GVPTA: Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance

~ Trilby Jeeves

I first heard about “Bea’s Niece” when director, Karen Greig Golden contacted me for a Buffoonery Workshop/rehearsal for her cast. She was concerned about the seriousness of the subject and thought a Buffoonery session could help her actors. She had seen “Eurydice”, another play that had gone through the process, and liked the result.

We went through two stages: a mini workshop with cast and crew, and then a rehearsal of a few scenes “a la bouffon”. I watched the cast play hard, and explore their script in bold ways.

Last night, I finally had the delicious pleasure to witness the play, well owned by all now, in front of an audience. I felt the cast playing well together and supporting each other creatively. I was particularly impressed as director Karen Golden, close to preview night, had to step in and take over the large role of ‘Bea’. She embraced the character and Bea’s entertaining anecdotes so gracefully (as graceful as Aunt Bea is *wink*).

“Bea’s Niece”, written by David Gow, produced by North Vancouver Players is not a comfortable story as it deals with mental illness, the voices in a confused brain and the effect it has on everyone involved. Gow has very cleverly designed his script to include scenes that take place in the main character, Anne’s (played bravely by Lisa Pope) mind. As an audience member, you can’t help wonder after a while who IS crazy, Anne or her surrounding reality?

Despite the heavy subject, there is a lot of humour. Having had some recent experience with family in this vein, I realize how necessary it is to have lightness. And, at the same time, I felt myself being drawn into the familiar struggles and re-examining my reactions, then and on the drive home. To me, that means the play is doing its job!

In fact, at intermission, I struck up a pretty deep conversation with my neighbour as we exchanged our views on the difficult topic. I was grateful to have someone open for a chat.

The subject matter is intimate, and the theatre where “Bea’s Niece” currently plays is also intimate. It was my first time venturing to “Hendry Hall” in North Vancouver. What a lovely, cozy venue! It is perfect for this 4-hander. If you have never been, try it out! Made me want play there myself!

Congratulations also to the rest of the cast: Pierce Ivan (who plays Anne’s husband), Lisa Pope (Anne), and Heather Evens (playing the ever so patient doctor). And, to the supporting crew: the show looks great! Thank you for sharing your procedure with me. And have fun going through the finish line!

There are two more nights left (Friday April 20^th and Saturday April 21^st) and if you are lucky you may get a ticket. They have been selling out! Check here for tickets. Brave the bridge and go. It’s worth it!

~ Robyn Williams-Dann

Well.  I have never liked a show so much but been so completely stumped as to what to write about it.  I’m new to writing about the shows I see, at least new to writing consistently, sometimes without the help of a glass of wine, and on deadline (of which I am now over) and I’ve definitely faced nerves that tried to limit me…..but I think this is different.

Ubuntu was so many things. It was more than theater, it was music and dance and art.  And it had so many themes, love, family, culture, obligation, religion…..to name a few of the many.

Even now, I’m typing and deleting, typing and deleting.  There are so many thoughts in my head I can’t contain them let alone write them into anything that would be worth reading.  Arg!

So, dear readers, I’m asking for help.  This isn’t a piece I can write about on my own…it’s a converstion I want to have.  So if anyone has seen the show please comment and let’s start the dialog.  If you haven’t, please, do yourself the grand favor and go!  It’s running tonight and twice tomorrow.  It’s short notice I know but whatever you have to do and whatever you have to drop it’ll be worth it I promise!

Tickets available here https://tickets.firehallartscentre.ca/

And…..go!

~ Carmel Amit

On behalf of GVPTA’s new Artistic Programs Committee, Sherri Sadler (of Studio 58) and I are organizing the Audition Salons – an exciting new opportunity for actors to improve their auditions and feel more connected.

At a Salon, which will take place monthly, actors will meet to work out their audition kinks and receive feedback from a different theatre professional each month. We are hoping that this will help strengthen actors’ auditions and inevitably lead to more bookings. Auditioning is a skill all its own and needs to be practiced practiced practiced. The Salons will be an opportunity to practice this skill right in front of people who could hire us tomorrow.

