Jan 3: Wyndham Thiessen & Steve Dawson, Pacific Theatre!

Very excited about this one! Wyndham Thiessen moved away a bunch of years ago - philosophy at U of T, then l'Arche work in Alberta and now, hmm, Saskatoon? Before that he was a fixture at Pacific Theatre: a couple versions of COTTON PATCH GOSPEL at Pacific Theatre and on tour, and regular CHRISTMAS PRESENCE appearances, occasional concerts. (If you've got the CHRISTMAS PRESENCE cd, you'll remember "Talking Home Invasion Blues.")

Well, he's back for Christmas with his family (you also know his brother Matthew from YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU and prior Stones Throw shows, and his bro-in-law Steve Dawson from various PT musical events) and he comes bearing gifts, a sackful of tunes old and new. It was going to be a living room concert, but there's only so many people you can fit into a living room, so we at Pacific Theatre invited him over to our place (where we've got a few more chairs).

Want to join us? Steve will also be playing - of Zubot & Dawson fame, who produced Jim Byrnes' amazing "House Of Refuge" cd, and "The Sojourners" follow-up recording. It'll be fab.

Wyndham Thiessen in concert with Steve Dawson — a fundraiser for PT
Saturday, Jan 3 @ 8pm
Pacific Theatre
Tickets $12 at the door, or call 604 266-1019 (instead of the PT box office) to reserve in advance

Dec 29: MURDER IN THE CATHEDRAL in the Cathedral

MURDER IN THE CATHEDRAL
by T.S. Eliot
Monday Dec 29, 7pm
Christ Church Cathedral

This compelling examination of political power, individual integrity and transcendent faith is being presented on the 838th anniversary of the martyrdom of Thomas a Becket, featuring Russell Roberts as Thomas Becket and an original musical score by George Ryan.

This compelling examination of political power, individual integrity, and transcendant faith is performed by a diverse cast of professional artists and includes Damon Calderwood, David Adams, Paul Moniz de Sa, Parnelli Parnes, Colleen Winton, Stephen Aberle, Sean Allan, Vanessa Richards, Valerie Sing Turner, Judith Berlin, Quelemia Sparrow, George Ryan, and Sharon Heath, and is directed by Renee Bucciarelli. Visit the City Stage New West website to see the video teaser.

Dec 21: North Shore Christmas Presence STILL HAPPENING

I know it's snowing, but we're going to do our best to put on the show! (I'm an Alberta boy. I never let a little snow deter me.)

See you there!

Ron

JESUS MY BOY Audience reaction

Hey, I've been slow to get these up! Christmas gets busy around PT, with JESUS MY BOY followed by FIRST CHRISTMAS followed by CHRISTMAS PRESENCE in the Valley and on the North Shore (8pm tonight, Sutherland Church, 630 East 19th St, North Vancouver), on top of our Christmas Matching Campaign (still a few thou needed before I can settle in for a long winter's nap). But as I find more kudos in the old email backlog (it's so much nicer to think of it as a yulelog), I'll pop 'em up here. Tons of audience, really strong word of mouth - "a sweet, gentle Christmas show you can bring your Mum to!" But with terrifically alt.folk tunes by Sheree Plett & Jeremy Eisenhauer. Closes this coming Saturday!

"A triumph. Personally, it is the most affecting 'Christmas play' I've seen in recent memory. If this was risky, it was well worthwhile." Paul Thiessen

"I have been sadly lacking in Christmas spirit lately, and the show turned out to be a wonderful gift to me. David Adams was so engaging and believable. I really believed he was Joseph, and will not think of the manger scene in the same way again! The story was marvelous and his delivery and timing were impecable. The layering of the music with the play's action was lovely, and so well done. Kudos to Sheree and Jeremy for committing to something new and bringing a freshness to the play." JL

JESUS MY BOY "Ninety minutes of bliss" - Vancouver Sun

Joseph builds a charming holiday story

Jesus' stepfather walks a fine holiday line between Hannukah and Christmas

Peter Birnie, Vancouver Sun theatre critic

It's a Judeo-Christian Christmas at Pacific Theatre, where the Jewish stepfather of Christianity's Son of God holds forth on what it was like to raise Jesus Christ -- not from the dead, but from birth. Mary's husband Joseph is a middling carpenter, a great guy and an outstanding surrogate dad in John Dowie's charming Jesus, My Boy, a one-man show for an actor attuned to walking the fine holiday line between Hanukkah and Christmas.

David Adams does so with élan. The veteran actor steps outside his own religious roots to give his Joseph the reverberating nature of a Jew who understands his religion's place in the rapidly changing world of old Judea; Joe is not unaware that the followers of the young man he raised point to a whole new era. ...

Dowie writes Joseph as a joker who loves to tell a story, and Sarah Rodgers directs the one-act show with an eye to delivering a complete Christmas package. As Joseph tinkers in his basement workshop, frequent serenades of sweet seasonal music come courtesy two musicians performing live. From a clarinet lick of klezmer to the use of half a dozen different guitars, Jeremy Eisenhauer and Sheree Plett accompany themselves as they sing, in pretty harmony.

The story is a simple chronology of Joseph's emergence as a pretty crummy carpenter, especially compared to his father, before hitting the road. When he met and married Mary, life seemed pretty darn good for Joe -- until his good lady wife announced she was pregnant. By no less a Father than God Himself.

Joseph shrugs. What are you going to do? I love her, we'll raise him as ours and have some more -- the old-fashioned way -- along the way.

Such sweet sentiment flavours this show like sugar on a Christmas cookie. It's also spiced like cinnamon by the sharp observations Joseph makes about the horrors of Roman occupation (his detailed description of crucifixion is particularly horrifying) and has just enough Hanukkah oil in its lamp to enlighten us on many of the events that have become archetypal at this time of year. Lauchlin Johnston has hammered together a set that's the spitting image of any basement workroom, my father's included, where the patriarch can retire to saw and nail and enjoy coffee from a thermos. Jesus, My Boy is about 90 minutes of bliss for anyone who loves the smell of wood shavings and the telling of not just any Christmas story, but the Christmas story.

