The June Review & July "To See" List

Leaving town June 14th really did make it next to impossible to see anything in Vancouver during the month of June.

I did see Othello at Bard, but was not thrilled by the production. I attended a preview and the cast was still tripping over the set, costumes & at times their lines. Hopefully I will make it to a studio stage show by the end of the summer, but I do not know how that will work.

As for VACT's Flower Drum Song, I made my way to see it and then found out that their weekday matinee began at 1pm, not 2pm, so I had missed the first 40 min. They offered to still sell me a ticket and let me watch the rest, but at that point I was frustrated and uninterested. The lesson I learned from that: Always triple check performance times. Just because every other matinee is at 2pm, doesn't mean the one you are attending is.

I'll be continuing to live in Kamloops throughout the month of July, and as far as I know nothing else is playing in town during that time. This is a sad theatrical drought, but I have no doubt that I will be seeing oodles of plays when I return to Vancouver this fall (date TBC).

The June To-See List (and what I saw/worked on in May)

It's been a very busy month for me theatrically.

In May I saw the following plays:

1. John & Beatrice (Pi Theatre)
2. Secret World of Og (Carousel Theatre)
3. 36 Views (Tempus Theatre)
4. Antigone Undone (Leaky Heaven Circus)
5. Fat Pig (Mitch & Murray Equity Co-op)
   
6. Les Miserables (Arts Club)
7. Top Girls (Vancouver Playhouse)
8. Palace of the End (Felix Culpa, Touchstone Theatre, & Horseshoes & Hand Grenades)

Based on this list, I still missed one show from my "To-See" list last month (Dying City), however I added Top Girls & Antigone Undone, so overall I feel pretty good about it as a month of theatre seeing.

I also rehearsed and opened You Still Can't at Pacific Theatre. This monster of a show features 14 emerging theatre artists from a variety of theatre training programs as well as three "extras' who volunteer and rotate through from night to night. In addition to a large cast (at least for our little 20" by 22" stage), it's a very props heavy show. I've mentioned the dozen custom-made latex turkeys, but there's also a working amusement park model, a Beatles-themed feast, & a working radio DJ booth. It's been a crazy ride and it still runs for another two weeks.

The day after You Still Can't closes I'll be hopping a 7am bus to Kamloops to spend my summer working with Project X Productions on Hamlet & Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. It's going to be a fun summer as far as I'm concerned. Also, it will be a nice break from Vancouver (not that I hate Vancouver. I love Vancouver. I just need a bit of time to get away) and a chance to be close to my parents for a while.

Because I leave town on June 14th, my "To-See" list for June is quite short, though I've decided that I will list shows that I will not be seeing but that I think the rest of you should make sure to check out.

June To See List:
1. Othello (Bard on the Beach)
2. Flower Drum Song (VACT)

Shows that you should see, even though I won't be seeing them:
1. The Walking Fish Festival (www.upintheairtheatre.com) {from what I hear this year has a whole range of shows from amazing to terrible - I'd love to hear what people think!}
2. The Comedy of Errors (Bard on the Beach)
3. All's Well that Ends Well (Bard on the Beach)
4. Mixie and the Halfbreeds (Neworld Theatre)
5. Alter Boyz (Arts Club)

And for those of you in Vancouver for the month of June, don't forget to attend the Jessie Richardson Awards for theatre. If I were in town, I'd definitely be there!
Let's all see some theatre!

On Stage This Week

Now that my show is up and running I've finally had a chance to get back into the audience and enjoy the work of others. I've seen two shows this week and both of them close this coming weekend, so if you haven't already seen 36 Views and Antigone Undone, now is the time to do so.

36 Views (playing at the Jericho Arts Center) has gotten stellar reviews across the board in its run, both from critics and audience members. Michael Kopsa is pitch perfect as Darius Wheeler, the somewhat shady art dealer and the use of projection with the design is beautiful. I know that in the first few weeks of their run they struggled with very low attendance, but they close this Saturday, so please go see it!

