Okotoks to host
One Act Play Festival
By Tamara Neely
Staff Reporter
Shannon Franks, as Ruby touches up Chris Robson, as Hamlet’s ghost in rehearsal for the Dewdney Players One Act Festival.
photo by Blair Braitenbach |
This weekend actors and directors from across the foothills will bring their love of theatre to the Foothills Centennial Centre.
On Friday evening, Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening, four theatre troupes will be performing a total of nine one-act plays as part of the annual Foothills Regional One Act Play Festival.
Truth be told, the actors, directors and teams of volunteers have already reaped a lot of their reward out of the process before the audience even finds their seats.
Eight days before the performance of the play Ruby of Elsinore, director Sue Gothard was brimming over with excitement about the upcoming performance.
“I love being involved, seeing the germ of an idea come to fruition, and also the fact that when you start you don’t know who the cast will be until after the auditions – people bring their own personalities to (the play) and it’s fascinating the way it changes,” said Gothard.
There are four theatre troupes participating this year: the Dewdney Players Group Theatre, who are hosting the festival this year, and Gypsy Cabaret Theatre Society both based in Okotoks, the Bragg Arts Theatre Society based in Bragg Creek and the High River’s Windmill Theatre Players.
Gothard, a member of the Dewdney Players, said this is their fourth year in a row participating in the festival, and they are presenting four plays, each with a different director.
Okotoks resident Dale Fea, for example, has jumped in this year to direct her first play, After the Matinee. Fea’s production will be performed at the Friday sitting.
If there are other members of the community who have a penchant for writing or performing and would like to get involved with theatre, Gothard encourages people to come forward.
There are many opportunities to get involved with the theatre groups or the festival, from ticket sales at the front-of-house to auditioning for upcoming roles on centre stage to props and set design behind the scenes.
Volunteering requires a commitment of time, and Gothard acknowledged that directing a play requires dedicating a lot of time, but the rewards of the experience warrant the time spent.
“I love it,” said Gothard. “It’s very, very, very busy, but it’s an absolute joy. We have a lot of fun.”
The nine plays will be performed over three sittings, which will be Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Tickets are $12 for one sitting or $25 to attend all three.
The Foothills Centennial Centre is located at 204 Community Way.
On Sunday at 7 p.m. there will be a special sitting at the Rotary Performing Arts Centre and Dewdney Players and Gypsy Cabaret will present all five festival plays. Admission is a donation to the food bank. Guests are welcome to pick and choose which plays they would like to catch, if staying for all five isn’t feasible.
For more information, call Sue or Reg Gothard at (403) 938-3072.
One Act Play Festival Schedule
There are nine plays in the Foothills Regional One Act Play Festival. Below is a schedule to plan your weekend:
Friday, March 14 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• After the Matinee, Dewdney Players Group Theatre
• The Footsteps of Doves, Windmill Theatre Players
• Who’s Hamlet? Dewdney Players Group Theatre
Saturday, March 15 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
• Relative Strangers, Windmill Theatre Players
• Ruby of Elsinore, Dewdney Players Group Theatre
• Scared Stiff, Bragg Arts Theatre Society.
Saturday, March 15 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• Babel Rap, Gypsy Cabaret Theatre Society
• Heart in the Ground, Dewdney Players Group Theatre
• An Informative 12 Step Guide on How to Mate, Windmill Theatre Players
Sunday, March 16 starting at 7 p.m.
The Dewdney Players and Gypsy Cabaret will perform all five of the festival plays. Food bank donations will be accepted in lieu of admission fee.
Leads take crazy cast seriously |
By Tamara Neely
Staff Reporter
Jocelyn Hoover and Kyle Guenard star in the Alberta High School of Fine Arts’ Mainstage production of the musical The Music Man, April 9 to 19. photo by Michelle Lindstrom |
Slipping into character and walking on stage into the bright lights, with only the breathing and odd cough as evidence that hundreds of people are out there watching, two Grade 12 students will thrive. Jocelyn Hoover and Kyle Guenard love that kind of thing.
Hoover and Guenard will be front and centre for the Alberta High School of Fine Arts’ Main stage musical production of The Music Man, a light-hearted and comedic story about an accidental love affair that changes the course of a heist.
Each year students from music, dance, drama, visual arts and even the wood shop rally together with the guidance of dedicated teachers to produce a large-scale musical production.
Guenard plays “Professor” Harold Hill, a shyster who blows into town convincing the townspeople to hand over their money so he
can teach their children to play musical instruments and form a band.
The parents go for it and the crooked Harold is on his way to filling his pockets and making off with the loot. However, in the process he meets Marian, the librarian, played by Hoover. Sparks fly between them and his plan derails.
“I’m very excited,” said Hoover. “Going into the audition I thought this is something I could do, something I could be good in, so I was really happy, and when I got (the part) I was extremely excited.”