We all perform our monologues for our friends and make our partners read sides with us till their blue in the face (at least I do). At the Audition Salons we will be able to get feedback and critique from the real deal. Guest directors, artistic directors, and casting directors will give some basic guidance about what makes an impression.  It will not be an acting class, but a place where professional actors can work out their pieces and find solid ground in the audition room.

I look forward to the social aspect of the evenings. Meeting up and working alongside like-minded actors will broaden our social network and hopefully create a feeling of comradely. Acting can be a lonely career path and it’s important to feel connected to a community.

Our first guest director for April 30th is Michael Fera.  Michael is the recipient of the 40 Under 40 Businesses in Vancouver Award and with his company, Hoarse Raven Theatre, has received a number of Jesse Richardson Theatre Award nominations. He is a GVPTA board member and Artistic Programs Committee Co-Chair.

There is limited space for each session so for those interested, save the date (April 30^th) and rsvp at auditions@gvpta.ca with the subject: SALON RSVP.

This free event will be one of many of GVPTA’s offerings for our members in the coming year.  Watch for more soon!

~ Frances Kitson

So next week the GVPTA’s first ever Unified General Auditions are taking place.

Gulp.

I have a monologue. I’ve rehearsed it, I’ve done it in front of people, I’ve read the play, I’ve done all the things you’re supposed to do. I’m as ready as one can be. And I’m going to go in and do the best audition that I can next Friday. It might not be exactly what I would do Thursday, and Saturday’s version might be better, but Friday’s offering will be the best that it can be on Friday.

Auditioning, I am learning, is a skill in itself. To prepare, to invest, to show up warm and prepared, to go in and offer what you have, and then to leave it all behind and accept that the results are outside your control – it’s a tall order. And the only way to get better at it is, of course, to practice.

So I’m practicing. And as I do, I feel more and more comfortable in my own skin. I feel more comfortable walking in and presenting myself; I feel more at ease and more relaxed. It is not about impressing the panel at all costs. It is about being myself.

It is also about discovering who the people are on the other side of the table. Just as they want to know who I am beyond an actor wanting a job, I want to know who they are besides people who could offer me a job. Do I like them? Are we interested in the same kinds of theatre? Would I have fun spending three weeks in rehearsals with them?

When I go in with that approach, it gives me a focus beyond “OhGodpleaseletthisgowell.” I enter with confidence and curiosity. To ask myself how I feel about the auditioners is to tell myself that I have a right to make a choice. I don’t have to be desperate for a job. If Sidney Poitier could turn down roles while working as a dishwasher, then so can I! (Except I’m a receptionist, not a dishwasher. But you get my point.)

And here’s the punch line: I end up being a more interesting auditionee by virtue of this approach. I sometimes have questions for the director about why they want to do this play, and when I inquire, it will sometimes make the director pause. I’m willing to bet that they’ll remember me after that.

It doesn’t mean that I will get cast, because I still have to be right for the role, and I’m pretty sure that it only works if the curiosity and question are genuine, rather than forced. But it’s wonderful lesson: when I remember that the audition is as much for me as it is for anyone else, I am much happier with the results and am able to let it go more easily.

So let us all remember that we are worth every minute in that rehearsal space, makeshift office room, basement hall, or whichever space is being turned over to the auditions. They want to see you succeed as much as you want to, so set it up for optimal results. It’s your time. Take it, and may the force be with you!

~ Carmel Amit

Opening up the Tremors Festival with a bang at The Cultch was The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. The play, written by Stephen Adly Guirgis of NYC’s LAByrinth Theatre, was directed by Stephen Drover and produced by Pound of Flesh Theatre in association with Pacific and Neworld Theatre.

There was nothing mild about this inventive retelling of histories most famous betrayal. In a fun and unapologetic way, it intelligently referenced the biblical story as well as points of the various scholarly interpretations. One had to be well versed in narrative to catch it all.

Attempting to raise some spiritual questions about God, fate, personal choice and self-forgiveness, Guirgis placed this tale in the courtrooms of Purgatory during catatonic Judas’s appeal. With characters like Sigmund Freud, Mother Theresa and the Devil himself, testifying on the stand, it was impossible to be bored throughout the two and a half hour play.