Antigone Undone (playing at the Russian Hall) has also gotten very positive reviews, but is a completely different experience than 36 Views. Seated on swivel chairs in a pit, the audience is surrounded by action: choreographed to 67 minutes of music/sound & projections. The story certainly branches off from the traditional story of Antingone, but what else would you expect from Leaky Heaven? This show closes on Sunday and seating is limited!

Four Chances Left to see Stop Kiss!

"As undoubtedly Vancouver's hardest working actors on stage right now, the cast of Secretly Women Productions' Stop Kiss not only serve up a powerful and shockingly relevant piece but do so in the tiny confines of the Havana Theatre, on a shoe-string budget and no guarantees of even being paid for their efforts. And that is the real crime here as this is one show that queer and straight audiences alike should be flocking to see it. Not only because of the relevance to recent gay-bashings in Vancouver but because Director David C Jones has managed to illicit such incredible performances from his actors." - Mark Robbins, gayvancouver.net


Saturday night we had a packed house & we are expecting more of the same this week. If you are planning to see the show, but have not yet booked your tickets, stop reading this, pick up your phone, call 604-630-9051 & reserve now!

UPDATE: Check out the mini review from today's Vancouver Courier.

The "To See" List: May

I began April with lofty ambitions and plans to see many plays. Here we are now at the end of the month & I've found that I've failed. Of all the shows I planned to see, I've only seen two. (That said, I have tickets booked to see some of them in May). There have been a number of reasons for this apparent failure.

- One performance which I had tickets to was canceled.
- Volunteer shifts got bumped to May
- I agreed to take on another show (which was on my list to-see) and ended up rehearsing evenings when I'd otherwise have been seeing shows.
- On my rare nights off I was just too tired to go & see something else

Looking ahead to May I've made a new list of shows to see, but I've tried to be a bit more realistic about what I can fit in to my schedule.

That said, here's the list of shows for May:

-John & Beatrice (Pi theatre at the PAL theatre)[attending opening: Weds, May6th]
-Secret World of Og (Carousel theatre at Waterfront theatre) [volunteering Fri, May 8th]
-Dying City (at Little Mountain Studios)
-Les Miserable (Arts Club Theatre at Stanley stage)
-Palace of the End (Touchstone Theatre, Felix Culpa, & Horseshoes and Hand Grenades at PAL)
-36 Views (Tempus Theatre at Jericho Arts Centre)
-Fat Pig (Mitch & Murray Equity Co-op at Performance Works)

Got any other shows you think I should be checking out? Tell me about them in the comments. And if you see me at a show, come say hi!

It's a Puzzling Life

You may remember that I've been job hunting. Mailing out resumes. Following up with companies. Networking. All of those things that I dread. And I'm starting to figure out just how cyclical it all is.

In the past week I've gotten two jobs. But each of them simply informs me what the parameters are for finding the next one.

The first one that I got is Stage Managing for a production of Diana Son's Stop Kiss which opens a week from tonight. They had a stage manager before, but she was overwhelmed by it all, so they were looking for someone to step in for the final week of rehearsal & to run the show. The cast is very generous and the show is coming together. Interestingly, it was on my "to see" list for April and now I'm working on it. But hopefully any of you in the Vancouver area will put it on your own version of the "to see" list. The play is about two friends' first kiss that leads to a life threatening attack.

This play is particularly timely in Vancouver at the moment with the recent attack on Rich Dowrey. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, Dowrey is a 62 year old man who was recently put into a coma by a suckerpunch. The man who hit him allegedly told bystanders, “He’s a faggot — he deserved it.” You can read local news coverage here.

If you're interested in seeing the show it runs APRIL 24 - MAY 2 at 8 PM. Tickets are $20 and you can call 604-630-9051 to reserve. There will be a preview performance on April 23rd at 8:30pm (please note the time difference). Tickets for the preview are $15. Partial proceeds from the performance of the show will go to the GLTB Centre. You can check out the facebook event for it here.

The interesting thing about taking on this show is that it overlaps with with rehearsals for my next show at Pacific Theatre. I'll be rehearsing by day and performing by night; something I'm comign to realize is a necessity of making a living doing this crazy theatre thing.