Rehearsal Photos: FIRST CHRISTMAS 2008

Spencer Capier, Roy Salmond, Becca Robertson,

Nelson Boschman, Elaine Adamian Myers, Allen Desnoyers

Byron Linsey

Allen, Elaine

Elaine, Nelson

Roy, Becca

Allen, Elaine, Spencer

Byron, Allen

half of Spencer, Elaine, Allen

Ron Reed, Allen Desnoyers, Roy Salmond

Elaine Adamian Myers, Byron Linsey

...and Becca Robertson, Nelson Boschman and Spencer Capier

December 21: Nine Lessons and Carols, St John's

Hi friends

This is a reminder and an invitation to join us this coming Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. for the Nine Lessons and Carols service at St. John’s, where I’m in the choir.

It’s a very traditional Anglican service that features exactly what it says it will: nine scripture readings telling the story of Christmas, and nine carols, sung both by the choir and by the congregation. We’re singing some really gorgeous music by, among others, Lauridsen and Rutter. The highlight for me will be Lauridsen’s haunting “O Magnum Mysterium”.

The church is all decorated now and the candles will be burning. Hope to see some of you there!

St. John’s is the big church at Granville and Nanton (about 28th avenue) in Vancouver. Can’t miss it.

Plan to arrive early to get decent seats; a similar Advent service was quite packed this year!

Blessings
Diane Tucker

Dec 12: WINTERGARTEN CABARET, benefit show for PT and Genus

Wintergarten Cabaret
Dec. 12, 2008, doors at 8 pm, show around 9
Tix $15 in advance, $20 at the door
Anza Club (On the corner of West 8th and Ontario, two blocks west of Main St)

Doktor Luke Productions and Genus Theatre present a cabaret fundraiser for the Vancouver theatre commununity, featuring burlesque acts from the Starlet Harlots, comedy from Genus Theatre, flapper dancing by Glitter and Gold Showgirls, and ventriloquism from Kellie Haines.

This will be a 1920s themed cabaret, replete with a smoky atmosphere (tobacco free, of course). Drinks will be cheap and plenty, the extraordinary acts are coming along incredibly (we’ve got all sorts of talented surprises up our flapper dresses for you), including our headliner act THE STARLET HARLOTS!

Hosted by Doktor Luke Productions and Genus Theatre. All proceeds will go to Pacific Theatre and Genus Theatre, so buy your tickets early and drink plenty!

You’ll see our poster, pasted below, designed by Kolke (see wearekolke.com) - that little jewel is just a small sample of the talent we’ve got lined up for this show. So come one, come all, and support the Vancouver Theatre Community!

See you there!
Julie & Frank

Dec 12: TWELVE NIGHTS TIL CHRISTMAS at St James Hall

Some of my compadres from those Sunday night gigs at West Point Grey Baptist, plus Allen Desnoyers. Should be swell!

Dec 9/10/12/14: CONFESSIONS OF A PAPERBOY

Georgia Straight:

GOD ON YOUR DOORSTEP
in Doug Curtis's CONFESSIONS OF A PAPER BOY. God speaks directly to 10-year-old newspaper carrier Christopher Columbus. Soon, Christopher is delivering miracles. Talk about a subscription drive. But assuming God isn't in this to up circulation, what exactly is the Almighty doing and why has S/He chosen this kid to do it with? Apparently this show from Calgary's Ghost River Theatre, which runs next Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday in the Cultch's spiffy new VanCity Culture Lab, is all about faith and loss. It's also about the possibility that Satan lives in the brown bungalow down the block.

"Feed The Lake" - Thoughts from our Stage Manager

Lois Dawson is Pacific Theatre's resident stage manager. This is from her blog, Lois In La La Land.

Back in early September, my friend Angela wrote a blog post following her attendance at Bard's production of The Tempest. In it she talks about learning that there is no point in jealousy because when one artist succeeds we all end up winning. She said:. She said: "The problem is, I have a degree in directing and I've been doing it for a long time but I don't know that I could create a work this accomplished. So for part of the performance I was torn between admiration and dejection - 'wow this is really good/wow that's really depressing' -something like that.... But when a truly gifted artist creates a work for others to share, we get the present. My life was enriched by the production I saw tonight and as a result, my work will be enriched." It was a sentiment she echoed after she and I attended Unity: 1918 a couple of weeks back.

But further in the post she talks about an image that appears in Madeline L'Engle's Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith & Art (which is, by the way, one of my top arts reads, regardless of faith orientation. L'Engle was the talented writer behind A Wrinkle in Time.). She discusses an analogy drawn by Jean Rhys in which art is a lake and the artists of the world are various sizes of rivers, streams, & trickles.

She quotes Rhys as saying "I don't matter. The lake matters. You must keep feeding the lake."
I love that image. The idea that all of art is this giant lake (actually I'd like to jump in and bathe in it - let it soak into my soul!), and that regardless of the size of our contribute we must continue to feed the lake.

Often, as a Stage Manager, I forget that I am also responsible for feeding the lake. I want to leave that role to the directors, actors & designers whose work is so clearly art. But creating a space in which it is possible for those artists to produce (and even better: to thrive!) is an art all its own, and I need to remember that when I get down about my role in the process.

Feed. The. Lake.

JESUS MY BOY: "All it takes..."

A snapshot of our first read-through of JESUS MY BOY. This is all it takes to produce a simple one-man-show...

Not pictured: Julie Sutherland (publicist), Ron Reed (music director),
John Sutherland (general manager),

technical director, lighting technicians, carpenters (except Joseph. Er, David.)...

JESUS MY BOY featured in The Province

JESUS MY BOY

by John Dowie

Pacific Theatre

Nov 28 - Dec 27

Tickets: PT website / 731-5518 / tickets@pacifictheatre.org

Directed by Sarah Rodgers. With David Adams, Sheree Plett, Jeremy Eisenhauer.

Famous dad opens up about his family
Joseph delivers insight into what it was really like to raise a kid named Jesus
Lynn Mitges, The Province
Thursday, November 27, 2008

Joseph just doesn't get much attention. In fact, just about everyone is focused on his wife, Mary, and his newborn son, a baby named Jesus.

Maybe gold, frankincense and myrrh are not the wisest choice of gifts for a young family just starting out. And maybe Joseph has a few more astute observations about the monumental event that people are, frankly, still talking about.

