Catalyst Theatre's Frankenstein.
Two years ago I resolved to see more theatre. In 2009 I saw 76 shows (average of 6/month). For 2010 I knew I still wanted to see a lot of theatre, but I was planning to scale back a bit. I ended up seeing 84 plays in 2010 (average of 7/month). Clearly the scaling back didn’t work out.
The shows I saw varied. I saw shows across Canada – Victoria, Chemainus, Vancouver, Whistler, Abbotsford, Langley, Kamloops, Edmonton & Toronto. I attended theatres of all sizes, from CanStage, The Citadel, The Playhouse & The Arts Club to a movie rental store after hours, an isometric dome, the Havana, and a bicycle built for four. There was Shakespeare, opera, world premieres, musicals, dance pieces, puppet shows, british farce, TYA, fairy tales and theatre that merged technology like never before. I saw my friends take their work to new places and observed first hand as children were drawn into new worlds for the first time. I saw shows from all level of performers – from students honing their craft to community theatre full of kids & adults alike to the fringe festival to some of the finest professional artists in the country. I saw plays that inspired me, angered me, amused me, annoyed me, entertained me, bored me, challenged me, preached to me, confused me, haunted me, and re-energized me. I sat in my seat at the end of the show, unable to clap because of the power of what I had just seen. I walked out of the theatre at intermission because I couldn’t imagine sitting through another hour of torture. I was taken to worlds that I had only previously seen in my imagination.
There are shows I missed and regret missing. Topping that list are Catalyst Theatre’s Nevermore and Robert LePage’s Blue Dragon. Hamlet at the
Mi Casa Theatre's Countries Shaped Like Stars
Havana. All of Main St. Theatre Co’s productions. Leaky Heaven’s Streetcar Named Desire. Disnye’s Lion King. The Drowning Girls at the Gateway.
As I look forward to another year of theatre in 2011, my resolution is simple and twofold. First of all, I need to find some balance. To see 84 shows while working full time as a stage manager for 46 weeks of the year means that I did very little else. I need to take the time to revisit some of my other hobbies and relationships that are not connected to theatre (a theme I am hearing from others in the theatre world as we head into 2011). The second part is no regrets, and I mean that specifically in relation to the shows I see. When 2012 rolls around I don’t want to regret having missed any shows that I’ve heard were amazing, but that I made some excuse not to see at the time.
Here is the official list of plays I saw in 2010 (in what is very close to chronological order):
1.Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Blackbird Theatre)
2.Forbidden Broadway (Fighting Chance Productions)
3.Debt: The Musical (Firehall Arts Centre)
4.Scorched (Theatre Inconnteau & Itsazoo)
5. Nix (The Only Animal)
6.You Are Here (Project X Theatre)
7.The Show Must Go On (PuSh/Brel)
8.Passion Project (PT)
9.Dance Marathon (Bluemouth inc & Boca Del Lupo)
10.Ivanov (United Players)
11.The Canada Show (Monster Theatre)
12.Where the Blood Mixes (Playhouse/Belfry/Firehall)
13. Hive 3
1.Tour (Universal Limited)
2.The Interview (Boca Del Lupo)
14.Matt & Ben (Fighting Chance Productions)
15.Paradise Garden (Arts Club Theatre)
16.Nixon in China (Vancouver Opera)
17.Donald & Lenore (Felix Culpa)
18. Mexico City & The Russian Play (2b/Ruby Slippers)
19.The Love List (Vancouver Playhouse)
20.Queen Lear (Presentation House)
21.As You Like It (Trinity Western University)
