An Unidentified Production

Bands for Bomb-itty

2012-01-26T16:13:00.000-08:00

Well, February will be upon us next week (!) and with it comes an exciting event in support of our first show of the 2012 season, The Bomb-itty of Errors.

The young lads, Mr. Jameson Parker & Mr. Brian Cochrane, of Temporary Thing (a new small indie theatre company in town) have put together a great night of music with local Vancouver musician and solo artist Dominique Fricot and Victoria-based band Sunday Buckets. Sounds pretty great, huh?!

When is it?: WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2012 at 8pm

Where?!: ELECTRIC OWL (928 Main Street)

How much?! TICKETS $15. Call 778.686.3964. Or you can get them off any cast or crew member (Yes, that includes me). Or you will also be able to buy them at the door on the night.

Here's a little sampling of what you might expect to hear on the night:

Dominique Fricot - Seashore

Sunday Buckets - Don't Shoot

Awesome, right?! So come on out and share in some live music with the cast & crew and all proceeds going towards The Bomb-itty of Errors.

See you there!!

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

PuSh 2012: Opening Gala (Live Blog)

2012-01-17T17:28:00.000-08:00

Tonight is the night! It's the Opening Gala of the PuSh Festival here in Vancouver and we're taking over the Waldorf Hotel. According to the website it's going to be "a veritable buffet of creativity... and will be packed with live music, video projections, spontaneous performances, and surprise guests". Ooohhh, sounds exciting, so let's get this thing started...

9:58pm - Sitting in the Hideaway lounge. Nita Bowerman is dancing. This lounge is inspired by Dances for a Small Stage.

10:07pm - Now we've got Barbara Kozicki dancing with red lights.

10:18pm - We're having a Native Dance Lesson with Nyla Carpentier. I love the interaction feature. So much fun. It's packed in here. Come find me and say "hi!".

10:27pm - I'm now in the Cabaret room waiting for the Opening Speeches to start. Keri Adams from CTV is hosting.

10:33pm - Heather Deal, deputy Mayor, just finished speaking. Now Norman Armour is up.

10:39pm - The crazy is starting with Charlie Demers and Ryan Beil! Woohoo!

11:29pm - Okay, sorry took a drink break and it lasted almost an hour!! I got lost in the Tiki lounge!! But I'm back now and you can come make a button at the button making station in the Hideaway lounge:

And, while I was taking my drink break I was still being productive. Up in the Tiki lounge you can take fun photos at the Photobooth by Picstar:

11:47pm - Alright folks that's it for me but you can keep partying here until 2am at the Tiki Lounge:

Or The Cabaret:

Or The Hideaway:

Happy Opening Push Festival!! Thanks for all the fun.

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

Sharing Our Stories

2012-01-14T14:02:00.000-08:00

It has now been 24 hours and I think now I am ready to hopefully gather my words enough to write about The Electric Company’s incredibly beautiful production of All the Way Home. This production had a profound impact on me. And, for nearly 24 hours I’m not sure I could really figure out why. It was a very emotional experience and sometimes it takes me awhile to process those things.

We live in a precarious time. Over the past couple of weeks since I have been home I have seen two movies, "Young Adult" and "Shame", that have left me deeply unsettled. They are both movies whose characters are in their 30’s. These characters live lonely & isolated lives. Their world’s are empty and void. They have no sense of meaning or purpose. No sense of connection. Both characters struggle to reach out and yet never succeed.

If these are the stories of our lives and our world - and particularly my generation - I find this deeply disturbing. Is that really what we have become?! Are we really a generation of young people who are completely disconnected from each other and from ourselves?! Are we really so afraid to reach out to each other?! To share our stories?! To share our imperfections?! If this is true, it makes me profoundly sad.

And, to be quite frank, I am sick to death of these stories. I want to see and hear stories that celebrate life in all “it’s beauty… and all it’s sorrows” because “that’s simply what living is” (to quote Kim Collier in her director’s notes from the program). This is not to say that everything I see and hear has to be all rainbows and butterflies. No, life is filled with both love and loss as All the Way Home so magnificently shows us. You can’t have one without the other and together love and loss are the very things that make our stories great.

Yet, right now we seem to live in a world that prides itself on the ability to go it alone and a society that perpetuates fear. A fear of sharing our stories. Because if other people see our imperfections then what?! We won’t be seen as strong. As successful. As what?! I’m really very curious to know what we’re all so afraid of. Because every single person has a story to share. A story that makes them who they are. And, I think, it is high time we get back to the very basic human need of connection or, in other words, sharing our stories.

So, to come back to All the Way Home, I think this is why it had such a profound impact on me because it is a simple story of one family who goes through incredible loss but endures with love. And, we as the audience were given the opportunity to share this story with them. We were even invited in to sit amongst them, to feel their pain and to laugh along with them. When Jay Follett (Jonathan Young) sang and danced with his wife and son I could feel his joy and when Mary Follet (Meg Roe) crumbled to the ground with tears I could feel her pain. So could every other audience member and together we could collectively feel the love and loss that spread throughout the room connecting both actors and audience. When they laughed, we laughed with them and when they cried, we cried with them.

This is an incredible thing to experience at any time. But I feel it is particularly incredible at such a precarious time in our society when we seem so disconnected from each other. When the stories we are telling ourselves are stories of isolation. Of people struggling alone. These are not the stories we need to see and hear. We need stories and experiences like All the Way Home to remind us to reach out to each other. To let people in to share our burdens and to share our joys.

It was an experience I will never forget. And, it is without a doubt one of the best theatre experiences I have ever had. So, I just want to end this post, by saying thank you to the Electric Company for sharing All the Way Home with us and particularly thank you for reminding us what truly matters.

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

PuSh 2012: Preview

2012-01-11T14:52:00.000-08:00

And, now onwards with 2012! This year I’m back again doing some blogging for the PuSh Festival. And, since the PuSh Festival is described as an international festival this year – having just done some traveling myself – I thought we’d pull out the passport and see where the PuSh Festival is going to take us this year:

Let’s start here in Vancouver with Do You Want What I Have Got? A Craigslist Cantata starting January 19th at the Arts Club Revue Stage – I honestly can’t imagine anything more fun than taking some of the craziest ads you’ve ever seen on Craigslist and putting them to music. It originally debuted as part of Twenty-Minute Musicals during Club PuSh in 2009 and is back with an 80-minute premiere version. Written by Bill Richardson (local award-winning writer and broadcaster) and Veda Hille (indie singer-songwriter who wrote the music to Peter Panties that was part of the 2011 PuSh Festival) the production features songs with titles such as “300 Stuffed Penguins” and “Decapitated Dolls”. You really can get anything on Craigslist, can’t you?!

Then the next day, starting January 20th, out at the Frederic Wood Theatre you can travel to Russia with Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot – The award winning team of James Fagan Tait and Joelysa Pankanea are back at it again after they brought Vancouver audiences Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment during the 2005 PuSh Festival. This time rather than exploring the plight of a young man who formulates and executes a plan to murder a miserable old pawnbroker Dostoyevsky is exploring the plight of young man who returns to society after being locked in the looney bin for 6 years and finds himself caught between a kept woman and a young ingénue. Oh, those Russians, so epic.

After that maybe you’d like to take a trip to Spain. The Chan Centre is presenting for one night only on January 21st Soledad Barrio and Noche Flamenca – Described as Spain’s most treasured flamenco group, they are hailed for their “raw and deeply emotional performances of virtuosic guitar, cathartic song and spectacular dance”. Check out this video:

Ole! is right!! Uh, yes please. Can I move to Spain now?!

Or, maybe you’d prefer Japan. Starting on January 26th you’ve got Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner, and the Farewell Speech at SFU Woodward’s – This show is described as a piece that explores the subtext of professional office etiquette, water cooler gossip and corporate culture using deadpan dialogue in combination with brilliant choreography. Each three scenes speak to the dark humour and despair of a generation that had been promised a brilliant future only to end up ensnared in fluorescent cubicles. Hmmm…I think that pretty much just described 90% of my generation.

Coming back to Canada on February 1st, and always a fun time, you can check out Dances for a Small Stage 25 at The Legion on the Drive – Canada’s hottest dance artists take on the signature ‘small’ 10-by-13 foot stage to create original works that “crackle with personality, individuality, and humour”.

Finally after all that traveling from Canada to Russia to Spain to Japan and back to Canada again, you’re going to be famished. So, starting on January 25th, you can end your PuSh Festival travels at Eat the Street taking place at various restaurants in Gastown and surrounding neighbourhoods – From what I gather from the description a group of kids in grades 5 and 6, after being educated by a professional chef on the art of dining, will make stops at several of the city’s most notable eateries and then be asked to give their “brutually honest, uncensored opinions on the food, the service, the décor, the state of the washrooms and the charm of the dishwasher”. All you have to do is show up, order some food and wait for the shenanigans to begin. Just a word of caution: you may blow your beverage through your nose if you laugh too hard whilst drinking.

This is just a small sample of what’s on offer at this year’s PuSh Festival. You can also travel to Amsterdam, Auckland, Beirut, London and Mexico City. All the details on specific productions and how to purchase your tickets or passes is available on their website: http://pushfestival.ca

And, I’ll be live blogging from the PuSh Opening Gala on January 17th so stayed tuned for all of that fun stuff.

Enjoy your travels!

~Sabrina Evertt,
Artistic Producer

(All images courtesy of the Push Festival)

2011: Year in Review

2012-01-06T16:16:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! I’ve slowly re-introduced myself back into the world of work and now after some adjustment (okay, a lot) I’m ready to get on with 2012. But, before I do that, I will take a look back to 2011. Every year since I started this blog I’ve written a summary of the shows that made an impact on me. It is a personal list. I obviously don’t see everything in this city (I’m no Lois Dawson) so my top theatre moments of 2011 are in no way definitive. I say this also because I’ve now had a chance to see what’s on everyone else’s “Top of 2011 list” and I can’t help but notice that mine are a little different than most but they’re mine nevertheless. So here we go (in no particular order):

Death of A Salesman at the Vancouver Playhouse – This was in my opinion by far one of the best production I saw last year from the large theatres in Vancouver. Tom McBeath’s performance as Willy Loman was incredible. And, the rest of the cast from Donna Belleville to Bob Frazer to Kevin James to the rest of the supporting cast were all equally as great. To leave the theatre feeling as though every actor on stage was performing to 110% of their capabilities is a rare and wonderful thing.

Jake’s Gift produced by Juno Productions at Pacific Theatre – I know I am slightly behind the times here because Jake’s Gift has been touring the country since 2007 but this was absolutely, without a doubt, a highlight of my theatre-going year. Julia Mackey’s one-woman performance about WWII and the 60th Anniversary of D-Day was astounding. It is very rare for me to be so moved by a performance that I find myself wiping away tears at the end. She made me laugh and broke my heart all at the same time.

Re:Union at Pacific Theatre co-production with Horseshoes & Handgrenades – Where do I even begin?! The script?! The acting?! The seamless integration of technology into the story and the design?! This was Sean Devine’s first play. I can’t even begin to fathom the amount of research and dedication that went into writing this play. Incredible. All 3 actors were phenomenal but I was particularly astounded by Andrew Wheeler and Evan Frayne (who once again demonstrated why he won the Sam Payne Award for Most Promising Newcomer at this year’s Jessie’s). Speaking of rare things, it is extremely rare to find technology, story and design so well integrated. Often the story will be sacrificed in the pursuit of new and interesting ways to integrate technology into theatrical productions but it makes me incredibly happy to see a production where both can be accomplished. And, accomplished well. Beyond well. Brilliantly, actually.

The Penelopiad at The Arts Club – I love going to the theatre and seeing a production that could never be anything else but theatre. This show was by every definition “theatrical”. The design, the direction, the music… This is why I go to the theatre. Meg Roe absolutely never fails to blow my mind. She was once again outstanding as Penelope, wife of Odysseus. Her quiet grace is mind-boggling. I could watch her read the dictionary. No joke. Add to that, the rest of the 11 amazing women who rounded out this cast. More rarities – it is without a doubt an incredibly rare thing to see a play written by a woman, directed by a woman with an all female cast of 12. Amazing.

Jesus Hopped the ‘A” Train produced by Glass City Theatre at Pacific Theatre – Ok, so normally I don’t even think to include shows that I have personally worked on. I just feel as though I have a certain bias or can’t be objective or something; however, this year I’m going to break my rule and include this production. Because clearly I’m not the only the one who thinks this was one of the best production last year since Gayvancouver.net recently made it their #1 pick for 2011 and back in June it won the Jessie for Outstanding Production. It was absolutely by far one of the best production I saw in Vancouver this year if not in the last couple of years. And, it just so happens that it was also my honour and priviledge to have worked with all the crazy talented people on this production including Rob Olguin (who won the Jessie for Outstanding Performance by a Actor in a Lead Role), Carl Kennedy (who was nominated for the Jessie for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Lead Role), Evan Frayne (who I already mentioned won the Sam Payne Award for Most Promising Newcomer), Andrew McNee, Kerri Norris, Itai Erdal (who won the Jessie for Outstanding Lighting Design) and last-but-absolutely-and-certainly-not-least Angela Konrad (who was nominated for Outstanding Direction).

And, there you have it folks. The Top 5 theatre experiences that made the most impact on me. It was a great year. And, we are so blessed to have such great artists and theatre in this city. I can’t wait to see what 2012 has in store for us!!

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

General Auditions 2012

2011-12-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

Well, it's that time of year again! It's General Audition time for us here at 20-Something. Details are as follows:

AUDITION DATES: Sunday, January 22nd, 10am-6pm & Tuesday, January 24th, 6-10pm

AUDITION LOCATION: Alliance for Arts & Culture, 100-938 Howe Street

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Friday, January 6th, 2012

PERTINENT INFO:

Please prepare 2 contrasting contemporary monologues (ie. 1 comedic and 1 dramatic) no more than 2 minutes in length max.

Auditions are open to both Non-Equity and Equity Actors. Equity actors engaged during our 2012 Season will be signed to a Guest Artist contract.

Please note: We will not be holding auditions for individual productions. These are the only public auditions we will be holding for our 2012 season.

For more information on our 2012 season click here.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:

Please send a cover letter with current contact information, a resume & a headshot to auditions@twentysomethingtheatre.com. No phone calls please.

In your cover letter please state why you are interested in working with Twenty Something Theatre and a brief overview of your recent work including any experience you have working on new play development.

You will be contacted AFTER the deadline has passed with a time slot. Please DO NOT send duplicate submissions. We thank all applicants for their submissions however only those selected to audition will be given a time slot.

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Our 2011 General Auditions last year were a breeze thanks to my new hard-ass rules. These rules remain in effect this year and from here on out. For those guidelines click here and here.

I've written quite extensively on auditioning on this blog so for some other friendly auditioning advice you can read my thoughts here and here.

This year I am actually really looking forward to our 2012 General Auditions and seeing all the wonderful talent this city has to offer. Actors, I'm looking at you, and I have faith you can and will show me once again just how awesome you all can be. I 100% expect that it will once again be a breeze.

Good luck to you all!

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

Happy Holidays!

2011-11-28T18:30:00.000-08:00

I know it's still November but I'm off tomorrow to South America until after Christmas so this is my last opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and happy holiday season!!

I am going off the grid and completely incommunicado until after the New Year. This means not only will I not be blogging but I also won't be on twitter or facebook. I'm not even taking my laptop OR my iphone. Holy crap! I'm having a panic attack just thinking about it. But, it is really going to be the best thing. A self-imposed complete break from reality is just what the doctor has ordered. This has been quite the year!

As I already mentioned in my post "What A Year (or season)!" this year has been huge for Twenty Something but it has also been an amazing year for me as a designer. I had the amazing opportunity to work on 3 great projects. It all started in March with a little production you may have heard of called Jesus Hopped the "A" Train. I could talk all day about this project and still never quite convey how grateful I am to have had the opportunity to work on that production. Not only because it was an incredible production but because I got to form some amazing artistic relationships with some great people. This is the true gift of Jesus Hopped the "A" Train.

Then 5 months later I got to do it all again with on Romeo + Juliet:

Then next it was on to Vimy at the Firehall Arts Centre:

Plus on top of all this I put together Twenty Something's hugely successful Cabaret show Under the Influence, guest directed another Cabaret show for the True Heroines and directed Red Mitts at the BC Buds.

So, yeah, it's been a busy year, to say the least. And, I've said this a lot recently but I am so beyond grateful it's ridiculous. As I said recently in a facebook status "Sometimes I have to pinch myself and ask "how is this my life?!". This is a very, very good thing."

A very, very good thing indeed. So thank you again (and again and again...because apparently I can't say it enough) to all of you who made this year the incredible year it has been. So, all I have left to say is:

Here's to 2012, more of the same and may it be the best year yet! Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year!!

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

Changing Our Perspectives

2011-11-13T09:18:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to my soapbox. I haven’t been up on here for awhile. Mostly I’ve been blogging about the shows we’ve been working on or the process of how we put those shows together. But there has been some heated dialogue happening here in the Vancouver theatroblogosphere and that in combination with a few other events have had me pondering a few things as of late. And, for me, I guess what it all boils down to is that I think it’s high time we all had a change of perspective.

Almost 2 years ago I started to change my own personal perspective when it came to my theatre career. Prior to that point I looked at everything from a perspective of lack: what I didn’t have, the goals I hadn’t reached, the jobs I wasn’t getting, etc. Then I started practicing a little something called gratitude. And, it changed my life.

And, I know that sounds all new age-y and like I’ve joined an Oprah Winfrey cult or something but it’s absolutely the truth and I believe it 100%. If I could give every person in the world one gift it would be gratitude. It’s not just about saying “thank you” it's a way of living your life.

So, instead of looking at my theatre career from a perspective of lack, I started looking at it from a perspective of abundance: what I did have, the achievements I had made, the opportunities I had been given, etc. And, you know what happened?! My theatre career grew exponentially. I’m not kidding. You want proof…

Okay, I’m a nerd, and I have this spreadsheet timelime thingy that I keep and it starts from the moment I graduated from theatre school and continues to this day. It has every job I’ve ever done, in whatever capacity and how long I worked on it for. The first page of this timeline has everything I’ve done from 2004 to 2009. The second page of this timeline has everything from 2009 – current. That’s 1 page for 5 years compared to 1 page for 2 years. And, yes, partially it is just time and experience. The more you do, the more people you meet, the more opportunities arise but here’s the kicker: about 50% of the 2009-2011 page is for 2009 and 2010 with 2011 taking up the other 50% alone. So, on paper, I did more in 2011 then I did in 2009 & 2010 combined. And, moreover, I did more in 2011 then I did in 3 years previous to 2009. That’s exponential growth.

Maybe it’s coincidence. Who knows?! You can make of it what you will but I believe that the moment I started to change my perspective my life began to change with it.

And so now, I'm aware of it, all the time, this pervasive attitude of lack that I see happening all around me and particularly in the theatre community. It’s all about what we don’t have, the audiences that aren’t coming to see our shows, the money the government isn't giving us, etc.

Making theatre is hard fucking work. Excuse the expletive but it really does apply here. It is hard as shit. Again, sorry. Being an artist is not an easy life. It is a difficult, all consuming, sometimes you want to bash your head against a wall, kind of life. But we are artists because we are called to do it --

Sidebar: And, I firmly believe it is a calling, because if I was happy doing anything else I would do it. If I could be happy working a 9-5 job that would give me a stable income with regular working hours I would totally do it. Who wouldn’t?! But it doesn’t make me happy. Why?! Because I am an artist. Because it is my calling --

And, that means a lot of hard work, work that regular society often doesn’t understand. Is that their fault?! No. Do I blame them?! No. Do I hate them for it?! Absolutely not. We need to change our perspective. This us versus them thing we’ve got going on: “they” don’t understand, “they” don’t go to theatre, “they” don’t give us money, etc.

We are all in this together. We share the same space and community. So, maybe, we all need to start looking at it from a perspective of abundance: the theatre we do have, the audiences we do have, the money we do have, etc. And, start being grateful for it.

We have a beautiful community. One that I am so proud and honoured to be a part of. In the past couple of weeks I have witnessed some of the best theatre I have seen this year. I am so grateful to those companies for giving me the gift of wonderful, amazing, exciting, incredible theatre. Thank you.

So, my advice, from up here on my soapbox, would be: next time you feel frustrated because only a handful of people showed up to your performance instead of letting that feeling of frustration take over, pause, take a moment, and change your perspective. Instead practice gratitude. Be thankful to those 5 people for coming to see your show. And, next time you feel frustrated because you didn’t receive that grant you were hoping for, pause, take a moment (swear a little and drink a lot) then change your perspective. Instead practice gratitude. Be grateful for the money you did raise and for the donors and sponsors that did invest in your production.

I am no stranger to how hard it is to produce theatre in this city. I have been producing theatre in this city for going on 7 years now. It is, as I said before, hard fucking work. And sometimes, yes, you absolutely feel frustrated, disappointed & angry but I refuse to become bitter and cynical and spend my whole life whining, moaning & grumbling about it. That is no way to live a life. And, that is no way to serve your community.

We need to start to change our perspectives. As a community. We need to start appreciating the amazing theatre we do have. We need to start loving the audiences we have cultivated. We need to start being grateful for those people who do support our work whether by coming to see it or by donating their time or their hard earned money. And, we definitely need to start being more grateful and supportive to each other as artists.

If that can happen. If we can change our perspective. Maybe, just maybe, the kind of exponential growth I’ve seen in my own life will start to happen in our community as a whole. Maybe it is already happening but our collective perspective of lack is not allowing us to see it.

I don’t know. I don’t have all the answers. But, those are my thoughts, from up on my soapbox.

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

ROMEO + JULIET

2011-10-21T13:38:00.001-07:00

It's been well over a month since I last posted anything on the blog and that's because I have been busy - as in not enough time to eat kind of busy - costume designing for two shows. The first one, ROMEO+JULIET opened this past Wednesday and I thought I would share it with all of you.

When Angela Konrad, the director of the production, approached me about coming out to Trinity Western University to do the costume design for this production I jumped at the chance because it meant that I would get the opportunity to work with her again. I had the enormous privilege of getting to work with her earlier this year on Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train (which went on to win Outstanding Production at the Jessie Richardson Awards this year) and in my humble opinion she is one of the best directors in Vancouver. And, an incredible person. I would probably literally fly across the world to design for her, on my own dime, if she asked me to.

And, she has done it again with ROMEO+JULIET. Her direction of this Shakespearean classic is incredible. (Bard, are you listening?! You should hire her. Now.) It's a fresh, contemporary take complete with dance sequences and billiard room brawls.

For this contemporary take Angela wanted to have the Capulets be white collar or "old money" and the Montague's be blue collar or "new money". As the costume designer I took this concept and went very literal with it. The Capulet's are all in white or varying shades of tan, beige & brown while the Montague's are all in denim or varying shades of blue & black. When my dad says to me (he was my date for Opening Night) at the end of the show - "So, I guess the Capulet's are from Shaughnessy and the Montague's are from Surrey and that's why they hate each other" - clearly we must have done something right since there weren't any director's notes in the program and I didn't tell him anything about the production.

