year-end fundraising campaign

We have had a truly remarkable year where we were able to produce or present 10 shows, including 2 world premieres, and now we need to close it off with one last fundraising campaign. Please consider a donation today.

Our goal is to raise $50,000 by the end of our fiscal year on June 30th. The good news is, we already have a seed gift of $25,000! The donors would like to see that gift matched, however, and that is up to you! Please donate any amount today to help match that $25,000 gift and bring us the rest of the way home.

Help this seed grow into something beautiful!

TO DONATE:

Go online: www.pacifictheatre.org/donate
Call: 604-731-5483
Mail/Visit: 1440 W 12th Ave, Vancouver, BC, V6H 1M8

tolkien | chronology of a friendship

In his research for TOLKIEN, Ron Reed amassed a huge amount of information about J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, their friendship, and how the rest of the Inklings mix in. The result is an incredibly detailed timeline of their meetings, significant interactions, publications, and more. Below, we've got a portion of that data. Some of it you'll recognize from the play, and some elements didn't quite make the cut. Ready to dive in?

HISTORICAL CHRONOLOGY

1892, Jan 3 J.R.R. Tolkien born, Bloemfontein, South Africa
1898, Nov 29 Belfast, Ireland

1926, May 11 Tolkien meets Lewis
1929, Spring Lewis's Headington bus experience
1929, July Tolkien: "Friendship with Lewis compensates for much..."
1931, Sep 19/20 Addison's Walk conversation
1936, early Tolkien submits The Hobbit for publication
1936, Mar 11 Lewis writes Williams about Place of the Lion
1936, Mar 12 Williams writes Lewis about Allegory of Love
1936, May 18? Williams meets Lewis in Oxford?
1937, Sep 21 The Hobbit published
1937, Oct 15 Tolkien: "Nothing more to say about hobbits..."
1937, Dec 19 "I have written the first chapter of a new story about hobbits..."
1938, Sep 23 Out of the Silent Planet published
1939, May 6 Lewis riposte to "The Flowering Rifle" published

1939, Sep 3 Britain declares war on Germany
1939, Sep 4 Williams moves to Oxford
1939, Nov 9 Inklings meeting, "A roaring cataract of nonsense..."
1940, Jan 29 Williams' Chastity lecture
1940, May Warnie evacuated from Dunkirk
1940, Aug 16 Warnie returns to Oxford
1941 Witchcraft (by Charles Williams) published
1941, Aug 8 Lewis's first BBC broadcast talk
1942, Feb 9 Screwtape Letters published
1942, Mar 1 Socratic Club: "Are There Any Valid Objections To Free Love?"
1943, Apr 20 Perelandra published
1943, Dec 20 That Hideous Strength completed
1944, Jan Rings untouched for months; "I do not seem to have any mental energy or invention."
1944, Apr 1 Tolkien attends Birmingham reunion
1944, Apr 19 Tolkien: "Read The Dead Marshes to Lewis and Williams. It was approved."
1944, Oct 3 Campbell joins conversation at Eagle & Child. "Rather like the Prancing Pony."
1944, Oct 5 Campbell attends Inklings. "CSL's reactions were odd."
1945, May 8 "Hostilities will end at one minute past midnight tonight."
1945, May 9 Williams becomes ill
1945, May 15 Charles Williams dies

1945, Aug 16 That Hideous Strength published
1946, Feb Doctor orders Tolkien to apply for a term's leave. He does not.
1946, Sep 3 Lewis not elected as Merton Professor of Modern Literature
1946, Nov 28 Campbell attends Inklings
1947, Apr 24 Dyson vetoes reading from Lord of the Rings
1947, Sep 8 Time Magazine cover article on Lewis
1947, Dec 4 Essays Presented to Charles Williams published
1948, Jan 25 Tolkien writes Lewis, regrets pain he has caused, recent Inklings absences not connected to the disagreement
1948, Feb 2 Socratic Club: Elizabeth Anscombe, "Miracles: A Reply to Mr. C.S. Lewis"
1949, early Lewis shares The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe with Tolkien
1949, Apr Tolkien, on Narnia: "It just won't do."
1949, Oct 27 "No one turned up after dinner" for Thursday night Inklings. Lewis writes to Tolkien with response to the completed Lord of the Rings, concluding "I miss you very much."

