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2009 In Review: Shows I Saw

Dec 26th, 2009
by Lois.
3 comments

Fringe!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).

The shows I have seen vary. I saw plays in Canada & the USA. I saw plays at the largest local theatres (Playhouse, Arts Club, Bard),  at the smallest (Little Mountain Studios) and everything in between.  I saw kids doing Shakespeare in the park in Kamloops, I saw my first show at Vancouver Opera, I saw my first ballet in years.  I saw musicals, comedies, dramas, & horrors.  I saw mask pieces, movement pieces, character pieces, plays that were all about the set, or costumes, or script, or directing.   I saw almost everything I wanted to see (there were a few shows I missed, which I think is inevitable when one works in theatre and only has maybe 2 days a week in which to attempt to see plays).

You may wonder, how do I afford to see 6 plays a month on a stage manager’s income? I volunteer. A lot. Probably two-thirds of the shows on this list I have been able to see for free because I volunteer as an usher, bartender, a poster-puter-uper, a money counter, or whatever else the company needed.  I also have a lot of friends in theatre, so sometimes I can get free tickets for opening nights or days that they are running slow.  Probably only 20% of the shows were paid for, and half of those were at a reduced rate as an “artist” or “friend of cast” or “2-for1″ or “rush ticket” promotion.

Seeing theatre doesn’t have to be expensive.  It can be a very affordable way to spend a night out.  And, for those within the theatre community, what better way to open your next cover letter than with genuine praise for the work of the company you are applying to.

As I look forward to next year, I will probably scale back a bit.  I will probably aim for four shows per month (in the middle between 2008′s two and 2009′s six).  I saw a lot of theatre this year, but I did it at the exclusion of other things & now it is time to be pickier about my theatre and make time again for the other things I love to do.

Here is the official list of plays I saw in 2009:

1.Miss Julie: Freedom Summer (Vancouver Playhouse)
2.Skydive (Arts Club /Reelwheels/ Push)
3.5 Days in March (PuSh/Cheltfish)
4.There Came A Gypsy Riding (United Players)
5.Whale Riding Weather (Zee Zee Productions)
6.20 minute musicals (Rumble/ Push)
1. Distant Second: The Steve Fonyo Story
2. Do You Want What I Have Got? A Craigslist Cantata
7.Bye Bye Birdie (Studio 58)
8.Medea (UBC)
9.The Be(A)st of Taylor Mac (Club Push)
10.Coriolanus (Coriolanus Equity Co-op {Mad Duck Collective})
11.Shocker’s Delight (Squidamisu)
12.Beggars at the House of Plenty (Evolving Arts Collective)
13.East of Berlin (Tarragon/Touchstone/Firehall)
14.Rigoletto (Vancouver Opera)
15.Under The Hawthorne Tree (The Two Marys)
16.Munsch Alley (Carousel theatre)
17.The Idiots Karamazov (UBC)
18.Death of a Clown (ITSAZOO)
19.The Real Thing (Arts Club)
20.Where The River Meets The Sea (Presentation House)
21.LifeSavers (Ruby Slippers)
22.Earnestine Shushwap Gets Her trout (Firehall Arts Centre)
23.John & Beatrice (Pi Theatre)
24.Secret World of Og (Carousel Theatre)
25.36 Views (Tempus Theatre)
26.Antigone Undone (Leaky Heaven Circus)
27.Fat Pig (Mitch & Murray Equity Co-op)
28.Les Miserables (Arts Club)
29.Top Girls (Vancouver Playhouse)
30.Palace of the End (Felix Culpa, Touchstone Theatre, & Horseshoes & Hand Grenades)
31.Othello (Bard on the Beach)
32.The Tempest (2-bite Bard)
33.SchoolHouseRock Live (Small Nest Productions @ Edmonton Fringe)
34.Rent (Fighting Chance Productions)
35.Macbeth (Limbo Circus Theatre)
36.Orestes (Cambiare Productions)
37.Unidentified Human Remains; or, the True Nature of Love (20 Something Theatre)
38.Alls Well That Ends Well (Bard on the Beach)
39.Dog Sees God (Fighting Chance Productions)
40.Kicked (Project X)
41.The Saddest Girl in the World
42.Circus x2 (Cabbage Under Heavy Fire)
43.Nggrfg (Small Brown Package)
44.Drinks with Friends (Whirlwind Productions)
45.Lavignia: A Modern Fairy Tale of Gigantic Proportions (Sticky Fingers Production)
46.Some Reckless Abandon (Over the Moon Productions)
47.Cabaret of Bullshit (Vancouver Fringe)
48.Caberlesque! (BSide Productions)
49.AfterLife (Sunset Gun Productions)
50.murder, hope (Infinity Live Productions)
51.The Veil (Presentation House & OneLight Theatre)
52.Midsummer (The Cultch & Traverse Theatre Company)
53.The House of Kosa (TigerMilk Collective)
54.Gift of Screws
55.The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Pacific Theatre)
56.Any Night (Touchstone, DualMinds & The Cultch)
57.Lot’s Wife (Studio 58)
58.Love You Forever & More Munch (Carousel Theatre)
59.Becky’s New Car (Artists Repertory Theatre – Portland)
60.Evil Dead: The Musical (Downstage Right Productions)
61.Anatomy of Gray (TWU Theatre)
62.Master Builder (UBC)
63.Joseph & The Amazing Technicolour DreamCoat (Footlights Theatre Company)
64.The Big League (Carousel Theatre)
65.The Project (Solo Collective)
66.Moulin Rouge: the Ballet (Royal Canadian Ballet)
67.These Walls Are Paper Thin (Critical Mask & Mind of a Snail)
68.The Vertical Hour (United Players)
69.King Arthurs Kitchen (Axis Theatre)
70.Demon Voice (Touchstone Theatre)
71.After The Quake (Pi Theatre/Rumble Productions)
72.Wired (Green Thumb Theatre)
73.A Winter’s Tale (Studio 58)
74.Robin Hood (Carousel Theatre)
75.A Beautiful View (Ruby Slippers Theatre)
76.Anne (Chemainus Theatre Festival)