Once the overall concept was in place, I then went character by character to flesh out and highlight the individual qualities of each character and so I thought I would share with you some of my renderings (these are from the preliminary phases so ignore the notations or colour swatches):

Capulet (and Lady Capulet, see below) are dressed in that throw back Mad Men-esque look that is really popular right now. Not only is that look all about elegance but it suits the "tucked in" white collar concept so well.

I wanted Juliet to have that young, innocent school girl look, but still be kind of hip and cool so that it would seem plausible that she would obviously prefer "bad boy" Romeo over Paris the "pretty prep school boy" her parents have picked out for her. So, I went with a kind of Urban Outfitters type of look for her. (I actually bought one of her entire costumes from Urban Outfitters).

This is her white baby doll church/wedding/death scene dress.

Paris is your ultimate prep school boy. He wears argyle sweaters and khaki's and shops at Tommy Hilfiger.

Montague is a working man. He's made a lot of money running his construction company business so he gets to wear whatever he wants. And, that means a jean work type shirt and jeans. This however doesn't mean he didn't go out and buy them from Armani Exchange or something. So, he still looks nice, put together, in a casual way.

Lady Montague is the epitome of this "new money" look which is "trashy" but expensive. And, if a one-piece denim jumpsuit that she probably bought at Holt Renfrew for $500 doesn't say "trashy new money" I don't know what does.

(And, shhhhh....don't tell anyone but I kind based Lady Montague and Montague off of my parents friends whom I - lovingly - refer to as the real life Barbie & Ken)

Romeo has the ultimate "bad boy" look with a hipster-y edge to it. He's got the American Apparel V-neck T & hoodie with a black leather jacket and skinny jeans and sneakers.

As Romeo's friend I wanted Mercutio to have that same sort of look but with a bit more over the top flare and edge.

And, finally, as the arch rival who eventually brings Mercutio to her untimely death, I wanted Tybalt to have that same edgy look but still be Capulet at the same time. So, I put him in a brown leather jacket - to oppose Romeo's black leather jacket - and instead of sneakers, like I gave Romeo, I gave him white leather loafers.

And, there you have it, a small sample of the concept and character looks from this production of ROMEO+JULIET. This hilarious promotional video the students did (put together from the stills from the publicity photo shoot) does a great job of illustrating this concept and idea as well:

So, if you want to see how it all turned out, get a group of your friends together and carpool (or rent one of those zip cars or something) and head out to Langley to catch the show. Trust me I don't think you'll regret it. My dad and family friend who came to Opening Night with me said as we were driving home that they liked this production of ROMEO+JULIET better than some of the Shakespeare productions they saw at Bard this year. And, I wholeheartedly agree. Yes, they are bias. But my family is also blunt and they have no qualms about telling what they actually think. So, the fact that they liked it better than Bard, that says something about this production.

You can buy tickets or get all the information about the show at the SMAC website

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

2012 Season Announcement

2011-09-20T12:57:00.000-07:00

Over the next couple of years Twenty Something Theatre is going to be going through a bit of a transitional period and it starts with our 2012 Season. This past year we undertook a 3-show season that was massively successful but also a huge undertaking. So for our 2012 Season I am going to be paring back considerably and now having said that here we go:

SPOTLIGHT: The Bomb-itty of Errors by Jordan Allen-Dutton, Jason Catalano, Gretogy Qaiyum and Erik Weiner, April 3 – 22 at Studio 16.

Twenty Something Theatre presents Temporary Thing’s production of The Bomb-itty of Errors - a fast-paced, energetic, musical “ad-rap-tation” of William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors. Elizabethan times get pumped up with live hip-hop flavour, as the actors sing, rap and rhyme fun, catchy and laugh-out-loud songs that retain much of the Bard’s original text – all with a live DJ on stage and original music by Anami Vice. Starring Brian Cochrane, David Kaye, Nick Kopansis and Jameson Parker. Directed by Catriona Leger.

This year the Spotlight is on director Catriona Leger. Catriona's 15 years in theatre have taken her across Canada and abroad to act, direct and movement coach. Favourite directing projects include Romeo & Juliet (Theatre@UBC), Inclement Weather (MiCasa Theatre - Rideau Award nomination), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Torchlight Shakespeare), and she looks forward to directing A Midsummer Night's Dream for the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival in June 2012. She has also worked as movement director on several productions including the Jessie nominated Lentement La Beauté and La Perimetre (Theatre la Sézieme). Most recently Catriona played Cleopatra in Antony & Cleopatra (Torchlight Shakespeare) and was nominated for a Prix Rideau Award (Outstanding Actress) for her work in Someone for Everyone (NightHowl Theatre, Ottawa). A recipient of the JBC Watkins Award for Theatre from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Sidney J. Risk Award for Directing, Catriona is graduate of École Philippe Gaulier and holds a BFA in Acting and MFA in Directing from UBC.

SPRING DEVELOPMENT: Us & Everything We Own by Sean Minogue

In the Spring of 2012 Twenty Something Theatre will present a public staged reading of Sean Minogue’s new play Us & Everything We Own - a young man whose hunger to be successful ruins his once-perfect relationship. Blurring the lines between friends and business, he gets in over his head in a foolish investment scheme and discovers how much he’s truly been risking.

This public staged reading is phase one in a 2-year development plan that will culminate in the World Premiere production in 2013.

And, there you have it folks. Some of you are now asking, wait a second, what about the summer production?!?! In 2012 there will be no summer production. I know, I know…

However, I’ve been running Twenty Something Theatre for the past 6 years and most of my time and energy has gone into making the company a success and I think this past year has proved that without a doubt. So, it’s now time for me to take some of that time and energy and put it back into my own personal professional development and so as of June 2012 I am going to be taking a 6-month leave of absence, if you will, from Twenty Something Theatre to pursue other projects and ventures.

And, I promise to tell you all about these new projects and ventures as soon as I can. Right now I am still in the process of finalizing details.

2012 is going to be a great year. I am VERY excited about the projects that Twenty Something Theatre does have planned. There is incredible talent being featured in both projects and I look forward to sharing that with all of you next year.

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

Fall Preview 2011

2011-09-14T12:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I am more excited about this upcoming season of theatre than pretty much any other season ever. Sure, I’m usually particularly excited about a few specific shows throughout the season but this fall it just feels like there is an overwhelming number of things I need/want to see so I thought I’d make a list and share it with all of you so you can hopefully get out and see all the amazing theatre this city has to offer.

First up: Tonight I’m off to Opening Night of the Arts Club’s production of Next to Normal. And, I am SO excited for this I might cry. Literally. I saw this in NYC about a year and half ago now. It was I think, a couple of months before it won the Pulitzer Prize, and never in my life have I cried so hard at piece of theatre that there was actually snot dripping out of my nose. I know, pretty, right?! And, never have I seen a piece of theatre where not only was I sobbing uncontrollably but everyone around me was also sobbing and sniffing uncontrollably. This is the power of theatre. Never has it ever been so evident to me. If you want to be moved to tears, you need to see this show. If you or anyone you know has ever dealt with mental illness you need to see this show. It’s truly an incredible piece of theatre. And, I’ll apologize right now to anyone sitting around me. It’s gonna be ugly.

[Photo above: (Clockwise from left) Caitriona Murphy, Warren Kimmel, Jennie Neumann, Eric Morin in the Arts Club Theatre Company’s production of Next to Normal. Photo by David Cooper.]

Next: Touchstone Theatre’s production of True Love Lies presented at The Cultch. I’m so excited for this production I’ve already bought my tickets. And, I’ll probably go more than once. Anyone who knows me or has read this blog knows that I am a huge Brad Fraser fan and I had the awesome privilege of seeing the North American premiere of the show at Factory Theatre in Toronto when I was there in 2009. It blew me away then and I’m sure I will feel the same about the Vancouver production. It’s witty, it’s real, it’s about the dysfunction of families yet all the while still loving your family, but not in a mushy-gushy way. It’s smart and it takes no prisoners. It’s why I love Brad Fraser. If you’ve ever loved AND hated your family members all at the same time (which I know you have) then you’ll appreciate this show.

Moving right along: To yet another Arts Club production (loving their programming right now). This time it’s Circle Mirror Transformation by Annie Baker who is an up-and-coming young American playwright. I’ve been hearing nothing but amazing things about this play all over the twitter and blogosphere for the last couple of years. It won the Obie for Best New American play and Performance by an Ensemble as well as it was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play and Outstanding Director of a Play as well as the cast was awarded a special Drama Desk Award for an Outstanding Ensemble Performance. Basically the play takes us inside a small town acting/dance studio where “group members pose as trees, beds and baseball gloves. They perform emotional scenes using only the words goulash and ak-mak. They pretend to be one another, telling their life stories. They write deep, dark secrets (anonymously) on scraps of paper and listen, sitting in a circle on the floor, as the confessions are read aloud” (taken from the New York Times review). If this doesn’t sound funny as hell, I don’t know what does.

[Photo above: Emilee-Juliette Glyn-Jones, Alex Diakun and Anita Wittenberg in the Arts Club Theatre Company’s production of Circle Mirror Transformation. Photo by David Cooper.]

Shortly after: Opening up on the Arts Club revue stage is Atomic Vaudeville’s Ride the Cyclone which I am super stoked for since I am one of the only people I know that hasn’t seen it yet. When I was in my final year at UVIC I had the pleasure of seeing one of the very first incarnations of Legoland (Atomic Vaudeville’s precursor to Ride the Cyclone). Sitting in the Barbara McIntyre black box studio way back then I knew I was seeing something special. Ride the Cyclone is about a teenage chamber choir from Uranium, Saskatchewan that die in a roller coaster accident at a traveling fair and I am absolutely looking forward to being able to see what kind of crazy wonderful ride (pun intended) Atomic Vaudeville are going to take me on now.

Finally: We come to West Side Story with the Vancouver Opera. When I first heard that the Vancouver Opera was doing this show as part of their 2011-2012 season I thought to myself “uh, isn’t that musical theatre?!” I’ve been going to the Opera since I was 12 years old (my family are long-time season subscribers) and I’ve seen a lot of different stuff but I’ve NEVER seen what is traditionally thought of as musical theatre done by an Opera company. But then I paused and thought, who better to do West Side Story in the grand Broadway style it deserves than a company like the Vancouver Opera who has the resources to do it?! They’ve got opera singers in the lead roles singing what is some pretty darn tough music, actors and dancers from the traditional theatre community filling out the cast, and apparently they are doing the original choreography by Jerome Robbins (or so I’ve heard). I don’t know how it's all gonna turn out but I’m pretty darn excited to find out on Opening Night October 22nd.

And, there is a ton more happening across the stages of Vancouver throughout the fall but right now those are a few of the upcoming productions that I am personally most excited for.

Enjoy the fall theatre season! I know I will.

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

What a Year (or Season)!

2011-09-12T17:56:00.000-07:00

This year has been in no particular order:

STRESSFUL, EXCITING, AMAZING, ENLIGHTENING, INSPIRING, SUCCESSFUL, SCARY, DRAMATIC, HUMOUROUS, ABSURD, BEAUTIFUL, AWKWARD, BIZARRE, EXQUISITE, FASCINATING, TRUTHFUL, CHARITABLE, ETC…

In January, as the new year began, I had already set in motion a 3-show season, something Twenty Something Theatre had never done before. Not only was the company embarking on its first 3-show season we were also embarking on the rather daunting task of mounting of our first production where every single person was paid, not just a profit share or an honourarium, but a full contract fee. EXCITING, yes. SCARY, you bet. And, all this was done with minimal funding. For just that one show only alone approx. $4000 came from funding (thanks to the City of Vancouver) and the other approx. $16, 000 was raised through sponsorship, donations, & other fundraising initiatives/events. Plus we still had 2 other shows to mount and produce. So…STRESSFUL, uh yeah, that might be the understatement of the century. But, SUCCESSFUL, most definitely.

We opened the year with our Spotlight production of Nocturne by Adam Rapp where I had the great pleasure of finally working with a friend and colleague after talking about working together for 5 years.

Then after 2 and ½ years of development we presented our first original production and the World Premiere of Prodigals. I could write about this experience all day and still not do it justice. So, I guess I will just say that without a doubt this show, the people, the experience, will forever be in my memory as one of the best moments of my career. Without a doubt.

Finally we closed our season, literally just over a week ago, with Tough! by George F. Walker. And, what a great way to end a season! Such a strong show and I’m so proud as an Artistic Producer to be able to bring such amazing artists together to create a production of this calibre. Nothing gives me greater pleasure. Honestly. I’m not just saying that.

And, so with that we wrap up the year, and to close this post I just want to send out a huge thank you to all the people who have worked on, volunteered, donated to, came out to see & who just generally support our work. It has been an incredible year because of all of you. I am just filled with so much gratitude because I’ve come to understand that all the good stuff in life happens at the precipice of terror and bravery. And, this precipice between terror and bravery is in a nutshell how I would describe this past year (or season).

Thank you somehow doesn’t seem enough but there it is.

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

Tough: Reviews

2011-09-01T11:17:00.000-07:00

"Twenty-Something Theatre displays a deft touch with this terpsichorean waltz of brutal words...director Tamara McCarthy happily has three solid actors to convincingly convey all this misery...Timothy Johnston's performance as Bobby is a marvel to behold. A confused kid who only wants to party has some sense slapped into him, but Johnston understands that Bobby didn't have much sense to begin with...Not to mention the playwright's gift for comedy, woven in to underscore everything. Katherine Gauthier gets to have a lot of fun with this yin-yang quality in Jill, who is both scary and hilarious...Since Tina's the one harbouring said bun-in-oven, Marlene Ginader digs deeper for a satisfyingly thorough understanding of her character's confusion...Tough! is well worth catching in its too-brief run." -- Peter Birnie, Vancouver Sun

[FYI: terpsichorean = "of or relating to dance"]

"Marlene Ginader is very good as Tina. Her solid, grounded performance makes clear how genuinely tough Tina’s choices are and how complicated her feelings about Bobby remain...Katherine Gauthier’s hyper-intensity suits Jill well...Johnston’s sweet, vulnerable quality works nicely for Bobby’s unusual masculinity...See Tough! with someone from the opposite sex and prepare for a good argument afterwards." -- Jerry Wasserman, Vancouver Province

"There’s some terrific work in Twenty Something Theatre’s production of Tough! Under Tamara McCarthy’s direction, Katherine Gauthier nails Jill’s nasty humour, and a great deal of the wariness and pain that inform it. On many levels, Timothy Johnston makes a lovely Bobby. There wasn’t a moment in which I didn’t buy his compassionate characterization, and his comic timing is terrific." -- Colin Thomas, Georgia Straight

This is tough material extremely well directed by Tamara McCarthy... Timothy Johnston’s Bobby is a mass of nerves. He shakes, slaps his head and sobs uncontrollably. We alternate—as does Tina—between wanting to give him a hug or a kick him in the butt. No question that Jill, Tina’s best friend, wants to beat the crap out of Bobby. She has, unaccountably, hated him since kindergarten. With long strides, index fingers pointed and a wicked glare, Katherine Gauthier’s Jill is downright scary. As Tina, Marlene Ginader is soft, conflicted, hurt and angry, but shows just enough of Tina’s strength to lead us to believe she will make it somehow...Tough! is 90 uninterrupted minutes of compelling drama" --Jo Ledingham, Vancouver Courier

"As the confused and somewhat naive Bobby, Timothy Johnston comes out of the gates with huge conviction. My front row seat gave me a clear sense of his vulnerability: trembling lip clearly holding back his fear coupled with a wide-eyed stare like the proverbial deer. Easily capturing Bobby’s internal struggle between rejecting Tina and a misguided sense of honour, Johnston also provides small reflections from Walker’s deeper pools. As he literally beats himself about his head trying to fully comprehend the predicament or curls up under the physical and emotional beating he takes, we know there is much more here than meets the eye...Walker repeats this multi-layered hue with best friend Jill as well. Here Katherine Gauthier must make us believe she is putting the fear of god into Bobby for the sake of her best friend Tina’s future and the future of the unborn child. However, just like Bobby, there is something more to her visceral reactions than perhaps the circumstances require... Tough! is as much about sucking it up and doing the right thing as it is about being strong in the face of life-changing circumstances." -- Mark Robins, GayVancouver.net

Only 3 more chances to check out Tough! by George F. Walker before it closes on Saturday. Tickets are still available online at Tickets Tonight or take your chances at the door.

Hope to see you out over the final weekend!!

~Sabrina Evertt,
Artistic Producer

(All photography by David Cooper)

Coffee Talk with Marlene Ginader

2011-08-30T10:56:00.000-07:00

For close to a week now, Marlene Ginader has been sharing "Tina's" struggle with conflicting emotions and daunting responsibility onstage in Tough! at Studio 1398. This production marks Marlene's debut with Twenty-Something Theatre and we first introduced her in our Meet the Cast of Tough! posting.

Recently, Jerry Wasserman of The Province said, "Marlene Ginader is very good as Tina. Her solid, grounded performance makes clear how genuinely tough Tina’s choices are and how complicated her feelings about Bobby remain."

Here, Marlene shares some thoughts on Tough! and the world of theatre.

Tell me about a really memorable performance or show you saw that really stands out for you.

The two shows that come to mind are The Electric Company’s Tear the Curtain at the Arts Club last season and the staged reading of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot at Pacific Theatre a few years back. They both set a new standard in my mind in different ways.

Photo courtesy of Marlene Ginader.

What was your, “Aha! I want to be an actor” moment?

I don’t know exactly, I think I remember watching some movie on TV when I was around 8 and thinking, that looks pretty fun and it’s obviously really easy to do. Glad to tell you it’s still fun! It’s always been acting though, I’ve never really considered doing anything else.

Do you have any funny or embarrassing actor stories that have happened onstage?

Yes, yes I do.

How has the rehearsal process been for Tough!?

We have a really great team behind this piece so it’s been a pleasure to go to rehearsal each week and jump right in. And when I say “jump right in” I mean it! This show has no scenes in the script and really snowballs from one thing to the next. Personally, it’s been a huge challenge as this is the biggest part I’ve had to date. I’m proud of this show though and excited to get it up and running!

How do you feel you relate, or don’t relate to your character?

I don’t relate to Tina in most ways and that was one of the great challenges of working on Tough! While we both have strong values and a list of what we want, the things on that list are pretty opposite from me to Tina. She’s also very practical. I, on the other hand…

Photo courtesy of Marlene Ginader.

So why should people come and see Tough!?

It’s a high energy, 85 minute one act in real time. Once it starts it doesn’t stop so I think it’ll be really easy to go along for the ride. Plus it’s affordable theatre!

What advice would you have for any young actors starting out or thinking about becoming an actor?

If you think you can do it, do it. It’s difficult at times but a fun and rewarding career. That being said, the one big thing I would tell “high school Marlene” would be to pick up a trade! A key trick in the first few years of many people’s careers is to balance an erratic actor’s schedule with being financially secure, so, whether it’s hairstyling or welding, if your high school offers it, take it while it’s free. Good luck and have fun!

You can catch Marlene tonight at 8 pm for the 2-for-1 Talk-back night, and the rest of this week until Saturday, September 3rd at Studio 1398 on Granville Island. Tickets can be purchased in advance through Tickets Tonight, by calling 604.684.2787, or at the door.

~ Sarah MacKay

Associate Producer

Tough: Photos

2011-08-29T15:03:00.000-07:00

(Katherine Gauthier as Jill)

(Marlene Ginader as Tina & Katherine Gauthier as Jill)

(Timothy Johnston as Bobby & Marlene Ginader as Tina)

(Marlene Ginader as Tina)

(Timothy Johnston as Bobby. All photography by David Cooper)

Coffee Talk with Katherine Gauthier

2011-08-26T10:02:00.000-07:00

We first introduced Kat in our posting about the Cast of Tough! a couple of weeks ago. She plays “Jill”, bringing a huge heart and loads of hilarity to the role. Here she shares some of her experiences with the wonderful world of theatre.

Tell me about a really memorable performance or show you saw that really stands out for you.

One of my most memorable experiences was stumbling upon a one-man memoir type show at the Fringe in Ottawa in 2007. This remarkable piece of theatre entitled The Tricky Part, by Martin Moran essentially exposed a man’s struggle to come to terms with his past. Or was it about learning to grow up? Or was it about a loss of innocence? Truth be told, the plot did not even really matter. The play was about redemption. About trespassing. About being human, But most of all, It was about grace. Ah, grace. That irrevocably human theme that always seems to punch me in the gut (No surprise then that the other “memorable performance” that came to mind was Pacific Theatre’s Grace).

As an avid theatre lover, I have given many standing ovations to very deserving casts in my day. But I had never understood how much an audience sometimes needs to clap just to express; "Thank you". That is how I felt after Peter Hayes (who played Martin) so stunningly brought Moran’s story to life. Hayes generously gave himself to us in a truly cathartic and slightly dangerous way. He let us into Moran's remarkably human story and allowed us to breathe, cry, laugh, sigh, hurt with his character. It was a breathtaking and tour de force performance and one that will stick with me all of my life.

What was your, “Aha! I want to be an actor” moment?

I am not sure if I have ever experienced said moment and yet, at the same time, I also feel like I experience it 77 times a day every day. I have always possessed an invested and real inner life. I also have significant escapist tendencies. As a child, this combination often led me to create worlds or find solace in different identities. I lived out the fantasies and stories in my room and found great refuge in them. I always wanted to live a thousand disparate lives and share in a thousand people’s different stories. Theatre allows me to do that. Theatre allows me to truly step in the other’s shoes and live, eat, breathe, think, act as they do. I guess that is why I have decided to pursue it professionally (amongst many other reasons). You know, to share communally in the experience of being human. Although I may not have had the “Aha!” moment, I have always felt that there was something stunning and powerful about this art form. Something that makes me feel alive pries me off dead centre (in a good way).

Kat in one of her first shows, dressed up as a "firechild" - photo courtesy of Katherine Gauthier

What do you think of the theatre scene in Vancouver? The good, the bad, and the ugly.

I feel incredibly blessed to be a part of this theatre scene; its people are stunning and the work is lovely. I do think our major challenge is that we can’t seem to consistently get people into seats. In my opinion, the hardest part of doing theatre in Vancouver (and certainly is not unique to Vancouver) is that we live in a society of individualistic, comfortable people who each cater to their own lives. Thus, it does not appeal to the masses to pay (often too much) to sit in a dark room and turn off their cellphones, Twitters, minds, etc, enough to really immerse themselves in somebody else’s story. We no longer appear to long for those moments in which we, as human beings can sit in wonder, awe and admiration of something outside the self. Not to mention, that we, as a society, have seemingly lost the ability to be present. Because of the tragedy of needing money to produce theatre and needing people to give us money, I feel as if this city often is often forced to play it safe artistically. I wish that we had a platform to take more risks, move boldly, expand the medium, do more collaboration-pieces and really blow out of the water what we have been doing.

Do you have any funny or embarrassing actor stories that have happened onstage?