I was so busy laughing that I forgot to get introspective about the topic. But I made sure to google poor Judas when I got home and that was enough to get my heart’s wheels turning.

It’s fun to hear retellings of classical stories in a modern way. The characters and events all had a NY street edge common to many of Guirgis’s work and this was a perfect piece to be produced by Pound of Flesh Theatre whose company mandate is, “producing alternative interpretations of classical stories.”

We have to keep hearing these stories over and over in order to remember and re-evaluate ancient themes against our modern times.

~ Robyn Williams-Dann

Well that was a night of fun!  I giggled, I snorted, I slapped my knee…the whole nine yards.

Etch Your Sketch Off consisted of 6 pretty hilarious, mostly Asian sketch troupes performing for 9 minutes each, vying to earn regard and the coveted “Rice Bowl” prize (a statue of…a rice bowl and 250 bucks).

To be serious for a second, I’ve chatted with a few people now about the theater scene in Vancouver, where it is now and where it’s going.

(stay with me, I know this is out of the blue)

One thing that has been discussed is the seeming lack of Asian and South Asian (Indian) presence at the theater.  It doesn’t seem like there are is a lot of representation; behind the scenes, on stage or in the audience of either of the two groups mentioned, especially for the population.  I wondered, are Asians and South Asians not as interested in theater as an art form?  Do they attend theater productions separate from the ones that I see?  How are they spending their entertainment dollars?  And if Vancouver theater is to thrive should we explore this and try to engage those communities more?  I wouldn’t classify myself as “in the scene” I just see a lot of theater and volunteer for the Fringe – perhaps this is being or has been addressed?

At least one question has been answered, there is definitely an Asian theater scene here, one that is supported by Vancouver Canadian Asian Theater, a company that promotes events and productions (like EYSO4) as well as develops the artists (a free master class for actors and directors).  While it looks like they develop some serious stuff, I’m wicked glad they include Etch Your Sketch Off in the mix. Not only was it a fun night out, it looked like it was a way for the Asian comedy scene to blow off steam, show each other what they’ve got (a lot of funny!) and poke fun of Asian culture and stereotypes, with each other and not at each other.  I was just a along for the ride!

First we had Dennis Litonjua, a Filipino comedian who hilariously joked about the culture clash between him and his Indian wife (“Our kid will have no trouble getting a job in a call center”) in between announcing the teams.  The teams themselves were…

“BananaDrama” who covered Bel Biv Devo’s Poison, only they were Bel Biv DePho and they sang of the wrongness of putting too much “Hoison” on Vietnamese soup.

The CaucAsians who I think had the only white team members, cleverly made fun of the stereotypical Chinese accent.

The Yangzters (my favorite!) spoofed an episode of Iron Chef that utilized Sapporo Ichiban as the secret ingredient.

I Can’t Believe it’s not Butter Chicken were not only skilled Bollywood dancers, they’re short bit about Jeremy Lin was a crowd favorite.

Misfits of Komedy (MOK) combined a drag queen sumo wrestler with a distraught Kim Jon Un for a duet and modern dance number (I know!  What??!).

And last, but not least, we had The Pork Filled Players who engaged us in the age old story of the snake oil salesman – only this guy was selling Ninja skills.  Yes, Ninja skills.

And if there wasn’t enough Asian elements, while the judges tabulated their votes the audience was treated to the song styling’s of Chi Sun “The Asian Persuasion” and the end of the night was brought on by the Yukisaki Song, a singalong that was nothing but a bunch of Japanese words mashed together to the tune of a traditional Japanese song.  And it was hilarious.

Whew!

Even though I didn’t get all of it, some was just for the people who had experienced it, I do know enough about Asian culture to appreciate the humor in both the true and not so true stereotypes….and these teams did a fantastic job of making fun while making a whole lot of funny.

It was only on for two nights.  Do yourself a favor and look for it next year – you’ll laugh your shiri off.

