Dec 4: Stage & Screen, THIS WONDERFUL LIFE!

DON'T MISS THE 2nd STAGE & SCREEN SERIES DECEMBER 4, 8pm!

PAY WHAT YOU CAN** and FREE to subscribers
TICKETS: 604.731.5518
pacifictheatre.org

Don't miss the second of our Stage & Screen Series at Pacific Theatre on Dec. 4 at 8pm, an exciting and interactive evening about THIS WONDERFUL LIFE!

The second evening of this series features Artistic Director Ron Reed, and Dan Amos, the star of THIS WONDERFUL LIFE, discussing the relationship between the unique story-telling mediums of stage and screen.

THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO JOIN IN THEIR DISCUSSION!

*Subscribers - if you are not going to use your tickets, please inform the Box Office so we can release them for others to use! Thank you for your consideration.
** Pay-what-you-can on Dec. 4 in person at the box office, or $10 in advance.

Dec 19 - Jan 6: Betty Spackman, Fort Gallery

Notes from the artist

“...The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
Robert Frost

I have decided not to title this exhibition, although if I did it would be called something like, “’Oh Christmas Tree’: A Seasonal Lament”, or “Whose woods these are”, after Robert Frost’s well know poem, Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening….as the work is somehow about trees. But it is really more about stopping long enough to see and to ‘hear’ - the trees and everything else around me.

“If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”

I think that popular philosophical question should perhaps be, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, where is everyone !?” I don’t want to ignore ‘the fallen’ anymore. I want to be present and listening and I want to understand how I am implicated in the fall. I want to have ears to hear and allow myself to be wounded with the wounds of the world around me.

At many levels I am greedy, careless and apathetic. It comes with being human, a self-centered North American human, preoccupied with survival and gratification. But in determining to stop, look and listen a little more closely to the world on the other side of my skin, I have learned my skin does not separate me from anything. Instead, I am implicated, ‘folded in’, ‘entangled’ as the Latin root of implicated suggests. Nature is not outside me; I am inside it. When I move I can push the air enough to jostle a leaf on the tree I pass by. When the leaf falls, when the tree falls I should also be jostled, I should feel the earth shake, feel my body shake…but I seldom do. I am fat and dull of hearing. I have too many “promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep.”

In this show and a new installation work I am producing simultaneously, I attempt to understand my relationship and responsibility for the broken, fragile planet. I do this in the only way I am currently able to do. I celebrate life and lament its loss - through images and objects. If I could sing this would be a Christmas carol sung by a donkey. It would be a sad song about too many pine beetles and too few bees in the forest. It would be about human babies born without shelter and animals without their natural habitat. It would be about open wounds and about the promise of restoration. And it would be about trees.

Nov 25: Mennonite Jazz Committee, House of James

Friends & Family,

This sunday night, November 25th (7:00-9:30pm) we'd love to see you at House of James where the Mennonite Jazz Committee will be playing Christmas jazz ($7 at the door). DAWN OF GRACE is our brand new Christmas CD, hot off the press this week.

DAWN OF GRACE will be on sale that night for only $11.00 – so for $18.00 plus tax you get a concert and a CD!

Hope to see you there!

Nelson Boschman

Nov 29 - Dec 29: THIS WONDERFUL LIFE

THIS WONDERFUL LIFE
an exhilarating one-man version of the beloved Christmas Classic
November 29 - December 29

It is Christmas Eve in a wartime New England town. Despairing over a life of dreams deferred, George Bailey sets out to throw himself from a bridge – until a dotty angel-in-waiting shows him what might have been had he never lived at all. A single actor stunningly recreates over two dozen memorable characters in this imaginative tour-de-force.

Pacific Theatre is delighted to join you in your Christmas festivities with this quintessential holiday show. The heartwarming drama was first brought to the silver screen in 1946, and has seen multiple incarnations in its 61 years. The Canadian premiere of this one-man revivification stars Dan Amos (The Quarrel, A Bright Particular Star) as the entire cast of over two dozen unforgettable characters.

Ever-faithful to the script, playwright Steve Murray brings us all the show’s beloved or unforgettable characters, including George Bailey, Mister Potter, Clarence, and little Zuzu, who reminds us all that every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings.