I was in a two-hander at the Havana called Matt and Ben. We had some pretty crazy costume changes that were not really called for in the script. So, while my cast-member was changing from Matt Damon to J.D. Salinger backstage (a pretty extensive costume change as you can imagine), I was left alone onstage to improvise in order to waste the time. Well, the Havana is a unique space all on its own. To start with, to get from one entrance to another, you have to go through the restaurant kitchen washroom, through the kitchen itself, down some stairs, into the lobby and then through two doors. Needless to say, these “improvisations” could felt like hours.

One particular run, my partner got locked out in the lobby. So, I was improvising away as per usual noticing that it was taking a lot longer than the norm. I end up doing the most ridiculous things (that seem normal at the time due to my adrenaline-charged mind). I don’t remember quite what I did but I do remember grabbing a blanket, turning it into a cape, running around screaming, wrestling a papier-mache rooster down and hitting myself in the head in the interim. Minutes later (and unscripted minutes on stage can seem like hours), my cast-member ends up coming in through the bedroom (which in terms of the story, makes no sense at all) and we continued. Oh, Live Theatre!

Photo courtesy of Katherine Gauthier

How has the rehearsal process been for Tough!?

I feel incredibly blessed to have been a part of this rehearsal process. Delving into the likes of Jill has been riveting, a terrifying challenge and wholly satisfying. Truly a revelation of the flaws, messiness and beauty of humankind, Tough! presents three characters who are all endearing due to their honesty, vulnerability and in their weird way, hope. Thus, rehearsals have provided me with the compelling journey to discover, plummet and expose Jill’s humanity. She wears her heart on her sleeve which is a trait that in this day and age is more of a rare find than a commonality.

Not to mention, working with these talented people. Annie (our magical SM) is unreal; so patient, thorough, and totally hilarious. Tamara (the director) is stunningly gracious and a joy to work with. Being an actor herself, she seems to truly understand when she needs to let us discover and when she needs to come in and “save us”. She also has a gift of verbal affirmation (which is always a good trait in a director). Marlene (who plays Tina) is a stunning human being and a wonderful Tina. I consider it an honour to play her best friend. There is so much that one can fall in love with when it comes to who Marlene/Tina is that it makes my characters’ job (as her best friend, protector, biggest fan) so easy. Tim (Bobby) is one of those rare finds – such a charming and wonderful individual and someone who brings so much heart, humour and chutzpah to the rehearsal process. It has been a pure joy seeing him explore this character and plummet into the vulnerability and depths of who Bobby is. So yeah, it’s been good.

How do you feel you relate, or don’t relate to your character?

I feel deeply connected to Jill. Jill is incredibly loyal and will fight to the end for what she believes. Jill wants to better herself and those around her. She loves fiercely, she believes strongly, she feels passionately and acts extremely. Although Jill is significantly damaged, her decision to not feel sorry for herself is compelling. Jill does not accept mediocrity in herself or anybody around her. In this manner, I feel that we have similar cores but she just has more guts, less self-imposed boundaries and significantly more courage than I do. Although I may not have the follow-through that Jill has, I do feel like we both are passionate fighters, protectors and lovers.

On the contrary, I am significantly more diplomatic and, for lack of a better term, kind than she is. I also, unfortunately, have a strong people-pleasing tendency which does not seem to course at all through Jill’s veins. Jill is not afraid to stand out and in fact, most of the time, is not even aware that she is doing so.

So why should people come and see Tough!?

It’s raw. It’s real. I don’t know. Just come. Let me know what you think.

What advice would you have for any young actors starting out or thinking about becoming an actor?

Man, I hate this question. I really believe that everyone must forge their own path and any advice I could give is either not heard or should not be heard. People come to this powerful art form for so many disparate reasons and I don’t feel equipped or frankly, even desire to spout out advice. That being said, if I were to talk to my sixteen year old self, I would say: “Risk more, fail boldly, tell the truth, and always remember to breathe.”

Thanks Kat! You can catch her, and the rest of the cast, tonight at the Opening Night of Tough! which runs until September 3^rd at Studio 1398 on Granville Island. Tickets can be purchased from Tickets Tonight, by calling 604.684.2787, or at the door.

~ Sarah MacKay
Associate Producer

Coffee Talk II with Timothy Johnston

2011-08-22T10:13:00.000-07:00

Tim is no stranger to Twenty-Something Theatre, having made his debut with the company six years ago, in its inaugural production of This Is Our Youth. An active member of the Vancouver theatre scene, he was most recently seen in The Gas Heart with the Neanderthal Arts Festival as well as a "little" production we put on back in May called, Prodigals, where he played "Wesley". Tim's also no stranger to our blog chats with him, and I wanted to think of some new questions. Here's what he had to say:

What have been some of your highs and lows over the years, as an actor?

Well, I think the obvious answer for any actor is that anytime you are not working is a low time! So…I’ll go with that too. No work equals low. As for high points, I have had many. With few exceptions, every opportunity to tackle a new character is its own high. Seriously, I’m not just saying that. But I guess…what immediately comes to mind, is the fact that in the last couple of years, I’ve been super fortunate, and have been able to work on several projects in a row that I have had deep personal connections to. Whether it was creating a role in an original work, or collaborating with my peers to produce a show we could be proud of; the opportunity to develop original, thoughtful material, with a varied pool of incredibly smart, stupidly funny, fiercely talented friends has been incredible.

Do you have any funny or embarrassing stories that have happened onstage?

No…I’m kidding. Hmm… I guess I could tell you about the time that I was performing in Aladdin and, while in the guise of “Prince Ali,” I gracefully leapt and subsequently not-so-gracefully tumbled over Princess Jasmine’s balcony, splitting open my face just above my left eye, therefore spending the rest of the play trying to A) Be Disney level romantic and heroic B) Not get blood all over my white satin costume C) Not let the audience notice I was bleeding profusely and D) Not die from loss of blood...I guess I could tell you about that?

Aladdin photo courtesy of Barbara Pedrick

You’re a bit of a veteran with Twenty-Something Theatre now. What have you noticed, or how has the company itself evolved, over the years?

Are you kidding me? This company is a machine now! In all seriousness, as someone who has produced their own theatre before, the rate of growth and maturity, pardon the pun, in Twenty-Something Theatre is incredible to me. It is HARD. To give you an example of the early days, and how hopeful and naive we were: I vividly remember, while doing their very first show, This Is Our Youth, at Presentation House in North Van – hanging out outside the Seabus terminal handing out flyers and hoping at least a few of those people would take a chance on our show. They didn’t. And it was rough. Now, the company is producing multiple high quality, exciting shows every year. They are nurturing and fostering young, sensational talent; be it actors, directors, writers or designers. They are featured in print media, digital media and are abuzz in the world of social media. They have come so far, and I am incredibly proud to be able to say that I have been a part of the journey. The best part is, it doesn’t feel like they’re done yet.

How do you feel you relate, or don’t relate, to your character “Bobby” in Tough!?

Bobby is…complex. But Bobby is also simple. He just wants to be understood. He just wants to do the right thing. I think we can all relate to that. Bobby also, unfortunately, has a hard time communicating to people what it is he’s thinking, and battles crippling insecurities about himself and his circumstances. I mean, we all go through that sometimes, but Bobby is ridiculous. That’s a challenge. I mean a REAL challenge. Come see the show, you’ll understand what I mean. Poor guy.

And finally, why should people come and see Tough!?

Come see great writing. Come see great design. Come see great acting. Come see great direction. Come to laugh. Come to be moved. Come to be uncomfortable. Come to support your friends. Come to support strangers. Come to support independent arts. Come to think. Come to not think for a while. Come and have a great time. And then tell your friends.

And you can come catch Tim this week in Tough!, running August 24th - September 3rd at Studio 1398 (formerly the PTC Studio) on Granville Island at 8 pm. Hope to see you there!

~ Sarah MacKay
Associate Producer

Tough: AP Message

2011-08-19T12:02:00.000-07:00

In every program, I write up my little message as the Artistic Producer of Twenty Something Theatre. Sometimes I combine the message with my director's notes if I'm also directing the play and talk about the play and its relevance. Or if I'm just producing I might use this section of the program to talk about the company's accomplishments or use it to say all my "thank you's". Here is my "Message from the Artistic Producer" that will go in program for Tough!:

"Welcome to our 6th annual summer production and our 3rd & final show of the 2011 Season! I couldn’t be more thrilled to be ending our season with George F. Walker’s Tough! To me it is a seminal part of Canadian theatre history and belongs in the same category of as our 2009 production of Brad Fraser’s Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love: contemporary Canadian classics. To some it may seem like “contemporary” and “classic” are contradictory ideas because when we typically think of “classical” theatre we might think of Shakespeare or Chekov; but, as a country Canada is still quite young and we haven’t had the luxury of time. Canadian theatre history is maybe 100 years old, if that. The “classic” playwrights like Shakespeare changed the landscape of theatre history hundreds & hundreds of years ago. However, did Brad Fraser change the landscape of Canadian theatre with Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love? I think so. Did George F. Walker change the landscape of Canadian TYA (Theatre for Young Adults) with Tough?! Absolutely.

Tough! doesn't pander to a young audience. It is real. It is gritty and it treats the issues that young people deal with as something worthy of exploring. The lives of Tina, Bobby & Jill and the issues they deal with are very real to them in the moment and this trio of actors have given these characters a journey that is both hysterically funny and painfully real. And, honestly, what more could you ask for from a “classic” piece of theatre?!"

~Sabrina Evertt,
Artistic Producer

Pub Night FUNdraiser

2011-08-14T13:30:00.000-07:00

It's been about five months since we last hosted a fun, slightly alcohol fueled, fundraising event and we at Twenty-Something Theatre feel it's high time for another! Come and join us this Tuesday, 16th for a drink (or two...or three...), silent auction, and karaoke - hosted by the fabulous Tim Johnston (our "Bobby" in Tough!).

All proceeds will be going directly towards our upcoming production, Tough!, running from August 24 - September 3.

Here's What you need to know:

Date: Tuesday, August 16

Time: 7 pm - 'til late

Location: Hell's Kitchen 2041 West 4th Avenue Click here for map.

Ticket: $10

Includes: 1 FREE drink (practically the cost of your ticket right there!), entry for an awesome raffle prize, silent auction, and 50/50 draw. Hey, you could walk out of here with a profit!

What is the raffle prize for which you'll be entered? It's a $100 gift certificate to Peckinpah restaurant, located in the heart of Gastown!

Other Silent Auction items include:

Wild Whales whale watching adventure for 2 (retail value: $250 + HST)
Orling & Wu fine tableware (retail value: $168 + HST)
Sewell's Marina Eco-Safari Boat Tour for 2 (retail value: $146 + HST)

and more!

Great night! Great people! Great cause!

Please RSVP to our Associate Producer, Sarah, at:
associate@twentysomethingtheatre.com

Hope to see you there!!!

~ Sarah MacKay
Associate Producer

Tough: The Cast

2011-08-12T13:07:00.000-07:00

MARLENE GINADER (TINA) -
Marlene hails from Brandon, Manitoba and is happy to be making her Twenty-Something Theatre debut. Recent credits include Pharaoh Serket and the Lost Stone of Fire (Carousel), Tiny Replicas (Zee Zee Theatre), Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (Arts Club), Around the World in 80 Days (Gateway Theatre), The Vertical Hour (UP) and an upcoming episode of Fringe. Catch her next in Chelsea Hotel at The Firehall Arts Centre this winter.

TIMOTHY JOHNSTON (BOBBY) -
Timothy is stoked be to back with team Twenty-Something, after previously appearing with them as Warren in their inaugural production, This Is Our Youth and as Wesley in the world premiere of Prodigals. Having trained at both Capilano U and the University of Victoria, Tim has a multitude of credits in both cities, including The Gas Heart (GasHeart), The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari (Somnambulist), Ride The Cyclone (Atomic Vaudeville), Silverwing and Disney's Aladdin Jr. (Kaleidoscope), Toothpaste & Cigars (VEC), Seussical The Musical (Random Entertainment) and more.

KATHERINE GAUTHIER (JILL) -
A Trinity Western University graduate, Katherine is honoured that Tamara and Sabrina invited her on this wild ride. Thanks to the wonderful cast (and Annie) for making the ride wilder. Selected credits: Hamlet (Honest Fishmongers Equity Co-op), Good Woman Of Setzuan (TWU), Matt and Ben (Fighting Chance Productions), Godspell and You Still Can’t (Pacific Theatre). Special thanks to Him, her parents, her siblings, in fact, all of her supportive family; especially, Nana, who makes it all possible.

Tough: The Director

2011-08-10T13:43:00.000-07:00

TAMARA MCCARTHY

BIO:

What a treat to direct this talented trio in Tough! Directing credits include Whistler Chairlift Revue (Whistler Live/2010 Paralympics), The Vertical Hour (United Players –selected by critic Jo Ledingham in her Top 10 Picks of 2009), Munsch Alley (Carousel Theatre –Jessie nomination for Outstanding Direction), and The Laundromat (Scarlet Satin). Tamara co-founded and was co-Artistic Director of Boca del Lupo Theatre until 2001. She has taught physical theatre at the Vancouver Film School and the Gros Morne Theatre Festival in Newfoundland. She is a 4-time Jessie Richardson Award nominee, Artistic Associate of BellaLuna, and proud mom to Lucas, who turns 1 on Sept. 2nd. Thanks always to Mike.

DIRECTOR'S NOTES:

As I watch my 10 month old son discover the world and learn about cause and effect, I realize so much of what happens to us, and the choices we make, depend on and are intrinsically linked to the actions of others. While my son is having difficulty going down for his nap (likely because of his recent discovery of crawling), I am weighing my options: invest another half an hour in this nap venture, or go for a walk. Yet if he had gone to sleep, I would be considering a different set of choices… probably choosing to have a cup of tea and respond to email. In Tough! Tina is making her own choices, but they depend completely on the choices Bobby makes. I find this so fascinating right now; I think I believed we are mostly responsible for what happens to us by the choices we make, but I see now the set of choices we create for ourselves is entirely influenced by the actions of others.

The other thing that is different for me directing this show now than in an earlier time of my life, is my perspective on motherhood, having only been a witness up until a year ago. I am so grateful everyday that I have my husband to share in the parenting of Lucas. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to be a single mother. And to imagine being one at 19 years old is unfathomable. My heart breaks for Tina, and though one might make judgements about her, we cannot deny her bravery.

It has been a delectable treat to listen to Walker’s poetry brought to life in rehearsals by these tremendous young actors. Thank you for choosing live theatre.

My Bad

2011-08-06T17:36:00.000-07:00

Ok, ok, so sue me....I have only posted a grand total of 5 posts (+1 posted by Sarah) since Prodigals ended on May 14th. My bad.

It really has been the "Summer of Me". In June I went to the island for the weekend and got to spend some long overdue with Mr. Ogden and got to sample all the tasty cocktails he's slinging over there on the island after he left us high and dry on the mainland. And, I just got back from another long weekend in Vegas where I soaked up all the sun we've been missing here in rainy, cloudy Vancouver and then so generously brought the sun back with me. You're welcome.

That isn't to say I haven't been doing any work. I've just been doing a lot of the boring things no one wants to hear about like organizing our annual report and financial statements & filing our CRA tax return. But, I did guest direct the latest live show for the True Heroines at Guilt & Co. Check out the awesome photos here. Such a fun night!! Now, I'm in the process of organizing and figuring out our 2012 Season so that we can make the big announcement (hopefully soon).

Plus, I've started working on my next costume design contract doing Romeo & Juliet and am currently working on final designs as we speak.

Plus, plus, I have been trying to organize, pack and clean my condo so that I can put it up for sale. Which I'm telling you is pretty much the least fun thing I could ever think of. Just imagine trying to clean your ceiling and having toxic cleaning chemicals falling into your eyeballs. Yeah, its awesome.

But it's now 3 weeks until we move into the venue for Tough! so I'm going to kick my butt into gear and follow up on my promise to keep you updated with lots of news and stuff about our newest summer production. Coming soon (I promise): introductions to the director and cast.

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

Tough: The Poster

2011-07-14T14:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, so a couple days ago I awoke to a bit of a shock. I had the Tough! poster proof sitting in my inbox and well let's just say it wasn't at all what I expected. The designer even sent me a pre-poster-image email to explain the idea behind the poster before actually sending me the poster. I guess to cushion the shock. It didn't help.

That's not at all to say that I don't love the poster. I do. It definitely gets your attention and as Andrew said to me it "should raise some eyebrows, huh?". It sure will.

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

Twenty-Something’s Second Annual Trash or Treasure Event

2011-07-06T09:36:00.000-07:00

Yup, we are hosting another fundraising yard sale this Saturday, July 9 to help raise money towards our summer production of George F. Walker's Tough!.

Last year’s sale went very well, despite a cantankerous woman yelling at us, shouting racial slurs, and having the cops called on her. This year we’re hoping for something just as successful, though perhaps less dramatic.

Our location this year is pretty awesome. We will be selling our wares to coincide with the West End Farmer’s Market, so there is lots of cool stuff for everyone to check out. You can help to support local farmers, while you help to support us!

Some items for sale include:

- An Xbox + games

- snowboards

- lots of ladies clothes (sizes S and M)

- books

- DVDs

- household items

- and more!

We will be setting up shop across the street from the vendors on the 1100-block of Comox Street, between Thurlow and Bute, across from Nelson Park. Opening at 9 am and finishing up around 3 pm.

So come on by and hunt for your “treasure” this Saturday, or even just to come and say hello. The weather is forecasting full sun for this weekend, so let’s hope it stays.

See you there!

~ Sarah MacKay

Associate Producer

The Director's Project

2011-06-28T13:24:00.000-07:00

Every winter Twenty-Something Theatre holds its annual Spotlight production that features one emerging artist in a 3-year cycle alternating between actor, director and playwright. This year Twenty-Something’s Spotlight production returns to a director and this year we are seeking submissions by local emerging directors for Spotlight 2012: The Director’s Project.

The Director’s Project is a unique opportunity for a young director interested in producing his or her own work but who doesn’t necessarily have the resources to make it happen or doesn’t know where to start. Twenty-Something Theatre will provide you with the framework to get you started and help you get your vision out there.

DETAILS:

I. What you are responsible for:
-obtaining any rights/royalties for the play
-putting together your own cast and crew
-all production related costs including any minimal set, props & costumes
-finding your own rehearsal space

II. What Twenty-Something will provide:
-venue and technical support
-marketing & publicity (including posters, flyers and programs for the show)
-box office support

HOW TO APPLY:

Please include in your submission:
1) a cover letter, resume and 3 references
2) an artistic statement or letter of intent, maximum 2 pages no less than 11pt font, that includes:

-the play you wish to direct, why you have chosen the play & how it fits in with the Twenty-Something mandate
-who is part of your creative team and cast (if you have one)
-what is your vision as a director, what excites you most about directing theatre and what is your directing philosophy

3) a synopsis of the play, no more than 1 page. ***Please note: This is not a development program. The play must be a finished work. The play:

-must be at least 75 minutes in length
-must fulfill the mandate of the company in terms of the cast of characters must be within the age range of 18-35 and the content of the play must be contemporary.

Please save your submission in a Word compatible format. If it can’t be opened, it won’t be considered.

All submissions can be emailed to spotlight[at]twentysomethingtheatre[dot]com

Only short-listed applicants will be contacted for an interview. No phone calls please.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: July 15th, 2011

Life is Tough!

2011-06-15T10:40:00.000-07:00

I've been back from my Hawaiian vacation for 2 weeks now and I must admit I have been taking my sweet ass time getting back to doing any real work. I probably shouldn't admit this on such a public forum as a blog but whatever I did warn you that this was going to be the "Summer of Me".

However, I have managed to accomplish a few things over the past couple of weeks. Last Thursday we had a photo shoot for Tough! by George F. Walker - our sixth annual summer production - that goes up at the end of August. This year, as well as our standard studio shots, we moved half our photo shoot outdoors and as you can see below they turned out pretty great!

(From L to R: Timothy Johnston as Bobby & Marlene Ginader as Tina)

(From L to R: Marlene Ginader as Tina & Timothy Johnston as Bobby)

(From L to R: Timothy Johnston as Bobby & Marlene Ginader as Tina)

(Photography by David Cooper)

They'll be lots more news and updates from either myself or Sarah as the production continues to pick up speed throughout the summer. We are working on getting the poster graphics ready as we speak!

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

Summer "Break"

2011-05-20T07:35:00.000-07:00

Today officially marks the start of my summer "break". For the first summer in over 5 years I am not directing our annual summer production. I am taking a "break". Why "break" in quotations? Well, awhile ago, when I was telling someone that I was taking the summer off from directing but that I'd still be producing they started to laugh and said "only you would call a that a 'break'".

Yeah, okay, it's not a full "break", it's only a partial "break", but for me it means I get to have my summer nights free from rehearsal and my weekends totally free to go on trips to Victoria to visit friends or maybe to the Okanagan to go wine 'tasting' (more like full-on drinking but, you know, let's be classy about it). This is a luxury, trust me.

Plus, plus, from the producing side of things, I'm actually lightening my load quite considerably as I will be mostly just mentoring Sarah, who has been our Associate Producer for the past year, on how to produce a show from start to finish. She will be doing most of the actual producing and I know she is going to do a fantastic job.

So, today I am off on vacation for 10 days to the sandy shores of Waikiki (unplugged style, no phone, no email) and thus commencing the "Summer of Me". Because for the past 4 and half months, it's been all about work with Prodigals taking up most of that. I have literally been up at 7am every morning (as most people notice from the time stamp on their emails) and the first thing I do is brew myself a cup of coffee and check my email. And for a lot of those 4 and a half months I'd be working until 7,8,9 (or later) at night. That's just plain crazy. I don't want to be a work-16-hours-a-day sort of person.

That all stops now. When I get back I will be moving into Twenty-Something's new office space at HiVE Vancouver which means I actually get to leave my house and socialize with people at work rather than sit alone at my desk in my house staring at the people as they walk over the Burrard Street Bridge. That alone will save my sanity. It also means no work until I hit the office. I'm going to get up and, shocker, actually take my time and maybe eat breakfast and not check my email first thing in the morning. Okay, maybe not eat breakfast, since I never have food in my house, but you get the picture.

No more living, breathing, eating work. Meet the new and improved, non-workaholic, version of me. I think I can do it.

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

Volcano Conservatory 2011

2011-05-18T09:55:00.000-07:00

Ellen Bayley, a good friend and colleague out in Toronto (actually she helped me start Twenty-Something way back when), asked me to post some information to share with you so of course I said yes. She is currently on the tail end of a year long Metcalfe Foundation Arts Management Internship with Volcano Theatre called "the best independent theatre company in Toronto" by NOW Magazine. Their highly acclaimed production of The Africa Trilogy is being presented again this coming season by Canadian Stage as Another Africa. Being from Vancouver I kind of think of them as Toronto's version of the Electric Company.