Before I move on to the second job that I got, I will say that it is a very unique situation to be coming into a show this close to opening and taking over from someone else who is still involved in the production. Everyone involved has been wonderful and making me feel like I am a part of the group, despite my more recent entry to the production.

The second job that I got is spending my summer in Kamloops with Project X stagemanaging Rozencrantz & Guildenstern are dead while ASMing Hamlet. The two shows will run in rep from July 23rd to August 8th. I'm sure I'll be talking more about those shows as they approach.

This second job is what started me thinking about life in the theatre as a giant puzzle. Once I got this job, I had to make some calls to a couple of co-ops that I had spoken with about the summer, informing them that I could not be involved in their shows, but that I hope to work with them in the future. It also meant that I got to call some other folks and let them know that yes, I could work on their productions. As this piece fit into place, the pieces that go beside it became clearer.

For example, I now know that I have the time in August to go to New Mexico and be a bridesmaid in a dear friend's wedding, something that I wouldn't have been able to do if I had gotten a job that was all the way through August. I also know that I have time to fill between August 17 - Sept 5 and again Sept. 20 - Oct. 12 and can begin looking for things to fill those slots.

So the job hunt continues, but it continues in a more informed manner. As I keep saying, the whole process impresses on me a whole new level of respect for the actors who keep on doing this while working another job to pay the bills. My puzzle looks like a 4-yr old's play toy compared to your 500 piece landscape.

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On a somewhat related topic, my friend Sabrina, the Artistic Producer/Director of Twenty Something Theatre has just posted a great blog post about how to give a great audition. You should check it out.

Photos from A Time to Dance (and a special 2-for-1 offer!)

"Her dance was as varied as her vocalizations and the story rich and captivating from beginning to end. Touchingly telling the tale of this remarkable pioneer of 1930's modern dance and innovator of dance therapy, Libby followed Lisl life from Vienna across Europe escaping Nazis to poverty then fame in New York City. Libby was beautiful throughout bringing the heart, sadness and promise of an era to the little theatre with her remarkable art." -William Hay

(Photos of Libby Skala by Damon Calderwood. Ms. Skala appears with permission of CAEA)

I do have a special 2-for-1 ticket offer available for the next two days. Just call the box office (604-731-5518) and say that it's "A Time for Tickets". Simple. See you all at the show!

The "To See" List: April

I'm finding that I'm seeing an average of seven shows a month. That's almost two a week and when I have my own shows usually running four days a week it can get pretty crazy to try to schedule it all in. So I start early. Usually I start tracking what I plan to see each month a week before the month starts. Here's my list of shows I want to see in April. April is a bit of an anomoly in my world for two reasons. The first reason is that I am on in performances for seven nights out of the whole month - the rest of the month is rehearsals for the upcoming production of You Still Can't at Pacific Theatre. The second reason is that I'm going away for a week to visit my parents, so I won't be able to see anything during that time (there is nothing playing at their local community theatre!).

That said, here is my list of shows I want to and/or am planning to see in April. The list will likely evolve as I hear of additional shows and/or run into scheduling conflicts:

Studies In Motion: The Hauntings of Eadweard Muybridge (Electric Theatre Co at Vancouver Playhouse)
The Secret World of Og (Carousel Theatre)
Stop Kiss (Secretly Women)
Ernestine Shushwap Gets Her Trout (Firehall Arts Center)
Invention of Love (United Players)
LifeSavers (Ruby Slippers)
The Zoo Story (Itsazoo)

World Theatre Day Live Tweet of A Time To Dance

Last night, in honor of World Theatre Day, I did a live tweet of my current show, A Time to Dance.