Jesus, My Boy is refreshing look at the Christmas story but from the eyes of the man who had parenthood thrust upon him, a play that is described as both "enchanting" and as "an unexpected Christmas gift."

Local actor David Adams plays Joseph, a gentle yet funny carpenter who shares his insight in a production that premieres in Vancouver with an original score, performed by Sheree Plett and Jeremy Eisenhauer.


"It's more about the man," says Adams. "Joseph's sort of explaining to the audience and the two musicians about his experience, being a father for the very first time, and what it was like to meet Mary, and how they dealt with it when she first came to him and said, 'Look, I'm pregnant.'"

Adams' Joseph takes the audience through the formative years when Jesus was a boy, and the ensuing challenges of being a father who has a child who was obviously different but has the same emotional needs as other kids....

Much of the play is irreverent, but not disrespectful, says Adams... "What I like about the writing of this is it's almost from a Jewish perspective rather than a Christian perspective," he says. "Joseph talks about being Jewish quite a bit and he talks about being a descendant of the House of David, and the Jewish life at that time."

The play is a one-man show, a soliloquy for Joseph, a role that allows Adams to personalize. The role of Joseph was originally written for actor Tom Conti, and immediately Adams was drawn to it. "Tom Conti has the kind of things I'd equate with myself. There's a soulfulness about him and a gentleness but at the same time he's a pretty imposing man.. I guess that's what I'm going to be bringing to Joseph."

Jesus, My Boy is sure to entertain, says Adams, but it also has a remarkable richness. "What I also love about doing this show is that it's just me and the text and it's lovely to be able to discover what there is in there," he says.

Adams, who has two teenage daughters, says he brings along his parenting experience, plus a fondness for carpentry. "My father is an old-world carpenter so it was really easy to relate to the carpentry end of it. I was the oldest son [of four] and if there was any helping to be done, I was the guy," he says.

It was frustrating for both father and son, Adams says, as he was "klutzy" and never had a penchant for remembering what tool he was supposed to retrieve when his father asked for it. But it's a skill that Adams picked up nonetheless. "Years later, there were a lot of things I knew just by osmosis, so now I'm very grateful. I can put in a door by myself. I can do some basic carpentry and that comes in handy when you're a homeowner," he laughs.

Rehearsal photos by Gillian Wolpert

Nov 25: Pacific Rim String Quartet, Jazz Cellar

Music on Main presents
PACIFIC RIM STRING QUARTET
Tuesday, November 25, 2008

A MONTH OF TUESDAYS
AT THE CELLAR RESTAURANT AND JAZZ CLUB
"the highly popular series that's as musically adventurous as it is socially gregarious"
(The Georgia Straight)

Music on Main presents A Month of Tuesdays at the Cellar Restaurant & Jazz Club (3611 West Broadway @ Dunbar). What makes a Music on Main event at the Cellar so much fun? Top flight musicians, great music and a casual yet engaging atmosphere. Audience members order dinner and drinks before the concert or at intermission, then when the bar service stops for the performance, everyone listens with a renewed intensity. Full bar service and à la carte menu available before and after the concert, and during intermission. (There will be no service during the performance.)

Pacific Rim String Quartet

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

The Pacific Rim String Quartet is a compelling new addition to Vancouver's chamber music scene - a passionate quartet who embraces wide-ranging repertoire, from newly composed music to string quartet classics. Their return engagement for Music on Main brings together a rarely heard quartet by the Czech Romantic Smetana alongside Shostakovich's tragic String Quartet No.8.

Featuring: Li-Ling Liao (violin), Ruth Huang (violin), Robin Streb (viola) and Brian Mix (cello).

Doors open at 6:30 PM
Come for a drink, or a meal!

Music starts around 8:00 PM
Cover Charge: just $15

Cellar Restaurant & Jazz Club (3611 West Broadway @ Dunbar)

Note: The Cellar is licensed as a restaurant and is therefore open to all ages.

Order your tickets today for reserved seating! Call Tickets Tonight at 604.684.2787 or visit www.ticketstonight.ca

Link to ticket sales:

More Info: www.musiconmain.ca | 604.879.9888 | info@musiconmain.ca

Dec 2: The Joy Of Christmas with City In Focus

click to enlarge

You can register online

Nov 23: Jacob Moon, Point Grey

Nov 23
7:30pm
Solo Concert
at Point Grey Church in Vancouver , BC
3512 7th Avenue West, Vancouver, BC V6R 1W3
freewill offering

myspace page

PERELANDRA in Oxford

This just in from IMAGE Update - though I think they used "eponymous" wrong...

The Oxford University C.S. Lewis Society and the Donald Swann Estate have recently announced that they will be producing the second premiere of Perelandra, an opera by Donald Swann (music) and David Marsh (libretto) based on the eponymous novel by C.S. Lewis. 

The piece was written between 1960 and 1964, with the enthusiastic support of C.S. Lewis. In a 1962 letter to Marsh, Lewis wrote: “I think [the libretto] just stunningly good. It brought tears to my eyes in places.” Done right, “it will be terrific. I very heartily congratulate you.” The opera was also very dear to Swann’s heart, and contains some of his most lyrical music. 

The opera opened to enthusiastic reviews in Oxford, Cambridge, London, and later New York. The sale of the film rights shortly after Lewis’s death, however, placed a long-term embargo on its performance.

The opera is now receiving a long-awaited second premiere in its original, three-act form. It will be performed in Oxford, UK, on June 25, 26 and 28, 2009, and recorded by Oxford Records. The performance run will be accompanied by a two-day international colloquium on C.S. Lewis’s Perelandra in all its aspects: literary, theological, philosophical, and musical. A keynote address will be given by Walter Hooper. 

A Call for Papers is now available on the website. A competition for subject-related artwork for display at the performance and on its products has also been announced, and Alan Lee, best known for his Tolkien illustrations and conceptual artwork for the Lord of the Rings trilogy, is to judge the competition. The closing date is February 15, 2009. The full announcement is available on the website.

Please click here for more details, or contact the production team at admin@perelandraproject.org

JESUS MY BOY Artistic Director's Notes

this is the irrational season,
when love bloomed, bright and wild.
had mary been filled with reason
there'd have been no room for the child.