In the summer Volcano Theatre offers a conservatory program that includes a series of intensives and masterclasses taught by industry leaders. Some of those courses include:

- Physicalizing Thought with Daniel Brooks
- Movement for Actors with Peggy Baker
- Fitzmaurice Voicework with Noah Drew
- Something From Nothing : Devised Theatre with Quinn Bauriedel (Pig Iron Theatre)
- Michael Chekhov Technique with Cynthia Ashperger
- Viewpoints and Suzuki Technique with Michael Greyeyes
- Bharatanatyam and Beyond with Nova Bhattacharya

The 2011 Volcano Conservatory runs from July 22 - 31 and more information on the program can be found at www.volcano.ca/education.

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

Reviews Are In

2011-05-09T07:16:00.000-07:00

The reviews are in and... they love us, they really love us!!

"Prodigals is tightly directed by Peter Boychuk...Pratt, as Jen, does a lot of the heavy lifting, and she does it well...The most interesting character, however, is Johnston’s Wes who has actually managed to break away and finds himself in the awkward position of having to give a character witness for Benny in court....Prodigals is an impressive and polished first play by Minogue"
--Jo Ledingham, Vancouver Courier

"Husain and Kilburn exploit the expansion of their characters to their fullest...Once again it was in the relationship with Jen (Tara Pratt) and Wes (Timothy Johnston) that I found myself so drawn...the tension and attraction between the two when they are on stage together is simply electrifying...For audiences that didn't have the opportunity to see last year's production, you owe it to yourself to see it now"
--Mark Robins, GayVancouver.net

"Sean Minogue's script is ripe with wit and with the heartache of missed opportunities...Under Peter Boychuk’s sensitive direction, Tara Pratt is flawless as Jen, an invisible conduit for the character’s yearning and fatigue. This is a very grown-up piece of work. Kirsten Kilburn plays Nina, Benny’s hard-bitten sister, with a combination of honesty and brass that makes her instantly recognizable. Brandyn Eddy’s Nips is wittily understated, Jameson Parker takes Greg’s manic energy for a giddy ride, and, playing Wesley, Timothy Johnston deftly negotiates the hoops the playwright makes him jump through...Prodigals is a notable accomplishment for this team of young artists"
--Colin Thomas, Georgia Straight

"Kilburn and Husain work well together and are credible as inimical mates even when they aren't on stage at the same time...Tara Pratt arguably has the most to do as the compassionate manager of Fratesi's bar and generally does it well...Dramaturge and director Peter Boychuk keeps things moving at a sensible pace...After this foray, Sean Minogue looks like a natural. I look forward to seeing what he comes up with for his second attempt"
--John Jane, ReviewVancouver.com

And then there is this one from Peter Birnie at the Vancouver Sun. I'll leave it to you to read the whole article; however, I would just like to take a moment to make an important observation. The review states:

"Tara Pratt stars as Jen, who runs a shabby tavern seemingly occupied only by her friends. Greg (Jameson Parker) is the resident drunk, Wesley (Timothy Johnston) and Nina (Kirsten Kilburn) are struggling young parents and Nips (Brandyn Eddy) is the nerd who has graduated to being Jen’s boyfriend. That’s until Eliot (Aslam Husain) returns to town."

This information is incorrect. Wesley and Nina are not the struggling young parents. That would be Eliot and Nina. And, Eliot isn't the one to return to town. That would be Wesley. Yes, a review is one person's opinion and they are entitled to that opinion; but, how do you trust that person's opinion when they can't even manage to get the facts right?!....

Thanks to everyone who came out to see the show last week!! Another week of shows begins this Tuesday with a 2-for-1 Talkback and then continues to run until Saturday, May 14th. Tickets are available through Tickets Tonight or at the door.

We look forward to seeing you at the show!!

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

Opening Night: Prodigals

2011-05-07T18:25:00.000-07:00

After a two and a half year journey we finally opened the World Premiere of Prodigals on Thursday night. Afterwards, thanks to the organization of Sarah Mackay (Associate Producer) and Darren Young, we headed to Salt Tasting Room's private wine cellar for a little after party celebration. So, we thought we would share some of the photos from that night with you:

[The tasty spread provided by Salt]

[Cast, crew and friends]

[(Brandyn Eddy (Nips), Jameson Parker (Greg) & Kirsten Kilburn (Nina)]

[Peter Boychuk (Director), Sean Minogue (Playwright) & Sabrina Evertt (Artistic Producer)]

[The entire Prodigals cast: Timothy Johnston (Wesley), Kirsten Kilburn (Nina), Brandyn Eddy (Nips), Tara Pratt (Jen), Jameson Parker (Greg) & Aslam Husain (Eliot)]

The rest of the photos from that night are posted here. Thanks to everyone who came out on Thursday to celebrate with us. It was a great night!!

Welcome to Fratesi's

2011-05-05T07:43:00.000-07:00

A little sneak peek into Fratesi's Pub and all the people that drink there:

(L to R: Brandyn Eddy as Nips, Timothy Johnston as Wesley & Jameson Parker as Greg)

(L to R: Timothy Johnston as Wesley & Tara Pratt as Jen)

(L to R: Aslam Husain as Eliot & Tara Pratt as Jen)

(L to R: Brandyn Eddy as Nips & Tara Pratt as Jen)

(L to R: Kirsten Kilburn as Nina & Aslam Husain as Eliot)

(All photography by Ross den Otter, Pink Monkey Studios)

Opening Night is tonight!!

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

Coffee Talk with Aslam Husain

2011-05-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

Last year Aslam offered to write a guest post for the blog so although he is the cast member who has been with Prodigals the longest he is now the last cast member to finally answer the TST Coffee Talk Q&A. I didn’t know Aslam at all before he showed up to the first table read. A couple actors that I had lined up to read a couple of the male roles ended up having to pull out so I asked a mutual friend and colleague, Julie McIsaac, if she knew any young male actors who might be interested. At the time she was working on The Secret World of Og with Aslam and somehow she managed to convince him to come read with us. And, I am so glad that he did!

Not only is he a great actor. He is a very articulate, intelligent person (as you will see below from his answers) who works very hard at his craft and every time he has tackled Eliot he has breathed new life into the character. It is truly an incredible thing so I will turn it over to Aslam and let him share his process with you...

You’ve been with this show since the very first table read almost two and a half years ago. What’s it like to have been developing this play for so long?

This is my favourite part of being an actor; I love to be a part of the creative process. Imagine playwriting is like building a house: the playwright is the architect, the dramaturge the supervisor, the director the contractor and the actors are the people who eventually come to populate the house. Very few of us ever get to own a newly built house, and even fewer get to have a say in how theirs will be built. For two and a half years I have been able to have my say in how Sean’s play is constructed.

I have been involved with several workshops of new Canadian plays now. Here are a few of my observations about the process. The dramaturge and the playwright are in charge of the foundation of the play; it can be easy to step on their toes, especially if you are a writer yourself. But the story belongs to the writer and that must be respected; too many opinions in one room can become a hindrance. The actor is most helpful in a workshop when he is studying his own character in detail. I am very lucky to have been, with one brief exception, the only Eliot during the workshop process. So, after two years, I think it is fair to say that I know Eliot better than anyone else, even Sean perhaps. With so many characters and the plot to worry about the tracking of an individual character’s arc can become tricky or forgotten. This is where the actor becomes instrumental in the workshop; they act as the representative of their character. As someone who will eventually live in the house being built, they must remind the architect that though the house should be visually beautiful, people must be able to live and play in it.

In most cases the actor is simply a vessel for the playwright, disengaged from the creative process. The actor is cast based on their similarity to the essence of the character; they must bring life to an idea that was pre-formed, like buying or renting a house that was built for someone else. It is not your own; you must make it your own.

A thousand actors will live in the house of Willie Loman, but it will always originally have been built for Lee Jacob Cobb; a thousand actors will live in the house of Blanche Dubois, but it will always originally have been built for Jessica Tandy. Hopefully, a thousand actors will live as Eliot in Fratesi’s pub, but it will always originally have been built a little for me.

What is your favourite role to date and why?

(Aslam as Proprishin in Diary of a Madman)

There is no question it is my role as the madman Proprischin, in the play Diary of a Madman. This show began as a little project for David Savoy, an MFA Directing student at UBC, and ended up being the first successful North American entrant into an international theatre festival in the Czech Republic.

In our rehearsals for Prodigals we’ve talked a lot about why we, as actors, love our characters. I loved this character ferociously. I became so deeply involved with Proprischin that it took me many years to fully shed his skin, to recover my own outlook on the world and on people.

Adapted from the famous short story by Nikolai Gogol of the same name it tells the story of a lowly civil servant in 19th century St. Petersburg. His lonely life of monotonous work combined with a bitterly unrequited love would turn any man to despair, but Proprischin also suffers from undiagnosed schizophrenia. He imagines dogs talking to him and when his illness takes complete control of him he believes himself to be the King of Spain. He is committed to an insane asylum where treatment consists of water boarding and beatings. It is tragic, hilarious, and unapologetically theatrical. The play is essentially an hour long monologue, all the characters besides the madman are played by four other actors dressed entirely in black; they create the universe around him with nothing but black sticks and chairs.

I loved the role so much because I love to create characters. I am not an actor who likes to play himself on stage. The actors I admire are the versatile and transformative ones, those who are more than just compelling personalities, those who can sink so deeply into somebody else’s mind it becomes their own; actors like Brad Dourif in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest or Robert DeNiro in Raging Bull. This role was so much my favourite that sometimes, like after a first love, I wonder whether I will ever love another role in the same way.

Tell us your “I wanna be an actor” story…

I was always a weird child, more interested in the world in my head than the one in front of me. Luckily, however, I was never ridiculed for it. I was so uninhibited and committed to my imagination that people wanted to be a part of my weird world.

I attended an all boys private school as a young boy. We all had to wear uniforms: blazers, collared shirts, socks pulled up to our knees. Navy blue turtle necks were as casual as you could get. But I remember once, in grade 3, I decided to go to school as Dr. Who (the Tom Baker incarnation for those who care). I donned a scarf and hat and was Dr. Who for a day. I don’t think anybody knew who Dr. Who was then. I was raised on mostly British television, no wonder I was so weird. Who knew fifteen years later I would be doing what I did that day for a living.

(Aslam as Dr. Who [Cutest pic ever!])

While most everything I’ve ever done has seemed weird and unnatural to me, acting has always been the one thing that has felt natural. I have always preferred dealing with other people when I’m somebody else; I feel safe and liberated wearing a mask. I think we all do.

In grade six, in my spare time at home, the conflation of my strange obsession with cows and Star Wars resulted in an afternoon spent recording myself impromptu narrating my own two hour epic parody of the entire Star Wars trilogy. I called it Star Cows. On a whim, I brought it into my class and played it for them. I would never have the courage to do something like that now. But, they loved it. On the insistence of my teacher I wrote a play-version of Star Cows and we devoted hours of class time into the rehearsal of my new play. We then performed the twenty minute creation in assembly, cutting into regular class time. The play was such a success I was asked to write a second installment, which was a parody of both the Empire Strikes Back and the Return of the Jedi. Star Cows is still a bit of a legend at my old school. This was a formative moment for me; it was such a wonderful experience, as an oddball child, to be accepted and loved for the expression of the weirdness in my head.

I have never set out to be famous, or to be a movie star, though I’ve dreamt of it. I have just wanted to keep doing what I love, sharing the weirdness in my head.

How do you relate (or not) to your character, Eliot, in the play?

Eliot is about to break. Life hasn’t turned out the way he thought it would and he’s angry about it. He is seething with self loathing. He feels like a failure, he’s fallen so far he can’t get back up. And he blames it all on circumstance; if only he could have left this city and made something of himself. The saddest thing about Eliot is that there is so much joy in his life, he just can’t see it; he has a beautiful daughter, a girlfriend that loves him, and a loyal group of friends.

I think we have all walked in Eliot’s shoes. I have self medicated, I have lost sight of the joy in my life, felt like a failure, sabotaged relationships. Eliot wants to find a way out, he wants the weight to be lifted, but he’s not willing to try. He’s been filled with such hatred for so long, it’s become his personality; I don’t think Eliot would know what to do without his anger and depression. Joy is such a foreign emotion for him now that it’s uncomfortable. It will take a major epiphany to pull him out of the hole he’s dug for himself (no spoilers!!)

How has Eliot evolved over time, especially since the workshop production? How will this production be different? And, why should people come out to see Prodigals again?

In the first workshop of the play, Eliot was much more volatile; he was a violent meth addict. Eventually his past of substance abuse was cut from the play and he was toned down into an angry “union slacker” with a big chip on his shoulder. With this production, I wanted to reinsert the substance abuse into the play, but as subtext. Eliot has a harder edge; this time around he’s one step away from becoming the next Benny.

Prodigals is such a perfect play for Twenty-Something Theatre; the prodigal characters are wrestling with the ubiquitous twenty-something crisis; “what the hell am I doing with my life?”

If you had one piece of advice for aspiring young actors, those just starting a training program or going to their first audition, what would it be….

My advice would be to take all advice about this career with a very large grain of salt, including my own. I don’t know how many lectures and classes I’ve been to outside of theatre school where I’ve been given contradictory advice from jaded skeptics. Be skeptical of the skeptics!

With that said, here’s my advice: find your own way in this industry. There are so many different avenues to success. If you love it and are driven enough, everything else will follow. A word about success: it is psychological. Stella Adler said that the only real validation you will ever get as an actor is from yourself. No amount of encores, no amount of awards, no amount of winning reviews will ever be enough; you must love yourself. As artists we are often forced to think of our work in terms of success and failure, but that’s a false dichotomy. Acting can’t be just about vigorous applause or getting a laugh on your line, because there will always be nights when the audiences fail to laugh and applaud without vigour even when your work is spot on. You may be reviewed spectacularly and atrociously from the same night’s performance. Art is subjective. In the end, you must look to yourself for validation.

Today Aslam and the rest of the cast move into the venue!! You can check them all out starting tomorrow at Studio T, SFU Woodward's at Goldcorp Centre for the Arts.

See you in the "Soo"!!

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

Behind The Scenes: Actor's Rehearsing

2011-04-25T08:08:00.000-07:00

A typical Prodigals 2.0 rehearsal:

Waiting for Notes:

[L to R: Kirsten Kilburn (Nina), Jameson Parker (Greg), Aslam Husain (Eliot) & Brandyn Eddy (Nips)]

[L to R: Timothy Johnston (Wesley) & Tara Pratt (Jen)]

Rehearsing:

[Centre: Timothy Johnston (Wesley). Background: Brandyn Eddy (Nips)]

[L to R: Brandyn Eddy (Nips), Kirsten Kilburn (Nina) & Aslam Husain (Eliot)]

[Jameson Parker (Greg)]

[Tara Pratt (Jen)]

The rest of the photos can be seen in our Flickr account. One week until we move the show from the rehearsal hall out at UBC into the venue at SFU Woodward's!!

Get your tickets here (before they are gone)!

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

Behind The Scenes: Prodigals 2.0 Design Process

2011-04-23T08:32:00.000-07:00

Many of you may be asking yourselves what is going to be different about Prodigals 2.0? In one word: a lot. (Okay that is 2 words).

For the workshop production of Prodigals, the production and design team had a shoestring budget. Jon, the Set Designer, was given a little bit of a budget to put together the amazing set he managed to create in the Havana. So, think for a second about what he did in that space with only a couple hundred dollars... and now think about what he's going to be able to do in Studio T with an actual proper budget... Yep, it's going to be great.

And, with Heather, the original lighting designer/production manager off and having a baby at any moment, her and Jon are working together to expand the lighting design into our new venue with all its amazing, brand new, state of the art technical capabilities. Exciting!!

Jane, the Costume Designer, had no budget. And, when I mean no budget, I mean no budget. I think if my mind serves me correctly she had approx $50 to go out and pick up a few things that the actors themselves couldn't provide. Now she too has an actual proper budget and she was in rehearsal the other day doing some fittings with the actors:

[L to R: Jane Sanden (Costume Designer), Kirsten Kilburn (Nina), Brandyn Eddy (Nips), Jameson Parker (Greg)]

[L to R: Tara Pratt (Jen) & Aslam Husain (Eliot)]

Next, with Kevin, our Sound Designer, it wasn't so much about money as it was about time and process. With Prodigals 1.0 Sound was mainly an afterthought. We needed a phone to ring so he came up with a sound cue and that was pretty much it. But, now (as you will see from the video below) it has become an integral part of the show. Kevin has created an amazing original score for the play that has given Prodigals 2.0 an extra layer of depth.

Plus Peter, the Director, has tweaked a few things, or even completely thrown out some things, in favour of creating moments that will serve this production better. Included in those new moments will be the new intro to Prodigals:

[A video clip from rehearsal on April 21, 2011. Cast appearing in the video: Tara Pratt (Jen), Jameson Parker (Greg), Brandyn Eddy (Nips) & Aslam Husain (Eliot). Sound & Original Score: Kevin McLardy]

Welcome to Prodigals 2.0!!

~Sabrina Evertt,
Artistic Producer

Coffee Talk with Kirsten Kilburn

2011-04-21T08:41:00.000-07:00

Last year I did a series of Q&A’s with some of the cast members of Prodigals leading up to the workshop production (If you missed it last time you can read them all here) so I thought with the addition of a new actor to the team I would take a few minutes to get her take on Prodigals 2.0.

Kirsten Kilburn is no stranger to Twenty-Something Theatre. In fact, I have probably worked with her more than anyone else in this industry. So much, in fact, that I was semi-joking around the other day about how I should just make her an Artistic Associate of the company. Her Twenty-Something credits are as follows: Jessica in This Is Our Youth, the inaugural production of the company; The Narrator in The Fever, the inaugural Spotlight production; Candy in our sold-out hit production of Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love; Assistant Director for Blue Surge; and now, Nina in the World Premiere of Prodigals, our first new work.

(Kirsten, on the far left, in This Is Our Youth)

(Kirsten, on the far right, in Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love)

She has been around for a lot of “firsts” and it seems only fitting that she would be part of this “first” as well. So without further ado let’s hear from Kir (as we all call her)…

What’s it like to be the newest addition to the cast and thrown into a play and a group of people that have been together for so long already?

Well, I've known most of the other actors for quite awhile, so it makes that experience of being the "newbie" a lot less stressful. Except when they make fun of me for being the newbie...;) Something I find a little challenging is catching up to the amount of character work and process. I have a few weeks, whereas everyone else has had a year to sit and live with it. And then again, that's also a blessing. Being able to work with actors who are so established in their character relationships makes it easier to make quick decisions regarding my own work. I just like to think that I'm really fortunate to have the opportunity to work on such a wonderful piece with a pretty fabulous group of people, whether I'm the new kid or not.

What is your favourite role to date and why?

Can I pick more than one? I'm gonna do it... my favorite role in film was playing the character of Liz in a short film called "Locked Out". Not only is it shot in Vancouver, it's very much about Vancouver. Even though we shot mostly outside in winter with me wearing a nightie, a short bathrobe, and giant rubber boots, it still wins for favorite role. Liz goes through so many emotions and transitions and still finds the strength and willpower to succeed. The cast and crew are also some of the finest people I've had the great fortune to work with, especially Tovah Paglaro, who wrote, directed and produced the piece.

Musical theatre, I'm going to go with playing Amy in "Quarter Life". I had the pleasure of playing that role twice: once here in Vancouver, and then again in Toronto with some new cast members and an altered plot. "Quarter Life" was a brand new musical written by Chantal Forde and composed by Neville Bowman. The challenge of working on new music and the beauty of the material was an amazing experience in and of itself, but the relationships that were formed, both personal and professional, were what really made the project so special. There was so much heart in that show.

And theatre. Candy in "Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love". Not only is the piece itself challenging; there are many interjections by characters not "in" the scene, one scene is happening on stage while another is still taking place, all actors are on-stage for the entire show; but it was an incredible emotional challenge as well. I feel like it was one of the first times that I was cast against my type, which is such a great way to explore and really find what makes the character themselves. And she's, um, a little bit complicated, so that was fun, too! And again, being able to work with such a passionate and creative group of people is always such a gift.

Tell us your “I wanna be an actor” story…

Well, I'm not sure I have one. I started dancing at three, doing radio commercials before I could read, and singing at six (yes, I DID have a radio announcer dad and a former actress mom!), so I feel like it was kind of just a given. I can't remember wanting to be anything else. Really. I do, however, remember when I decided that I wanted to go to my high school (Victoria School of the Visual and Performing Arts aka Vic in Edmonton). I was in grade six, and we had a field trip to go see "West Side Story" at Vic. Yes, I know. We all love student matinees! I sat in my seat, the house lights dimmed, and I fell in love with everything happening on that stage. I was mesmerized, and just knew I had to go there. So Vic would become my home for quite some time. And I wouldn't trade any moment of my time there for the world. PS One of my very favorite people, Mr Troy Anthony Young, who was just seen in "Nocturne" with Twenty-Something, was in that production of "West Side Story". It's nice to have your inspiration as your friend, isn't it?

(photo courtesy of Kirsten)

How do you relate (or not) to your character, Nina, in the play?

Nina is definitely not shy about expressing her opinions and emotions, and she doesn't always choose the most...kind words when sharing these things. I like to hope that I'm a little bit more diplomatic when I communicate. But I could be wrong. I feel as though we don't really share the same taste in fashion. She clearly is one up on me in that department! I am not a mother, Nina has a daughter. We both smoke, so that's some nice common ground. And Nina has heart. She is fiercely loyal to those she cares about, although they may not get that from the way she speaks to them. And I think the loyalty and need to protect those closest to you is something we definitely have in common. That, and the love of leopard print...

You actually had the opportunity to see the workshop production the first time around. How will this production be different? And, why should people come out to see Prodigals again?

The workshop performance was wonderful to see. It was at the Havana Theatre, which is such an intimate space. This production will be at SFU Woodwards Studio T, which is a larger, open space. The set design makes such fantastic use of the new space, keeping everything open, yet very specific in terms of location. This production will be that much more polished in every aspect. I'm really excited to see it all come together! And again, the cast and crew has had a year to sit and live with this show. The ideas and creativity that have come up are outstanding. Sean, the playwright, has taken this latest script to the next level. The clarity and development of character is that much stronger, allowing the performances to really shine. All in all, it is well worth a second viewing if you saw it the first time! And if you didn't, well you need to see it. Everyone finds a little bit of themselves in this show. Your heartstrings will definitely feel a little tug! Oh. And I'm in this one. That's a good reason, right?

If you had one piece of advice for aspiring young actors, those just starting a training program or going to their first audition, what would it be….

Have fun! I think sometimes we forget why we do what we do. We become bogged down with all of the pressures and unknowns of being an artist; why didn't I get the part? What if I never make it? Why can't I get an audition for that company? But we don't call them "plays" for nothing! We have the joy of being able to become totally different people, to live thousands of other lives, feel the full range of emotions, be a killer, a cowboy, a countess, a call girl, anything we want to be! And then go home and live our lives. There is no other profession that let's you do that. And get paid for it! Always find the joy of being able to play, whether it be on stage, in front of the camera, or in an audition room. That is the best advice I can give to anyone, but especially those just starting out.