SMLois: Half Hour Call #ATTD #wtd

SMLois: Just checked in with Box Office - have quite a full house tonight, many are taking advantage of #wtd 2-for-1 special! #ATTD

SMLois: Five minute call everyone #WTD #ATTD

SMLois: Places everyone! #ATTD #wtd

SMLois: Curtain is up - first dance/monologue is underway #ATTD #WTD

SMLois: Stand-by LX7 #ATTD #WTD

SMLois: LX7 Go #ATTD #WTD

SMLois: "It was a nuisence child because you wouldn't die" The audience loves that line. #ATTD #WTD

SMLois: The interesting thing about this show is that all of the sound cues are manual - usually the shows are programmed into a computer #ATTD #WTD

SMLois: We have a very special audience member tonight. There is a guide dog in training sitting in his trainers lap. #ATTD #WTD

SMLois: Such a great audience tonight! Must be the #WTD spirit wearing off on them! #ATTD

SMLois: "Attraction isn't necessarily because you love somebody. Attraction can be because somebody loves YOU." #ATTD #WTD

SMLois: I love that the audience gets the show - it's set in WWII Austria but has a lot of lightness to it. I love their laughter #WTD #ATTD

SMLois: We're into my favorite lx cue of the show (LX 23). It's very low light with saturated blue break up. I'm a sucker for saturation #ATTD #WTD

SMLois: Crazy Maracca dance! & jumping jacks! & stretching! & sit ups! This play is very fun. #ATTD #WTD

SMLois: We have a talk back after the show tonight. I'm now taking bets on what the first question will be. #ATTD #WTD

SMLois: We're about 7 min to the end of the play. It's a short, sweet piece. Then I get to go collect money for theatre cares week! #ATTD #WTD

SMLois: Stand by black out & sound fade out #ATTD #WTD

SMLois: Black out and music fade go! Back after I collect money! #ATTD #WTD

What I'm Working on - A Time To Dance

My current show opened at Pacific Theatre last Thursday, but in the midst of getting it up and running I didn't have a chance to get anything on my blog about it. Because it was already an established show, we rehearsed it for our space, teched it, and opened all in one week. It's been a busy week.

So better late than never, right?

The show is A Time To Dance, written and performed by Libby Skala. Based on the life of Libby's great-aunt Lisl, the play mixes theatre with modern dance against the backdrop of the rise of the Nazis in Austria.

People who have seen the show are saying lovely things about it.

"Her dance was as varied as her vocalizations and the story rich and captivating from beginning to end. Touchingly telling the tale of this remarkable pioneer of 1930's modern dance and innovator of dance therapy, Libby followed Lisl life from Vienna across Europe escaping Nazis to poverty then fame in New York City. Libby was beautiful throughout bringing the heart, sadness and promise of an era to the little theatre with her remarkable art." - William Hay

"Chriswalts: Saw "A Time to Dance" at Pacific Theatre last night. Great one woman show-highly recommend you catch it if you get a chance!"

The show runs until April 4th & more information can be found at www.pacifictheatre.org.

If you are still looking for ways to celebrate World Theatre Day this Friday, why not come down, see the show, & join us for a post show talk-back! Tickets are 2-for-1 and afterwards you can join me in heading down to The Other Space for the official World Theatre Day afterparty. If you can't join us at the theate, follow me on twitter and watch the live tweet of the show!

Dancing, Planning, & Irish (Oh my!)

Monday was a very theatrical day. I spent most of my day in rehearsal for A Time To Dance which opens at Pacific Theatre on Thursday night. It's a one-woman show about one of the pioneers of dance therapy and is quite lovely. I'll post some pictures up here as soon as the photo shoot happens.

After rehearsal I ran off to the Vancouver World Theatre Day meeting where Simon, Rebecca, Trilby and I began to plan our attack on the World Theatre Day events in Vancouver. Some highlights: Rebecca and I will be hitting a local panel event this Sunday (March 22nd) that kicks off Vancouver's full week of events. On Friday, the actual World Theatre Day, I'll be in the booth at A Time To Dance, where we are offering buy 1, get 1 free tickets & are hosting a talkback after the show. After my show I'm headed down to The Other Space for the World Theatre Day Club where I'll meet up with Simon and we'll celebrate with everyone present. Finally, on Sunday the 29th Trilby, Rebecca and I will be heading to "My First Time: The Tour" which is an evening of anecdotes and scenes as well as a reception and silent auction.