1950, Jan 10 Lewis receives first letter from Joy Davidman
1950, Oct 16 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe published
1952, Sep 24 Lewis meets Joy Davidman at Eastgate dining room
1954, Jul 29 First volume of Lord of the Rings published
1956, Apr 23 Lewis marries Joy Davidman in civil ceremony
1959, Mar 21 Lewis marries Joy Davidman in private religious ceremony
1960, Jul 13 Joy Davidman dies
1963, Nov 22 C.S. Lewis dies
1963, Nov 26 C.S. Lewis funeral

1973, Sep 2 J.R.R. Tolkien dies

jessie nominations 2017-2018

We are thrilled and honoured to have received a number of Jessie nominations for the past season! Below is the list of what came in. A HUGE congratulations, not only to the artists honoured below, but to all who contributed to another outstanding season of theatre that matters at Pacific Theatre. Thank you.

OUTSIDE MULLINGAR:

Erla Faye Forsyth - Outstanding Performance by an Actress
John Emmet Tracy - Outstanding Performance by an Actor
Lauchlin Johnston - Outstanding Lighting Design
Julie Casselman - Outstanding Sound Design and Composition
Angela Konrad - Outstanding Direction
Outstanding Production

THE CHRISTIANS:

Lonnie Delisle - Outstanding Choir Direction
Itai Erdal - Outstanding Lighting Design

ALMOST, MAINE:

Peter Carlone, Kim Larson, Giovanni Mocibob, Baraka Rahmani, Jalen Saip - Outstanding Ensemble

BAR MITZVAH BOY:

Mark Leiren-Young - Outstanding Script

THE LONESOME WEST (Guest Production by Cave Canem Productions):

Kenton Klassen - Outstanding Performance by an Actor
John Voth - Outstanding Performance by and Actor
Outstanding Production

RUINED (Guest Production by Dark Glass Theatre):

Shayna Jones - Outstanding Performance by an Actress
Tom Pickett - Outstanding Performance by an Actor
Angela Konrad - Outstanding Direction

tolkien | responses

"Run, don't walk, to get tix for Tolkien at Pacific Theatre (it's selling fast). A mature play, by a mature playwright, with super acting by all concerned. Ron Reed pulls off playing Tolkien with amazing depth, which wouldn't be a surprise, except that he had to step into the role at the last minute, after writing and directing the play. This is live theatre breathing life into two men who have become flattened by their status as icons. Here they are fully human, fully flawed, and their friendship likewise. Superb end to a superb season. Bravo."
- Karen C., audience response

"This is such a wonderfully ambitious show and it was wild seeing Ron Reed stepping in as a last second subsitute for his cast's sidelined title character. I was floored that by the end of three acts I wasn't just completely engaged with the world, but the first thing I wanted to ask Ron was, 'how many scenes did you cut?'"
- Mark Leiren-Young, audience email

"I LOVE the final scene - the appropriate pang of melancholy - and the final line struck me as beautiful and intriguing. One of the best final lines to a play, ever. Also - congratulations again Ron on your tremendous accomplishment. I left the theatre saying how I enjoyed spending that time with all the characters.”
- Katharine Venour, audience email

"Entering the intimate, underground confines of Pacific Theatre for Tolkien, there is an immediate and palpable magic in the air. At centre stage, set designer Drew Facey has stamped an elegant, ornate compass rose onto rich wooden floorboards. Hanging down over the space are leafy branches, leading back to thickly root trees that seem to grow out of the wells. It is a perfect setting to explore the odd and intricate friendship of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis."
- Brian Paterson, Vancouver Presents