Thanks to Kirsten for taking the time to share with us. Catch her as the new "Nina" starting May 3rd (only approx a week and half now!) along with the rest of the Prodigals 2.0 team at Studio T, SFU Woodward's, Goldcorp Centre for the Arts.

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

Reality is Happening

2011-04-19T07:35:00.000-07:00

Back in January we launched a major fundraising campaign and in February I wrote a post entitled "This Is The Reality" about the reality of funding and fundraising. Well it is now April 19th and reality is happening.

March was a crazy month!! (I kind of thought I was going insane there for awhile). Not only was I working on Jesus Hopped the A Train as a designer but I was also planning and/or preparing for our March Madness fundraising events. Let me just say one thing: I do NOT recommend doing 2 big fundraisers a week apart. Hindsight is 20/20, right?!

However, both events were a huge success. Last week, I finished doing the reconciliation from the Cabaret show and we made over $2200 that will go directly towards producing Prodigals. Plus, Legacy Liquor on the night of the Wine Tasting event presented us with a $1000 cheque as the first installment and with over 100 people at the event the final cheque will go a long way towards helping us reach our goals.

So, three and half months later, here we are back in the rehearsal room for Prodigals and thanks to the help and support of many I'm no longer asking myself the question: "Where the #$@# are we going to get the money to do this?" That is a huge relief.

Now I can just be excited about getting our first official World Premiere of a new work up in front of audiences!!

~Sabrina Evertt,
Artistic Producer

Under the Influence

2011-04-14T08:25:00.000-07:00

On the weekend of March 31 - April 2 we held our very first Cabaret show: Under the Influence. It was such a great show and we all just had a blast doing it. I managed to take a few photos and get some video clips of the show to share with you. Enjoy!!

(The cast at rehearsal during the day)

(Show Time!!)

(Pretty Girl Blues. Music & Lyrics by Kerrigan-Lowdermilk. Singers: Kirsten Kilburn, Tamara Vishniakoff & Dustin Freeland. Dancers: Calida Kuzek, Paige McCulloch & Brett Owen)

(How To Not Be With You. Music & Lyrics by Kerrigan-Lowdermilk. Singer: Dustin Freeland. Dancer & Choreographer: Joel Sturrock)

I will eventually be posting more video's of the show for your viewing pleasure on our youtube channel which you can visit here.

Thanks again to everyone who came out and made it such a fabulous 3 nights!! Hopefully we'll do it again soon.

~Sabrina Evertt,
Artistic Producer

World Theatre Day: 2011

2011-03-27T11:17:00.000-07:00

I am an Artist.

It took me a long time to say those words (and believe them).

When someone asks me what I do. I say “I work in theatre”. Or “I’m a costume designer”. Or any other industrious label you want to put on it so that it sounds like I’m actually doing instead of just being.

But I’m actually none of those of things really. I am an Artist.

Theatre just happens to be my medium. It is the instrument through which I tell the world the things I want to say.

I found this amazing TED talk today with poet Sarah Kay. Her medium in this segment happens to be Spoken Word Poetry but the message remains the same.

This Is My Theatre...

Happy World Theatre Day!!

~Sabrina Evertt,
Artistic Producer

Choreographer & Dancers

2011-03-23T08:14:00.000-07:00

JOEL STURROCK - CHOREOGRAPHER
Joel trained at Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet and is a graduate of the Canadian College of Performing Arts, with a Choreography Mentorship under Artistic Director Jacques Lemay. Selected choreographic credits: MTV’s "Dancing with the Hosts", Mental the Musical, Monument Pictures and "Gunless" as assistant choreographer and on set dance coach. Joel is currently the co-creator and choreographer for the upcoming series "The True Heroines" and it's companion live show 'Show On The Run - A Comic Strip Cabaret'.

CALIDA KUZEK - DANCER
Calida has been a dancer and performer for sixteen years. She has travelled North America and had the privilege of working with some of the best in Los Angeles, Toronto and Vancouver. Since moving to Vancouver in 2009 Calida has performed with The Source Dance Company, The Underground Circus, and was cast in the Vancouver Musical Original Sweet Mystery. Calida is currently training with the Industry Dance Training Program in Vancouver, and is a performer with Kill The Lights and Cassie Jackson. I hope you enjoy the show!

BRETT OWEN - DANCER
Since moving to Vancouver from Manitoba three years ago, Brett Owen has made a name for himself as a contemporary dance artist. Specializing in improvisation, he has performed with choreographers including Josh Beamish, Amber Funk Barton and Daelik. His own work has been showcased at BC Buds, 12 Minutes Max, The Pride In Art Festival and Dancing On The Edge. He has also appeared in music videos for Hey Ocean!, These Kids Wear Crowns, and The Brandon Paris Band.

PAIGE MCCULLOCH - DANCER
Originally from Calgary, AB, Paige McCulloch grew up training at Drewitz Dance Productions since the age of 4. There she trained in a variety of dance styles including ballet, jazz, tap, and musical theatre. She has been living in Vancouver for the past 2 years continuing her dance training with The Source Dance Company as well as performing at various shows and events around the city. Paige is very excited to be performing with Twenty-Something Theatre for the first time!

I've had the privilege to attend quite a few choreography rehearsals over the past couple of weeks and I can honestly say that these guys are incredible. One of the singers watching the dancers rehearse earlier this week got goosebumps when she witnessed the choreography for the final number. No joke.

Only a week away now!! This is going to be an incredible show but there are only 3 nights and then it is gone forever. Literally never to be repeated again.

Tickets can be reserved at boxoffice[at]twentysomethingtheatre[dot]com.

~Sabrina Evertt,
Artistic Producer

Musical Director & Singers

2011-03-16T18:26:00.000-07:00

STEVEN GREENFIELD - MUSICAL DIRECTOR
Steven is thrilled to be making his debut with Twenty-Something Theatre! Recent musical direction credits: Seussical (Carousel Theatre); Mimi (or a Poisoner's Comedy) (Touchstone Theatre); and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (Broadway West Productions/Relephant Theatre). He is a Jessie Award-winning and OVATION! Award-nominated musical director for Seussical (Carousel Theatre) and Edges (Streamlight Productions). A graduate of the Theatre Arts program at Grant MacEwan College, upcoming projects include Fiddler on the Roof for the Chemainus Theatre Festival.

LEXY CAMPBELL - SINGER

This is Lexy’s first time working with Twenty-Something Theatre, and she is thrilled to be performing with such a wonderful group of people. Lexy has worked with local theatre companies including: Metro Theatre, Theatre Under the Stars, Uncle Randy Productions, and Fighting Chance Productions. In addition to performing, Lexy also enjoys teaching and has worked in various school and theatre settings. She holds a BFA in Theatre Performance from Concordia University in Montreal and is looking forward to attending the Bachelor of Education Program at UBC in the fall.

BRANDYN EDDY - SINGER

Brandyn is a Vancouver based actor/singer/dancer. He will be performing in Twenty-Something's upcoming production of Prodigals along side 4 of his old castmates and 1 newcomer. Some of Brandyn's favourite credits include: Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, Jon in tick, Tick...BOOM!, Napoleon in The Man of Destiny, Man 1 in Jacques Brel, Derek in Chainmail Bikini, Guido in Nine, The Barker in Woyzeck, and Cain in Children of Eden. Brandyn will also be producing and starring in the Vancouver premiere of Glory Days this fall!

DUSTIN FREELAND - SINGER

Dustin is thrilled and honoured to be working with the talented Twenty-Something Theatre company. As a recent graduate from Langara College’s Studio 58 program, his favourite credits include Conrad Birdie in Bye Bye Birdie, Mr Spettigue in Where’s Charley and Gabriel Fines in Studio 58’s original productions of The Park. This summer will also mark his Bard on the Beach debut as he will be performing in Richard III and Henry VI War of the Roses. Have a good time and drink lots!

TIMOTHY JOHNSTON - SINGER

Timothy is thrilled to be back with Twenty-Something Theatre, having played Warren in their debut production This Is Our Youth, and will be playing Wesley in their upcoming world premiere of Prodigals. Recent Credits include The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari (Somnambulist), Radius (Open Source), The Gas Heart (Gas Heart) and Ride The Cyclone (Atomic Vaudeville). Thank you for supporting local, independent theatre.

KIRSTEN KILBURN - SINGER

Originally from Edmonton, Kirsten has been working in Vancouver for the past ten years. Last seen in the Winnipeg Fringe and at Havana theatre in Comfort by Gordon Portman, and looking forward to performing in the world premiere of Prodigals, a new play by Sean Minogue coming up in May, Kirsten is thrilled to be performing with some wonderful fellow musical theatre lovers! Enjoy your time...under the influence.

TAMARA VISHNIAKOFF - SINGER

Tamara has been doing theatre since she was 8 years old and is so thrilled to be singing one more time before venturing off to Montreal to go back to school to enter the world of fashion. She most was recently the “Star-to-Be” in Gateway Theatre’s production of Annie. Favourite credits include Estelle in The Full Monty (Persephone/Patrick Street), Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar (TUTS), and Gabriella in High School Musical (Viva Musica). Enjoy the show!

Check them all out starting March 31st. 3 nights only. So, start reserving your tickets (boxoffice[at]twentysometheatre[dot]com) now if you want to get a seat because seating is limited.

~Sabrina Evertt,
Artistic Producer

March Madness II

2011-03-10T07:41:00.000-08:00

Last week we announced our first of two awesome events: A wine tasting event with over 50+ products being poured at Vancouver’s newest and largest liquor store, Legacy Liquor, in the Olympic Village. Now we are uber excited to announce…

Event 2: A contemporary Cabaret with songs by Jonathan Larson award-winning duo Kerrigan and Lowdermilk. Directed by Sabrina Evertt. Musical Direction by Steven Greenfield. Choreography by Joel Sturrock.

Featuring performances by Lexy Campbell, Brandyn Eddy, Dustin Freeland, Timothy Johnston, Kirsten Kilburn, Calida Kuzek, Brett Owen, Paige McCulloch & Tamara Vishniakoff.

("Birdland NYC", image credit: jacksonpe)

Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk are among the most celebrated young writers in musical theatre. Their adaptation of Henry & Mudge had an Off-Broadway run at the Lucille Lortel Theatre and is currently touring the country with TheatreworksUSA. Their latest original musical The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown was most recently developed at a workshop at Manhattan Theatre Club directed by Christopher Ashley. They have collaborated on two other musicals: The Woman Upstairs and Wrong Number, both of which were featured in the New York Musical Theatre Festival. They are recipients of a 2006 Jonathan Larson Award and a 2004-2005 Jonathan Larson Fellowship at the Dramatists Guild, and they are members of the BMI Musical Theatre Advanced workshop, ASCAP and the Dramatists Guild.

Their songs are about youth, coming of age, and learning lessons. It’s about laughing at yourself, and figuring things out on your own. It’s about realizing that with the freedom to do anything comes the responsibility to do something.

Kerrigan and Lowdermilk have compiled all their musical theatre and pop songs into one database called PARTY WORTH CRASHING where producers can choose their own set list and create their own individual shows. This Cabaret event is Twenty-Something Theatre’s compilation of those songs and with songs entitled Anonymous Sex, Last Week’s Alcohol and Pretty Girl Blues, it is guaranteed to be a night to remember.

The performance will take place with cabaret-style seating and will have a cash bar with only $4 drinks!! However, we don’t want anyone driving under the influence so be sure to leave your vehicles at home but don’t forget your wallet!

Date: Thursday March 31st, Friday April 1st and Saturday April 2nd, 2011
Tickets: $15

The Cabaret will take place at the new CBC Studio 700 on Hamilton Street. Doors will open at 7:30. Performances to begin at approx 8pm.

Tickets can be purchased at the door or by emailing your reservation requests to: boxoffice[at]twentysomethingtheatre[dot]com.

Please note: If you and your group want to secure a table please make sure to arrive early as there are a limited number of tables.

And, now, to give you a little sneak peek into some of the songs you can expect to see performed check out this little video:

See you all at the Cabaret!!!

~Sabrina Evertt,
Artistic Producer

March Madness

2011-03-03T08:45:00.000-08:00

Nocturne has closed and Prodigals is well on its way towards Opening Night on May 5th but in between then and now Twenty-Something Theatre isn’t closing its (metaphorical) doors. We’ve got not 1 but 2 awesome events lined up!!

Event 1: Legacy Liqour Store presents: An Evening with Twenty-Something Theatre...

“Legacy is pleased to announce the first of four Charity Tastings we will host this year. Net proceeds from the tickets sales are donated to Twenty-Something Theatre, a Vancouver not-for-profit independent theatre company dedicated to producing contemporary theatre that is provocative, edgy and relevant to a young generation. With your ticket purchase, we invite you to come sample the many different products being poured at this festival tasting. Food pairing will be served courtesy of Doolin’s Irish Pub. Join us for what is sure to be a memorable evening!”

There will be approximately 15 tables pouring an array of wines, beer and spirits and some of the Sponsors for this event include:

-Central City Brewing
-Howling Bluff Winery
-Icon Fine Wines and Spirits
-Renaissance Wine Merchants
-Terrarosa Imports
-Quaff Wine and Spirits
-Vincor
-Bar Global
-Enoteca Bacco
-Joie Wines
-Peacock & Martin
- & more to come!...

Date: Thursday March 24th, 2011 from 6-9pm
Tickets: $28 (HST included)

This festival style tasting will take place at the beautiful new Legacy Liqour Store located at 1633 Manitoba Street, Southeast False Creek (Olympic Village) and tickets can be purchased online at the Legacy Events page or at the door.

We’ll also be doing a short reading of a scene from the new script so if you want a sneak peek into Prodigals 2.0 come down and have a glass (or two...or three...) with us. And, don’t worry there will be pre-arranged Yellow Cabs standing by just outside the door when you decide you’ve had enough and want to stumble home.

See you all there!!

~Sabrina Evertt,
Artistic Producer

PS...details for Event 2 will be posted soon so stay tuned!!

Nocturne: What Is It?

2011-02-18T12:00:00.000-08:00

A Nocturne is a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night. In it's most familiar form it is a single-movement character piece usually written for solo piano. Nocturnes are generally thought of as being tranquil, often expressive and lyrical, and sometimes rather gloomy.

The most famous composer of the form was Frederic Chopin, who wrote 21 of them:

Chopin's Nocturne in E Flat Major Op. 9 No. 2 is one of his most popular Nocturne’s. He composed this piece when he was approximately twenty years old and like much of Chopin's music, this Nocturne is tinged with melancholy.

While Rapp refers to Chopin in his play the Nocturne he references most is a much more obscure piece by the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. While Grieg is a well-known composer for many of his pieces his more obscure Nocturne (or Notturno) can be found amongst his collection of piano miniatures called the Lyric Pieces:

This extraordinary and beautiful piece of music along with other classical and contemporary references underscore the play creating some truly beautiful moments courtesy of our amazing sound and lighting designers.

I hope you will all come out to share in the magic!

~Sabrina Evertt,
Artistic Producer

[Tickets to Nocturne may be purchased from Tickets Tonight, or you can buy a 3-ticket Season Flex Pass at Ticket Leap]

Coffee Talk with Troy Anthony Young

2011-02-16T09:46:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend at Melriches, I caught up with Troy, who we introduced last month in the One-Man Show post. Nocturne marks Troy’s first venture with Twenty-Something Theatre, where has tackles the role of “The Son.”

So rehearsals are going well?

They are. I’d love to have more! It’s been a really great process. We started out at the beginning of January and we meet every two days. It’s absolutely necessary with this play. The text is really dense and it’s very poetic. Sabrina and I coined the term, it’s like “modern Shakespeare” at times. Adam Rapp is really smart and the character he’s created is a very intelligent man who reads his head off. He’s a writer himself. And the text, it’s beautiful. It’s absolute poetry. I mean, it’s in prose form but it’s poetry.

Wow, cool. I can’t wait! So what are you drinking there?

Coffee. It’s just coffee. It’s been my fuel for two months now.

If we were at a bar, what would you be having?

Probably beer. Or maybe a good Irish whiskey.

Tell me about a really memorable performance or show you saw that really stands out for you.

When I was in high school, there was a theatre company in Edmonton called Phoenix. They’re no longer there though, unfortunately. They did this version of a play called “Road”, which is originally from England and takes place in Yorkshire. It’s about a bunch of very lower-class, working people. They had transformed this whole mechanics garage, which was their theatre space, into a street. They literally laid asphalt down on the ground and everything. You walked in and you were blown away by the environment. Though that wasn’t what really did it for me. What really did it were the performances – some of the best actors I’ve ever seen. And I’m fortunate to be friends with some of them. One of them was a teacher of mine, his name’s David McNally, he’s in Edmonton and he’s one of the best actors I’ve ever known. There was this one sequence towards the end of the play where these two young men and these two young women have been out partying, and they’ve come back to the house and they’re drinking it up, and they have one record to play. It’s Otis Redding’s “Try a Little Tenderness” and they put it on, it’s all scratchy and 45 rpms. Nobody says anything. They just let the music affect them. I remember watching these four actors, without saying a word, you could see all the sorrow, and the anger and frustration these people felt in this working-class town where nobody has any money. And at the end of it they’re dancing. And it starts out only a little bit and then just develops and develops. And the dance is dancing out all their frustrations. Then at the end of it, the line’s “Somehow we must get out.” And it was just mind-blowing.

Tell me about your, “Aha! I want to be an actor” moment.

Actually, it’s kind of funny. When I was a very young boy – I was about ten years old – and there was a theatre school in my hometown, which is Leduc, Alberta. It’s a small, little city outside of Edmonton. The woman who ran the school happened to be more or less a friend of my mother’s, and she said that she wanted me to come to this theatre school. I really didn’t want to, to be honest. I didn’t have much interest in it. I actually spent the first year of classes pretty much just staying in the background and not doing much. I would actually pull the curtain instead of going onstage for the show. Stuff like that. At some point, I ended up having to fill in for somebody. It was a Christmas show. I don’t remember what the play was, but one of the kids broke his leg or got grounded – one of the two – and I ended up onstage. The lights came up and I did a song and dance number, and at the end the audience clapped. And it was like, “Hey! They’re doing that just because of what I did!” It kind of hooked me. I found this natural affinity towards it. I really enjoyed it and I was starting to really get into it, making some friends there. By the age of twelve I knew that was exactly what I wanted to do with my life.

What do you think of the theatre scene in Vancouver? The good, the bad, and the ugly.

There is some really amazing theatre that happens in this city. Unfortunately, it tends to come from groups that don’t get seen as much as they should. Groups like Twenty-Something. Sabrina is one of the most talented directors in this town. She deserves to have her stuff seen. A lot of the best theatre I’ve seen in this city has been micro-theatre stuff, Equity Co-ops, and small theatre stuff. There are the big leagues; I mean you have your Arts Club and your Playhouse. You have Bard on the Beach. They do good work. Some of the stuff they do is really amazing, and some of the stuff is okay. I don’t want to put them down or anything because you need the commercial, the sell-able kind of theatre in the city. That’s a very necessary part of the community. But the stuff that’s really challenging, interesting, and really thrills me is all done by smaller groups. I just wish people would go more. It’s a weird thing about Vancouver. It’s hard to get butts in seats. About the only company that does really well, consistently, all the time is Bard on the Beach. I wish I could figure out what their secret was and market it myself.

Do you have any funny or embarrassing actor stories that have happened onstage?

I was doing a play, I’m not going to name the play, and as always happens with small, private companies, we were under-rehearsed. We were onstage. I think it was our second or third show. I was working with this other actor and I realized that he was completely lost. He had completely lost his lines. He didn’t know where he was in the scene, the questions he was supposed to ask me, or anything. I knew myself, just enough to try and wing my way through this. I started switching some things around, turning my statements back into the way he would ask the questions back at me so I could just answer, kind of an “Okay, do you know where we are?” Finally, he got himself back together and was back. That’s not really the embarrassing part, other than the sheer terror of wondering how I was going to save this in front of an audience. But it was afterward – when the director corrected me on my lines. The director was sitting there in the audience, watching the show and hadn’t realized what I was doing, and why I was doing it. The other actor then came up and said, “Wow, you totally saved my ass up there!” And then the director backed down. We all had a good chuckle about it afterward.

Tell me about the process of doing a one-man show. Do you work differently as compared with an ensemble piece?

The actor process is pretty much the same. The one thing about a one-man show that’s different is, well my belief in acting is it has a lot to do with how you’re affecting the other person and how they’re affecting you. When you’re doing this show, there’s no other person onstage. The other person is the audience and they’re not reacting – not in the way your co-star would react onstage. It’s a matter of projecting their reaction. Although, this particular play is very much storytelling. There are a lot of elements of very dramatic action, but there is a lot of storytelling. You still have to have the playable action in the role but there is just some really beautiful storytelling that goes on as well. Some of it is downright hilarious and dark, but hilarious.

Daunting at all?

Oh yes. I wish I had started working on this script about a year ago. It’s about sixty-five or seventy pages and really dense text. It’s beautiful stuff and when you say it, you fall in love with it. The journey that this man takes, from being a teenage boy who accidentally kills his sister, I mean that’s how the play starts. The first line of the play is, “Fifteen years ago I killed my sister.” From there to him and his family dealing with the fall-out of it, to being an adult looking back and dealing with it. I don’t want to tell or give too much away though. But he deals with the fallout from this horrible accident as a young man. It’s tragic and it’s beautiful. It’s a daunting task but it’s very exciting. We’re a week and a bit away from opening right now and I think we’re right where we’re supposed to be.

So why should people come and see Nocturne?

It’s a beautiful story. The Son is just such an amazing character. He’s witty; he’s funny, and smart. It’s a very entertaining play but it’s also very engaging. There are parts in the play that are just going to rip your heart strings to bits. I hope.

What advice would you have for any young actors starting out or thinking about becoming an actor?

Okay, this is going to sound a little sad: it’s going to be the toughest thing you’ll ever do in your life. If you don’t love it with every part of your being, if you don’t absolutely need it, if it’s not the only thing that can keep you going, think twice. Think twice about making it a career. It can be so challenging and so frustrating, but when you get the chance to do something, when you get the chance to perform in a really wonderful play – be that a musical theatre piece you love or a really great drama, or Shakespeare, or a really funny Neil Simon comedy – then the reward’s all there. When you know that what you’ve just said has reached out across the lights and has grabbed somebody, and you know they’re listening to every word you say, that is the moment. That’s the pay-off. That being said, I’m not saying don’t be an actor, but it can be really challenging and tiresome at times. There are sometimes periods where you don’t get work, and you have to go wait tables. But acting feeds your soul.

You can catch Troy next week in Nocturne, running February 22-27 at the Havana Theatre. Tickets may be purchased from Tickets Tonight, or you can buy a 3-ticket Season Flex Pass at Ticket Leap.

~Sarah MacKay
Associate Producer

This Is The Reality

2011-02-11T07:41:00.000-08:00

It’s been almost 1 month since we kicked off #fc2011. We created a plan. And now we’re putting that plan into motion. On Wednesday we launched a fundraising drive through “crowd-sourcing” or “crowd-funding” by using social media platforms such as this blog, twitter & facebook. It allows our friends, followers and fans to pitch in and help us make Prodigals a reality.