Previously: 2009 in Review: Work

October’s Theatre Adventures

Nov 1st, 2009
by Lois.
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October was a busy month for me theatrically. The month began with Frozen, I had the run of Memory in the middle of the month, and have spent the past week in rehearsals for The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe.  And somewhere in there I found time to see ten shows and take a vacation.  It’s almost too much. And yet, not at all.

  1. The House of Kosa (TigerMilk Collective)
  2. Gift of Screws
  3. The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Pacific Theatre)
  4. Any Night (Touchstone, DualMinds & The Cultch)
  5. Lot’s Wife (Studio 58)
  6. Love You Forever & More Munch (Carousel Theatre)
  7. Becky’s New Car (Artists Repertory Theatre – Portland)
  8. Evil Dead: The Musical (Downstage Right Productions)
  9. Anatomy of Gray (TWU Theatre)
  10. Unshuffled

Even with seeing all of those shows there were still a number of shows that I intended to see, yet missed. Shows like The Miracle Worker & Nelly Boy, as well as the potential trip to Kamloops for Sexy Laundry that didn’t end up happening.

I’m fairly certain that November will be pared back comparatively, though that will become apparent in my next post!

Thoughts on Becky’s New Car

Oct 16th, 2009
by Lois.
1 comment

Becky’s New Car was originally commissioned by a gentleman in Seattle as a birthday gift for his wife. They did not put any restrictions on playwright Steven Dietz, other than that a couple of scenes had to be finished in time for her birthday. There was no promise from the Seattle theatre to produce the show, but when it was finished that’s exactly what happened. First produced last year in Seattle, it has two productions open now and is expecting another 14 productions throughout North America by the end of this theatrical season.

One of those productions will be taking place at Vancouver’s own Arts Club theatre, something I found out just moments before I sat down to watch the show at Portland’s Artists Repertory Theatre on Thursday night. With this in mind, I spent a chunk of the intermission, and the time spent waiting for my ride at the end of the night, wondering just how this play will work at the Arts Club.

Becky’s New Car will absolutely appeal to the Arts Clubs subscriber base. It is the story of Becky, a middle aged woman with a good job, a happy marriage, and a son in college, who unexpectedly meets a wealthy widower who assumes she has also lost her spouse. Romance, chance meetings, & coincidences – all the necessary ingredients for a modern farce – are present. While I enjoyed myself at the show, I wasn’t falling out of my seat laughing at it the way that those around me were, but I’m not the demographic this show is going for.

The reason I was curious about how the show will work at the Arts Club has nothing to do with whether they can find the talent (I immediately thought of a number of Vancouver actors & actresses who would be phenomenal in the parts), or whether the audience will appreciate it (they just will), but it has to do with the type of theatrical space that the Arts Club owns.

The Artists Rep Morrison Stage, which is where this show was performed, is a 150 +/- seat theatre with a thrust style stage. The front row of audience as at the same level as the stage and the setting is intimate. It’s perfect for this play which has the lead character break the fourth wall and speak conversationally with the audience. Becky asks them to hold things for her, offers them beverages and at times asks for their help (in a very amusing situation, but I’ll let you see the show rather than explain that one for you). The Arts Club will be doing the show at the Granville Island stage, so while it is less formal than the Stanley, it is certainly more formal than that atmosphere of Artists’ Rep. The stage is raised and there is a fair amount of distance between the stage and the first row of seats which will make all of that interaction more difficult.