Directed by Morris Ertman, with scenery and lighting design by Kevin McAllister, and sound design by Paul Moniz de Sá. At turns hilarious, touching, and even dark, This Wonderful Life is a holiday show not to be missed!

8pm Wednesdays to Saturdays, with 2pm matinees on Saturdays
November 29 is a PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN preview -
show up on the day of at the box office to pay what you can,
or book in advance for only $10
December 7 - talk-back night
December 26 - special Christmas matinee, 2pm

Book your tickets with our Box Office at 604.731.5518 or buy tickets online!

MAKE A NIGHT OUT OF IT!

Book your stay at the "Rosedale on Robson Suite Hotel" in the heart of Vancouver. Ask for your "Friends of Pacific Theatre" rate and receive an incredible discount!

Call our Box Office for details, or book your stay with Rosedale - their reservation team are standing by to serve you! Call 604.689.8033 or 1.800.661.8870 and ask for your "Friends of Pacific Theatre Rate" today!

Friends of Pacific Theatre Rate | Regular Rate
Standard 1 Bedroom $109 | $127
Deluxe 1 Bedroom $119 | $137
2 Bedroom $159 | $177

All rates are based on single or double occupancy, additional adults are $20 each, and parking is extra (currently $10, going up to $11 in January).

Nov 28 - Dec 1: HOLY MO at TWU

THEATRE AT TWU PRESENTS
Holy Mo & Spew Boy by Lucia Frangione

Using wacky humour, wonderful music and a wagon full of props, three comic fools tell their unexpected version of the stories of Moses and David. This "post-modern old testament comedy" has delighted audiences in productions at Pacific Theatre and Rosebud and will surely charm us all once again. An interesting twist in the TWU production is that the three clowns have been double cast, with one cast playing Holy Mo and one Spew Boy. And you thought it was crazy enough!

November 28 - December 1 at 8 p.m.
Matinees Friday November 30 at 4
Saturday December 1 at 2

Tickets and info at TWU Theatre website

Nov 20: TWU, "Music, Creativity & Spirituality"

Geneva Lecture Series presents
Dr. David Squires, Associate Professor of Music and Dean of the Faculty of Professional Studies and Performing Arts, TWU
“Music, Creativity, and Spirituality: Contexts and Meanings”
Tue Nov 20, 7:30

It’s clear that music is expressive, but what and how does it express? Where is meaning located? Touching on some of the most significant responses to these and other related questions, the lecture will then examine musical creativity as an inherently spiritual activity, with examples from composers within and beyond the Western classical tradition.

All lectures are sponsored by the Geneva Society, and are held in the North West Auditorium on the Trinity Western Campus, Langley

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.

*

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.

To Nov 17: ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, Gallery 7

Gallery 7 Theatre & Performing Arts Society proudly presents…

L.M. Montgomery’s Classic story
Anne (of Green Gables)
Adapted for the stage by Paul Ledoux

November 2 & 3, 8 – 10, 15 – 17, 2007 @ 7:30 PM
Discount Matinees: Nov 3 & 10 @ 2:00 PM

The Town of Avonlea will never be the same. When Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert request a young boy from the orphanage to assist around the farm, they are bemused when they find the energetic and ever-so-dramatic Anne Shirley at their doorstep instead. Experience L.M. Montgomery's beloved tale of hope, idealism and family in this special Canadian stage adaptation fit for the entire family.

MEI Secondary School Auditorium
4081 Clearbrook Road, Abbotsford

It’s a hit! Audiences are coming out in droves. Make sure you don’t miss this great family event.

Get your tickets @ House of James…
604-852-3701
2743 Emerson Street, Abbotsford.

Nov 19/20, 26 / Dec 1 / Jan 12, 31: Leora Cashe

Check Leora's website for details on all of these...

Monday and Tuesday November 19 & 20th
World Kindness Concert, Unity Church, Vancouver

Monday November 26th
Yvon-Justin Cote Book Release 'LIAR"
Boneta Restaurant, Vancouver

Then...

Saturday December 1st
Another Side Now - The Songs of Joni Mitchell
CD Release Concert, Unitarian Church, Vancouver

You're invited to our CD Release concert featuring the music of my first vocal influence, singer/songwiter, Joni Mitchell. Ross Taggart inspired me with the idea of recording this tribute CD and we're really excited about the finished product. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Stephen Lewis Foundation in support of International World Aids Day. Purchase tickets on line at Tickets Tonight or by phone at 604-231-7535 or at Zulu Reords on 4th, 604-738-3232. Come and celebrate with me!