When we talk about experimental theatre, when we think of theatre that takes risks, it's not something as sweet and unassuming as JESUS MY BOY that we have in mind. But the fact is, this production feels to me like the riskiest in our season.

We start with a downright funny monologue, written by a comedy writer, about a dad who mostly doesn't understand his son. A son who happens to be The Son. Of God, no less.

Then we throw in the evocative, sometimes haunting, sometimes delicate music of Sheree Plett and Jeremy Eisenhauer.

Oil. Water.

Earthy. Transcendent.

Sublime. Ridiculous.

Well, we'll see.

It's risky, like any marriage is risky. It's uncertain, an experiment – which, more or less by definition, may or may not work. (If you're absolutely certain how it's going to turn out, or even that it's going to turn out at all, it's hardly an experiment, is it?)

But we thought we'd try. Frankly, this seems like the right time of year for such improbabilities, this midwinter time Madeleine L'Engle called "The irrational season." The perfect time for this awkward coming together of unlike things, a union that has everything to do with the risk of marriage, the death-defying miracle of birth, and especially the divine improbability of the infinite and mighty God becoming human, finite, vulnerable.

Can't wait to see how it turns out.

Ron Reed,
Matchmaker

Merry Christmas! From Pacific Theatre

MOURNING DOVE: Audience response

from a physician friend: "Mourning Dove. She has been hovering above me all week. You have gifted us with an astonishing production of one of the most difficult ethical issues of our time.
I’m just recovering from surgery and am less coherent than usual which isn’t saying much. Nevertheless I want to send off a few thoughts but primarily gratitude for what you have put into this play as you approach closing night. I have recommended the show to many others as an “uplifting” experience. No matter what you thought when you arrived you had to leave with a deeper appreciation for the other side if not your own stance. Keith(you), the brilliantly acted idiot savant spoke for those of difference who cannot speak for themselves and in the end he was incapable of understanding and/or forgiving the act. On the other hand Sandra’s redemptive embrace closed the wounded circle. It was 40 days and 40 nights of torrential compassion! “Because we are going to outlive her we must out love her.” ...With my most sincere gratitude for the moral courage of your ongoing work..."

from Sarah: "Thank you again for such a beautiful, moving evening at the theatre. I haven't stopped talking about MOURNING DOVE all day."

from John Jennings: "I had to just sit in my seat for about 5 minutes after the play ended. Mind you, most everyone else did too. Thanks for taking the risk to present this play. It challenged us, as parents, to ask those tough "what if" questions. We talked through those questions on the way home, and then thanked God we didn't have to live with the answers."

from Dan: "I wanted to hug you after the show, but knew that I would start crying if I did. The show struck all kinds of resonances with me and I was in a very deep.... place for the rest of the evening and all of Saturday. I think the show brilliantly held its tension at all the right places and delivered a nuanced, thought-provoking journey. Bravo to all involved!"

From Michelle Lieffertz:
Oh WOW. It's only now, nearly a week later, that I feel even REMOTELY able to articulate anything.
What a piece of theatre.
What a piece of life.
It was quite the ride. What phenomenal work - THANK YOU for the gift of this. I was unable to leave the theatre space during intermission: I didn't want to stay and face the questions... but I was so caught up in it that I couldn't go. I feel like this is what Aristotle was talking about when he discussed theatre as catharsis.
so much pain.
so much TRUTH.
so few answers.
still reeling...
Glad I'm not God.

Nov 23: This Old Mountain

This one sounds great! Kenton Wiens is a PT regular, playing drums at Christmas Presence and all its cousins, also part of the Nelson Boschman Trio. Kathleen Nisbet has also done her shifts at CP, and gets mentioned most often her for her work with Viper Central.

THIS OLD MOUNTAIN
Sunday November 23 at 8pm
The Mosaic
208- 165 W4th Ave @ Columbia

Come on down for some foot stompin' good times with This Old Mountain. They have a new CD you need to get your hands on. It's called "Amen, amen!" and they are excited for you to hear it. Please join in the fun!

This Old Mountain is Chris Lemky, Kathleen Nisbet, and Kenton Wiens. They formed as a roots gospel trio for Thursday nights at the Street Church on Main and Hastings, a place where downtown eastside residents come to enjoy a warm meal, some hot coffee and to have their spirits lifted. This CD is a recording of some of the favourite songs from those nights at the Street Church. The evening will feature This Old Mountain with special guests and solo performances from Chris Janzen (Old Mare), Jon Wood and more.

Nov 14 - Dec 7: Glen Pinchin in THE CIRCLE

Remember Glen Pinchin as Tony Kirby's father, the unhappy Wall Street banker, in YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU?  We're hoping to see him onstage again this spring in the sequel, YOU STILL CAN'T, but if you can't wait that long, Glen's soon to be onstage with United Players. And longtime PT pal and certified Soul Foodie Maria Denholme is at the stage management helm...

United Players of Vancouver

presents

THE CIRCLE

by Somerset Maugham

Directed by Adam Henderson

November 14 - December 7

Thur - Sun at 8pm

$6 Preview: November 13

Jericho Arts Centre

1675 Discovery Street, B.C.

You can purchase tickets online

THE CIRCLE gives an ironic twist to the conflict between romance and responsibility as represented by two generations of the same wealthy family. Arnold Champion-Cheney has never forgotten, or ceased to resent, his mother's elopement thirty years ago with Lord Porteous. Cheney is an ambitious politician with a beautiful young wife in whom he has proprietary pride. Home from their long exile come his mother Lady Kitty and her lover. With Arnold's father living nearby, the visit promises to be fraught with embarrassment but instead becomes extremely amusing. What Lady Kitty at once notices is that history is repeating itself

Nov 26-29: MYTHIFICATION at TWU

Kris Knutsen was an apprentice at Pacific Theatre, was one of the invited playrights at our Rosedale Writers Week in 2007, and is working on her MFA in playwriting. Woven in with all of that, Kris is on the TWU Theatre faculty this fall, leading students through the creation of this intriguing original theatre piece.

MYTHIFICATION
Nov 26 - 29, 8pm
Trinity Western University

Tickets: 604 513-2121 ext 3872 / twuboxoffice@gmail.com / online

"We have been established since Everlasting, before there ever was an earth..."