When I left that meeting, I hopped a bus over to the Havana Theatre to assist with front of house for Under The Hawthorne Tree (see facebook event here). This brand-new Irish musical was the perfect St. Paddy's Day fit. In it's first production (a co-op) which runs until this Saturday, March 21st, Under the Hawthorne Tree has both strong & weaker moments. It runs about two and a half hours and could probably do with loosing about 15 or 20 minutes, but the music is lovely & the adaptor/director Mary Clark has done a good job with the show for a first production. I would be quite interested in seeing a production again after another round of edits and with a fully professional cast.

I will say that I was very impressed by the graduates of the CapU Musical Theatre program. I have never seen a show at Cap, but judging from this production which had a large number of grads in its cast, the school is doing a great job of training them in singing, movement & acting. I've put it on my list to head up there and catch one of their shows this year.

Ambiguity or the Lack Thereof

Please note :: This blog post will contain spoilers for the ending of East of Berlin. If you haven't seen the play and don't want to know how it ends, stop reading now.

I went and saw East of Berlin tonight. It is produced by Tarragon Theatre, presented by Touchstone Theatre, performing at the Firehall Arts Centre as a part of the Chutzpah Festival.

The Touchstone Theatre website describes it like this:

Rudi has grown up in Paraguay, blissfully ignorant of his father’s past. When he discovers the awful truth, he tries to atone for his father’s appalling acts. Can love heal what history has so brutally torn asunder? Or will the horrors of the past haunt him forever? East of Berlin is a stirring and absolutely essential meditation on the psychological legacy of the Holocaust, brought to life in a stunning production from one of Canada’s most respected and consistently innovative theatres.

The show is very strong. The script is well crafted. The lead actor gives a mannered, but solid performance. The lighting design is haunting. The directing was to the point. The actress was fascinating to watch. The sound design had only one troubling choice (the use of "One is the Loneliest Number" both underscoring a sex scene and repeated as curtain call). I wasn't thrilled with the secondary actor (I found him a bit robotic), but I was still ready to come home and write about how strong the show was until the final scene.

When Rudi, who has returned home to face his father, pulls out a gun, my first thought was "Oh god, please don't go the route of the cliche and have him commit suicide." Then he started talking as though he was going to kill his father and I thought "please have it end with him just walking through the door, the sound of it slamming and the blackout. Let us discuss among ourselves what happens. Make us think." But they didn't. And in the plays final moment, stagier than any other point, Rudi opens the door and puts the gun to his head & we went to black.

I felt ripped off. I wanted the ambiguity. The ambiguity would have left me questioning just what his grief and guilt had driven him to, or whether he was capable of forgiving himself & his father. Instead I was told exactly how things were and it didn't work for me.

I love ambiguity in theatre. I love it when I can walk out the door and talk to the person who I've seen the show with and we each have a different interpretation of what happened in the end. That was my experience after reading Doubt by John Patrick Shanley. A couple of friends had also read it and we each had different interpretations of what had happened - whether or not Father Flynn was guilty (an experience that was unfortunately NOT repeated at the Arts' Club production in fall). A lot of my favourite plays are ones where you leave uncertain & asking questions.

After all, if theatre doesn't exist to ask questions of you and force you to ask them of yourself, what good is it?

Wandering Mind

There are lots of things on my mind that I'd love to blog about in detail, but haven't had time to, so here are some snippets of what I'm thinking about:

1 - World Theatre Day

World Theatre Day is March 27 & this year the international theatre community is getting together to celebrate.  How do we intend to do this you may ask? Well just check out the World Theatre Day 2009 Blog for more info.

2 - Fundraising Letters

In the past week I've received letters from both the Playhouse Theatre Company & the PuSh International Performing Arts festival asking me for money.  I don't have any to give, but if I did it would have gone to PuSh. Why? The extra effort to put a handwritten note thanking me for volunteering was a good start, but my decision was confirmed when the Playhouse called me yesterday following up on my attendance of The Drowsy Chaperone & asking for a donation.  Only one problem: I never saw The Drowsy Chaperone.