And, the reality is this: due to the state of government funding in this country Twenty-Something Theatre is still yet to receive any public funding so we rely solely on the private sector to make our projects a reality.

This won’t turn into a government bashing session because the situation we currently face is what it is and the likelihood that it will change anytime soon is slim to none. So, that has left us with no choice but to put nose to the grindstone and make it happen for ourselves.

But we can’t make it happen without you. Prodigals is our first venture into “professional” theatre. And by “professional” (in quotation marks) I am referring to the payment of a standard “living wage” – whether as set out by Equity or another professional organization – to the actors, designers & production team working on the show. Not in reference to the quality of the production. We have always and will continue to always put on professional quality shows; but, as anyone who works in the theatre industry knows, it is hard to pay anyone a standard “living wage” when you are not receiving some sort of public funding.

For example: if you pay everyone Equity minimums (approx $500-$600 per week) over a typical 3 week rehearsal period and 2 week performance period. That alone equals $2500-$3000 for one person. Multiply that by say 6 performers (like we have in Prodigals) and you get approx $15,000 - $18,000. And, that is just the actors. You still have to pay the director, the stage manager, the designers, etc.

So, that $15,000 has to come from somewhere and that is usually 1 of 3 sources: box office revenues, public funding or private funding. And since we’ve already gone over the state of the public funding in this country -- and talked ad nauseam about how hard it is to rely on any sort of projected box office revenue beyond 30% – we are left with private funding.

$15,000+ solely from the private sector alone?! You look at the number, blink a few times, and think to yourself “you have got to f---ing be kidding me?!”.

Well, I’m here to tell you, this isn’t some kind of sick joke. This is the reality.

So, if you are me, then you swallow hard, feel a bit daunted & depressed for about a day or two and then you pull-up your bootstraps and you get to work. Because I’m not going to let a silly little thing like money get in the way of accomplishing what it is we set out to accomplish.

So come hell or high water Prodigals 2.0 is going full steam ahead but we could use your help to get us there. How you might ask? Good question:

1) You can go to our IndieGoGo page (or click on the widget on the right hand side of this blog post), make a contribution and receive one of the many awesome perks!!

2) Alternatively, since Twenty-Something Theatre Society is now a Registered Charity, you can also donate through Canadahelps.org by clicking on the “Donate Now” button. You’ll get an immediate tax-deductible receipt.

3) Or, you can do it the good old-fashioned way and send us a cheque by snail mail. Mailing address here.

Everyone involved in Prodigals has dedicated their time and passion to this project over the past 2 years for (basically) free and they all deserve to be recognized and remunerated for their contribution. Plus, the overall production of the play also deserves to be done right and properly which means giving it the time and funding it requires.

So, thank you in advance for helping to make it happen!!

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

Prodigals 2.0

2011-02-08T09:08:00.000-08:00

This week we will be having our first production meeting for Prodigals 2.0 (thank you Sean) which means two and half months until we open the official World Premiere at the beginning of May. So as we start the production process I thought I would bring you a few updates on our overall progress so far.

Update #1: Venue

Finally!! We are so excited to be able to officially announce that Prodigals will premiere in Studio T at the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts at SFU Woodward's. This is a partnership that I have been working on since last June and we are absolutely thrilled to have formed this new partnership with Michael Boucher, Director of Cultural Programs & Partnerships, and the rest of the team at SFU Woodward's. We look forward to working with them and this amazing new venue in town.

Update #2: New Cast Member

We have a new Nina!! We want to welcome Kirsten Kilburn (who you last saw as Candy in our production of Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love) to the cast of Prodigals as the new Nina. Throughout the summer in discussions between Sean, Peter & myself one of the main points of revision and development for Prodigals 2.0 is the character of Nina. So, be prepared for a whole new, edgier (& slightly trashier) Nina in this production. The character of Nina is still in development along with many other script elements so we are all excited to see where Prodigals 2.0 will grow from here.

Update #3: Our publicity photo's

Ok, so this isn't so much an update as just something fun to share with guys. We had our publicity photo shoot last Thursday at David Cooper's studio and here are some of the shots chosen for the press:

[From L to R: background: Kirsten Kilburn (Nina), Aslam Husain (Eliot), Jameson Parker (Greg), Brandyn Eddy (Nips), Tara Pratt (Jen). centre: Timothy Johsnton (Wesley)]

[From L to R: background: Kirsten Kilburn (Nina), Aslam Husain (Eliot), Jameson Parker (Greg), Tara Pratt (Jen), Brandyn Eddy (Nips). centre: Timothy Johsnton (Wesley)]

[From L to R: background: Kirsten Kilburn (Nina), Aslam Husain (Eliot), Jameson Parker (Greg), Brandyn Eddy (Nips), Tara Pratt (Jen). centre: Timothy Johsnton (Wesley)]

[From L to R: Brandyn Eddy (Nips), Tara Pratt (Jen), Timothy Johnston (Wesley)]

[From L to R: Tara Pratt (Jen), Timothy Johnston (Wesley), Brandyn Eddy (Nips)]

(Photography: David Cooper)

Single tickets for Prodigals are now on sale at Tickets Tonight or you can purchase a 3-ticket Season Flex Pass at TicketLeap.

We look forward to seeing you at the show in May!! Plus, we promise to keep you updated with lots (and lots) of info along the way.

~Sabrina Evertt,
Artistic Producer

Nocturne: Production & Design Team

2011-02-04T10:36:00.000-08:00

Yesterday marked exactly three weeks until Nocturne officially opens at the Havana. Troy is smack in the middle of learning 80 pages of script and that is no easy feat. Adam Rapp loves his words hence the phrase "prophylactic paraphernalia" just thrown around like common language. And, that is just one example. There are plenty more where that came from. Sound and lighting designs are coming along. So as we gear up for the final push I'd like to introduce to you the rest of the team.

Rebecca Low - Stage Manager

Rebecca is a Stage Manager, Administrator and Director from Southern Alberta. Past Stage Management credits include The Visit (Abbedam), Burn This (Play by Echo) and Bollywood Shenanigans’ I Can’t Believe it’s not Butter Chicken series. Past directing credits include The Skin of Our Teeth (Abbedam), Folktale (NeWorks) and The Lesson (Vancouver International Fringe Festival). She is an international member of the Young Vic’s Genesis Directors Program. She is currently the Interim Office Manager at Pi Theatre.

Jonathan Tsang - Lighting Designer

A native Vancouverite Jonathan is happy to being working on his fourth production with Twenty Something Theatre. Favourite Lighting and Set design credits include Pvt. Wars (UBC 520's); Flu Season (UBC Players Club); Prodigals (Twenty Something Theatre); Dog sees God (Delinquent Theatre); Ferry Tales, Ivor Johnson's Neighbours (Ships Company Theatre); The Rakes Progress (Opera Nova Scotia); the Laramie Project, the Witch of Edmonton, Firefly (Dal Theatre); Orpheus in the Underworld (Dal Opera Workshop).

Kevin McLardy - Sound Designer

Kevin is very happy to be back working with Twenty Something Theatre. A graduate of the Capilano University theatre program Kevin has designed sound and composed for a number of productions including 9 Parts of Desire (Presentation House) SubUrbia, Prodigals, and Blue Surge (Twenty Something Theatre) Poor Superman and Hosanna (Saving Metropolis) Risk Anything (Vancouver Fringe).

Advance single tickets are available at Tickets Tonight or you can purchase a 3-ticket Season Flex Pass at TicketLeap.

See you at the show!

~Sabrina Evertt,
Artistic Producer

PuSh 2011: Peter Panties

2011-02-01T09:14:00.000-08:00

Niall would explain certain ideas or situations to Marcus, then Marcus would ask him questions and this how Niall and Marcus would spend two years writing together. The end result would be Peter Panties.

Marcus Youssef is a well-known Canadian playwright and Co-Artistic Producer of Neworld Theatre. Niall McNeil has been working with theatre companies like Caravan Farm Theatre and Leaky Heaven for years as both an actor and a writer but this is his first major playwrighting credit.

Peter Pan is a story that has meant a lot to Niall over the years. Peter Panties is a version of the traditional fairytale that is made up entirely from the imagination of Niall who has been dreaming of this world of Peter Pan for many years. For Niall it starts with Wendy. Wendy is our window into the world of Peter Panties and as Marcus says the question is “What does Neverland look like?”

“This version of Neverland” says Marcus “is a war zone”. It is a world where Hook is Macbeth and when a character dies CSI comes along to investigate the death. This is a Neverland where Peter Pan and Wendy have sex and make a baby. A Neverland where the lost boys mingle with a teenage boy band group called the Bank Dogs and Veda Hille is their leader.

While not musical theatre in the traditional sense of the word this is a play with music that is integral to the storytelling aspect. Niall and Marcus, on top of writing the text, also wrote all the lyrics to the songs that are part of the production. These lyrics were then sent off to Veda Hille who was in Berlin at the time. She was immediately inspired by the lyrics Niall and Marcus had written and began working on the music right away. She even sang some of the songs for an audience while she was over there.

When I met up with Niall and Marcus they were already a week into rehearsals so I asked them both about the rehearsal process of creating Peter Panties. They both agree that it is a very collaborative approach: For example, the directors, Steven Hill (Artistic Director of Leaky Heaven) and Lois Anderson, might take the script that Niall and Marcus have given them, and then ask the actors to go and create a image based off that text. Both Niall and Marcus, can’t emphasize enough how awesome the cast is. Niall specifically tells me how he wanted Allan Zinyk (who plays Mr. Darling and a mermaid) from the very start to be part of his version of Peter Pan. The rest of this incredible cast includes Peter Anderson, Sasa Brown, Lesley Ewen, James Long, Tanya Podlozniuk, Adrienne Wong, Elena-Anderson Kirby and Oscar Youssef.

It is clear that this re-imagined world of Peter Pan wants us, the audience, to see this world of Neverland as world of many viewpoints and stories told from many perspectives. And, while this Neverland may have the pirates and mermaids like the original fairytale, both Niall and Marcus are quick to emphasize that this is not theatre for kids. As Niall is quick to point out this version of Peter Pan has “fighting, blood and sex”

So maybe, the question we need to ask ourselves as adults, when we enter the theatre to see Peter Panties is what would it really feel like if no one ever grew up?

Opening this Thursday, February 3rd, Peter Panties will premiere at The Cultch as part of the Push Festival and is produced by Neworld Theatre and Leaky Heaven Circus. Running until February 13th at 8pm with matinees on February 5th & 13th and post-show talkbacks on February 4th, 8th and 9th.

(Photos courtesy of the PuSh Festival)

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

PuSh 2011: Hard Core Logo Live

2011-01-28T09:42:00.000-08:00

As I walked into the Rickshaw Theatre on East Hastings I knew that this was not going to be your regular ordinary theatre production. First off I was offered ear plugs upon my arrival (although I didn’t use them cuz, you know, I’m hardcore like that) then I was greeted by what looked like a dilapidated old theatre with yellow construction tape blocking off a section of seats (which nobody paid any attention to cuz, you know, that’s how hardcore they are). As Michael Scholar Jr says in an interview in the program “hardcore punk is not about following a set of rules”

(Michael Scholar Jr as Joe Dick. Photography by Ian Jackson/EPIC)

Based on the film of the same name and like any good spoof or ‘mockumentary’ Hard Core Logo: Live begins with a film called “Punkerland Who’s Who”: an amusing commentary about the 70’s and 80’s punk scene in Vancouver starring Joe “Shithead” Keithley (of punk band D.O.A). He’s also the Composer and Musical Director for the show. How hardcore!

From there the band arrives with Michael Scholar Jr as Joe Dick, Telly James as Billy Tallent (ever wonder where the band Billy Talent got their name?!), Clinton Carew as John Oxenberger and Tony Berner as Pipefitter and they begin to rock the house. Throughout the next 2 and 1/2 hours they take us on a journey as the band gets back together to do a benefit concert for Bucky - who’s been shot and is now possibly an amputee - and end up doing an across Canada tour. Through the clever use of video and projection and old-fashioned stage trickery some of the funniest sequences in the show are of them “on the tour bus”.

(From L to R: Clinton Carew, Toby Berner, Telly James & Michael Scholar Jr. Photography by Ian Jackson/EPIC)

Shining through with excellent comic timing are Clinton Carew as the schizophrenic bass player (John Oxenberger) and Toby Berner as the childish drummer (Pipefitter). These two have some of the best lines and moments in the play. And, I have to applaud Rachael Johnston, who plays every other character in the show including Bucky and who manages to make each one distinct and memorable.

Another one of the funniest scenes in the show is when one of the characters played by Rachel arrives at one of the band’s gigs with her “daughter” in tow. I’m not going to delve any further into that one because you’ll just have to go see it to find out what I’m talking about. Trust me, it’s pretty good.

(From L to R: Michael Scholar Jr and Rachael Johnston. Photography by Bev Davies)

Together with the Set (Cory Sincennes), which was entirely covered in black and white newsprint, the projection (Jaime Nesbitt) and lighting (Scott Peters) design really made it feel like you were at a punk rock concert. It was all bright colours and crazy images including an acid trip sequence where the projections and lighting really had a chance to go to town.

Presented by November Theatre, Theatre Network and Touchstone Theatre, Hard Core Logo: Live will be playing at the Rickshaw Theatre as part of the PuSh Festival until February 6th. There is a FREE Hard Core Creators chat today (January 28th) at 2pm at the Firehall Arts Centre moderated by Glen Schaefer

Other Satellite Events include:

January 29th – Joe “Shithead” Keithley will play a 30-min set after the performance
February 4th – Mecca Normal will play a 30-min set after the performance
Now until February 26th – Post No Bills. An exhibition of Vintage Vancouver Punk posters and paraphernalia is on at the Museum of Vancouver.

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

This Is More Like It

2011-01-24T08:42:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we held our General Auditions for the 2011 Season and I will be honest and tell you I was a little hesitant to hold out too much hope for things to change. Yes, I was hoping they would; but, was I confident all the new “rules” I put in place would actually work?! The short answer is No.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to announce that I believe my faith in the actors in this city may have just been restored. Everyone who confirmed their audition time with Sarah showed up! Plus, everyone showed up on time! Lois (who so graciously agreed to help us out) didn’t have to turn one single person away for being late like I warned her she might have to.

So, this is just a short Monday morning post to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who came out to audition. It was a great day. I got to see some amazingly talented actors and the day went by fast and smoothly. Everyone was professional, courteous and respectful and I really couldn’t have asked for more.

This, Vancouver, is more like it.

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

PuSh 2011: Floating

2011-01-21T08:39:00.000-08:00

“Our imaginations and our dreams are forever invading our memories and since we are apt in believing in the reality of our fantasies, we end up transforming our lies into truth” – Luis Bunuel

This is the quote projected onto the screen in front of us at the start of Floating and so begins the 90-minute story of Hugh Hughes and his excellent adventure. This excellent adventure is a story that like all personal truths is a combination of memory and imagination where Hugh recounts his experience living on the Welsh island of Anglesey.

Hugh tells his story along with his sidekick Sioned Rowlands - who plays the three other central characters in the story - all the while running around stage operating the various modes of multimedia, from old-school slide projector to power point, that are all part of the storytelling process. This includes a particularly funny sequence where she tries to re-enact Hugh's swimming from the island of Anglesey to the Welsh mainland by ferociously bobbing her head up and down in a tub of water.

It’s one of the those moments that has to be experienced to be explained. Like when you tell a funny story of something that happened to you to another person who wasn’t there and they kind of sit there and look at you with a blank face. Yes, they might find your story amusing but they weren’t there to experience it. So, that particularly funny moment inevitably becomes an inside joke between you and whoever was there with you during that moment.

This is exactly, what I believe happens every night during Floating. The audience together with Hugh and Sioned become party to one giant inside joke that will only exist on that night between those people. You could go see Floating every night of the run and every night what happens between the audience and the performers will be an experience not to be repeated.

I can easily tell you that my face and side actually hurt at one point because I was laughing so hard but it won’t mean a thing to you unless you go see it because most of hilarity of this production comes out of Hugh’s honest and open interaction with the audience. Through his attempt to create connections.

And, through his attempt to create connections with each and every one of us as audience members, we in turn create connections with other audience members. This connection between us all, performer to audience and audience to audience, in the confines of the four walls of the theatre re-affirms for us that sense of community. The sense that we were all part of something special and unique.

I definitely left the performance after last night's Opening feeling as though whatever just happened back in that theatre was something I have never experienced before. It was truly a unique and special moment. And, honestly, it was also just plain funny. You’ll know what I’m talking about if you go see it and get to the part where Hugh gets into his swimsuit and invites the rest of us in the audience to undress as well.

All I really have left to say is that I encourage you to go see Floating so that you too can be part of the inside joke. Because me trying to tell you how funny it is just won’t cut it. You need to have been there.

A Hoipolloi production, created & performed by Hugh Hughes and Sioned Rowlands, Floating will play at the Arts Club New Revue Stage as part of the PuSh Festival until February 5th. Performances run nightly at 8pm (Tuesday’s 7:30pm) except for Sundays with Matinee performances on Wednesday and Saturday at 2pm. A post-show talkback lead by Veda Hille will take place on Tuesday, January 25th.

(photos courtesy of the PuSh Festival)

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

Creating A Plan

2011-01-19T09:07:00.000-08:00

Up to this point I've blogged a little about fundraising including a short post on different ways to raise funds for your show, the importance of showing your appreciation for the donations people give to your organization & how to write a sponsorship letter.

But, considering that raising money and finding funding for our projects, constitutes approximately 75% (minimum) of my job as Artistic Producer then 3 posts really doesn't seem like much at all. Maybe it is because talking about money is boring. I would much rather talk about casting or planning a season. You know, the fun part of my job.

Fundraising is not fun. Full stop. But it is a necessity if you are going to be successful at running a theatre company.

So, I thought I would take you step-by-step through our process for #fc2011 (which is our biggest fundraising campaign to date). Hopefully we can all share in the challenges and successes together and that in the future I can help other small independent companies reach their goals.

First thing first: Create A Plan. Unless you have a plan and certain goals and a timeline in which to achieve those goals hitting your target is going to be pretty difficult. What does a Fundraising Campaign plan look like? Well here is ours as an example:

[Please note: this plan is based on private sector fundraising only as public funding (grants, foundations, etc is a whole other ball game)]

FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN 2011

Goal: (fill in the $ amount you need to fundraise)

Timeline: (fill in the date you need to have the funds by)

Plan: (fill in with all your different avenues of fundraising. Ours for example looks like this:)

I. Corporate/Major Sponsors
II. Individual Donations
III. Events
IV. Ads
V. Other

Next I break those sections down even further to look like this:

I. Corporate/Major Sponsors: (fill in with the $ amount you hope to raise through this avenue then break it down to look like this:)

a) Company/Major Sponsor A: (fill in with $ amount)
b) Company/Major Sponsor B: (fill in with $ amount)
c) Company/Major Sponsor C: (fill in with $ amount)

And so on and so forth. Next...

II. Individual Donations: (fill in with the $ amount you hope to raise through this avenue then break it down to look like this:)

a) Private Campaign - this could be something like a donation drive/letter writing campaign: (fill in with $ amount)

b) Public Campaign - this could be using a platform like IndieGoGo or Kickstarter: (fill in with $ amount)

And continue to do the same steps throughout the rest of your plan...

III. Events:

a) Event 1: (fill in with $ amount)
b) Event 2: (fill in with $ amount)

IV. Ads - this could be charging for ads in your program or on website/blog, etc): (fill in with $ amount)

V. Other:

a) Raffle: (fill in with $ amount)
b) 50/50: (fill in with $ amount)
c) Silent Auction: (fill in with $ amount)
d) Concession: (fill in with $ amount)
e) Merchandise: (fill in with $ amount)
f) Garage/Bake Sale: (fill in with $ amount)

And, there you go. All the (fill in with $ amount) should then total the amount at the top of your plan where you wrote your goal.

Creating a plan helps to give you focus. It helps to break down what might be a very daunting fundraising goal into smaller achievable goals. Focus on the small goals and those will all combine to help you reach your larger goal.

Or, at least this is what I keep telling myself, as we embark to achieve a rather large goal ourselves.

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

PuSh 2011: In the Solitude of Cotton Fields

2011-01-17T08:35:00.000-08:00

Today kicks off the start to the 2011 PuSh Festival and I’m so thrilled to be once again blogging for the festival. Over the next three weeks I’ll be writing an array of posts on different shows involved in the festival but let’s start with the Polish Cultural Institute of New York and Pi Theatre’s presentation of In the Solitude of Cotton Fields.

I first met Richard Wolfe, Artistic Director of Pi Theatre, when he took over at the helm of Pi a few years back now. Since then I’ve been really impressed with the direction he has taken Pi Theatre. Under Richard’s leadership they’ve been doing some really exciting work that includes their highly acclaimed co-production (with Rumble Productions) of an adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s After the Quake.

Now Pi is back again to bring us an exciting new production from Poland so I thought I would shoot a few questions Richard’s way and get his thoughts on the show, why he brought it to Vancouver and what the audience can expect.

1. How did you get involved in bringing In the Solitude of Cotton Fields to the PuSh Festival?

I have a long relationship with PuSh. I’ve had a couple of shows in the festival, was an associate producer for a season, and was the co-creator of the PuSh Cabaret (which was the precursor to Club PuSh). Norman saw Cotton Fields in Poland and told me about it. Because of the iconoclastic writer (Bernard Marie Koltes) and visionary director (Radoslaw Rychcik) I felt the show would fit well into Pi’s season and our renewed mission to support the most daring and relevant voices in contemporary theatre. I told Norman Armour about this and he invited us to participate.

2. What is it about this particular piece of theatre that gets you excited?

It’s fearless.

3. “A combination of a concert, disco, poetry slam and club event” is the description on the website and with live music by art-rock band the Natural Born Chillers clearly the rock concert feel to the piece is central to the production but could you tell us a little more about the story?

It’s not a linear narrative. It’s merely the meeting of two men – the Dealer and the Client. It’s a metaphorical representation of the power and status games people play everyday that can result in feelings of desire, rejection, dominance and humiliation. The actors deliver what are essentially stream of consciousness monologues. They’re focused and connected to the particular (the meeting of a Dealer and a Client on a deserted city street) and at the same time, the universal. In the end Koltes may be suggesting that where there is no love there can only be violence – one or the other. Be that as it may, none of us can live in solitude.

4. The director, Radoslaw Rychcik, is a young (born in 1981) rising director from Poland. Can you give us a little insight into what it is about his work that is so unique?

Rychcik reinvents difficult plays like this one and recently, A Lover's Discourse: Fragments by Roland Barthes, an adaptation of Bertolt Brecht’s Versus: In the Jungle of Cities and Gustav Flaubert’s Madame Bovary. He gives them a visceral, intensely physical treatment and often incorporates an energetic live music soundtrack into his productions. He calls it hysterical theatre – one based on extreme emotion.

5. Finish this Sentence: The audience will leave the theatre feeling….

Energized and reflective.