MYTHIFICATION is a student created production using myth, storytelling and inspirations from classic Greek theatre to explore the figurative origins of the universe. Creation as you’ve never seen it before, this original student work turns “the beginning” into an epic battle for humanity.

“J.R.R. Tolkien refers to myth as a ‘real, though unfocused gleam of divine truth falling on human imagination’, and that’s the idea we started with in this production,” says director Kris Knutsen, a Seattle based playwright and actor. “In a ‘student-created production’ we are responsible for creating every part of the theatre experience; beginning to end, story and presentation, theatrical stage and the world of the play. It’s exciting and terrifying at the same time.”

The idea for Mythification started with a love for classic Greek theatre. “When creating a work with an ensemble, it’s great to have a common inspiration. For us, it was these classic plays that were the origins of Western theatre. Epic things happened, everyone’s dying, the gods intervene, there’s no pretense towards the “smallishness” of life. Characters transcend the ordinary, yet somehow end up speaking personally about it.”

The contrast is created by using a Greek “style” to tell a mythic story from another culture. “For our production we used Genesis 1” says Knutsen. “The beginning of all beginnings. It’s got everything you need: creation of worlds, conflict, origin of time and humanity… We merged a humanity typically found in Greek mythology with the story and structure found in the Biblical account. The underlying story is the same, but like nothing you’ve ever seen. It feels unique and personal while still respecting the story as it was written. It definitely is creation as you’ve never seen it before.”

A show of epic proportions, Mythification is an original night of theatre that uses music, movement, and story to explore timeless truths in creative representations. As C.S. Lewis once wrote, the power of myth “Gets under our skin...troubles oldest certainties…and in general shocks us more fully awake than we are for most of our lives.”

Conservative Playwrights, Liberal Theatres, and Sir Thomas More

Below, another fascinating article from Terry Teachout.

I found it particularly entertaining when read through the following lenses.  

1) I have a playwright friend (a woman, in case that matters), probably far more conservative than I, who is presently working in the writing internship program at Oskar Eustis's Public Theatre. Incognito, I guess.

2) My Scrabble-induced dyslexia provided a far more interesting headline than the one the Times ran: "Liberal Views Dominate Foodfights."

3) My play REFUGE OF LIES was submitted to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival several years back. Either it never got as far as Alison Carey, or she doesn't judge it "conservative" - which is fine by me, it's not a label I would apply to myself or my plays, but I wonder why she wouldn't. (Some might suggest that perhaps she read my play but doesn't remember it. Having myself read my play, I must state that this simply could not be.)

4) Mamet swaps "idealistic vision" - which seems to me to be about human values? - for "a free-market understanding of the world." Damn Yankees, always confusing economics with ethics. (Is this really what troubles Teachout? That no American theatres are running plays about market deregulation and free trade?)

5) Once you've heard from Mr Teachout, I'll append a bit from the September/October Film Comment, in which writer-director David Koepp gives his take on A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS, one of his cinematic "guilty pleasures."

6) Damn fine finish. Applause to Messrs Teachout and Chekhov.

Enter, Stage Right?
Why we don't get conservative plays
Wall Street Journal, November 8 2008

Here's one for the been-there-done-that department: A group of women playwrights recently held a public meeting in New York at which they complained that not enough plays by women were being produced Off Broadway. The usual statistics were adduced to prove the point, and the usual male suspects made mollifying noises in a story published in the New York Times, though none promised to do anything in particular about it. "The issue is best dealt with by consistent consciousness-raising rather than a specific program," said Oskar Eustis, artistic director of the Public Theater. Translated from Newspeak into English, this evidently means that Mr. Eustis disapproves of quotas for plays by women. Liberalism, it seems, has its limits, even at the Public.

More interesting -- and less predictable -- was another Times story called "Liberal Views Dominate Footlights" that ran a few days earlier. In it a number of American theater professionals were asked to speculate on why today's politically oriented plays are without exception written from a liberal point of view. All gave the same answer: Conservatives don't write plays. "I've never had a play come to me that I could say had a conservative perspective," said Alison Carey of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

True? Probably. Except for David Mamet, who announced earlier this year that he had abandoned the "idealistic vision" of liberalism in favor of "a free-market understanding of the world," and Tom Stoppard, whose "Coast of Utopia" trilogy was a meditation on the destructive consequences of 19th-century utopian absolutism, I can't think of a single well-known American or British playwright whose political views are even slightly to the right of center. Nor do I think it likely that such a person would flourish were he or she suddenly to emerge from out of nowhere: Theater is a social art form, and the culture of American and British theater is 99% left-liberal, if not more so.

A couple of weeks before the election, I was present at a theatrical brunch where the woman sitting on my right was wearing a T-shirt that read "Republicans for Voldemort." I noticed that the other people at the table were giving her nasty looks, and a moment later it hit me that they didn't get the joke. Once I explained to them that Lord Voldemort is the Dick Cheney of the Harry Potter novels, they perked right up.

Is this lockstep ideological unanimity a problem? Some theater professionals claim to think so. Nicholas Hytner, the artistic director of London's National Theatre, has said that he longs to commission a "good, mischievous, right-wing play." But he gave the game away when he added that what he had in mind was "a play that ended up in a position that, for instance, was highly skeptical about abortion rights. I would like to see a play about the white working-class communities that were completely displaced by waves of immigration. These are the offensive plays we're not doing."

Mr. Hytner, in other words, wants to produce issue-driven conservative plays that are just like today's liberal plays, only in reverse, whereas the problem with today's political theater is that its practitioners see their plays not as works of art but as means to an end. In such tedious exercises in left-wing agitprop as Sam Shepard's "The God of Hell," Caryl Churchill's "Drunk Enough to Say I Love You?" and Tim Robbins's "Embedded," we are presented with a black-and-white universe of victims and villains, a place where every deck is stacked and never is heard a surprising word. Why would anybody with half a brain in his head -- even a fire-breathing McCainiac, if such a creature exists -- want to suffer through their right-wing equivalent?