~ Robyn Williams-Dann

I’d like to thank Melanie for bringing this tragic and true story to the stage.  Although I consider myself an intelligent person, I often find myself using mindless entertainment as a way of winding down at the end of a day instead of engaging my mind in learning about the world around me.  It’s something I’m working on.  So when I can learn about what’s going on, or what went on, as part of my “entertainment” I’m grateful.  Even when the story is incredibly sad.

These Shining Lives is the true story of Catherine Donahue, a woman who was overjoyed to go to work, at the age of 19, to earn her own money and a sense of self.  What she got, in the end, was terminal bone cancer among other debilitating illnesses.

Catherine was one of the women hired by Radium Dial to paint watch faces with radium laced paint.  In their time, the 1930’s, not only was radium considered safe, the women were encouraged to ingest it as part of a beauty and health routine.

Years later, when the women started getting sick, poisoned by the radium that was meant to give them glowing complexions, the company not only denied any wrong doing, they refused to help the women.  Instead they told them to take some aspirin, quit complaining, and then they fired them….before they could die right there in their seats.  They were treated as disposable so that watches would still go out and the money would still come in.

Catherine, supported by the three women she had shared a table with all those years, fought back and eventually won a case against Radium Dial.  So in the end, she didn’t only get the cancer that killed her, she got a chance to stand up and fight for the rights of women workers and make a difference in how they were treated in the workforce.  As human beings.

What an important story to tell, and to witness.  I for one had never heard of The Radium Girls as the ill-fated workers of Radium Dial were called.  And even though this story took place almost a century ago, it’s crucial for women to know their history, to feel the sadness and outrage of the women who came before us and fought for our rights.  And it’s equally as important for men to partake in the learning and the conversations as well.  It may seem like the sort of treatment Catherine and the others endured would never happen again however we can’t ignore the fact that in Canada and the United States women’s issues are still contested and that women still earn less than their male counterparts.

So thanks again, not only to Melanie but to the men and women of the Deep Cove Stage who brought this important piece to Vancouver and shared it with me, my boyfriend (and the ladies of the Red Hat Society sitting a row behind me) so that we could be better informed about women’s history.  A night at the theater can engage you creatively, and it can also teach you more than you knew before taking your seat.  I’m a fan of when it does both.

These Shining Lives

Written Melanie Marnich

Produced by Deep Cove Stage and presented at the Shaw Theater

March 30 – April 14, 2012

~Robyn Williams-Dann

I’m thinking this will be my shortest post to date, and I’m shamed, doesn’t Shakespeare deserve more?

I’ve always wanted to check out Bard on the Beach (but never have).  I love Romeo and Juliet, the play and the movies.  I dug reading A Midsummer Nights Dream in high school.  I like Shakespeare right?!?  I’m one of those people aren’t I?  Someone who “understands” the Bard?  Well….maybe not.

First let me say that I thought the company at UBC did an excellent job.  The cast portrayed the emotion behind the words, the sets were understated but powerful, and the costume and design was fantastic.  There was even some traditional Scottish dancing and some lovely sounding bagpipes.  Yes, I said lovely…I enjoy a good bagpiping when it’s the right time and place.  The audience seemed to be enjoying themselves.

However, I didn’t really enjoy the play.  Again, not because of anything to do with the production, which, as I said, was really good.  Rather, it was the script.

Yes, I said it.  Now let me try to explain.

First an example…have you ever been to a concert and not known the music very well?  Did you notice how the lyrics were hard to understand, that it sounded muffled or garbled?  But when you’ve seen a show where you know the music well, it’s easy to understand.

That’s how I feel about Shakespeare, at least until I prove myself otherwise.  With Romeo and Juliet, I studied the book in school, had watched the movie (1968 thank you) several times over, so when I saw the stage play I knew what was happening and the poetry of it made sense.  With Macbeth, I hadn’t done this, and so I just didn’t get most of it.  I guess I understood the gist, after all was said and done…half mad soldier, egged on by power-hungry wife kills king, then goes all the way mad.  However during the show, I rarely really I felt like I understood what was going on or about to happen.

