or simply stare into your beer all night long, guess what? YOU CAN!

I’ve been to two of the professional Hives and I performed in Hive: The New Bees in 2009 (shameless plug alert: I am also performing next week, as part of the ad hoc company The Troika Collective). It’s always a fun night and I’ve always been able to walk away with at least one gem of artistic creation that really blew my mind (in addition to the other theatrical work I enjoyed).

The 12 emerging companies (and ad hoc companies) participating next week in Hive: The New Bees 2 are:

After each company is finished performing for the night, New Bees 2 will present after-show entertainment for those who like to party. For more information on the after-show acts, please visit the show’s event page.

Hive: The New Bees 2 runs May 24-26 at 8:00 pm at Chapel Arts (304 Dunlevy  Avenue). After-show events will run from 10:00 pm to midnight each night.

Tickets are available at the door or can be purchased online at Brown Paper Tickets. Tickets are $20 for the whole evening or $10 for the after-party.

Emerging theatre companies often suffer from a lack of exposure as much as a lack of funds. We’re here! We’re theatrical! Come on down and get to know us!

[MORE SHAMELESS PLUGGING: The piece I am performing in is called “Chernobyl: The Opera,” directed by Aliya Griffin, with music for four voices, accordion, and cello composed and arranged by Elliot Vaughan. We’re a talented bunch (if I do say so myself), and plus, you get to hear me sing!]

UPDATE MAY 25th: This just in! Colin Thomas of the Georgia Strait had good things to say about the pieces in New Bees 2 and about the Troika Collective as one of the particulars! Read all about it!

My “Exquisite Hour” with Relephant Theatre

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Nevada Yates Robart and Josue Laboucane. Photo: Tim Matheson

Would you give me your hour?

That depends, you might say, will I enjoy it? Will I be glad I did? What will I get in return for my hour? When this hour is gone, what will happen to the hours that follow?

If the hour you give is the hour you spend watching Stewart Lemoine’s The Exquisite Hour, produced by Relephant Theatre Co-op and presented at the Revue Stage on Granville Island, then I may be so bold as to reply, yes, you will enjoy your hour, yes, you will be glad you gave it to see this play, and as for the hours that follow The Exquisite Hour, that’s for you to decide (but I imagine you will spend some of them dreaming of sunshine and letting a private smile play across your face).

Would you give me your hour?

This is the question the oddly forward Helen Darimont asks shy bachelor Zachary Teale after she intrudes on his evening ritual of a quiet glass of lemonade in his garden. Zachary’s hour is the favour he grants, and it is this hour, played in real time, that the audience is privy to.

On the surface, this dainty two-hander, set in 1962, seems it may be perilously close to saccharine–the colours are bright, the patterns are floral, and there is a “just-so” simplicity to the story that could quite potentially grate against the sensibilities of any confirmed cynic.

But to hell with the cynics, I say, this play is lovely. To fault a story for being sweet is like faulting someone for smiling–if the impulse behind the good cheer is genuine, you’re probably just jealous. To dwell on the sweetness of this play as a flaw is to see the lemonade glass as half empty (and to not even notice that there’s a shot of bourbon inside).

Nevada Yates Robart…doing…something. Photo: Tim Matheson

Bourbon indeed. The saving grace of The Exquisite Hour is that it is not all sunny yellow sweetness. Actors Nevada Yates Robart (Helen) and Josue Laboucane (Zachary) infuse the good-natured humour of Lemoine’s script with a total and hilarious commitment to playfulness. It will likely be the strangest and nicest hour-long conversation you will ever eavesdrop on and I know I wasn’t the only member of the audience to scream with laughter or shake my head as an incredibly awkward but incredibly funny moment unfolded in front of me.

In case you are wondering, The Exquisite Hour is not an avant garde play. It is not high-tech. It will not cover your world in shades of ethical grey or expose the dirty underbelly of society. Plays that do these things are often good plays, and you find yourself leaving the theatre unsettled and challenged. The Exquisite Hour does not do these things, and yet, The Exquisite Hour is a good play, one that will leave you bright-eyed and tickled (take that, cynics!).

The appeal of The Exquisite Hour lies in its balanced combination of sunny nostalgia and refreshing verbal and physical humour. It’s a warm summer evening–spent with your weird but lovely neighbours. The world’s alright, the lemonade’s cool, and it’s that little kick of something just a bit stronger that makes your hour truly, well, exquisite.

Quite happily, I gave my hour to Relephant Theatre and I don’t want it back. If you would like to do yourself the favour of spending your hour at the Revue Stage, The Exquisite Hour will be running until May 12, with both evening and matinee performances. Tickets can be purchased online through VancouverTix.com, or by calling 604-629-8849.

Disclosure: My ticket (and +1) for the opening night of The Exquisite Hour was provided by Relephant Theatre. I remain the sole author of my content.

