ruined | preview performance & preshow event

Tomorrow night is preview for RUINED and it includes a preshow event sponsored by MCC!

RUINED by Lynn Nottage
Preview Performance: Feb 1
PRESHOW EVENT: 7:00pm

Prior to the performance of RUINED on Feb. 1st at 8:00 pm, Dark Glass Theatre is honoured to invite all audience members to join John and Michele Sharp for a pre-show talk and reception at 7:00 PM, hosted by MCC British Columbia. John and Michele Miller Sharp are the parents of Michael J. "MJ" Sharp, UN Expert and former MCC staff member who was murdered in the DR Congo last March while investigating the roots of violence and working for nonviolent resolutions to conflict.

Tickets pay-what-you-can at the door, $14.99 in advance.

Buy tickets HERE.

ruined | date change

Due to a last-minute change in casting for RUINED, and because of the complexity and importance of this particular story, opening night has been moved to Friday, February 2nd. Season apprentice Mariam Barry will be stepping into the role of Mama Nadi.

We at Pacific Theatre and Dark Glass Theatre believe strongly in the importance of honouring the stories that are told on our stage and the artists who tell them. In order to honour this story and its artists, we are delaying opening night. We regret the inconvenience this may cause to our patrons, and thank you for your understanding.

If you are booked into one of the performances that is now cancelled, we will be reaching out by email or phone to either rebook your tickets to another night or receive a refund.

In the meantime, feel free to contact us at tickets@pacifictheatre.org or 604-731-5518 and leave a message with your full name, what date you were booked in for, and when you would like to rebook. If you would prefer a refund, we are happy to offer your money back.

NEW PERFORMANCE DATES:

Feb 1: Preview Performance ($14.99 in advance, pay-what-you-can at the door)
Feb 2: Opening Night
Feb 3-17: Regularly Scheduled Performances (Weds-Sat at 8pm with 2pm Sat matinees)

ruined | meet the crew

The crew of Dark Glass Theatre's RUINED are building truly ambitious, worthy work. We asked them about why the play matters to them.

Angela Konrad | Director

The opportunity to raise awareness about the situation in the Congo.The opportunity to put a human face on the statistics. The opportunity to do what we can to combat sexual violence and speak out for women whose personhood goes unrecognized. The opportunity to work with such an incredible cast of underrepresented and overtalented individuals."
  

Jessica Garden | Producer/Assistant Director

"There is nothing I’d rather do than tell meaningful stories through the theatrical arts."

Trevor McMahan | Stage Manager

"Ruined provides the opportunity to tell a powerful, engaging, underrepresented story about the genocide in the DRC, a longstanding crisis that doesn’t get much media coverage in the West. I think it’s important to hear stories that challenge us and engender empathy for others we may not otherwise meet, and I’m thrilled to work with Dark Glass Theatre, a company that understands that and wants to use stories to change the world."

Jillian White | Lighting Designer

Carolyn Rapanos | Set Designer
"I am excited that this play draws much-needed attention to a place of extreme conflict and does so primarily through the voices of the women living there."

Megan Gilron | Costume Designer
I'm really excited to work on a play that has cultural relevance and deals with difficult subject matter that can awaken the audience to a different way of life. It brings the war on women to the forefront and fuels my activism in our current political climate.

Mariam Barry | Assistant Stage Manager/Understudy

Honouring our ancestors, as a collective of black voices, by telling stories of our native homelands.

Jennifer Jantsch | Props
The story is universal, even though it is set in the Congo. It has many deep truths and can be related to by many people. I find it a moving, powerful, and uplifting play. It is a story that needs to be told.

ruined | set design preview

We are so excited about the set design for RUINED! Here is a preview of the design by Carolyn Rapanos.