3 - Provincial Arts Cuts

My friend Jackie graduated with a theatre degree at the same time I did and now works with a local dance company and earlier today sent me the following e-mail:

"Well in case you needed another reason to contemplate the increasing incidence of "Gordon Campbell" sounding like a swear word. Follow this link to see what he has done to the arts. Health-care, education, and the arts -- hmmm and yet he's still smiling at all the olympic venue openings right now, perhaps he has no need of hospitals-schools-or theatres, after all those things cater to organs he might have misplaced -- like a heart and a brain. "

4 - Shows I Plan to See or Have Just Seen

I went to the PWYC matinee of Whale Riding Weather today at the PAL theatre.  If you haven't yet gone, I'd highly recommend it.  Allan Morgan, who I most recently saw as Prospero in The Tempest at Bard, is brilliant as Lyle and both Jeff Gladstone & Jon Lachlan Stewart give strong performances as well.

On my to-see list for the next month: 

- East of Berlin (Touchstone/Tarragon @ Firehall Arts Center)

- Coriolanus (Coriolanus Co-op @ Jericho Arts Center)

- Beggars in the House of Plenty (Evolving Arts Collective @ The Beaumont Stage)

- Summer of My Amazing Luck (Gateway Theatre Co)

- And also (hopefully) Rigoletto (Vancouver Opera @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre)

If you have any shows to recommend, please do!

Were YOU at Club PuSh tonight?

Club PuSh is my new favourite thing about the PuSh Festival.

Tonight was opening night for Club PuSh - a bar/cabaret/theatre/music event that will be running every night for the next week and a half. And it's great. The energy in the building is unmistakable as friends drink, discuss PuSh shows they've seen in the last week, & wonder what exactly they've come to see. The room is a veritable list of Vancouver theatre folk: actors, directors, critics, technicians, administrators & volunteers. I saw many familiar faces both from my own previous projects, but also people who I have never met but only seen on stage.


Tonight's two acts were widely varied. The opener, The Be(A)st of Taylor Mac was a drag-queen comedian with a hint of ukelele. She had the audience roaring with laugher as she laid down her 2 fundamental rules for her show:

#1 - Comparision is terror. Do not compare the show to anything else.
#2 - Chatty Catty's are welcome, but will be forced to join the show in a drag outfit.

(Left: Taylor Mac. Photo by Simon Phillips)

The second act, The Awkward Stage is a local band that despite the sound technician's desire to deaffen most of the audience, were very fun and talented.

Both of these performers are back tomorrow night and I highly recommend attending. Swing by after whatever show you see and grab a drink or simply enjoy the buzz. I'll be back on Thursday, Friday, & Saturday nights selling drink tickets and pointing out seats. Come say hi!

PuShing in Busy Season

Theatre seems to have its slow times (read: the past 3 weeks) and its busy times (read: the next 3 weeks).

Starting Monday, the PuSh festival rolls into town with its diverse, international offerings. This is my third year as a volunteer for the festival and I always look forward to seeing a number of shows. On my calendar for this year:

1. Siren (UK) - A music/performance piece that looks at the relationship betwen light & sound.
2. Skydive (Vancouver) - My second time seeing this award-winning play that makes a quadriplegic man fly.
3. Nanay: A testimonial play (Vancouver) - Exploring live-in care-giving, this local play was written in collaboration with the Phillipine Women Center.
4. Five Days in March (Tokyo) - In Japanese with English surtitles, I think this play will either fly or flop - not sure which, but I'm curious to find out.
5. Assembly (Vancouver) - Won critics choice, but more importantly a mentor said that it was worth seeing. Reason enough to see it, yes?

Also, for my volunteer postition I'll be working at Club PuSh January 27, 29, 30 & 31 as an usher/ticket taker, so if you pop in, come and say "hi!" I'll be the one with the name tag that says "Lois" on it.

As well as the PuSh Festival, the Vancouver Playhouse just opened Miss Julie: Freedom Summer. I saw a preview earlier this week and after a year or two away from the Playhouse I was pleasantly surprised. Often I am enthralled by their production elements, but walk away feeling like the show has missed the mark in a lot of other ways, but this time (despite a few minor things) the production felt very coherent, and all of the elements - acting, directing, design - felt like they were at the same, high level. It's certainly worth checking out.