Without having studied the play, the words zipped by too fast so I couldn’t translate them in my head and therefore didn’t understand.  It wasn’t that the actors needed to slow down – they enunciated beautifully.  It was simply that it was sounded like a foreign language; it may have well been performed in Swedish.  Believe me, I tried different tactics to get into it and understand it.  I tried really listening and repeating key words back in my head.  Nope, still utterly lost.  I thought back on my previous experiences with dance productions and tried to just sit back, relax, and let the poetry wash over me.  It didn’t work, I didn’t get it.

As my mind wandered, I wondered…am I the only one?  I can’t be, but how the heck has Shakespeare resonated with so many people for so long?  My first guess was that a typical Bard audience consists of two kinds of people.  Those who have read and studied and understand the material and therefore really enjoy it played out in real life, and those that go, don’t get it, but probably don’t say anything.

Not to rely on only my own guesses, I broached the subject with a few of my friends and have had some interesting conversations.  If we can get past the outraged “What?!?  How can you say that?!?!” some interesting points have been made.  One, by my very smart and interesting friend Sarah, was hypothesizes that there is probably a difference in understanding of comedies vs histories and tragedies.  In a comedy you at least have the bawdy humour—which is often universal—to get you through and give you a grasp as to what’s going on.

That made sense and led us to a conversation about basic understanding.  I feel, at least for me and I’d imagine for others that if you do not have an understanding of the language your mind simply feels lost and has a tough time keeping you engaged.  For instance, I really enjoyed The Artist but I wonder, what if it had not been silent and instead presented in say, gibberish? I think I would have spent too much time trying to figure the damn thing out and wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much.

Perhaps I should experiment.  Maybe I should check out The Merry Wives of Windsor – a comedy, and one I know absolutely nothing about to see if it clicks, if I’m laughing away with the best of them.  Then maybe I’ll spend a day or two doing really high brow, challenging, cultural things that test my smarts as well as flex the left side of my brain.  Then I’ll pull up a blanket to Shakespeare’s history play King John and see if I’m engaged.

What’s not lost on me is the sheer experience of immersing in a classic.  In the end, if you get Shakespeare, if you like Macbeth, or even if you’re not sure – I am quite sure that you can’t go wrong seeing a great performance of a play that has stood the test of time…even if it just gets you thinking and talking about something new.

~ Trilby Jeeves

WOW!!

Dynamite, EYE CANDY costumes, fire, zest, energy, KA-BANG, Wahh, BIF, duck, surprise, red, GREEN, yellow bee EYES HAIR, chase, DASH, duck again, rap, sing, TUMBLE in love, UM, wait a minute – wasn’t that?, LEAP, flirt, flit, wiggle, waggle, SPIN, s e d u c e, wrong road, CRAAAZZZYYYY, rap, rap, rappity, rap….. and it goes.

Just a few words to describe my experience with ‘Bombitty’.

I did NOT stop smiling the whole time. My variety of smiles got punctuated with bursts of laughter as the cast of “The Bombitty of Errors” spun a wild tale with the raucous energy of a theatrical tornado. (a good one).  Talking with director Catriona Leger after the show, she humbly gave most of the accolades to the talented cast, but “me thinks the lady doth protest too much”. Catriona is one cool woman who obviously has what it takes! A few years ago, I had the privilege of playing with her briefly in a fun unorthodox moment in another Shakespeare presentation.

I wanted to see this show, also, because of Catriona’s experience with Le Bouffon, which is big in my world (Buffoonery Workshops). And, true to her training, many “deliciously bad” bouffon instances appeared throughout the play. I was not disappointed. In fact, I was inspired!

Hats off to the motivated young performers and producers of this show who are embracing theatrical life and taking courageous steps to create their own work. Brian Cochrane and Jameson Parker (also in the show ) created the company “Temporary Thing Theatre” in order to get “Bombitty” off the ground. They approached Sabrina Evertt of “Twenty Something Theatre”, which had a similar beginning six seasons ago, and the marriage unfolded.