It's possible for playwrights to engage with political subjects in a way that doesn't insult the intelligence. In Robert Bolt's "A Man for All Seasons," which is currently being presented on Broadway by the Roundabout Theatre Company, the martyrdom of Thomas More is turned into a parable about the rule of law. "And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you -- where would you hide, the laws all being flat?" More warns a colleague who wants to "cut a great road through the law" and arrest one of King Henry's spies. But Bolt didn't write "A Man for All Seasons" in order to persuade those who saw it to go out and vote Labour. His purpose was to make viewers of all political persuasions reflect on the dangerous consequences of using extralegal means to pursue desirable short-term ends. The result is a deeply political play that is neither liberal nor conservative -- and one that succeeds as a work of art.

I don't doubt that the American theater would be a more amusing place if it harbored a few uncloseted conservatives. But when the curtain goes up, I don't care whether the author of the show I'm about to see is a Republican, a Democrat, an anarchist or a drunkard, so long as he's taken the advice of Anton Chekhov: "Anyone who says the artist's field is all answers and no questions has never done any writing. . . . It is the duty of the court to formulate the questions correctly, but it is up to each member of the jury to answer them according to his own preference." That's what great playwrights do: They put a piece of the world on stage, then step out of the way and leave the rest to you.

Mr. Teachout, the Journal's drama critic, writes "Sightings" every other Saturday and blogs about the arts at www.aboutlastnight.com. Write to him at tteachout@wsj.com.

And, as promised, here's the further commentary on A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS from the the Sep/Oct issue of Film Comment. In the "guilty pleasures" feature, David Koepp (writer-director of the upcoming GHOST TOWN) provides these insights into A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS, which he lists as Guilty Pleasure #10...

One of the all-time greats and you don't need me to tell you that, but here's the guilty part: early on, I started to have this nagging feeling that maybe, just maybe, Thomas More was kind of a jerk. I pushed it out of my mind but it kept coming back, and by the time his poor wife starts yelling at him in the Tower of London to just sign the damn thing and come home already, I couldn't suppress it anymore. 'Yes, you pompous fool, what is your fucking problem?! Your family needs you!' I watched it a second time a few months ago just to confirm. Yep, he's an asshole."

Now there's a substantial critique. 

Give me the potty-mouthed Kevin Smith any day...

Nov 15: AUGUSTA Concert

Remember PT's first production of TENT MEETING? Karen Parent played the role of Dolly, and has visited us a couple times for CHRISTMAS PRESENCE and PASSION, things like that. A marvelous musician who now heads a band called AUGUSTA. Here's word of an upcoming gig...

Karen and I have just recorded our third CD and wanted to update you on this and let you know about a(nother) fundraiser concert we are doing in November at New Life Community Church in Bby.

Augusta live in Concert

Saturday, November 15 2008 at New Life Community Church, 8765 Government Street, Burnaby. Doors open at 6:30 pm

Augusta will be performing music from their new CD Bird, which will be available for purchase. Gourmet desserts. Silent Auction. Tickets $10 in advance, $15 at the door. For ticket info: (604) 420-0761 or newlifeburnaby@yahoo.com.
Proceeds to support Outreach Canada. 

To hear music go to www.myspace.com/augustatrio.

It will be a dynamic evening and we hope to see many there.

Best regards,

Jason Dionne
bassist for Augusta
Keep in touch with us on our Myspace page or Facebook page.

Nov 20: "God With Us" live webcast, Kathleen Norris & Gregory Wolfe

Last year at this time, I was pretty burnt out. Advent provided restoration, most specifically through Greg Pennoyer's God With Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Christmas, through which God made good on the promise of Psalm 23, "His rod and staff, they comfort me... He makes me to lie down... He restoreth my soul." (Rivers And Tides also came into it...)

2008 has been a far kinder year to me, I'm relieved to say, but I still approach Advent - and Greg's book - with a sense of tremendous expectation. In that spirit, let me tell you about an online event connected with the book and the season.

God With Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Christmas

Live web-cast on Nov. 20th

In a season and culture that has been overwhelmed by the expectations and demands of commercialism, you are invited to participate in an exploration of the mystery and wonder of the Advent and Christmas season with Award Winning Poet and New York Times Best-Seller Kathleen Norris, and Editor of Image Journal, Gregory Wolfe.

On Thursday, November 20, at 5pm Pacific (8pm Eastern), Kathleen and Greg will host a live conversation on the meaning of the Advent and Christmas Season.

To bookmark this date and receive free access, and to participate November 20, go to the www.rediscoverchristmas.com/livecall website.

Along with renowned spiritual writers such as Eugene Petersen and Luci Shaw, Kathleen Norris and Gregory Wolfe have created the popular book of art and daily reflections entitled God With Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Christmas.

Rooted in the reflections and art of the book, Kathleen and Gregory will spend 60 minutes in conversation on this profoundly important topic and will interact with audience members from across North America, responding to the questions or comments submitted before and during the conversation.

We welcome you to participate in this rediscovery of the meaning of this significant season and this rare opportunity to interact with such unique authors as Kathleen Norris and Gregory Wolfe. For more information about Kathleen, Greg or the book, see the Rediscover Christmas web site.

Celebrate the meaning of Christmas and support Pacific Theatre too. $4 from the sale of every book will go to Pacific Theatre.
Please enter JF code PT120 when placing an order. And feel free to pass on this opportunity to your friends!

This online conversation is co-sponsored by Imago, Image Journal, Sign-post Music and Pacific Theatre.

SOUL FOOD: Dove closing soon, Advent webcast, PT actors everywhere!

Just nine MOURNING DOVE performances remaining, and I want to encourage you to take this one in. The thought-provoking and emotionally affecting subject matter - the play is inspired by the Robert Latimer case - is balanced by genuine warmth and humanity, as well as a surprising amount of humour.  It's always easy to draw an audience to our comedies and plays with familiar titles,  but it's shows like MOURNING DOVE, ESPRESSO, PRODIGAL SON and many other substantial pieces of theatre that are at the heart of what Pacific Theatre is about.  Closes November 15. Tickets: 731-5518 or www.pacifictheatre.org. Pick Of The Week by The Province, CBC Radio and The Georgia Straight.

And if you come see MOURNING DOVE this week, Nov 6-8, you can stay after and take in our Apprentice Showcase, STICKS & BONES!

With Advent approaching, I've been thinking back a year, to a season when God used the weeks leading up to Christmas - and Greg Pennoyer's book God With Us: Rediscovering The Meaning Of Christmas to restore my soul in a dry and weary time. I'm eager to enter into that season, and that inspiring book, once again this year, and in anticipation of that, I want to point you to a live webcast with Kathleen Norris and Gregory Wolfe coming up on November 20.

