Nov 22: Ron Reed in Langley, "Soapbox Or Sandbox"

Soapbox Or Sandbox?
Nov 22, 7 pm
Fraser River Presentation Centre
Township of Langley Municipal Building
20338 - 65th Avenue, Langley

"Art is the community's medicine for the worst disease of the mind"
R.G. Collingwood

There are artists who view themselves as prophets, the enlightened ones who confront their audiences with Great Truths dispensed from the mountaintops of creative insight like stone tablets: "Take that. It'll do you good." But while art - particularly the narrative arts, like theatre - does have meaning, and imparts meaning, it is rare that good art is intended to convey "a message". So what, exactly, does art do in us? And how does it do it? And who is it done for, and why? Reflections of an actor, playwright, artistic director and movie critic on art-making and community-building, and how the compulsions of the artist might feed the soul of the community.

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Ron Reed is the artistic director of Pacific Theatre, which he founded in Vancouver in 1984. Some of the company's acclaimed recent productions include Grace, Cariboo Magi, Prodigal Son, Espresso, The Farndale Christmas Carol and Shadowlands. Recently nominated for Canada's prestigious Siminovitch Prize in Theatre, Ron is an actor, playwright, director and teacher whose work has been received Jessie Richardson, Dora Mavor Moore and Sterling Award nominations: he won the Chalmers Canadian Play award for Book Of The Dragon. Current productions of his plays include Tent Meeting (Rosebud, Alberta), Remnant (St Louis, Missouri) and A Bright Particular Star (Lookout Mountain, Georgia): Refuge Of Lies will open Off-Broadway in August 2008. Ron will play Thomas More in A Man For All Seasons at Pacific Theatre in February, and will direct a company of emerging artists in You Can't Take It With You to close the Pacific Theatre season in May. Ron is currently Artist In Residence at Trinity Western University, where he has taught acting for almost 20 years. He is working on a series of books about film entitled "Soul Food Movies: A Guide to films with a spiritual flavour." He lives in Richmond with his wife Carole and two daughters, Katie and Thea.