The backdrop for the set is a colourful design inspired by Congolese fabrics, providing an instant sense of place. The rest of the set is designed to be flexibly used for the bar and, occasionally, an outdoor space, and the floor fades into dirt and chaos of the civil war outside the walls of Mama Nadi's bar.
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ruined | meet the cast

We are truly proud to present Dark Glass Theatre's RUINED as our first show of the new year. This timely look at the lives of women in the Democratic Republic of Congo moves us deeply, and Dark Glass has assembled a brilliant ensemble to bring it to life.

Mama Nadi and her girls.

Makambe K. Simamba | Sophie

"Ruined is a skillfully crafted Pulitzer Prize winning play that illuminates the unbelievable authenticity and strength of 4 African women."

CJ Jackman Zigante | Mama Nadi

"Playing Mama Nadi I hope, gives me another way, for the women of the Congo to have their voices heard. I hope I do them proud."

Shayna Jones | Salima

"I am excited by how much it terrifies me."

Rachel Mutombo | Josephine

"I am excited to have an opportunity to embody the beautiful, poetic and empowering words of Lynn Nottage."

Our beautiful ensemble and band members.

Jacky Yenga | Emilene

Donald Sales | Commander Osembenga

Tom Pickett | Christian

"I am excited to work with so many new young people, people of color to tell the story of the strength of these women and the love of this man; Christian."

Damon Calderwood | Mr. Harari
The story is universal, even though it is set in the Congo. It has many deep truths and can be related to by many people. I find it a moving, powerful, and uplifting play. It is a story that needs to be told.

Agape Mngomezulu | Simon, Various

Michael Kiapway | Jerome Kisembe

Adrian Neblett | Fortune, Various
"I am excited to be part of telling this powerful story to our Vancouver audiences."

Mikaela Fuqua | Masima, Musical Director

ruined | advance photos

We had a fantastic photo shoot last week with Emily Cooper for RUINED!

ruined | about dark glass theatre

Dark Glass Theatre was created by one of our PT family artists: Angela Konrad (OUTSIDE MULLINGAR, WIT). We are so excited to have RUINED, their first professional production here in our season. Here is a little more about Dark Glass, in their own words.

Dark Glass Theatre exists to tell stories that enable us to see, face to face, people we might not otherwise meet, thereby decreasing judgement, increasing compassion, and fostering empathy.

We believe that one of the most damaging forces at work in our world is the demonizing of the “other.” Whether separated by trauma, social standing, religion, race, sexual orientation, geography, age, or gender, breaking down barriers begins with a willingness to see beyond labels like “oppressed” and “oppressor.” As we come face to face with another’s perspective, without judgement, we are empowered to act in love. And that action can change the world.

We aspire to tell stories that build bridges between groups or individuals separated by discord or trauma, and to equip individuals to explore and express their own stories of forgiveness and healing.

jan 26-feb 10 | doubt | gallery 7 theatre

Our friends at Gallery 7 Theatre are producing one of our favourite plays - DOUBT, A PARABLE by John Patrick Shanley.

In 1964, Sister Aloysius, a Bronx school principal, is shaken to her moral core when she suspects that young Father Flynn is having an inappropriate relationship with a 12-year-old male student. A Pulitzer Prize-Winning play that was adapted in to an award-winning film featuring Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, the play explores the delicate tension between perception and reality.

January 26 & 27, 31 – Feb 3 & Feb. 7 – 10, 2018 @ 7:30 PM
Matinees: Jan. 27, Feb. 3 & Feb. 10 @ 2:00 PM
Abbotsford Community Arts Addition, 2329 Crescent Way, Abbotsford

Tickets and Info Here.

ruined | why this matters

Years ago, critic Colin Thomas referred to Pacific Theatre as creating "theatre that matters". Well, you won't be surprised to hear that we caught onto that one pretty quick! This season we are highlighting this element in each of our plays, sharing why each play matters to us. Here is Tom Pickett, discussing RUINED.

ruined | first read

Yesterday we began rehearsals for our first show of 2018! It was the first read of RUINED by Lynn Nottage, a guest production by Dark Glass Theatre. We are so excited to see what they do with this beautiful story. Here are some shots from the table reading.