And then in the new year...
Saturday January 12
Evergreen Cultural Centre, Coquitlam

Thursday January 31st
Jazzilla, River Rock Theatre, Richmond

Nov 17, 23/24: Nelson Boschman jazz

LAST MINUTE UPDATE: CAPONE'S GIG CANCELLED. I THINK THE RESTAURANT OWNER WAS ARRESTED FOR TAX EVASION OR GUNNED DOWN IN A HAIL OF BULLETS OR SOMETHING...

Nelson Boschman is the pianist who's become the de facto leader of our de facto "house band" for Christmas Presence and all the other gigs like that around Pacific Theatre: Confessions, Passion, Testimony, all that. His late-summer CD release concert was a huge treat, and it looks like we'll have more chances to see him around Vancouver in the next while!


Hello all,

Just wanted to let you know that I’ve got a few restaurant/club gigs coming up in Vancouver. Here are the details…

Saturday Nov 17, 8pm
Bogart’s Chophouse & Bar
1619 W. Broadway (between Burrard & Fir)
I’ll be playing with the Kristian Braathen Trio
Kristian Braathen drums
Derek Defillipio bass
Nelson Boschman piano

Friday Nov 23 and Saturday Nov 24, 7:30pm
Capone’s Restaurant & Live Jazz Club
1141 Hamilton (in Yaletown)
Debbie Low vocals
Nelson Boschman piano
Jen Hodge bass
Kristian Braathen drums



So, if you’re craving a fun night out with some great food & music, come on out! It would be great to see you there…

Nelson
myspace

Nov 24: Michael Hart Africa concert

This just in from Brett Ziegler, our Christmas Presence keyboard man - telling about an upcoming concert with Michael Hart (backed by Spencer Capier), more Christmas Presence regulars. I'll post more about unfolding Christmas Presence plans before too long, but for now I can tell you that we'll be doing the show Dec 9 and 10 at Pacific Theatre, and Dec 15 in Abbotsford (where we'll be joined by Carolyn Arends and Brian Doerksen!). And a different sort of Christmas Presence on Dec 11, a benefit for Holy Trinity church featuring the Gallery Singers: not only will they sing from their glorious Christmas repertoire, but we'll all join with them to sing beloved Christmas carols, along with Holy Trinity's gorgeous pipe organ! But back to the topic at hand: here's Brett to tell us about Michael's upcoming gig...)


Hi Ron!

I'm wondering if you can "Soul Food" this upcoming event for me. It's a Michael Hart concert at my church, supporting AIDS programs and short term missions work in Uganda and Burkina Faso.

I've got Michael and Spence playing together, and Christine Magee opening. Michael produced Christine's CD, and she just won a Covenant award for best jazz/blues song of the year. I'd really appreciate it if you could help me get the word out.

Thanks lots!
brett.

Nov 12: BOYS NEXT DOOR auditions, Gallery 7

OPEN AUDITIONS:
The Boys Next Door

Monday, November 12, 2007 @ 6:30 PM*

MEI Secondary School Auditorium
4081 Clearbrook Road, Abbotsford

Call 604-504-5940 to register.

*Please note that this date is different than the one originally published.


THE STORY:

Take a peek into the home of four mentally-handicapped men as they live out their existence in a communal residence under the supervision of a caring, yet burned out, social worker. One fights the temptation to eat the left-over pastries from the donut shop he works in and another takes great pride in the bundle of keys that hangs from his waist. Still another attempts to comprehend complex book despite his child-like mind and another masquerades as a professional golf instructor. Though confined by their physical reality, they reach out in spirit and find laughter, love and a sense of meaningful purpose for their lives. This is a charming and thought-provoking play for more mature audiences.

PRODUCTION RUN:

January 18 & 19, 24 – 26, 31 – February 1, 2008 @ 7:30 PM
Discount Matinees: January 19 & 26 @ 2:00 PM

REHEARSALS

Monday, Wednesday & Thursday evenings, 7PM – 10:00 PM
There will be a one-week Christmas Vacation break between Christmas and New Years.