"Farthing’s unstintingly generous Lewis and Dixon’s droll and doughty Warnie... Presiding over the whole scene is a sculpted larch tree so handsome that the characters – poets, after all – periodically stand back and stare just to admire its beauty.”
- Lincoln Kaye, Vancouver Observer

"The script balances these themes in an impressive fashion, and all the while educating a Tolkien-novice such as myself about the rich history behind some of literature’s most significant works... Aesthetically, Tolkien is a complete triumph.”
- Sebastien Ochoa Mendoza, UBC Players Club

"As Lewis, Ian Farthing is understated and persuasively human.”
- Colin Thomas, Fresh Sheet

"Ingram is brilliant as novelist and playwright Charles Williams, the most eccentric of the group.”
- John Jane, reviewvancouver

tolkien | review video

There are two weeks left to see TOLKIEN by Ron Reed!

18-19 season | brochure

Have you seen the glorious artwork for our 2018-2019 season brochure? We are thrilled to have worked with Emily Cooper once again to create some truly unique images. You can view the entire brochure online here, or browse the season listings here.

tolkien | production photos 2

J.R.R. Tolkien (Ron Reed)

J.R.R. Tolkien & Edith Tolkien (Erla Faye Forsyth)

The Inklings: Charles Williams, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Warnie Lewis, Hugo Dyson

Edith & J.R.R. Tolkien

Roy Campbell (Simon Webb)

From Pacific Theatre's production of TOLKIEN by Ron Reed 

photos by Jalen Laine Photography

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introducing the 2018-2019 apprentices!

We are so excited to introduce you to the apprentices for the 2018-2019 season! We will tell you a little more about them over the summer, but for now, here they are: Rick Colhoun, Kira Fondse, Linnea Perry, and Shelby Wyminga!

RICK COLHOUN

Rick has served as Music Director on shows including Christmas Presence, Hunger Games: The Musical and Holy Mo: A Christmas Show. Sound Design credits include Common Grace, It’s A Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol, A Good Way Out, and The Christians. He wishes to thank his Family at home and his Pacific Theatre Family too. He is the world's oldest apprentice.

KIRA FONDSE

Kira is a storyteller through music and theatre from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She recently completed a Bachelor degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Manitoba, and frequently performs in musicals, operas and concerts. Kira desires to bring joy to people in Canada and around the world through the sharing of stories, art and culture, and she dreams of empowering young people to do the same. Kira is seeking new ways of starting conversations, asking difficult questions, and helping to speak out for those whose voices have been silenced. She cannot wait to discover and grow as an apprentice with Pacific Theatre this year.

LINNEA PERRY

Linnea is an interdisciplinary artist whose passion for the arts began the second she was able to paint. Since then she never stop creating and has worked with several companies including Ballet BC (Program 2: 2017), TooFly Production (Robin Hood: Prince of Tease, Little Miss Glitz), PlanZ Theatre (Still the Kettle Sings) and Rice&Beans Theatre (Starstuff, Small Town Hoser Spic). Recently, Linnea completed her BFA at SFU School for the Contemporary Arts in theatre production and is so excited to being the next chapter in her artistic career.

SHELBY WYMINGA

Shelby is a graduate of TWU's School of the Arts Media and Culture with a BFA in Theatre. Some recent acting credits include the role of Gloria in Shelby's original play It's A Glorious Wonderful Life (Vancouver Fringe), Ensemble in Still the Kettle Sings (Plan Z), Juliet in Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare Canada), Lucy Steele in Sense and Sensibility (Metro), Feste in Twelfth Night (SAMC) and Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew (Stone's Throw). Recent design credits include The Miracle Worker (costumes, Gallery 7), Enchanted April (set, G7), and Frankenstein 1945 (costumes, Nebula). Shelby is unbelievably excited to dive into her apprenticeship at Pacific Theatre and plans to soak up every single opportunity to learn from the exceptional artists here. She is particularly drawn to Shakespeare, modern spins on classic tales, the supernatural and stories of heroic women, and she can't wait to see what new paths present themselves over the next year!

tolkien | about lewis and tolkien | bc catholic

Christopher S. Morrissey, TWU logics and philosophy professor and Executive Advisor to the Inklings Institute of Canada, not only found time in his schedule to join us for Saturday's Theatre Club last weekend, but also to write a fascinating piece for The BC Catholic that is part-review and part-academic exploration of the collision of Tolkien and Lewis' worldviews. An excerpt is below, and you can read the entire piece here.