Thanks to Richard for taking the time to give us a little insight into the production and I, for one, can’t wait to see it. If the trailer below is any indication it looks like it is going to be an incredible show!

In the Solitude of Cotton Fields opens Wednesday, January 19th and will be playing until Saturday, January 22. Performances begin at 8pm and tickets are available through Tickets Tonight or at the door. There is a Post-Show Talkback on Thursday January 20th if you are interested in learning more about the production.

(Photos and video content provided courtesy of the PuSh Festival)

~Sabrina Evertt,
Artistic Producer

One-Man Show

2011-01-14T08:40:00.000-08:00

SPOTLIGHT 2011 returns and this year we return to the year of the actor. Three years ago as our inaugural SPOTLIGHT production we presented The Fever performed by long time Twenty-Something collaborator Kirsten Kilburn. Now, we look forward to having another actor join the ranks in our second “one-man show”.

I’m not going to lie, I’m a big fan of the “one-man show”. I like watching them. I like working on them. So, a couple years ago when I first came across Nocturne and read the play, I just knew that this was a play I wanted to work on for Twenty-Something. It’s so poetic. In rehearsal the other day we talked about it being modern Shakespeare. Yes, it is prose and not iambic pentameter but it is poetry nonetheless. However, I still needed to find an actor, to do it. Not everyone can carry off a “one-man show”.

I’ve known this actor for approximately 5 years now, I guess. We both have mutual friends. I’ve worked along side him at the Walking Fish Festival. The first year we did the festival I was assistant directing and he was acting. The next we were both directing. I’ve seen him perform in various productions including Coriolanus and Moon for the Misbegotten (both directed by Jack Paterson). We’ve always talked about working together on something but nothing ever came up or worked out until now.

So, without further ado, I introduce Troy Anthony Young and hope that you will all come out to see what I think will be a pretty powerful performance.

Originally from Leduc, Alberta, Troy trained at The Victoria School for the Performing Arts, is a graduate of Red Deer College’s Theatre Studies Program, and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the renowned University of Alberta’s Acting Program. Most recently, he was seen in Rogue Insomniac’s Comfort at the Havana, as well as at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival. Previous to that, he performed in Spokesong at the Serca Irish Theatre Festival (Prospero Theatre) in Edmonton. Other theatre credits include Faustmachine (Walking Fish Festival), King John (7 Tyrants), The China Tea Deal (7 Tyrants), Coriolanus (Coriolanus / Mad Duck Co-op), Three Rings for Michelle (Stone’s Throw / Pacific Theatre), Supermarket Scuffle (Binky Productions), Moon for the Misbegotten (United Players), Grace (Sawhorse Theatre), crackbabykind (Nextfest, Edmonton), Thinking With Jerome (Dead English Theatre). Film and television credits include Deranged, Helix, 668 and Supernatural.

Advance single tickets are available at Tickets Tonight or you can purchase a 3-ticket Season Flex Pass at TicketLeap.

See you all the show!

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

Every Little Bit Counts

2011-01-12T08:55:00.000-08:00

So to kick off Fundraising Campaign 2011 (hereinafter referred to #fc2011) I am going to start with a little story:

Once upon a time there was a 26-year old young man and he was a typical 26 year-old young man. He doesn’t make a ton of money. He hangs out with his friends, is an avid Canucks fan, loves his beer and likes to travel. He like many young men doesn’t carry a “murse” or “man-purse”. He puts his wallet in his pants pocket along with his keys and his blackberry. That is enough weight for a pair of pants as it is so probably like many young men he doesn’t like to carry around a lot of change.

So, instead of carrying around a load of change, the young man has a piggy bank. Now, it is not your average piggy bank. No, it is a 26-year old young man’s piggy bank. It is a giant empty bottle of Canadian Club and this Narrator doesn’t even want to think about the ways this young man drained this giant bottle. That much whisky could send this 6”1, 180 lb young man to the hospital with severe alcohol poisoning or by-passing the hospital altogether to a hole in the ground.

But, remarkably, this young man is alive and well so every day he comes home and puts all his change in his very large piggy bank. Clink. Clink. Clink. Days, weeks and months go by and pretty soon the young man has practically filled half the giant bottle with change. Now, like most typical 26-year old young men, this young man has a tendency towards laziness so while it looks like there could be a lot of money in that giant piggy bank he hasn’t emptied it yet because that would mean he would have to roll it all. Banks don’t just take a bunch of loose change, silly.

Then one day the young man’s older sister (and your trusty Narrator) visits the young man in his home. Feeling daunted by the amount of fundraising the sister has to do over the next four months she is having a bit of a rant. The young man just listens to his sister rant graciously even though he hasn’t a clue what she is talking about. He is a good brother. Then after some discussion he says to his sister “If you roll that, you can have it”. He is talking about his giant piggy bank. “I just want the bottle back”

“Really?!” the sister thinks to herself and says to her brother “there has to be almost $500 in there?!” His sister says that she’ll give him a tax-deductible receipt for his donation. This young man just smiles and says “okay” because he is smart. Essentially his sister is going to do all the work of rolling all this change and he will still get his money. Plus, his sister’s theatre company will benefit so everyone wins. And, they all live happily ever after.

The moral of this little story: Every Little Bit Counts.

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

PS...To my brother who reads this blog religiously, thank you.

Things Need To Change: Part II

2011-01-10T10:01:00.000-08:00

Deadline for submissions for our upcoming General Auditions has passed and Sarah (Associate Producer) is now busy working on organizing and booking all the time slots.

Included in her email will be information pertaining to some more strict non-negotiable hard-ass rules that I have now put in place and plan to execute without feeling badly or guilty. These are as follows:

1) Unless you confirm your audition time with Sarah, within 2 business days, your time slot will be given to someone else and you will not be given another audition time slot. No confirmation. No audition.

2) If you confirm your audition time with Sarah and fail to show up for your audition without 24 hours notification you will forfeit your chance to audition for any production with us for the next 3 years. No exceptions.

3) Actors are to arrive at least 5 minutes before their audition time to check-in and fill out any forms. If you are late (by even 30 seconds) you will forfeit your audition time slot and you will not be given another one. No exceptions.

Now this may seem reasonable to you or this may seem harsh but this is how it stands and it is not going to change. This I can assure you of.

I am going to be honest with you and tell you that these type of strict rules are not easy for me. Generally I’m a “give the benefit-of-the-doubt” sort of person but after five years of going easy on people I now know that it doesn’t do anyone any good. It wastes my time and does a disservice to people because it is not teaching them anything. It’s instead saying it is okay to be lazy and inconsiderate and people will still give you a chance.

And, the biggest overall reason to change, is that going easy on the lazy and inconsiderate doesn’t reward the people who do show up on time and who do go out of their way to show you that this audition does matter to them.

For example in my latest batch of submission I had 4 people send me submissions after the deadline had passed. One of them wrote a really nice cover letter and said “I know this is 2 hours past the deadline but I’d love to audition for you”.

Now my bleeding heart really wants to give this actor a chance; however, what about all those people who got their submissions in on time? If I give a late submission actor a time slot that might mean I have to take one away from someone who submitted on time. And, that is just not right. Not in my books anyway. Plus, besides all that, these people have had over 3 weeks to make a submission. That is plenty of time.

So I’m sorry but late is late and I just can’t do it anymore. No more bleeding heart syndrome for me.

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

2011: Looking Ahead

2011-01-07T16:53:00.000-08:00

So, I’m writing this at 4:19pm on January 7th. One week into the new year and already I’m feeling like this week has flown by and I didn’t get nearly as much as I wanted to accomplish done. Some of that had to do with an unfortunate event that came out of nowhere on Monday so I won’t be too hard on myself.

But, for better or worse, if this past week is any indication of what my life is going to be like for the next 4-5 months I better start looking into meditation and stress reduction techniques. No joke. So here we go this is what my January looks like:

1) Rehearsing and production mode for Twenty-Something’s first show of the season, Nocturne.

2) Design phase for my first costume design contract of 2011 that goes into rehearsal the same week Nocturne opens.

3) Pre-production has commenced for our second show of the season, Prodigals which includes re-casting one of the roles, script development, organizing the publicity and marketing, etc so on and so forth

4) General Auditions and if you've been reading my posts regarding this particular topic you will understand the stress level for this alone.

5) Launching a full-scale MAJOR fundraising campaign starting next week so that we can actually mount the type of production we want for Prodigals. The reason I have not included this in #3 “Pre-production for Prodigals” is because this is a job unto itself. More on this to come but it will likely include at least 1 if not 2 events that also require all the same amount of organization and time to put on that a regular theatre production does. (Just thinking about this makes my head want to explode but I just keep telling myself: one day at a time, one day at a time…)

Plus, like the masochist I am, I have also signed on to blog for the PuSh Festival again this year which, all joking aside, I’m actually totally stoked for. Some of the shows they have lined up for this year look incredible. So stay tuned for that.

Plus, plus… there is so much other amazing theatre going on around Vancouver that I am hoping to check out. Some of that includes: This at the Vancouver Playhouse, August: Osage County at the Arts Club, Agokwe at the Cultch (from Buddies in Bad Times in Toronto) and the three other Opening Night invitations that I’ve got sitting in my inbox that I haven’t responded to yet.

*looks up to the sky* and shouts “WHY DOES IT ALL HAVE TO HAPPEN AT ONCE?!”

Okay, that was my one tantrum moment and I am now going to commence being an adult about it:

*shrugs* and says nonchalantly “When it rains, it pours, right?!”

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

2010: Year In Review

2010-12-31T09:50:00.000-08:00

What a year! I saw 55 shows; I produced and developed an original piece of Canadian theatre as well as directed a Vancouver premiere of another play; I designed the costumes for 2 other productions; I was hired as Head of Wardrobe at the new SFU Woodward’s for their involvement with the Cultural Olympiad during the 2010 Winter Olympics that included working on Robert Lepage’s The Blue Dragon; and, last but certainly not least, I started being invited to blog about different theatrical productions around Vancouver.

And, as a result of all this, and all the work that I have put into Twenty-Something, I am starting to feel, for possibly the first time since I moved back here from Victoria, that I am, really, truly, part of this community.

The reason I know this to be true is, since I moved back here, I will admit that I have pretty much thought of Vancouver as temporary stopping place to some place else. In many ways, I’ve always had one foot out the door. Ready to take off to places unknown. Toronto. New York. London. But this past year I made a very real decision to stay & make Vancouver my home base because low-and-behold after all this time I have found my community.

And, I’m going to stay and see things through, because although we moan, and wine, and complain, I think Vancouver is really only beginning to see the potential of what we can be. Vancouver is starting to become internationally recognized for the work that comes out of here and I, for one, am proud to be part of this community.

So, I thank all of you (you know who you are), who have been there these past 6 years. Who have been my champions. Who have encouraged me to keep going when all I wanted to do was give up. Who have shown me kindness and generosity. Who believe in what we do. Thank you for welcoming me into this community and making me feel like I was part of something and that what I was doing mattered.

Okay, enough of the mushy stuff, and onto the cold hard (subjective) facts: My Top 5 Picks for 2010 (in no particular order)…

1) Nevermore presented by the Arts Club and the Cultch from Edmonton’s Catalyst Theatre during the 2010 PuSh Festival. Words cannot begin to do it justice or explain how much I loved this show.

2) Elephant Wake presented by the Cultch from Regina’s Globe Theatre. Secured a fully-fledged crush on Bretta Gerecke that started in January with the above-mentioned Nevermore.

3) Exquisite Hour presented as part of the 2010 Vancouver Fringe by one of Vancouver’s newest theatre companies: Relephant Theatre. An outstanding production from a brand new company and I look forward to seeing what more they have to offer.

4) Wide Awake Hearts at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto. I saw it twice. On my own dime. Enough said.

5) Glengarry Glen Ross at the Arts Club here in Vancouver. I didn’t blog about this show. Partly because I was extremely busy at the time producing my own show. Partly because I think Eric McCormack pretty much sold himself.

Often when I go to see shows with celebrities in the lead roles I often think to myself “oh, great, another cash grab”. Maybe that’s cynical and unfair. I don’t know. But it’s what I think. Well, all I can say was, this was not just a good cash grab but also a damn good show (and hey, I won’t knock a good cash grab when I see one, I am a producer after all). Eric McCormack’s performance as Ricky Roma was outstanding. Furthermore, add to that a brilliant performance by Gerard Plunkett playing Levene and I could have watched those two for hours. Add to that again, a fantastic set and overall design and this definitely makes my top 5.

Since I saw almost 20 more productions this year than I did last year there are also some significant other achievements that I would like to give honourable mention to as well:

1) For Design: Drowning Girls at Gateway. Bretta Gerecke. That is all.

2) For Innovation/Creation: Kismet 1 to 100 as part of the Tremors Festival at the Cultch. Unexpected and delightful.

3) For Male Performance: Zachary Stevenson in Buddy Holly. Incredible. If this guy isn’t at least nominated for a Jessie for this performance I will eat my shirt. Literally. You can hold me to it.

4) For New Script/Young Playwright: Dave Deveau who wrote Tiny Replicas which was part of the first annual Neanderthal Festival. Honest, funny and heart-wrenching.

5) For Physical Comedy: The 39 Steps at the Arts Club. I nearly peed my pants during the train scene. Honestly. I haven’t laughed that hard at a show in a long, long time. So good.

6) For Female Performance – Julie McIsaac in Hamlet at the Havana. I hate Ophelia. Not in this show. For that alone she gets my admiration. But even beyond that I felt for her. The crazy scene was some of the finest acting work I’ve seen this year.

And, that’s 2010. In a short (well short-ish) blog post. Up next on the blog: Looking ahead to 2011.

Happy New Year everyone! Thanks for making 2010 such a memorable year!

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

The Man Behind the Design

2010-12-20T09:48:00.000-08:00

If you’ve been following Twenty-Something Theatre you’ve all had the opportunity to see our posters. If you live in Vancouver you’ve probably seen them plastered up in various places around the city.

The man behind the posters is Andrew Lewis and he took some time during this very crazy holiday season to answer some questions for you guys. I first met Andrew in 2006 (I believe) when he was doing the logo design and branding for my family’s business. I had only recently graduated from UVic and was working there while I pursued a career in the theatre. During the process of creating this logo and brand for the company I had the privilege of being part of the company’s marketing team. I hadn’t even really started Twenty-Something Theatre yet. It was still mainly an idea in my head but when I told Andrew about it he put me in touch with Sarah Gordon (who had experience doing Marketing & Publicity for both Gateway and the Vancouver Playhouse) and she really helped me articulate what I wanted Twenty-Something to be. And the rest, as they say is history. Andrew has (with the exception of our first production) been designing our posters and marketing materials ever since.

Andrew’s poster designs for Twenty-Something Theatre have been exhibited in the following biennials, galleries, etc:

International Poster Biennial of Mexico
Plakatok Posters The Pécs Gallery Hungary
Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibition
International Poster Biennial of Bolivia
National Gallery, Ljubljana Slovenia
Modern Advertising Magazine, China
Novum Magazine, Germany
University Diego Portales, Santiago Chile
Exposiciones del Espacio Simón, La Paz, Bolivia
ITESO University Guadalajara, Mexico
Palermo University Buenos Aires, Argentina
Rockport Publishers, USA

(Andrew, standing in front of his poster design for our production of The Fever, at the International Poster Biennial 2008 in Mexico City)

So, without further ado, some thoughts on art, marketing and life from the man himself…

1) Tell us how you got to be where you are today? Did you go to school or train anywhere?

I always was drawing, ever since I could remember. It was something that came naturally but not easily so I worked very hard at understanding the process and mechanics of creating images in art. After highschool I studied at Bealart in London, Ontario which was recognized nationally for its fine art program which was based on the Bauhaus school. You needed to take all forms of art study before specializing in one area. Graphics design was obviously my major but textiles was my minor. While studying at Bealart I was offered a job at the London FreePress laying out pages and creating illustrations. This provided a nice income and I travelled to Europe that spring to see art galleries in Paris, London and Edinburgh to fuel my mind. After Bealart came the Ontario College of Art in Toronto whereupon I was accepted on advanced standing due to attending Bealart. This lasted until Christmas whereupon I dropped out to begin freelancing and working for design agencies. I just needed to get on with it and also begin a career. We all take individual paths to get us to where we should be.

2) If you had to choose one, what would you consider yourself to be first and foremost: an artist or a graphic designer?

I’m a graphic artist.

Actually, I look at what I do as “applied arts” in that I try to integrate artwork into marketing. There is SO much mundane, dull advertising and design being done compared to what has been in design history. Just look at the incredible posters of Paris, circa 1895-1910, this was “The Belle Epoque” of posters and where Henri Toulouse Lautrec created his posters (note: he designed only 34 posters) and many other designers. Advertising during the 1960’s also was very imaginative, same goes for the 1970’s when you had Milton Glaser and Push Pin in New York creating the best design (think, I love New York logo). Compared to today where it seems due to the economy, corporate marketing departments want to just play it safe and not create fresh new ideas. Yes, there are exceptions but this is not the direction taken globally. So to answer your question properly, I am an artist that uses graphic design to create a business in order to use my artwork in a continual cycle.

3) How important is it for artists to understand the business side of creating art and in this case specifically marketing?

This is where so many artists fail in not knowing that art is business unless you are financially secure and independent. Though Henri Toulouse Lautrec was a true bohemian and lived in Paris along with his Moulin Rouge absinthe fueled cohorts, he was financed comfortably by his family. He had not a single worry about money and lived very well in order to create his art. I feel creating artwork is a privilege and one needs to put in place a strong business plan to fund this personal venture. I would easily say I design and create art 20% of my time, the other 80% is running my studio, dealing with clients, finding new clients, collecting money owed and dealing with the endless accounting headaches and then... Revenue Canada, not to mention the latest icing on the cake – the HST. It takes guts and a strong belief in your own work and ability.

4) In your words define “marketing/branding”?

These are two very different animals, and I shall try to simply explain the difference.

Marketing is once you have created a product or perhaps a theatre production and then getting this noticed through the various forms of available media. It is simply creating interest or attention in the public’s mind in order to buy in or desire ownership of this thing or event.

Branding is creating a unique presence within the marketplace of a company or product by the use of design and complete overall unity of the look and attitude of that company or organization. Just think about the difference between Tim Hortons and Starbucks and how they project their images onto the public. It is the difference between an urban cool, hipster latte and a homey, honest, suburban regular coffee.

5) What is the most important thing to consider when it comes to marketing something like the arts as opposed to another business?

I have had the privilege to work for numerous arts organizations here in Canada and the US including many in New York City on and off Broadway. Marketing the arts is (I feel) very different than marketing lets say Black and Decker tools. The arts must address not only the obvious arts community but also must reach out to the community that does not necessarily buy into the arts. There are so many layers of sensitivity that one must keep in mind while creating an advertising or promotional campaign. For example, lets look at creating a poster for an opera production and all of the players you have to be working with. First you have the Artist Director that has their own vision for that production but also for the season of productions and the overall direction he/she wants to take. The General Manager whom you would think would not be involved in the creative aspect, always wants to add their thoughts. The Communication Director, the person who has hired you to create the poster, has their own agenda in terms of overall look and graphic feel. The production itself has a Director, whom has a vision, and the Playwright (if available will add their ideas and visions for how to represent their work). You must mind read all these subtle messages even before you read the script or research the production in order to create a poster that will appeal to these various egos and personalities but ultimately sell the production itself. It can be a horrific experience!

6) When you sit down to begin work on a poster design what is the first thing you do?

Understanding the essence of what the subject, topic, production is and then distilling it down to the simplest form is the complete process for me. It doesn’t matter if the poster is for a theatre, a social commentary or commercial poster that is selling beer, creating an image that peaks the imagination is critical, also conveying the message in an immediate manner makes for the best posters.

7) In the theatre world (and I imagine other sectors as well) there is an ongoing question as to the importance of posters and whether they have any real impact on a public that is so inundated with images and advertising on a daily basis. As someone who is internationally recognized for his poster art what are your thoughts on this topic?

Posters help sell a production and don’t let anyone tell you differently. Just stand in Times Square, and look up to see huge, billboard images taken from theatre posters. The poster is the business card for a particular theatre production and initially begins its life out on the street but then the image migrates to online ads, print ads, programs, t-shirts and to billboards. If it is successful, it helps maintain the branding of that production, just think of The Lion King image. It pops to your mind immediately, there it is living in your imagination and represents a memory of your experience seeing that show or you wanting to buy tickets to that show.

8) What is the best thing about your work?

My posters and international recognition have taken me around the world 2-3 times. I have been invited to have my work in exhibitions, biennials, teach at universities in China, Japan, Europe, US, Central and South America. I have met the best international graphic designers living today – period. They all have one thing in common; they are all humble and honest people that leave their egos at home locked up in a small box.

9) What is next for you?

The immediate future is I am in Paris in February teaching at a fantastic University and having an exhibition of posters. Following that I will be in La Paz and Santa Cruz in Bolivia, Caracas in Venezuela, Veracruz and Guadalajara in Mexico and Helsinki in Finland attending poster biennials and having more exhibitions. Also, just trying to manage my studio...

(Andrew's solo exhibition held at the Espacio Simon Gallery in La Paz, Bolivia)

10) As an established professional in your field, if you had one piece of advice for an aspiring youngster, what would it be?

Read as much as you can and not just about design or art.
Ask questions.
Talk to professional designers, artists, research them, hunt them down, hound them, ask more questions.
Think bigger.
Move away from your hometown, that is very good for you.
Work hard, don’t be lazy.
Less Facebook and more drawing.
Never be satisfied with your first, second or 20th idea.
Every student around you is your future competition.
Learn art history. Learn design history.
Working in art/design/communications is one of the most difficult ways to make a living and live a life, brace yourself for one crazy roller coast ride...

Great words of wisdom! Many thanks again to Andrew for taking the time to answer the Q&A!

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

Things Need To Change

2010-12-16T16:30:00.000-08:00

So, here we are again. A new year is upon us soon complete with a new season and a new batch of shows. And, a new batch of shows means new casts. And, new casts means one thing: auditions.

The past two years of auditions has been H-E-double-hockey-sticks. No joke. You can read a variety of my posts on the subject spanning a spectrum of emotion from bewilderment to anger & frustration.

For this year, one thing was clear to me: things need to change.

So, instead of holding auditions for specific productions we are holding General Auditions. This means I get to go into the audition room and just sit back and relax and see what kind of talent comes across my path. I don’t have any of the pressure of worrying about casting for a specific show because casting for specific productions & roles will be done later.

Moreover, I’m especially tired of the apathetic attitudes that seem to proliferate this city. So this year I am putting my hard-ass helmet on and setting up some strict, non-negotiable, rules:

1) Every actor submission will require a cover letter that states why they are interested in working with Twenty-Something Theatre and a brief overview of their most recent work. You can view the actual post here.

No cover letter. No audition. No exceptions.

2) If we can’t open the files you submit or you forget to attach the documents: No audition, No exceptions.

It is not our job to chase after you. It is your job to do your due diligence. You can read this great post at Lois Backstage on tips for actor submissions.