Lots of Pacific Theatre actors in shows around town these days. Julia Mackey's wonderful one-woman-show JAKE'S GIFT (Nov 11-22) features the character she created for PT's MERCY WILD. Damon Calderwood's BILLY BISHOP runs Nov 5-22 in Deep Cove (not to be confused with the UBC production helmed by Sarah Rodgers, director of ELEPHANT MAN, DRIVING MISS DAISY and JESUS MY BOY at PT). Arnica Skulstad-Brown will likely be amazing in LOVE LETTERS in Port Moody. Tom Pickett and Craig Erickson are in CYRANO at the Arts Club to Nov 23. Glen Pinchin opens Somerset Maugham's THE CIRCLE Nov 14 with United Players. Adam Bergquist opens tonight in HAVING HOPE AT HOME, Chemainus's Christmas offering, and Erla Faye Forsyth and Kyle Jespersen remind us that IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE at the Arts Club.

Gina Chiarelli is a beloved Pacific Theatre actress, though it's been a few seasons since we had her on our stage. Her painter husband Timothy Clayton is opening his studio this Sunday for a special pre-Christmas art sale. The Nelson Boschman Trio (Christmas Presence regulars) play the Blenz in Yaletown Nov 12 and 26, and Kathleen Nisbett's VIPER CENTRAL has started a regular Saturday morning bluegrass brunch gig at Aurora.

And the Solo Collective show TRUE BELIEVERS ends Nov 9.

Nov 30: Timothy Clayton art sale

Gina Chiarelli is one of PT's favourite actresses - AGNES OF GOD, THE FEVER, etc. Her husband is one of our favourite painters...

Timothy Clayton

Pre- Christmas studio Art sale

Sunday, November 30th, 3 – 9 pm

Wine and Cheese will be served

Come to Timothy’s studio and view inventory from past art shows at price-reduced rates.

Rock & Roll Abstracts, Cathelin Florals, Landscapes, and much more.

Oils and Acrylics…all sizes. We look forward to seeing you.

1956 East Georgia Street (off Victoria) 

RSVP: 604-430-9505 / timothyclayton@shaw.ca

Timothy presents a tribute painting… 

titled: “The Fat Bottomed Girls Bicycle Race”… 

to one of his favourite bands…

Queen 

in Vancouver, B.C.

Nov 5-22: Calderwood, Rodgers launch twin BILLY BISHOPs

You'll remember Damon Calderwood as THE ELEPHANT MAN, or as Richard Rich in A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS - or, if your memory is long enough, an actor in The Pacific Salt Company and our annual Murder Mystery shows. Damon's always dreamed of playing Billy Bishop in the classic Canadian musical, and his time has come! 

Curiously enough, the director of THE ELEPHANT MAN, Sarah Rodgers - who also helmed our DRIVING MISS DAISY, and is about to dig in on JESUS MY BOY with David Adams, Sheree Plett and Jeremy Eisenhauer - has just piloted another production of BILLY B, this one at the Chan Centre. 

First Impressions Theatre proudly presents
BILLY BISHOP GOES TO WAR
a musical by John Gray & Eric Peterson

Wednesdays to Saturdays, November 5-22 at 8:00pm
Deep Cove Shaw Theatre, 4360 Gallant Avenue, North Vancouver, BC

First Impressions Theatre celebrates its 25th anniversary season with one of Canada's most popular and internationally renowned musicals "Billy Bishop Goes to War", by John Gray with Eric Peterson. This heart-warming, funny and moving narrative is based on a true story about Canada's World War I flying ace, Billy Bishop.

Audiences will fall in love with Billy Bishop as he recounts his days in combat as a rebellious young Canadian fighter pilot and unexpectedly becomes the most decorated Royal Air Corps officer and heroic figure of the Great War.

Veteran Vancouver actors Damon Calderwood and Gordon Roberts are teaming up in this two-man show with Equity director Gerry McKay to bring the iconic Canadian musical "Billy Bishop Goes To War" to the Deep Cove Shaw Stage. Damon Calderwood will star as the feisty Canadian WWI flying ace Billy Bishop performing 18 different characters while Gordon Roberts will perform the role of Narrator/piano player.

To commemorate "Billy Bishop Goes to War" 30th Anniversary production, First Impressions Theatre will host a Special Fundraising Event on Remembrance Day, Tuesday, November 11, at 8:00 p.m. Refreshments will be served from 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $20, all proceeds go to the Poppy Fund.

Show performances: November 5 through 22, Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. at Deep Cove Shaw Theatre, 4360 Gallant Avenue (at Panorama Drive) in North Vancouver

Tickets: $18 adults; $15 for seniors and students.
Book your tickets early! Call First Impressions Theatre at 604-929-9456.

TWO PRODUCTIONS TAKE FLIGHT!

Theatre at UBC matches this production by First Impressions Theatre with a convergent mounting October 29 - November 11 at the Telus Studio Theatre, Chan Centre for Performing Arts, UBC Point Gray Campus. Director Sarah Rodgers and starring Ryan Beil & John Gray's son Zachary Gray.

UBC Box Office: 604 822.2678

To Nov 23: Craig Erickson, Tom Pickett in CYRANO

PT actors Craig Erickson and Tom Pickett are in CYRANO at the Arts Club through November 23.

Nov 11-22: Julia Mackey in JAKE'S GIFT (Vancouver)

Back in 2002, Julia Mackey first developed the character of Jake in a mask characterization workshop we held at Pacific Theatre, a process which led to the creation of MERCY WILD. A couple years later Julia traveled to Normandy, and out of that experience created a one-woman-show featuring Jake, as well as a couple other characters. JAKE'S GIFT won top honours at the Victoria Fringe Festival last year, and has been touring since. These next couple weeks we'll have the chance to see the show here in the lower mainland, before Jake takes a bit of a break - to allow Julia to act in HOLY MO at Pacific Theatre in January/February!