CAST REQUIREMENTS

ARNOLD WIGGINS – mid forties, very nervous man, always buys Wheaties
LUCIEN P. SMITH – about fifty, enjoys reading technical books
JACK PALMER – mid thirties, a burnt out social worker.
NORMAN BULANSKY – a large, sloppy man of about thirty, works in a donut shop, wears on overflowing key ring on his belt
BARRY KLEMPER – about twenty-eight, tries to make a living teaching golf lessons
SHEILA – an overweight girl in her late twenties or early thirties, speaks poorly.
MR. KLEMPER – Barry’s father, a course, middle-aged man. Has one arm.

An additional two performers, one male and one female, between the ages of twenty five and fifty five, are required to play multiple roles.

While the play is about those dealing with mentally handicaps, auditions are open to all male and female community performers.

Nov 9: HAUNTED BY GOD: THE LIFE OF DOROTHY DAY

HAUNTED BY GOD: THE LIFE OF DOROTHY DAY
A compelling one-woman show about the co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement. After her death in 1980, the New York Times eulogized Dorothy as a “nonviolent social radical of luminous personality.” The production incorporates all the wit and prophetic grit of Dorothy’s own words about war, peace, American society, compassion, and protest in the Spirit of Jesus.

Sat Nov 9, 8pm
Grandview Calvary Baptist Church, 1803 East 1st Ave.
Tickets $10 at the door.
604 255-1411

Nov 3: Dave Olson CD release

Don't know if you remember Dave Olson. He played for CHRISTMAS PRESENCE a whole lot of times, and more recently played bass for the Good Noise gospel choir. I think he moved to Edmonton or something like that, but he's back in town at least for one night. Too late to meet the RSVP deadline on this one, but maybe you can sweet talk your way in?


Dave writes...

Hello all...it has been a long time coming. But, my CD “Be Still” is finally here. If you like funk, fusion, jazz or soul you will probably like this CD.

Be Still features some of the finest musicians Canada has to offer...and one from England :)

Please join me for some light appetizers and cocktails (6:30-7:30pm) and great music – it’ll be great to see you all!

Please RSVP by October 31, 2007.

Here are the details:

Date: Saturday, Nov 3, 2007

Location: The 501 located at 501 Pacific Street. Corner or Richards and Pacific in downtown Vancouver.

Time: Doors open at 6:30pm...listening will begin at 7:30pm. (I have a great soundman lined up with an awesome sound system!)

Just in time for Christmas, the CD will be for sale at the listening party for the following prices...

Buy 1 @ $15.00 each
Buy 2 @ $12.50 each
Buy 3 or more @ $10.00 each

If you have any questions please contact me at 780-819-7638 or do@telus.net. You can also send a note to Rondalyn Fitz at 604-315-4054 or fitz_r@sd36.bc.ca

See you there!
Dave

780.819.7638
do@telus.net

Nov 17 - Dec 7: Lisa Ravensbergen plays RITA JOE

A few seasons back, Lisa Ravensbergen was Artist In Residence at Pacific Theatre. Since then she's been working all over Canada, and well before that she was in our Pacific Salt Company! But next up, she'll be playing the title role in this Canadian classic. Wow. Congrags, Lisa!

Firehall Arts Centre presents
THE ECSTASY OF RITA JOE
by George Ryga
November 17 - December 8, 2007

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the premiere production of this Canadian classic, the Firehall celebrates it's 25th Anniversary season ith the production of this tragic yet moving story featuring Lisa Ravensbergen as Rita Joe and directed by Donna Spencer. Readings from other Ryga works will be scheduled throughout the run of the play.

Performances nightly at 8:00 pm, Tuesday through Saturday. Matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm. Pay-What-You-Can performances on Wednesdays at 1:00 pm.

Firehall Arts Centre
280 East Cordova Street
Vancouver, BC
604 689.0926

PS Turns out Duncan Fraser's in it too. Remember the exterminator in GRACE?

Nov 25 closing: Craig Erickson in GLASS MENAGERIE

And guess who's playing The Gentleman Caller around the corner at the Stanley? Craig Erickson, who's been seen in such Pacific Theatre shows as GRACE, GOD'S MAN IN TEXAS, PRODIGAL SON, and even... THE FURNITURE OF HEAVEN.