And, I have to mention the clever writing by Jordan Allen Dutton, Jason Catalano, Gregory J. Qaiyum, Erik Weiner, and Jeffery  Qaiyum. Adapting “The Comedy of Errors” by William Shakespeare to a witty rap must have been quite the feat but after having perused the authors’ sites, they look perfect for the job. (would love to have been a fly on the wall witnessing the creative process, though!)

With all the despair of the recent arts cuts, and closures etc…. Bombitty gave a welcoming shot in the arm of positive LIVE energy.

“Twenty Something Theatre”, you are keeping some of us “forty to sixty somethings” entertained!

We will continue to keep our eyes on you!

“The Bombitty of Errors” is playing until April 22 (dark on Mondays) at Studio 16 1555 West 7^th Ave.

Vive Le Theatre!

~ A guest post by Lesley Ewen

The Vancouver Playhouse has been my alma mater for more than 3 of its 5 decades.
Wait…let me check the math…
Yup.

From 1981 – 1983 I attended, what was then, the prestigious Vancouver Playhouse Acting School. Yes Virginia, there was an acting school. According to myth, 500 people auditioned from across North America – only 16 were accepted into the ensemble program, every 2 years. 16 fresh faces running free throughout the Playhouse halls on Beatty St. and the Queen Elizabeth Playhouse. I remember the thrill of seeing “The Notebook of Trigorin”, Tennessee William’s commissioned adaptation of “The Seagull”. Slipping in to watch the ever brilliant William Hutt and Robin Phillips in “The Dresser” 7 times!  Drooling over Jimmy Mezon in “White Boys” (Very slim. Very hot. Total dude.). Frances Hyland in “Wings”. Seana McKenna in “Wit”.  Morris Panych was Amadeus! I remember being the second ‘person of colour’ ever to perform with the Playhouse – Blu Mankuma was the first, only because he entered before me in “The Tempest”.  And the Canadian plays the company produced! The Canadian plays! The Playhouse holds Vancouver’s Theatre history.

And I remember Larry.

Larry Lillo made the Playhouse more exciting than it has ever been in my memory. Larry was everyone’s superkool, older brother, who comes home from university in the big city, and provides a peek into what’s sexy in the rest of the World.

Larry made the Playhouse as cool as fuck.

Imagine a mature, bitingly intellectual, gay, John Malkovich (but cuter) with an impeccable aesthetic, heading The Playhouse.  Imagine a new Sam Shepard opening the season. Imagine me as “Stella” in “Streetcar” (if only Graham Greene had been free to play Mitch). But I did get to wear a $2500.00 made-for-me silk dress for my very short second scene in “Les Liaisons Dangereuses”; in my first scene I was naked. I loved the gasp that ran through the audience and up into the balcony when John Moffat whipped the silk sheets off my bare ass. “Holy shit! There’s a naked black chick on stage!”.  Now, that’s some positive audience feedback!

And the parties! Playhouse opening night parties were the best. Interpretive dancing in the lower recital hall, intrigue in the dressing rooms and talk, talk, talk about The Theatre, here and around the World.

So many rich memories. So many deeply inspiring experiences.
Which is why I found my ambivalence at its demise so puzzling.
Why Santi Clause? Why?

In an effort to answer this I went to the meeting called by Diane Brown, Artistic Director of Ruby Slippers on Tuesday April 3. “Community Visioning Meeting: Playhouse 2.0”.
“to envision together a Playhouse 2.0..what could it look like? How could it interface with the rest of the community? Come with your positive, forward thinking ideas about a possible future!”

Read more of what was generated and stay up to date with new actions here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/202392979864777/
It was held at East Van’s Rio Theatre, ironically, another of Vancouver’s cultural components that has barely survived its own bout of near-death throes.
http://riotheatre.ca/about/   …watch the video.

There was a decent turnout. Especially for a work-day afternoon session about Theatre. In Vancouver. About 50, a variety of ages, disciplines, and ethnicities.

Ms. Brown’s set up for the afternoon offered 3 loci for discussion: The Facility, The Company, The Art, then a sharing of findings. At first I couldn’t decide to which group to attach. Finally, I figured ‘Art must be our source’, and so…

The Art group had the least number of joiners. About 10, compared with the robust groups of 20 or so for Facility and Company. What was this reflective of, if anything?