“Jason and the Argonauts” at Carousel Theatre (epic theatre for smart teens)

/ Lauren / Leave a comment

Every once in a while, I have the pleasure of reviewing a show presented by Carousel Theatre. Every once in a while, I also have the pleasure of guest-posting for my friend Raul Pacheco-Vega, of Hummingbird604.com.

Never before have I had the pleasure of doing both AT THE SAME TIME.

Well now I have.

The following is my review for Visible Fictions’ Jason and the Argonauts, being presented by Carousel Theatre until April 29th. To see my review in all its glory, please visit the actual post at Hummingbird604.com.

Heroes. Villains. A quest for destiny. Treachery. Sea monsters…Ken dolls?

Using only the contents of an old trunk and a wooden cart (designed with breathtaking cleverness by Robin Peoples), Scottish actors Tim Settle and Simon Donaldson of Glasgow’s Visible Fictions energetically retell the Greek myth of Jason and his quest for the Golden Fleece with intimacy, humour, and virtuosic performances. With shows at the Waterfront Theatre until April 29, Jason and the Argonauts marks the end of the 2011/2012 season of literary classics presented by Carousel Theatre.

Jason also marks one of Carousel Theatre’s first steps towards offering programming for older youth audiences and though younger children (age 7 and up) will still find much to enjoy, it is adolescents and teenagers (and their parents!) that will appreciate this ingenious retelling of the ancient story the most.

While at first your smarty pants youngster (or you) may be incredulous that the story of “like, 50 guys who are supposed to be on a boat with monsters and stuff, and you know, like, a beautiful princess” can be told effectively by only two actors (both men), the magic of Visible Fiction’s Jason and the Argonauts is not only found in the story itself, but in the way in which Settle and Donaldson are able to convey it using only their abilities as performers and the few props at their disposal (Ken dolls, paper boats, and sticks are used to great effect in this production). The gasps from the Saturday-night audience as the Argo appeared from seemingly nothing did not go unnoticed (or uncommented upon) by the actors. It is this back and forth between performers and audience, and this recognition of our intelligence and interest, which allows us to wholeheartedly root for the characters of “Andy” (Settle) and “Josh” (Donaldson) as they take on the telling of this epic quest for glory and justice.

Incredibly disciplined performers, Settle and Donaldson play the dramatic moments of the story as well as they do the comic ones, with real sorrow, tyranny, and danger all alive on the stage as Settle and Donaldson make switching from one character or scene to another look as easy as breathing. The show is charming, intelligent, and thoroughly entertaining.

Jason and the Argonauts is also a breath of fresh air from a continent whose tradition of theatre is centuries more well-established than our own, and therefore, whose expectations of their what their audiences will be able to engage with seem to be much greater. Precious few theatre companies (especially those who wish to be accessible to younger audiences) would be comfortable staging or presenting such a complicated two-hander, with worries that the constant switching between characters (and the lack of costume changes, etc. to indicate the switch) would make the show “too confusing” for audiences to follow. Visible Fictions trusted their actors to tell the story, and trusted their audience to follow it. Carousel Theatre has placed its trust in us and in its older youth audience as well, and guess what? We can follow Jason’s journey just fine.

In fact, due to Carousel’s practice of holding Q & A periods with the actors after every show (not just on a special “Q & A Night”), watching a more complex show like Jason and the Argonauts can also be incredibly instructive for those pre-teens and teens of yours who are interested in theatre. When I attended on Saturday, a large group of high school drama students were seated in the first two rows. I was impressed by their intelligent questions (see? We don’t need to “dumb down” great theatre!) and by Settler and Donaldson’s thorough replies about their training, rehearsal process, their lives as working actors, and the physical and psychological skills they employ to find and maintain so many different characters in one show.

It is wonderful to see a show that is both accessible and enjoyable AND assumes its audience to be sensitive and intelligent. I am excited that Carousel is pursuing programming for older youth audiences and hope to see more productions of the same caliber in their future seasons.

Jason and the Argonauts will be performed at the Waterfront Theatre until April 29, with school performances during the week and public performances Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:00 pm, with 2:00 pm Saturday matinees. Tickets can be purchased online through Carousel Theatre’s website, or by calling their box office at 604-685-6217.

Disclosure: My ticket to see Jason and the Argonauts was provided by Carousel Theatre. I maintain full control over my writing, and of course, Raul maintains full control over any content posted on Hummingbird604.com.

It was truly a pleasure to review this show, and a pleasure to be able to share it through Hummingbird604.com. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed attending and reviewing Carousel Theatre’s 2011/2012 season. Now that it’s over, I’d like to extend a big thank you to Raul for putting Jessie van Rijn (General Manager for Carousel) in touch with me in the first place, and Jessie for continuing to invite me back and being so lovely to deal with. I’ve had a fantastic season with YA theatre (and I don’t even have kids!).