TheatreOne Announces Mainstage Play

The Syringa Tree by Pamela Gien

April 22-26, 2009, Malaspina Theatre at VIU

“Uncommonly moving, even wrenching… a series of character transformations so instantaneous and so intense that you believe the stage is peopled with multitudes. Still, it is not just the technical achievement that startles one into attention. The grown-up Elizabeth leaves for America, and her subsequent return to Johannesburg to find her past again constitutes a poem of inconsolable loss and nostalgia that leaves the…  audience grieving for the beloved country as much as the central character. This really is a transcendent dramatic experience!” - ROBERT BRUSTEIN, THE NEW REPUBLIC

Nanaimo, BC – Following a very successful ticket contest to have people guess the name of TheatreOne’s Mainstage play, they are pleased to announce it to the world! The Syringa Tree by Pamela Gien will be directed by VIU Theatre professor Ross Desprez and will star Vancouver’s charming Carmen Grant, on stage at Malaspina Theatre at VIU April 22-26, 2009.

The Syringa Tree by ex-pat South African actress and writer, Pamela Gien, is a deeply personal story of an abiding love between two families - one black, one white, and the two children that are born into their shared South African household in the early 1960s. Spanning four generations, the story is told first by six-year-old Elizabeth Grace, as she tries with humour and sometimes palpable fear, to make sense of the chaos, magic and darkness of Africa. Follow their destinies in a story that spans four generations, from early apartheid to present day South Africa.

Audiences will marvel at the tour-de-force performance of actress Carmen Grant, as she plays an entire world of characters, transforming in the blink-of-an-eye from black to white, from old to young, from Xhosa to Afrikaans to Zulu to Jewish, all the while revealing the complexities of her characters' dreams, struggles, losses, and laughter.

The Syringa Tree provides a wonderfully theatrical vehicle within which the artistic staff and the technical and design team will feel challenged to do their very best work.   It has become a favourite in Canadian regional theatres with productions at Vancouver Playhouse, The Belfry Theatre (Victoria), Globe Theatre (Regina), Manitoba Theatre Centre (Winnipeg) and Neptune Theatre (Halifax). The Syringa Tree played at Vancouver’s Playhouse Theatre in 2005 for the first time, and was brought back in 2006 to satisfy popular demand. It was recorded as the highest selling show in the company’s history, selling 16,495 tickets over the run.  

Awards include OBIE Best Play of the Year, Drama Desk Award, Drama League Award, and Outer Critics' Circle Award.

 The Syringa Tree will prove itself a challenging play both for our audience, in its content, and for our company, in its format, as we strive to produce more plays of this calibre. This award-winning play will confirm TheatreOne’s proud position as Nanaimo’s only professional theatre company.

Tickets available from the Port Theatre Box Office 250-754-8550 or http://www.porttheatre.com/tickets.html

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Hamber Foundation Funds TheatreOne

 Nanaimo, BC – TheatreOne is the happy recipient of a $1500 grant from the Hamber Foundation. The money will be used to fund the professional theatre company’s Mainstage production of The Syringa Tree by Pamela Gien, April 22-26, 2009 at Malaspina Theatre at VIU.

 The Hamber Foundation has supported TheatreOne in the past, giving grants for Best Left Buried, the highly successful The Concubine’s Children, Drawer Boy, Mary’s Wedding, and Being Frank.

Since 1965, in excess of $10 million has been distributed by The Hamber Foundation throughout British Columbia.  The long list of grant recipients is comprised of deserving organizations and associations in the arts, athletics, health care and medicine, education, youth groups, and welfare.  Grants have helped schools, libraries, art galleries, hospitals, crafts organizations, opera associations, dance companies, symphony orchestras, theatre, youth programs, and choirs.  The list of projects is as wide-ranging as the interests and needs of the people throughout the cities, towns and communities of British Columbia. (http://www.hamberfoundation.ca/) 

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Globe and Mail, September 24, 2008 at 11:00 PM EDT

What sort of country do we want to live in? What sort of country do we already live in? What do we like? Who are we?

At present, we are a very creative country. For decades, we've been punching above our weight on the world stage - in writing, in popular music and in many other fields. Canada was once a cultural void on the world map, now it's a force. In addition, the arts are a large segment of our economy: The Conference Board estimates Canada's cultural sector generated $46-billion, or 3.8 per cent of Canada's GDP, in 2007. And, according to the Canada Council, in 2003-2004, the sector accounted for an “estimated 600,000 jobs (roughly the same as agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, oil & gas and utilities combined).”