One by one we spoke of our sense of “Playhouse-ness”. Common was a feeling that the Playhouse, as well as being noted for its generous support of the community, was also a place where the fine Art of Theatre had a home, time and space. Not always. But sometimes. Where an actor could be paid a living wage and hone their creation over a reasonable run, which allows for a depth of performance not even touched in a 6 show stretch. Where the technical standards approached those of Stratford, Canadian Stage or The National in London. Where our young Theatre practitioners could get a sense of the nobility inherent in the vocation, see their elders practice and large-cast classics played out. And where, through co-pros, we could connect with the rest of the Canadian Theatrical community.

When the 3 groups coalesced there were a number of common points:

• That the Playhouse was a mothership for the community and we hoped it could become “an Arts Umbrella for adults” akin to the Southbank’s National Theatre complex
• That the Playhouse stood for excellence
• That the Playhouse, despite its failings, had once been what we wanted it to become again. Require, even.

And so, yes, we all had a nice time and talked of a rosy future. But what happened Max?!

Max Reimer, (former) A.D. of the Playhouse, who’d taken time out from his full-time rescue efforts, graciously opened himself to questions. There were many. He revealed the circuitous route and interdependent fault lines that had fractured and impacted upon our cultural flagship so fatally. The company hadn’t yet declared bankruptcy. The board was still intact. Things changed hourly.
It wasn’t just about money; it was about lost promises, misrepresentation, rigid bureaucratic structures, lack of communication and passionate critical discourse about Art taken, by non-artists, as questioning the right of the company to exist at all – a sort of anti-Sally Fields situation, if you will.

In a West Ender interview entitled “Calling all Millionaires…”, Morris Panych, whose work has been well supported by the Playhouse, had this to say:
“It’s times like this that people who have money need to step up. They just need to. It’s part of their civic responsibility to help culture.”
http://www.wevancouver.com/news/142804145.html

While more money is always welcomed and much had been forthcoming, a restructuring of the City’s rather roundabout venue agreements and awkward rental practices, and a regenerating of the City’s belief in the Vancouver Playhouse’s value to its citizens, may be as urgently needed.

In the meantime, not many of us in the Arts are millionaires and we can’t directly re-write policy. But we do possess priceless capital of another sort. We are extremely creative, unshakably faith-full and wonderfully, dangerously passionate. And with those energies we can do something.

We can generate a positive conversation about the Playhouse. It may sound a bit Gidget (to stick with Sally) but creating a vibe has a palpable effect. Positive or negative.

We can speak of the value of the Playhouse. We can state, as Fact, without despair or even a soupcon of victim-y-ness, that The Playhouse when properly guided and supported – not life-supported – contributes to generating within Vancouver’s citizens something priceless and necessary: Culture. Compassion. Soul.

So, three things:

• Generate a positive conversation around the value of the Playhouse
• save the critical discourse for discussion about its Art rather than its very existence
• constructive critical analysis of the work is imperative, but if it leads to the deconstruction of a company we’re not creating space to play

• Directed Advocacy rather than diffuse anti-advocacy

• both work, be conscious in choosing which you create
• Let the City know that we, not just we Theatre makers, but We, the Citizens of Vancouver, undeniably require that the Vancouver Playhouse continue to provide us with necessary cultural nourishment
• at this point, the City really isn’t so sure

• Residency not Rental
• The Playhouse Theatre Company needs the priority status that comes with being THE resident company in its own venue
• This is the tack that Max was taking as the company folded
• there are a myriad of particulars the company must navigate under a rental agreement vs. the autonomy available under a residency agreement
• Residency is a middle way between staying at the Q.E. Playhouse or finding another place to play
• creative control in the use of the venue would reduce operating costs and enable the company to become the creative mothership or cultural hub it, as a regional theatre company, should be. For the City. For the Province.

After all, without Culture, we’re nowhere near a ‘World Class City’. We’re just a very pretty town with a really good hockey team.