"The appeal of Tolkien and Lewis derives, I think, from their imaginative critique of the modern world’s domination by machine technology. In effect, the two re-humanize and re-enchant the world with their sanctifying fictions.

For Tolkien in particular, the possession of magic best symbolizes the abilities of technology in the modern age, which is intoxicated by the magic of “the machine.” Tolkien’s intricate tales capture the deep truth of our destructive fascination with this power.

But he also shows how we might overcome “the machine,” through the formation of real friendships. Think of Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee.

Lewis’ imaginative worlds may be more accessible for the very reason Tolkien criticized them: they are more didactic, as they provide vividly imaginative justifications for the truth of Christianity.

Perhaps because Lewis felt he had wasted too much of his life on atheism and materialism, he saw the need to debunk such poppycock in the most directly effective ways possible.

Lewis was a convincing apologist, but his theology is arguably best articulated in his stories, especially in his science-fiction trilogy and The Narnia Chronicles.

His strongest philosophical argument against the Age of the Machine, against which both he and Tolkien were compelled to write great literature, is found in The Abolition of Man. Still relevant today, that book is my recommended starting point for anyone seeking to understand the noble purpose animating both Lewis and Tolkien."

(Photo credit: Jalen Laine Photography.)

suitcase stories | opening night

Today, we are wishing Happy Opening to Pacific Theatre artist and former apprentice Maki Yi as her one-woman show SUITCASE STORIES opens at the Evergreen Cultural Centre! The show found its wings in our lobby (and stage) and we are thrilled to see it fly away to the Tri-Cities.

With only her tiny suitcase in tow, Maki leaves her home in South Korea and takes off for Canada, simply because her brother had a map of Toronto. A cross-country tale of survival and self-discovery, this wonderful one-woman show is filled with all the winsome vulnerability and plucky humour of the originals.

May 17-19 at The Evergreen Cultural Centre

tolkien | theatre club

Following the Saturday matinee will be our final Theatre Club instalment for TOLKIEN! Join us for a conversation with Monika B. Hilder and Christopher S. Morrissey for a discussion of Lewis and Tolkien's work.

Christopher S. Morrissey teaches logic and philosophy at Trinity Western University and is Executive Advisor to the Inklings Institute of Canada. He studied Classics at the University of British Columbia, and at Simon Fraser University he wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on René Girard. He is a managing editor of The American Journal of Semiotics. His books are Hesiod: Theogony / Works and Days (Talonbooks, 2012), and The Way of Logic (Nanjing Normal University Press, 2018).

Monika B. Hilder is Professor of English at Trinity Western University, where she teaches children’s and fantasy literature. She is co-founder and co-director of Inklings Institute of Canada, and the author of a three-volume study of C.S. Lewis and gender, including Surprised by the Feminine: A Rereading of C.S. Lewis and Gender.

tolkien | production photos

Some shots from TOLKIEN! All photos by Damon Calderwood, featuring Erla Faye Forsyth, Ian Farthing, and Simon Webb. Set Design by Drew Facey, Costumes by Christopher David Gauthier.

Edith Tolkien (Erla Faye Forsyth) & C.S. Lewis (Ian Farthing)

Edith Tolkien & Hugo Dyson (Simon Webb)

C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis

tolkien | casting change

We are sorry to announce that John Innes will no longer be playing the title role in TOLKIEN. John has been a part of this play from the very beginning, reading the role at all the workshops throughout its development. Unfortunately, due to health concerns, he is not able to complete the run of the show. We can assure all of John's fans that he will be okay, and simply needs time and rest.