But we've just been sent a signal by Prime Minister Stephen Harper that he gives not a toss for these facts. Tuesday, he told us that some group called “ordinary people” didn't care about something called “the arts.” His idea of “the arts” is a bunch of rich people gathering at galas whining about their grants. Well, I can count the number of moderately rich writers who live in Canada on the fingers of one hand: I'm one of them, and I'm no Warren Buffett. I don't whine about my grants because I don't get any grants. I whine about other grants - grants for young people, that may help them to turn into me, and thus pay to the federal and provincial governments the kinds of taxes I pay, and cover off the salaries of such as Mr. Harper. In fact, less than 10 per cent of writers actually make a living by their writing, however modest that living may be. They have other jobs. But people write, and want to write, and pack into creative writing classes, because they love this activity – not because they think they'll be millionaires.

…

It's been suggested that Mr. Harper's disdain for the arts is not merely a result of ignorance or a tin ear - that it is “ideologically motivated.” Now, I wonder what could be meant by that? Mr. Harper has said quite rightly that people understand we ought to keep within a budget. But his own contribution to that budget has been to heave the Liberal-generated surplus overboard so we have nothing left for a rainy day, and now, in addition, he wants to jeopardize those 600,000 arts jobs and those billions of dollars they generate for Canadians. What's the idea here? That arts jobs should not exist because artists are naughty and might not vote for Mr. Harper? That Canadians ought not to make money from the wicked arts, but only from virtuous oil? That artists don't all live in one constituency, so who cares?

...

Or is it even worse? Every budding dictatorship begins by muzzling the artists, because they're a mouthy lot and they don't line up and salute very easily. Of course, you can always get some tame artists to design the uniforms and flags and the documentary about you, and so forth - the only kind of art you might need - but individual voices must be silenced, because there shall be only One Voice: Our Master's Voice. Maybe that's why Mr. Harper began by shutting down funding for our artists abroad. He didn't like the competition for media space.

The Conservative caucus has already learned that lesson. Rumour has it that Mr. Harper's idea of what sort of art you should hang on your wall was signalled by his removal of all pictures of previous Conservative prime ministers from their lobby room - including John A. and Dief the Chief - and their replacement by pictures of none other than Mr. Harper himself. History, it seems, is to begin with him. In communist countries, this used to be called the Cult of Personality. Mr. Harper is a guy who - rumour has it, again - tried to disband the student union in high school and then tried the same thing in college. Destiny is calling him, the way it called Qin Shi Huang, the Chinese emperor who burnt all records of the rulers before himself. It's an impulse that's been repeated many times since, the list is very long. Tear it down and level it flat, is the common motto. Then build a big statue of yourself. Now that would be Art! Adapted from the 2008 Hurtig Lecture, to be delivered in Edmonton on Oct. 1

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Interview with Trent Arterberry

Happy to Discover His Own Knack for Mime

By Nadine Wiepning, TheatreOne Publicist

Trent Arterberry is a prime example of someone who followed their true calling in life. As one of the best physical theatre performers around, he is familiar with the rewards and challenges of his chosen career. In a telephone interview, Trent happily revealed key moments of his life story, in a career that spans 35 years.  

Q: When or how did you know this was your calling? Was there some sort of epiphany moment or was it more subtle than that?

A: “I went to college as a pre-med student, to follow my dad who is also a doctor. I was good at math and science, and thought ‘this is it’, but ended up not interested in pursuing this career path. I saw a mime do a show in a park, and got really excited, so I started practicing. I came up with this really great imaginary ‘lean’, and when I happened to meet that mime artist and show it to him, he got really excited and took me on as his apprentice! I did have that moment of epiphany, on stage, when I was performing as a mime bartender, and I remember thinking how cool my white gloved hand looked in the lights. It was so much fun. That moment still stands out for me today. I was so happy to discover that I had a knack for mime.”  

Q: Who was your favourite entertainer when you were a child?

A: “In 5^th grade I used to sneak down at 11.30pm after everyone had gone to bed, to watch the Tonight Show with Steve Allen, before Johnny Carson was the host. I loved the show and Steve Allen.”  

Q: What was or is one of the biggest challenges for you in deciding to become a performance artist?  

A: “It’s not a very easy way to make a living! I am always re-inventing the material and hustling for shows. I have been doing this for 35 years, so now I have steady clients, like TheatreOne, but it’s an ongoing effort.” 

Q: Who were your supporters in the beginning?

A: “I started out performing in the street. Then I started performing in schools, charging $50, which was big bucks in the 70s! I grew up in Boston, and really got started there. A good friend of mine had a record label, and put me on an album cover, which led to me opening for rock bands like The Kinks, Livingston Taylor, and BB King. It was very challenging to work with the rock content.” 

Q: How did your first performance go?

A: “My first show with my first teacher was when I thought that the white glove looked so cool, and I quickly became enchanted with mime. I was amazed to discover I could do it well.” 

Q: Who are your major influences?

A: “I studied with Marcel Marceau, and had several other good teachers as well, including my current director, Gregg Goldston, who performed in last year’s Just Kidding series.” 

Q: How has your material changed since the beginning?