THE GLASS MENAGERIE
A Portrait of a Family
by Tennessee Williams

October 25–November 25, 2007 | Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage

“Stay fresh and pretty! It’s almost time for our gentleman callers to start arriving.” Tennessee Williams’s semi-autobiographical masterpiece - The Glass Menagerie, is an astonishingly intimate and moving portrait of the Wingfield family. From a dingy St. Louis apartment, faded Southern belle Amanda yearns for her idealized youth, while her grown children, Tom and Laura, struggle to escape their overbearing mother. Just when happiness seems beyond the grasp of these fragile individuals, hope arrives in the form of a gentleman caller.

This theatrical classic complements the Arts Club production of His Greatness, by Daniel MacIvor, the season opener the Granville Island Stage.

“Tennessee Williams’s first masterpiece” —The New York Times

Winner of the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play

SOUL FOOD: Music At Pacific, DAISY, Kathleen Norris, more

Lots going on around Pacific Theatre in the next several days! Browse the PT blog for lots of news, including...

An invitation to the first of our Music At Pacific chamber concerts, a series of intimate theatre-themed concerts with cellist Brian Mix and the Pacific Rim Quartet – that's this Sunday, Nov 4, at 3pm!

Cool photos and all the details on DRIVING MISS DAISY, closing Nov 10

Background on the Nov 6 Stage & Screen evening I'll be hosting with cinematographer Jan Kiesser and stage director Sarah Rodgers

A lovely DAISY review from the Georgia Straight

And the ongoing adventures of such PT artists as Craig Erickson, Lisa Ravensbergen, Anthony Ingram, Todd Thomson, Kyle Rideout, Jason Goode, Lucia Frangione, Michael Kopsa, Julia Mackey, Seana Lee Wood and Yours Truly.

THE LADY'S NOT FOR BURNING closes this Saturday at TWU.

Nov 14 at the VAG, Kathleen Norris talks about Christmas and launches a Christmas book.

And Nov 20, I'll be joining other Vancouver artists Lucia Frangione, Barney Bentall, Bud Osborne, Karly Warkentin and many more for Kitchen Aid, a benefit to help Grandview Church help the Downtown East Side.

And when it comes to Soul Food Movies... LARS & THE REAL GIRL opens Friday: this years's LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE?... As does this year's Palme d'Or winner from Romania, the abortion-themed 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND TWO DAYS... And in continuing runs, INTO THE WILD has a surprisingly potent spiritual payoff, DAN IN REAL LIFE (by PIECES OF APRIL director/writer Peter Hedges) isn't nearly as slick as the trailer makes you think, MICHAEL CLAYTON is as smart a genre screenplay as you'll ever see, THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD comes with huge critical cred, Wes Anderson Goes To India in THE DARJEELING LIMITED, and Julie Taymor's sentimental but splendiferous ACROSS THE UNIVERSE plays on like the long fade-out on "Hey Jude"....



splen·dif·er·ous
Pronunciation: \splen-ˈdi-f(ə-)rəs\
Function:adjective
Etymology: splendor + -i- + -ferous
Date: 1843
: extraordinarily or showily impressive
— splen·dif·er·ous·ly adverb
— splen·dif·er·ous·ness noun

Nov 14: Kathleen Norris at VAG

Remembering, Waiting and Hoping: The Countercultural Pursuits of Christmas
Kathleen Norris
Wed Nov 14, 7:15
Vancouver Art Gallery

On November 6, 13 and 14, Socrates in the City, Regent College, Imago, and Image Journal are hosting a thought-provoking talk in New York, Toronto and Vancouver. Bestselling author and award-winning poet Kathleen Norris will present the lecture entitled: “Remembering, Waiting and Hoping: The Countercultural Pursuits of Christmas.”

“Remembering, waiting, and hoping are essential practices for spiritual growth and for understanding Christmas,” says Kathleen, “yet they are increasingly difficult to practice in a culture dedicated to forgetting, hurrying, and being cynical. The Advent and Christmas seasons are meant to help us regain our balance.”

Kathleen Norris’ talk will employ etymology, poetry, and personal narrative to explore these three pursuits as a way to better appreciate both the Christmas season, and what it means to maintain a life of faith in today's troubled and violent world.

The event is also something of a book launch for God With Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Christmas. Contributors to the book include Eugene Peterson, Richard John Neuhaus, Luci Shaw and Kathleen Norris.

I suspect this event could fill right up, so you may want to jump over to the rsvp section of the website and sign yourself up.