Instead, playwright and director Ron Reed will be stepping in to read the part of Tolkien for the run. We wish Ron all the best as he steps into John's shoes, with complete faith in his skills as an actor and his ability to bring Tolkien to life.

tolkien | opening night

What an opening weekend! We had an incredible time bringing the story of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and the rest of the Inklings to the stage in TOLKIEN. Here are some shots from the opening night reception.

tolkien | VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

Want to help out Pacific Theatre, see some shows for free, and spend your evenings hanging out with some of Vancouver's finest actors? We are looking for volunteer stagehands for TOLKIEN! To sign up, please fill in this form.

We require volunteers to help manage scene transitions for each performance night. You would need to lift some small furniture or set pieces and make scene changes quickly and efficiently in low-light on stage.

TO SIGN UP, FILL IN THIS FORM!

Requirements:
-Able to lift and carry small furniture or set pieces (with a partner for heavier pieces)
-Able to move quickly and efficiently in low lighting on stage

Compensation:
-Four tickets to see Tolkien (for yourself or friends)
-If you assist more than 7 performances, a Sampler Pass to our 18-19 season
-If you assist more than 15 performances, an Everything Pass to our 18-19 season

Please expect to hear confirmation of your volunteer status and schedule by Monday.

Thank you!

tolkien | meet the crew

It takes a village to put on a play, and TOLKIEN is no exception! We are thrilled to have this incredible team of artists joining us in the creation of this beautiful show.

RON REED - Director

JEFF TYMOSCHUCK - Co-Sound Designer

PAIGE LOUTER - Assistant Director

CORINA AKESON - Co-Sound Designer

DREW FACEY - Set Designer

JESSICA HOOD - Production Designer

CHRISTOPHER DAVID GATHER - Costume Designer

JORDAN WATKINS - Projection Designer

KATY ALCOCK - Assistant Stage Manager

JOHN WEBBER - Lighting Designer

JETHELO E. CABILETE - Stage Manager (not pictured)

viper central | bez arts hub

Catch Christmas Presence regular and Old Time Gospel Radio Hour artist Kathleen Nisbet with her band Viper Central at the BEZ ARTS HUB tomorrow night. You've never heard bluegrass like this before!

Kathleen Nisbet can make music anywhere.

May 4 - VIPER CENTRAL

The BEZ ARTS HUB
102-20230 64th Ave in Langley, BC.
More information here.

almost, maine | at the evergreen

It's a busy week here at PT as we get TOLKIEN off the ground and prepare to release the season brochure for our 18-19 season, but that's not all that's going on! ALMOST, MAINE is travelling over to the Evergreen Arts Centre!

Directed and produced by Kaitlin Williams. Stage Managed by Maria Zarillo. Featuring Brandon Bate, Peter Carlone, Kim Larson, Jalen Saip and Baraka Rahmani. With Set and Lighting Design by Lauchlin Johnson, Costumes by Amy McDougall and Sound Design by Jay Clift.

Almost, Maine
Evergreen Cultural Centre, Coquitlam
May8-12th, 8pm with a 3pm matinee on Sat 12th.
Tickets and all other info can be found here

tolkien | c.s. lewis at pt

This may be the first time we are telling a story from J.R.R. Tolkien's life and work on our stage, but it is far from the first time C.S. Lewis has been a part of our seasons! Here are some shots from past productions based on C.S. Lewis' life or writing.

FREUD'S LAST SESSION

An imagined meeting between C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud during WWII.

THE GREAT DIVORCE

An imaginative retelling of C.S. Lewis' novella exploring hell.

THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE

Images from the past two iterations of Lewis' journey to the magical land of Narnia.

SHADOWLANDS

The story of C.S. Lewis and Joy Gresham's romance.