A: “I went from opening for rock bands to what I do now, which is aimed at children and families.” 

Q: How many shows do you do in a year?

A: 200-300

Q: Where have your travelled with your show?  

A: “I just got back now from Florida. I have been all over the US and Canada, Europe, Asia, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. I’ve travelled around the world on a QE2 cruise with a stop in India. I got off the boat and shopped, then felt nauseous because of the wide disparity between the opulence on the ship and the poverty on the ground.” 

Q: Do you think that support for children’s live entertainment has declined or increased since you started?

A: “Support for children’s theatre started getting strong in the 90s, with arts councils and grants. I would say that it was really great for about 15 yrs. The last few years have seen a decline – I’m not sure what that is about, and can only guess. It seems that the cultural climate has tightened up after 9/11. My partner, Mr. Fish and I do a science and circus show that we tour all over the US, selling 1000-2000 seats, with this popular, well-received super scientific circus. Lately I’ve noticed it’s not selling as well. This is not a reflection of the performers, as we get strong support. But I have heard from other performers that things have gotten tougher in recent years.” 

Come support live children’s entertainment and indulge yourself in a good laugh at VIU Theatre, building 310, on November 29 at 1.00pm with the hugely hilarious Trent Arterberry, who combines mime, storytelling and puppetry in his new production, “The Bigg Show” the second performance in TheatreOne’s Just Kidding Series.

 Just Kidding was developed to bring Nanaimo the most engaging performances by companies and entertainers who specialize in productions for children.  The aim is to provide unique entertainment that exemplifies the power that live performance has to stimulate a child’s imagination. The Just Kidding Series is featured at the Vancouver Island University (Malaspina) Theatre, and continues select Saturday afternoons at 1pm, from October 2008 to March 2009. The Just Kidding Series is proudly sponsored by Canadian Tire, Island Parent Magazine, and Mid-Island Co-Op.

 Subscriptions are available for the remaining three shows in the series. This live, quality family entertainment is only $27 for children, $30 for adults, and $96 for a family of four. Single tickets are $12, and children under two are free. For more information and tickets visit www.theatreone.org, call 754-7587 or email info@theatreone.org. 

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October 20, 2008

Coastal Community Credit Union Supports TheatreOne

Grant Leier Fine Art Print Displayed at Branches

Nanaimo, BC – The Coastal Community Credit Union is supporting TheatreOne in their recent fundraising initiative. All four Nanaimo branches, at Southgate, Harbourfront, Hammond Bay, and Bowen Road, have agreed to display a framed fine art print donated by local artist Grant Leier. The limited edition of 200, signed, unframed prints are being sold for $100, plus optional mailing fee of $10.

 The print will be at the Coastal Community Credit Union Southgate Branch from Oct. 20 until Nov. 10. It will then go to Hammond Bay until Dec. 1, to Bowen Road from Dec. 1 - Jan. 2, and to Harbourfront from Jan. 2 until Jan. 23.

 Proceeds from the print sales go directly to support TheatreOne’s Mainstage in April 2009.  

To purchase a print, please phone TheatreOne at 754-7587 or email info@theatreone.org. See it online at http://www.theatreone.org/support.html. The digital image of course does not do justice to this richly textured, colourful painting, with its characteristic Grant Leier archetypical images of beautifully rendered flowers, vases, and Asian figurines.  

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Picture courtesy TheatreOne (left to right: Nadine Wiepning, TheatreOne Publicist; Denise Coburn, Member Service Representative; Roberto Qualizza, Branch Manager)

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Arts and Culture Supported in Nanaimo

TheatreOne appreciative of new performing arts space

NANAIMO, BC – TheatreOne’s Emerging Voices series of staged readings concluded its 2007-2008 season with high hopes for next year, especially in light of the recent purchase of Eagle Mountain Church for a small performing arts space.   

After a successful debut in 2006, TheatreOne presented six staged readings of new scripts in the 2007-2008 season of Emerging Voices. With funding received from Arts Now (2010 Legacies Now), Emerging Voices allowed up-and-coming playwrights the chance to hear and see their work presented before the public. The public was then able to offer feedback, a very important part of the creative process in a new artistic venture. All staged readings enjoyed an intense week of rehearsal. They were directed by seasoned professional Catherine Caines with casts of trained actors.

This season Emerging Voices experimented with artistic venue options such as the & Loan Gallery and the Vault, a coffee shop in downtown Nanaimo. While both are unique spaces, neither proved to be ideal locations for the staged readings for various reasons.  Nevertheless, TheatreOne gratefully acknowledges both businesses generously opening up their spaces to TheatreOne.  For upcoming seasons as well as future efforts that support promising new talent in Nanaimo, TheatreOne is very excited about the new space on Victoria Road. A small performing arts venue in downtown Nanaimo is just what the arts community needs.  Nicely done City of Nanaimo! 

Look for staged readings to start up in January 2009.

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