I guess I will just have to go and see the Arts Club’s production this spring and see how they make it all work.

Why is the Portland Theatre Hiding?

Oct 16th, 2009
by Lois.
1 comment

Every time I come to Portland I want to go out for a night and the theatre, so I do a google search & flip through the local papers arts listings, and I come away with the touring Broadway Across America shows.  Last time I was in town we saw Phantom. The first time I was here we saw Annie.  And after all that searching, I was convinced that was all the theatre that Portland had to offer.  I’ve been heard to say that I’d move to Portland if it weren’t for the lack of theatre work available.

HOWEVER. Yesterday morning I was on twitter while waiting for friends to wake up, and sent out  this message: “Since it’s #theatreThursday I’m thinking I should see a show tonight in Portland. Not sure what yet.”  Lucky for me the folks who run the TKTS booths in NYC, and quickly two of their followers were sending me a recommendation to see Becky’s New Car at Artists Rep Theatre.  (I’ll talk a little more about the play and its ties to Vancouver in my next post – I was going to include them here, but this is getting a bit long).

While at the theatre (a full square city block with two theatre spaces), I browsed their selection of post cards & brochures for other companies. Low and behold there were at least 6 other shows I could have seen last night, but I only knew that 2 of them existed.

I’d say this is a problem.

When someone actively is searching for information about seeing theatre in your city and can’t find anything, that’s a big problem. And not just for any one theatre, but for the theatre’s as a community. Had I known the amount of theatre available, I would have been seeing shows every time I have been in town, and not just the big touring Broadway shows. Make yourselves known. Get in the art listings! I know that Portland is known as a music town, but find ways to get your name out! At least get your website both up to date (one problem I encountered) & search engine optimized so that when I search I will find you.

My friends here say that they rarely hear anyone talk about going to a play, which is not surprising given the fact that 90% of the people there last night were married couples aged 40+.

It is unfair of me to judge the entire Portland theatre scene based on my brief visits to town.  At the same time, I am a tourist here. I am willing to spend my money on their product. But I need to know it exists.

The October To-See List

Oct 1st, 2009
by Lois.
3 comments

IMG_1452It’s officially fall. The leaves on the tree beside my balcony are turning yellow and the theatre season has kicked into high gear.  As I began going through the lists of what is playing in Vancouver this month I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount happening.   It seems to me that the volume of good theatre in Vancouver is increasing, and this can only be a good thing (though I’m not sure how I’m ever going to have time to see everything I want to). There are also a number of productions happening at post-secondary institutions that I am going to try to fit in.  This is in part because I have friends in this productions, but it is also because it is an opportunity to see the people who will be shaping our theatre community within the next couple of years.

Lot’s Wife (Studio 58) – A modern re-telling of the biblical story of Lot & his family (from the Soddom and Gommorah period – She of the famous pillar of salt).

Love You Forever…and More Munsch (Carousel Theatre) – 6 favorite Robert Munsch stories on stage. And this time featuring the first book I ever memorized: Love you Forever. (I still have the copy my parents were given when I was born).

Any Night (DualMinds, Touchstone & The Cultch) – The team behind this production is outstanding, the play itself won the “Best New Work” award at SummerWorks 2008 in Toronto.  It’s a psychological thriller that looks at privacy, paranoia & the role of the subconscious.

Gift of Screws – It’s two one act plays by local playwright Bill Marchant. And it is already allowing you to be a part of the process with videos from behind the scenes.  Just see it.

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Pacific Theatre & Pound of Flesh) – It’s a staged reading, but with a cast of Vancouver’s most well know and respected performers, it’s sure to be interesting. The concept:  Judas is on trial for betraying Jesus, but the witnesses span the centuries.

The Miracle Worker (Vancouver Playhouse) – It’s a classic. It’s also being done in Kamloops this year.  But this production is directed by Meg Roe, whose directorial debut with The Tempest last year remains one of my top theatre experiences.

Anatomy of Gray (Trinity Western Theatre) – Trinity is my alma matter so I always try to see their shows, but department chair Angela Konrad is a fantastic director and is at the helm of this play. I always look forward to shows she directs.

Evil Dead – The Musical  (either of the two productions)  - I don’t want to get political about this, choosing one production over the other. If you want more details about what’s happening with this, check out Rebecca’s blog.

The House of Kosa (TigerMilk Collective) – I love seeing shows at Vancouver’s PAL theatre because it is such a unique performance space.  The play is about haute couture and is by another local playwright.

In addition to my regular Vancouver list I’m hoping to see a couple of shows in Portland. I have plans to head down for a week to visit friends from University and I always try to take in a show when I am down there. We’ll see what I can fit in this time. If you know of any great shows playing in Portland mid-October, drop me a note and let me know – I’d love to check them out.