The actors in the city are enormously talented. Many whom I adore. Many whom I call good friends. But many also just can’t seem to get out of their own way and it is extremely disappointing.

It’s called tough love people.

So, this is my advice to all the wonderful actors in this city: It is time to stop. It is time to get your act together and get out of your own way. It is time to rise to the challenge or get left behind.

Because from here on out, at Twenty-Something Theatre, you will be held up to a higher standard. I am only interested in working with actors who are committed to their craft. Actors who are advocates for their work and who are advocates for the theatre community in general.

Apathy just won’t cut it anymore.

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

Home From Hiatus

2010-12-07T09:39:00.000-08:00

Home from hiatus and back to reality.

This month besides all the Christmas craziness I've got a pile of administration type stuff to organize as we gear up for the start of our 2011 season. Top of that list is getting the marketing materials done for the first show of the season and getting them printed off before the real holiday madness starts (approx dec 17th) so they are ready for distribution when everything goes back to normal in the New Year (approx Jan 3rd).

Yes, I plan that far ahead. FYI: I currently have two desk calendars on the go. One for the remaining portion of 2010 and one for 2011 that already has important dates and information on it all the way up to November of next year (!).

Anyways - that was a tangent but I often still find it hard to believe - I've recently been sent the graphics for Nocturne which is our Spotlight series production opening February 22nd. So, without further ado and before it goes out to the public here's a seek peak:

The story is about an ex-piano prodigy turned writer so, in my humble opinion, I think Andrew (our graphics guy) has done a great job of representing that through his artwork.

I'm also hoping that after 4 years of him doing our marketing materials (including our website and my personal online portfolio) that I might be able to convince him to do an interview with me and post it here on the blog. So, stay tuned for that....

~Sabrina Evertt,
Artistic Producer

Push My Boundaries: I Agree

2010-11-29T05:57:00.000-08:00

After my last post there was a bit of conversation around the topic of “pushing boundaries” and “crossing lines” and then a theatre colleague and friend posted a response to my blog post called “Go Ahead, Push My Boundaries”. The thing is I completely agree with what she says. So, I just want to take a moment to clarify some things from my last post because I think that it is important that people who read my blog (and hers) understand what my actual concern is here.

I’m all for exploring tough topics and dark materials. In fact, those are often my favourite plays to see. So, I agree. Go ahead, push my boundaries. Make me think. Discuss pedophilia, euthanasia, sexual violence, murder, WWII, nazi’s, etc. One of my favourite plays of all-time is How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel and it is about pedophilia and incest. And, even better, do what these companies that Lois worked with did, bring in people who have experience with these issues to discuss them with the audience. I think that is fantastic.

What I don’t agree with is sensationalizing sensitive issues just to shock people. And, that is exactly what I saw happen on stage in New York. Ghosts in the Cottonwoods wasn’t a play that was discussing/exploring the issue of sexual violence against women. If that was the case maybe I would’ve been more understanding of what was being portrayed on stage.

But in this case the play was about a mother and son waiting for another son to return home from prison. Then in the last 15 minutes of the play a completely arbitrary character – not the returning son but a random prison inmate who I presume follows the son home – and who doesn’t speak one word but just emerges from the ground covered in dirt and runs around the stage like a savage. After which he proceeds to physically assault the mother. Next he throws her over his shoulder and slams her down on the kitchen table her head hanging off the table and staring out at the audience. Under full lights, and front and center on stage, this character proceeds to rip off her clothing. Literally. He rips off her underwear and throws it across the stage. Next he begins to grunt and thrust for approx 2-3 minutes. Then he comes and leaves her in a heap only to escape out of the door. And, the play ends.

Now, I would love it if someone could tell me that particular graphic piece of stage business was in any way necessary. But it wasn’t. It not only had no point its only purpose was to shock. Its intent was not to discuss an important issue. This was not about having a conversation with the audience. No, this was for shock value only. This I am not okay with.

And, frankly, it really bothers me that anyone involved in the show or who went to see this play would find what they saw on stage okay because sexual assault is a very real issue experienced by women everyday across the country and in the US.

Here in Canada a 1993 survey found that one half of all Canadian women have experienced at least one incident of sexual or physical violence. Almost 60% of these women were the targets of more than one of these incidents (Statistics Canada, "The Violence Against Women Survey," The Daily, November 18, 1993). Statistics also show that one in four Canadian women will be sexually assaulted during her lifetime. In BC this number is almost double (47%) (J. Brickman and J. Briere, "Incidence of Rape and Sexual Assault in an Urban Canadian Population," The International Journal of Women's Studies, Vol. 7, no. 3, 1984) [Statistics taken from Women Against Violence Against Women, a rape crises centre in Vancouver, that works for the interests of women who have been victimized by sexual assault.]

This is the reality. So, yes, do a play that engages the audience about this topic. Talk about it from all sides. Discuss it from the side of the victims. Discuss it from the perspective of the perpetrators. Delve into all kinds of grey areas. Push boundaries. Bring in organizations and professionals in the field to engage the audience. I would love that. Seriously.

But don’t trivialize this subject. Don’t sensationalize this subject. Don’t throw in a 10 minute-long highly graphic sexually violent scene just because you want to shock people. Because, looking at the the stastics above, in a theatre of an audience of 160 people half the audience or more are going to be women and very likely at least half of those women have been victims of sexual assault in one way or another. That is at the very least 40 women. Forty women who don’t need to see the violence they have suffered being trivialized on stage and used as a shock tactic.

So, the next time a writer/director/theatre company, thinks about arbitrarily throwing sexual violence into a play for no other purpose than to shock, I would suggest they think about those facts.

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

How Far Is Too Far?

2010-11-23T07:34:00.000-08:00

Last night I decided to venture off the beaten path. I had been to most of the major Broadway/Off-Broadway shows that I wanted to check out and so decided it was time to venture into Indie/Off-Off-Broadway territory. Through a variety of links and connections I decided on Ghosts in the Cottonwoods written and directed by Adam Rapp and produced by the company The Amoralists.

I wish I could tell you the risk paid off but unfortunately that is not the case. Not the case at all. I left the theatre – for the first time in my life - so angry that I almost demanded they give my $40 dollars back. I almost didn’t even clap. But then I realized what the actors just went through on stage and thought better of it. It wasn’t their fault that the writer/director chose to put, in my opinion, highly objectionable content stage. And, so I clapped. A bit. What, might you ask, made me so angry?

Well, let me first start with a small story. Before I left for Toronto I was having a conversation with a friend and colleague and I don’t know how or why – it might even be because we were discussing Red Light Winter (another Rapp play) – but we were discussing the question: How Far is Too Far? In Red Light Winter two characters practically have sex on stage. I’ve never seen a production so I’ve no idea how it would be done on stage and I’m guessing the explicitness of the act would depend on the production and director.

And, god knows, I’m no prude when it comes to the stage. From “sexually explicit” to “nudity” we’ve done it on the Twenty-Something stage. I’m all for provocative.

To a point.

So, how far IS too far?

Well, if I recall this conversation correctly I think me and my friend were sort-of joking around and I think I might have said something like “people actually having sex on stage. Oh wait, that already has a name. Porn.” and then there were a few more jokes and laughs and then she paused and said quite seriously something along the lines of “any kind of simulated rape/violent sex act would probably not be cool". To which I certainly agreed.

Well, ladies and gentleman, that was exactly what I saw on stage last night. In full view, and under full lights, a gratuitous violent simulated rape scene took place on stage that could have only been made worse had the actor actually penetrated the woman.

That my friends, in no uncertain terms is WAY TOO FUCKING FAR.

Pardon my French but I’m way beyond angry to a point where I don’t even have the proper words and only F—K seems to really convey how I am feeling in this moment.

In the words of another controversial playwright:

(This is not a comment on the actor. This is purely for text only as I'm in New York and had no access to the actual text and couldn't find it online but I did find this video)

I don’t care what kind of point you are trying to make or what kind of “artistic statement” you might be trying make, what happened on that stage last night was NOT okay. It would not be okay for someone to put any kind of “simulated” violent sex act perpetrated against a child on stage. So, what in God’s green earth, makes it okay to put any kind of “simulated” violent sex act against a woman on stage?!

And to make it even worse, I’m not even sure there was a point or an “artistic statement” because the mandate of the company is as follows: “a theatre company that produces work of no moral judgement”.

Clearly.

The Amoralists. Amoral: 1a) being neither moral nor immoral: lying outside the sphere to which moral judgements apply 1b) lacking moral sensibilities 2) being outside or beyond the moral order or a particular code of morals.

This just pisses me off even more. So basically, if I am correct, the argument here is that because this company places no moral judgements on human beaviour they are basically absolved of any responsibility for putting on stage gratuitous violent rape scenes.

Not in my books.

So, I was curious to see if anyone else had even blinked an eye at the sexual violence on stage so I looked up a few reviews. And...some people mention it, some people don’t and most are not in the least shocked by it or care.

Slant Magazine referred to it as “a very violent and grotesteque 10 minutes or so of wordless action” but overall gave it a rave review. A review from Backstage Magazine actually refers to the act itself stating that “suddenly a second filthy man emerges from the floor…and proceeds to rape Bean on the kitchen table” and calling the whole thing ‘funny’. WHAT THE F—K? A comment on another blog review thankfully acknowledged this fact by saying “The Backstage reviewer saw Ghosts in the Cottonwoods as a black comedy. I find it creepy that someone could ‘have a blast’ watching a show with an on-stage rape”. Thank you. I think Charles Isherwood from the New York Times puts it best when he says “Ghosts in the Cottonwoods feels like a series of lurid set pieces stitched together, a hoedown of misbehaviour that strains so hard to shock that it leaves you numb.” And I would add appalled.

Maybe it is me. Maybe I’m not New-York-gritty-shocking-and-perverse enough. Which is just fine by me. I like my morals just the way they are, thank you.

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

Theatrical Quote of the Day

2010-11-18T12:52:00.000-08:00

As I was flying 40,000 feet in the air reading my "American Theatre" magazine (November issue) I came across an interesting quote from an article on Michael John Garces, Artistic Director of Cornerstone Theatre Company, where he says:

"Any theatre that has a result in mind is not having a conversation. The future of the form in these changing times is really about plunging into the unknown and new contexts. We're at a point where those risks are going to have to be taken. The future doesn't lie in the status quo"

Interesting, huh?! It immediately made me stop and want to talk about it; however, on my flight from Toronto to New York City there was no one in the seat next to me, not that they would want to discuss the topic anyway, so I pose it to you, my friends. What do you think (particularly about the results vs converstion aspect)?

Let's chat.

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

Read the full article here

How Do I Do It?

2010-11-11T08:12:00.000-08:00

Today I’ve been in Toronto for one week and I have to tell you I have seen some amazing theatre since I’ve been here. Maybe I’m here at the right time and it’s just a coincidence? Maybe the grass is always greener? Who knows, right?!

Part of my job as an Artistic Producer/Director is to know what is happening. And, not just in my own city but across the country and internationally. Someone asked me recently “How do you do it? How do you seem to have your finger right on the pulse of things?” In that moment I didn’t really know what to say because I never really thought of it that way before. I just have a curious mind. I always have. I’m always looking to see what other people are doing. I’ve said this before but I see myself as a giant sponge just soaking up influences and inspiration from all around me. I love to travel. I am intrigued by different cultures and cities and how other people around the world live. It’s just a part of who I am. So, even though I don’t see myself in that way (at all), I guess that would be my answer. This is what makes that part of my job so easy. To me it is not work at all. It’s just who I am.

So, back when people were announcing seasons and so on and so forth. I was online doing some research into the Toronto theatre scene. Seeing what they were doing at Canadian Stage, Factory, Passe Muraille, Tarragon, etc. And, I came across the blurb for Wide Awake Hearts which just seemed right up my alley. Young, contemporary, etc and at the time I had no idea I would end up in Toronto during its run. I just thought “Hmmm…cool, that they are doing work like this”. Fast forward a couple months I’m now on my way to Toronto and I see a tweet from someone I follow saying they had seen this show and loved it. Now, I really want to go, and so I look it up online to discover it’s pretty much sold-out for the first week and they are still in previews. Now, I really, REALLY, want to go. So I call to get myself put on a waitlist and lo and behold someone calls to cancel and viola! I find myself with a ticket to Wide Awake Hearts.

And, I was not disappointed. At all. What a brilliant production! I often get really irritated by the constant misuse of video & projections in theatre. Yes, it’s innovative. But that doesn’t mean that everyone and their dog needs to go out and insert video and projections into their next play just because it is the thing to do. Plunking a screen on stage and showing a projection to identify locale does not make you innovative. It makes you lazy. I mean c’mon can’t you be more creative than that?! However, if video and projections are integrated well into the story and the design of the show it can be brilliant. And, in this case it is. AND, the story/narrative, doesn’t suffer (in my humble opinion) to serve the video and projections (which is another reason I am often irritated by video/projection).

The playwright, Brendan Gall, has written a great piece of theatre. If you like Closer by Patrick Marber (which I do) then you will like this play. It has a similar vibe. It’s the story of a young married couple: a film producer and actor. They are making a film and the film producer casts his best friend who he believes had (or is having) an affair with his wife. Next enters the film’s editor and the best friend’s on-again-off-again girlfriend. So, just by this description you can probably guess that all this might make for an interesting situation. Which, of course, it does. And, oh, does it also make for great drama!

There have only been a couple productions in the past couple of years where I have gone to see a production more than once because I liked it so much (Nevermore and Fat Pig being the other two). Wide Awake Hearts will be the third. A bunch of us are going to do rush tickets on Sunday and hopefully get in for $10 (How awesome is that?!). So, if you are reading this, and are in Toronto, I suggest you go see this play.

Because that is the other thing that blows my mind. The amount of theatre artists that don’t actually go to the theatre. How do you expect to know what is happening or “have your finger on the pulse of it” if you never actually go to the theatre? Or read plays? If I had one piece of advice for any aspiring theatre artist it would be this: GO SEE THEATRE!!! And, if you can’t afford to go to the theatre then READ PLAYS.

Because that is “how I do it”. I go to see as much theatre as I possibly can. And, I read plays. All the time. I also read newspapers, magazines, blogs. I go to art galleries and museums. I go to concerts. I listen to music. I know what is happening because I live it. Everyday. I don’t just sit around and talk about it or whine or complain about it. I’m a “doer”. You want to know what is happening? Then get out there and “do” things.

And, you can start by checking out Wide Awake Hearts at Tarragon Theatre.

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

Fall Hiatus

2010-11-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

In 3 days I’m officially on fall hiatus.

5 years ago, it used to be that we did one show which I maybe starting planning for 6-8 months before with really the last 2 months being a lot of work. Then I added another smaller show which was a little more work but nothing that took over my life. Next I started applying for grants which meant over a year’s worth of planning going into our summer production.

Then came Prodigals which by the time we have our official World Premiere in May next year I will have spent almost 2 and half years developing and producing since I first took script submission back in February 2009. Awesome! But, whoa.

Now with season planning and grants coming out the ying-yang plus long range planning it feels like a never ending workload which to a workaholic like myself is not helpful. It feels like since last November when I wrote the post “In The Slow Times” like I’m never going to have another “slow time” ever again in my life which isn’t a bad thing. It’s just...whoa.

So, I’m taking a hiatus and I’m going to force myself to do as little work as possible. The grants are done and sent in. Now we just wait. The things that absolutely need to be done are done. The rest can wait a month. No one will die.

So, I’m off to Toronto (and then to NYC for a week) in 3 days and I can’t believe how excited I am. It’s not even exotic or in a different country (well except New York for a week) or on a different continent or anything. It’s Toronto. And, trust me (sorry all you Torontonians that might be reading this) it’s not anything special. It’s just that I get a break. For a whole month! I could be going to Timbucktoo and I’d be excited.

And, mostly I’m super excited about all the awesome theatre I’m going to see. I’ve already got a list a mile long for New York. I think that’s pretty much all I’m going to do with the exception of eat and go to Century 21. Oh, and maybe the MoMA.

So, if you’re in TO or NYC and you follow me on twitter or read this blog, drop me a line I’d love to meet up and chat. I could talk theatre until I’m blue in the face (just ask Simon or Lois). Wait a second...

Didn’t I just say I was going to do as little theatre work as possible?

Well, you can’t win ‘em all. As long as I’m not writing grants, drafting letters, crunching numbers or obsessively checking my email then it’s all good. Watching and talking is okay. Oh, and I promise to blog a little if I see an awesome show that I want to share with you guys.

So, sayonara, adios & arrivederci Vancouver, I will see you in a month’s time.

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

5-Year Plan

2010-10-21T17:28:00.000-07:00

In my last post I announced our upcoming 2011 Season which is an exciting new development for us. The past couple of years we've done 2 shows per year but it wasn't in any attempt to have an "official" season. We've been more of a project-based organization. And, for the most part, I've kind of been flying by the seat of my pants. Honestly. I just kind of make it up as I go along for the most part. I mean I've had short term goals or goals for a particular production but nothing really long term.

Almost 2 years ago I had someone ask me what my long range goals for Twenty-Something were and I literally stared at them blankly and then mumbled something-or-other about not really having thought about it much. And, back then it was the truth. It wasn't until about January/February of this year when I actually started to think long term. Now I've started to put in motion a 5-year plan that will hopefully (*knocks on wood*) take Twenty-Something Theatre to a new stage in its development.

Part of Stage 1 (Years 1-3 in the 5-year plan) is having an official season and the reason for having an official season is so that we can continue to develop our audiences. There are people that come to see all our productions. So, like other theatre companies, we want to be able to offer those people - and all audiences - the opportunity to save money by "subscribing" to our season.

So, on that note, we've got an amazing deal: a 3-Ticket Flex pass that you can use as 1 ticket per show (or bring 2 friends to see a show or see one show 3 times) and save 15%!!

Regular $54
Under 35 (with valid id) $43
Seniors (with valid id) $43
Preview $25

Click Here to Get Tickets

That starts at as little as $8 per ticket! So, help us continue to develop our audience base by "subscribing" to our amazing 2011 season.

Thank you, to those of you who have been there from the beginning and, welcome, to those of you who may be new to Twenty-Something this year. I think it's going to be an awesome year!

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

2011 Season

2010-10-14T17:09:00.000-07:00

Drum roll please....

1) SPOTLIGHT: Nocturne by Adam Rapp and featuring Troy Anthony Young.

February 22nd - February 27th

"Rapp uses subtle, sensuous, bold and funny language...So detailed and poetic is the writing...that we buy and are powerfully moved by the whole thing." --New York Post

Adam Rapp's highly acclaimed play Nocturne begins as a former piano prodigy recounts the tragic events that tore his family apart. At only 17 years old the young man leaves home and sets out for New York City where he seeks an uneasy refuge in books and he reinvents himself as a writer. Throughout the next decade and a half he tries to cope with the ramifications of his own anguish and estrangement while making a desperate search for redemption. With a keen eye for human relationships and a deft ear for language, Rapp explores the aftershock of an unimaginable event.

2) WORLD PREMIERE: Prodigals by Sean Minogue. Directed by Peter Boychuk.

May 3rd - May 14th

“There’s an ache that runs through this play, and it’s about the difficulty of negotiating the terrain between adventure and compromise…Minogue is a promising writer” --Colin Thomas, Georgia Straight

(Cast from the 2010 workshop production at the Havana)

After a sold-out & critically acclaimed workshop production Prodigals returns for its official World Premiere. Set in a small bar in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, six young underachievers await the results of a murder trial that’s hit close to home. Their world of drinking, sarcasm and missed opportunities is flipped upside down when a former friend returns from Toronto to testify in the trial, reopening old wounds and creating some new ones as well.

3) SUMMER: Tough! by George F. Walker

August 23rd - September 4th

“Walker has an eye for the ridiculous and an imagination that packs his plays with action” --New York Times

Bobby and Tina are nineteen. Bobby gets caught cheating. Tina finds out she’s pregnant. Jill, Tina’s best friend, hates Bobby and welcomes the opportunity to kick his ass. Sometimes life is tough. First written in 1993 this dark comedy by George F. Walker is a wrenchingly funny, painful, and honest depiction of the conflicting desires and troubled relationships that continue to epitomize young people today.

See you at the theatre!

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer

VIFF 2010

2010-10-12T08:59:00.000-07:00

So, if you’ve been following along with my blog for awhile you’ll remember that last year I gushed about a TIFF film called Cole which was directed by Carl Bessai. So, this year when I found out he was coming to VIFF with not one but two films I bought tickets immediately.

When I tell people who don’t know me or aren’t part of the community - you know “regular” people - what I do for a living I usually get “oh, like in film and tv” and then I have to explain to them that, no, actually, in something called the the-a-tre. After that there is always an awkward silence. At this point I just find it funny whereas I used to find it annoying. Because many people who know me know that working in films or tv is not my ultimate destination. I know shocker right?! I’m kind of a theatre purist in that way.

But after seeing Cole last year and hearing them talk about the making of the films it made me start to think a bit differently about it. Now, I’m not saying I’m going to up and leave the theatre industry to pursue Hollywood. I’m just saying that if the opportunity came along to work on the right project. A project like Cole. I might consider it.

Because the thing is when you hear Carl Bessai talk about filmmaking - which I’ve now had the pleasure of hearing three times - you can see that it isn’t about celebrity or being famous (which is what I equate with most Hollywood film and television projects) its about making great art. It just so happens that his medium is film. He’s a storyteller just like the rest of us. And I happen to really like his stories.

The first weekend of VIFF I went to the screening of Carl Bessai film #1: Fathers and Sons. Jay Brazeau, who many of you will know from the Vancouver theatre scene, is hysterical. He plays a Russian (I believe) father to Ben Ratner’s son and in one scene they have a knife fight that is amazing. This film is much different than Cole in that it is made through collective creation. Something we hear a lot about in the theatre world. They do this in films too? Who knew?! So all the scenes are improvised around a central theme which is the relationship of Father to Son (or vice versa). It’s funny and poignant and has a very raw feel to it. It’s been so popular that they’ve actually added an additional screening on the 15th of October at 11:20. So go check it out. You won’t regret it.

This past weekend I went to Carl Bessai film #2: Repeaters. One of the films three leads is Richard De Klerk who also played the lead in Cole (The one thing you’ll notice about Carl Bessai films is he recycles a lot of the same actors) and also helped to produce the film. This time instead of Lytton for Cole they used Mission for Repeaters. And they all moved out there to make the film and had their offices in an old Residential School building they used to shoot the film. And again, they just went out and drove around to find cool locations and stumbled upon a BC Ferries junkyard that plays a part in the final scene of the movie. It's a pretty intense thriller and there is another screening of this film on Thursday, October 14th at 6:30pm so I won't spoil it for you.

When you hear Carl and the actors talk about making the films they speak like they are a small family. And, I like that. Because that is exactly what I love about theatre. The intimacy. The small intense amount of time you spend with people creating and telling stories. And, if that same feeling can be translated to the filmmaking process, then that is a process I might want to be a part of some day.

~Sabrina Evertt
Artistic Producer