On smaller stages there is Squidamisu's production of Shocker's Delight! at the Beaumont Studios. I worked on a production of this a few years ago and had forgotten just how sharp & funny the script was.

Sidebar: I had never been inside the Beaumont Studios before tonight, but their 65-seat theatre is a treat. For a city that is really struggling to find performance space, this is a GREAT option for companies that are just getting established and would like a little more flexibility than the Havana. Though I'm told by the actors that the only way to get from stage left to stage right without crossing the stage is to run around the building!

Also, the school's are opening their first spring term shows in the next couple of weeks. I have tickets to see Bye Bye Birdie at Studio 58 & Medea at UBC. I am looking forward to both of them. I think Cap University is opening 1949 as well, but I rarely make it out to where they are. At some point I'll do something about that.

On the community theatre front, There Came a Gypsy Riding opens at the Jericho Arts center next week.

I go back into rehearsals on Monday, so it's a busy time, but getting out there and supporting the rest of the artistic community is important. If I can't make time to go and see someone else's show, how can I expect them to have the time to come and see mine?

Carousel Theatre's Seussical is a Real Treat For Young & Young at Heart

Left: Gertrude McFuzz (Alison MacDonald) and The Cat in the Hat (Jeremy Lowe) battle it out in Carousel Theatre's SEUSSICAL: THE MUSICAL. Photo by Tim Matheson

Working full time in theatre means that it is rare for me to have to the time to make it out to see the work that other companies are doing, even if I want to. Last year, when Carousel Theatre staged Seussical: The Musical I wanted to attend, but being in the midst of my own work I couldn't seem to make the time. And I regretted it each time I thought about it (or was told how great it was).

When I first hear that they were doing a remount this year, I told myself that I had to make sure to go, but I kept putting it off. Luckily for me, my roommate kicked my butt into gear with a glowing review of the show, and I quickly bought myself a ticket for the only performance that fit within my show schedule. I am so glad that I did.

I arrived at the theatre and the first thing I saw was a pair of small children - aged three and five - who were asking their grandmother how many minutes it would be until the play started. Every minute. (For those who are suggesting that theatre audiences are dying off [literally!], I would say that these children are the future and we need to do whatever we can to keep them that excited to see a play.)

I took great pleasure in eavesdropping on the children sitting around me as I thumbed through my program. The excitement in their voices as they slowly noticed things on the set & the sense of wonder at what they were about to see:

"Look Nana - did you see the flowers along the front of the stage?! I bet they're the clovers!"

"I see the hat! The hat for the cat in the hat! I see it! Do you?!"

"There's smoke in front of that light. That's cuz someone is smoking in the theatre, but I don't see them." (Really it was a hazer, but hey - the kid's quite observant.)

As the houselights dimmed, the room buzzed with excitement. And I found myself wishing I'd had the same opportunities as a kid to see professional theatre. (Though I thought the local high school was AMAZING & looked forward to each production they did that allowed kids to attend.)

For those who don't know what Seussical is about, the program describes it like this:

Our Master of Ceremonies, The Cat in the Hat, pops up and narrates our story from every which way! The play follows Horton the Elephant as he begins a quest to save the people of Whoville, who happen to live on a tiny speck of dust that is floating uncontrollably through the air! Horton befriends and protects the tiny Whos on a clover, even though his Jungle of Nool neighbours think he's crazy. Even more trouble arises when Horton is given an unexpected task - the biggest task of all!

The cast, which includes Allan Zinyk as Horton the Elephant, Alison MacDonald as Gertrude McFuzz, Jeremy Lowe as The Cat in the Hat, and 10 year old Brian Riback as JoJo (a who-boy who thinks really big thinks!), was fantastic. In the large opening number"Oh The Thinks You Can Think" as they all sang and danced, I knew I was going to enjoy myself becuase I was in good hands.

One of the things that I loved about the production were the costumes for the animals in the Jungle of Nool. Rather than trying to create realistic animal costumes, designer Barbara Clayden uses slightly altered modern clothing to give us a feel for the animals. For example, Sour Kangaroo's ears are created by the way a bandanna was tied on her head & Horton's elephant ears are the flaps on his toque.