Jake's Gift

written and performed by Julia Mackey

Firehall Arts Centre
November 11-14, 16 at 7pm, plus 2pm matinee Nov 16 (no show Saturday 15)

Shadbolt Centre for the Arts
Nov 20-22, 8pm

Nov 6: "Celebrate The Arts" Regent College

Celebrate the Arts

With Jim Gladden

artist and Regent Alum 

and Laurel Gasque

Art historian and sessional faculty, currently teaching

Faith & Imagination in Western Art at Regent College

Thursday, November 6

11:00 am to 12:30 pm in the John Richard Allison Library

Regent College

Nov 2: Eisenhauer, Jonathan Inc, Lance Odegard, Sheree Plett at PT

Only one place to be this Sunday night. EISENHAUER cd release concert at Pacific Theatre.

Jeremy Eisenhauer has played the last couple years of Christmas Presence, he's got a band that performs as Eisenhauer, this is their cd launch. He's married to Sheree Plett, another CHRISTMAS PRESENCE essential. She'll be playing some tunes that night too, as well as appearances by Jonathan Anderson and Lance Odegard, also PT regulars.  It'll be a blast.

(You should also know that Sheree and Jeremy will be providing live music for JESUS MY BOY, which runs at Pacific Theatre November 28 - December 27. With a winsome performance by the amazing David Adams as an amusing, bemused Joseph, reminiscing about the life of his son - which he only half understands.)  

Eisenhauer
at Pacific Theatre

Sunday November 2
CD release for ’Time of Year’
1440 W 12th Ave, Vancouver, British Columbia
Cost: $10 or $20 w/ Time of Year

w/ Jonathan Inc., Lance Odegard and Sheree Plett. Tickets available at the door only.
Doors 6:30, show starts at 7.10pm

Saturday mornings starting Nov 1: Kathleen Nisbet at Aurora Bistro

Kathleen Nisbet has played fiddle at a bunch of PT events like Christmas Presence, Testimony, that sort of thing. Fabulous player. She's part of Viper Central, who now have an ongoing gig at Aurora Bistro...

Hey Friends,

Just wanted to let you know that Viper Central will be playing on Saturday mornings at Aurora Bistro starting this saturday november 1st 11:30am-1:30pm.

Aurora Bistro is a fabulous little fine dining experience focusing on local fresh ingredients and now local fresh music! So Come and Join us!

Aurora Bistro
2420 Main St. (Main & 8th)

See you soon!

Kathleen

Nov 20 - Dec 6: Arnica Skulstad-Brown in LOVE LETTERS

Arnica Skulstad-Brown is an exceptionally gifted actress from the theatre program at Trinity Western who went on to do her MFA at the highly regarded Temple University actor training program. She's back in the lower mainland now, and we'll have a chance to see her work at an upcoming production of A.R. Gurney's LOVE LETTERS. Not to be missed.

Fight Like A Girl Productions presents

LOVE LETTERS
a romantic comedy by A.R. Gurney

November 20 - December 6, 2008
with a Gala Opening Nov 22
Thur-Sat 8pm, Sun 2pm

Inlet Theatre
100 Newport Drive, Port Moody

This winter marks the 20th anniversary of the smash hit, which was first performed in 1988 in New York by John Rubinstein and Kathleen Turner and has since continued to star an exhausting list of celebrated actors. Adding to that long list of talent are our two actors Mitchell Janzen, playing Andrew Makepeace Ladd III, and Arnica Skulstad-Brown, playing Melissa Gardner.

“Love Letters” takes the relationship of Andy and Melissa, and lets the audience witness time passing in a recognizable, hilarious, and heart-wrenching way. The poignantly funny friendship and ill-fated romance takes them from second grade through adolescence, maturity, and into middle age, solely through their correspondence.

As the production traces the lifelong letters of the staid, dutiful lawyer Andy, and the lively, unstable artist Melissa, the story of their bittersweet relationship gradually unfolds from what is written - and what is left unsaid. The words are both hysterical and moving; the audience comes to know both of them intimately – from their boarding school and summer camp upbringing, through to political aspirations, love affairs, military service and artistic ambitions.

A smash hit both off and on Broadway, Love Letters captures Andy and Melissa with a precision of detail and depth of feeling only Gurney can command. In such critically acclaimed plays as The Dining Room and The Cocktail Hour, A.R. Gurney has wittily captured the manners of upper-middle class WASP America, but never as gracefully or with such dazzling economy as in Love Letters.

It'll make you search out your illicit love letters, mourn your lost youth and wish for a pen pal. It might even stir you to write a letter to your love, which, at 52 cents is still a cheap thrill.

MOURNING DOVE is "PROFOUND, HEART-WRENCHING"

Check out what Jerry Wasserman says in THE PROVINCE about MOURNING DOVE at Pacific Theatre:

...In the play, we never see the daughter, here named Tina Ramsay, though we hear her whimpers and groans (voiced effectively from offstage by Laura Van Dyke). Angela Konrad's Pacific Theatre represents Tina by a circle of light on the floor of her father Doug's workshop. The absence of a physical body...puts the focus squarely on [the other characters] and the choices they make.

Doug (Kerry van der Griend), wife Sandra (Anita Wittenberg) and family friend Keith (Ron Reed) put on a play about Noah's ark for Tina. The Noah play is theatrically lame but cleveral poses the play's central issue: For every two animals that Noah chose, he left behind 100 to drown. Who get to choose who lives and dies, on what grounds? And what's God's role in all this?

...Van der Griend's strong, stoic Doug no doubt does it for love - the quetsion is whether he has the right to do it at all. He offers the play's most powerful argument when he has Keith tie him up in the wrenching, painful position that Tina lives in all the time.

Reed does an excellent job with Keith, easily the play's most theatrical character but also its most stagey. Wittenberg has the toughest job with Sandra...

Simple, shattering moments...make this play worth seeing.

Oct 30: "Northern Lights" book launch, Regent College

BOOK LAUNCH

Northern Lights: An Anthology of Contemporary Christian Writing in Canada

Thursday, October 30
7:30 PM, Regent College Chapel, 5800 University Blvd., Vancouver

With readings from Paul Stevens, Maxine Hancock, Diane Tucker, Hannah Main-van der Kamp and Douglas Todd

For more information see www.northernlightsbook.ca

Hope to see some of you there!!

Diane Tucker

Nov 6-8: PT Apprentice Showcase (after MOURNING DOVE)