22.Billy Bishop Goes to War (Arts Club)
Vancouver Opera's Nixon in China
23.Breath of Life (United Players)
24.Refuge of Lies (Pacific Theatre)
25.A Year with Frog & Toad (Carousel Theatre)
26.The Tooth Fairy (OLD TROUT PUPPET WORKSHOP)
27.Ali & Ali 7: Hey Brother (Or Sister) Can You Spare Some Hope & Change? (Neworld Theatre)
28.SPINE (Realwheels & UofA)
29.Comment Devenir Parfait En Trois Jours (How to become perfect in 3 days) (Theatre la Sezieme)
30.Bat Boy: The Musical (Patrick Street Productions)
31.Prodigals (20-Something Theatre)
32.Frankenstein (Catalyst/CanStage)
33.Death & The Maiden
34.If We Were Birds (Tarragon Theatre)
35.Canuck Cabaret (Paul Hutchinson)
36.David Ives’ Shorts (Stones Throw)
37.The Sunshine Boys (Chemainus Theatre Festival)
38.The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Arts Club)
39.Much Ado About Nothing (Bard on the Beach)
40.12th Night (What You Will Equity Co-op)
41.Munsch Ado About Nothing (Chemainus Theatre Festival)
42.Countries Shaped Like Stars (Mi Casa & Neanderthal Arts Festival)
43.The Remarkable Emily Carr (Chemainus Theatre Festival)
Fringe Festival
44. Bildungsroman (Itsazoo)
45.The Exquisite Hour (Relephant Productions)
46.Titania (Frances Kitson)
47.Lust of the Swamp Witch (Mad, Bad & Dangerous Theater)
48.Every Job I’ve Ever Had (Barry Smith Presents)
49.Oh The Humanity! (Staircase Xi Productions)
50.Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (Relephant Productions)
51.When Harry Met Harry (Flaming Locomotive)
52.Deadley (And Why Not Productions)
53.Racoonery! (Morgan Brayton)
54.Peter N’ Chris Save the World (Peter N’ Chris)
55.Value Village (Boca Del Lupo)
56.52 Pick Up (WE Productions)
57.Happily Ever After? (Polema Productions)
Arts Club/Electric Company's Tear The Curtain!
58.No Sex Please, We’re British (Royal City Theatre Company)
59.The Busy World is Hushed (One2 Theatre)
60.Tear the Curtain! (Arts Club/Electric Company)
61.Don Quixote (Arts Club/Axis Theatre)
62.Miracle in Rwanda (Little i Productions)
63.The Park (Studio 58)
64.The Fantasticks (Vancouver Playhouse)
65.The Trespassers (Belfry)
66.Wingfield’s Progress (Chemainus Theatre Festival)
67.The Skin of Our Teeth (Trinity Western University)
68.Oh, Susanna: The Halloween Edition (Varscona Theatre)
69.Studies in Motion (Electric Company/Citadel)
70.’Night, Mother (The Good Company Collective)
71. Dr. Egg and the Man with No Ear (The Cultch)
72.Playland (Pacific Theatre)
73.The Madonna Painter (Theatre at UBC)
74.What About Luv? (Downstage Right Productions)
75.IRL: In Real Life (Shadows & Dreams)
76.Mimi: A Poisoner’s Comedy (Touchstone Theatre/Firehall Arts Centre)
77.The 39 Steps (Arts Club Theatre)
78.The Secret in the Wings (Studio 58)
79.Peter Pan (Gallery 7)
80.It’s a Wonderful Life (Arts Club)
81.Lucia D’Lammamour (Vancouver Opera)
82.Christmas on the Air (Midnight Theatre Collective/Pacific Theatre)
83.Brief Encounter (Vancouver Playhouse)
84.Irving Berlin’s White Christmas: The Musical (Arts Club)
My resolution for 2012 is quite simple (and I know Barney Stinson would approve):
One of my New Year’s resolutions last year was to start seeing more theatre. I had decided that if I was really passionate about this, I probably needed to see more than 2 shows a month. I settled on 3 per month, figuring that to be a fairly easy place to start. I did, of course, surpass those numbers, seeing 76 plays in 2009. That averages out to just over 6 shows per month. Double my original goal. Below you will see my list of shows, in nearly chronological order (some are out by a little bit, but its very close).