My favourite moment in the play was when Horton the Elephant and JoJo sing their duet, Alone in the Universe. They each discover a friend for the first time & the stars in the sky twinkle. And boy, can they both sing!

I won't give away the ending, but suffice to say, Seussical is a feel good treat for the whole family, especially children, or children at heart.

Seussical: The Musical runs at the Waterfront Theatre until January 3. Tickets at www.ticketmaster.ca or by phone at 604-685-6217.

Right: Horton hears the Whos! (The Company).
Carousel Theatre's SEUSSICAL: THE MUSICAL.
Photo by Tim Matheson

PuShing onto the Scene

Five years ago the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival burst onto the scene in Vancouver and has quickly become one of the most anticipated festivals of the year.

Running for two and a half weeks beginning January 20th, it boasts work from as far away as Japan & New Zealand while still promoting shows from right here in Vancouver. Some of the shows have been very successful internationally while others have been commissioned especially for the festival.

With a line up that includes dance, theatre, music, film as well as performances that defy categorization, it provides something for everyone whether they are regular patrons of the arts or not. This year they've added Club PuSh, a miniature fringe festival with lots of live music, one-man shows, miniature musicals and multiple performances each night.

As we approach the festival I will be writing previews of the various shows and once the festival is up and running I will be providing reviews of as many of the shows as I can make it out to.

But now, a little over a month before the festival begins, I'd like to encourage you to volunteer. This will be my third year as a volunteer with the PuSh festival and I highly recommend getting involved. For those of you who are involved in the arts, this is a great opportunity to support other artists in the community, as well as meeting a number of other artists. For those of you who just love the arts, the PuSh festival provides complimentary tickets to shows for every four hours of volunteering that you do.

I have worked as an usher, I have poured wine for opening night receptions, I have sat at information booths for art installations, & I have driven to the airport to pick up artists. Again this year they are looking for people to volunteer in all of those capacities as well as others.

If you are interested in volunteering, please read the volunteer job descriptions for more information and then fill out the volunteer registration form.

The registration deadline is December 19th, so register now, before it's too late!

Three Shows To See This Month (+ One to See Every Night)

It seems that this December the Vancouver theatre scene is full of remounts, musicals, musical remounts, pantomimes, and little else.

The Arts Club has brought back This Wonderful Life and Beauty & The Beast which have been huge hits for them. Carousel has back Seussical the Musical. The Playhouse is doing The Drowsy Chaperone. Gateway's choice is Guys & Dolls. And outside of those, there are only a few other shows still running in the city.

So this is my December list of shows I intend to see. Don't know if I'll make it to them all with my work schedule this month (I am down to only 6 days off left this month and I'm away for 3 of them), but here they are:

Seussical the Musical.
I didn't make it to this show last year because of work, but my roommate saw it and told me that I needed to go and see it. And lucky for me they have Sunday afternoon shows, so I have a ticket for next weekend and am looking forward to sitting and being entertained for an hour or two :). It's not that I don't like musicals, its just that usually I want to leave the theatre asking myself lots of questions (if I just want pure entertainment I often choose something cheaper than theatre....which is a little silly, but that's a whole additional post). But I am looking forward to seeing this and being purely entertained. I am seeing it in the midst of a two week period with no days off, so I will see it before my own evening show and it will be nice to just sit and enjoy!

The Sweetest Swing in Baseball
Playing at the Beaumont, this play about the New York art scene & faking multiple personality disorder interests me, and its only $20, so I'm hoping to check it out. Also, I don't think I've ever been inside the Beaumont and something about that just feels wrong.

Confessions of a Paper Boy
The first show in the Vancouver East Cultural Center's Kids series, this play about a paperboy who hears the voice of God. It's a short run, but a great opportunity to see the new studio space at the Cultch as well as a show that I think has the potential to be really interesting. Hopefully I'll be able to see this on Tuesday night. Anyone want to come with me?

And one to see every night:
Jesus, My Boy
The Christmas story according to the Step-Father of the Son of God - a comedy with live music that I'm still enjoying after seeing it 15 times. I'll look forward to the next 15!