Guenard is also excited – “stoked,” he said – but he also takes the opportunity seriously.
“(There’s the responsibility) to not mess up on stage because that can wreck a scene,” said Guenard. “And not to let the directors down, that’s for sure.”
At the same time, the over-the-top nature of the musical offers Guenard the opportunity to unleash some craziness.
“Being cheesy is a lot of fun, you get to be crazy and have an excuse to do it; you get to look ridiculous,” said Guenard. “Like crazy-cool tap dancing – there are specific songs that are supposed to be funny songs.”
While Hoover’s character Marian is more introverted and judgmental than Harold, she too feels the liberty to cut loose and have fun with the character.
“Everything about the story is larger-than-life, cheesy musical theatre, so that’s a lot of fun to act out,” she said.
At the heart of their performance is a desire to become the characters they portray. Slipping into the head of someone else and the challenge of doing so is part of the excitement of being on stage for these two.
“Acting gives you somebody else to be sometimes,” said Hoover. “You get to do and say things you might not normally do and say. It’s the excitement of the challenge to make it believable to the audience – that you are someone else, not just Jocelyn acting like someone else.”
Guenard is conscious of the shift between delivering a line as himself and delivering a line as Harold and sequesters himself prior to a show to immerse himself in the ways of Harold.
“I don’t like to talk to people before the show,” said Guenard. “I go and hide, find the character and go and perform.”
Both Hoover and Guenard feel that knowing the script and their characters really well is key to minimizing fear and delivering a solid performance when the curtain goes up and the pressure is on.
“Once you find the character it’s like a natural reaction for your character to say the next line or do the next move. It’s like you’re not on stage anymore. Once you’re completely with the character and not Jocelyn anymore you don’t think about anything else.”
In a musical that has comedic elements the big payoff is when the audience actually laughs at the funny parts – and if they don’t the cast has to steel their nerves and carry on.
“Ms. (Laura) Myers (show director and drama teacher) says don’t pay attention to the audience, but a lot of the time you can’t help it,” said Guenard. “The audience is pretty important.”
The audience factors in heavily for Guenard. The applause and the laughs are part of the rush of performing for him.
“The audience is my favourite part (about acting) – I like being cheered for,” he said.
The Music Man will be performed 17 times, but it never gets boring for the duo.
“A different audience gives you a different feel every time,” said Guenard. “Every show ends up being a new experience.”
Hoover and Guenard bring passion to their roles and love to perform, but both have other ideas for after high school.
Guenard, who is also on the Falcons football team, prioritizes football over performing. If he gets a break, he said he’ll pursue acting, but otherwise he’s dedicating himself to football.
Hoover has a love of dance, music and acting, but she is going to include mathematics into her focus of study after high school and bolster her marketability with a teaching degree. A career in performance, she says is too much of a gamble. With the safety net of being able to teach she feels more comfortable about her future.
Her immediate future involves tackling the part of The Music Man where Marian and Harold fall in love. There’s even a kiss on the lips. But they haven’t gotten to that part yet.
There will be a preview of The Music Man on Friday, April 4 and an opening gala featuring dinner prepared by the culinary students on Saturday, April 5.
Performances run from April 9 to 19, Wednesday through to Saturday. Tickets for evening performances are $15 and tickets for the preview and matinee performances are $8. Tickets for the gala including dinner are $35. To reserve tickets or for information about sponsorship opportunities, leave a message at (403) 540-6574.
Renowned songwriters march in blues
Known as members of the popular blues revue “Come on Into My Kitchen,” Brent Parkin and Mark Sterling are both superb singers and blues guitarists and they’re performing as part of the Beneath the Arch Concert Series on March 29.
Mark Sterling owes his current popularity to many appearances at his local Edmonton and Calgary folk festivals, as well as his self-titled CD. He’s been playing and studying guitar for the past 18 years, receiving his first taste of international recognition when he joined the Toronto pop vocal group Hemingway Corner. He sang, played guitar and contributed several songs to the group’s second album. He moved back to Edmonton where his voice is now a unique part of the Alberta acoustic blues genre.
Guitarist/singer/songwriter Brent Parkin has been a mainstay of Winnipeg’s blues scene for more than 25 years. He has performed extensively across western Canada, transfixing his audiences with a unique blend of virtuosity and his own “down home” feel. A native of Hamilton, Ontario, Parkin moved to Winnipeg in the 1970s and hooked up with many of Winnipeg’s seminal blues performers. He established his own band, Brent Parkin and the Stingers, a driving force on the Canadian blues landscape.
Over the years he has performed with many of the blues greats, including B.B. King, James Cotton, Son Seals, Johnny Winter, Otis Rush, Gatemouth Brown and Bo Didley.
Don’t miss this great concert sponsored by Goodman, McDougall & Associates (Millarville), Windridge Construction (Black Diamond) and Divine (Okotoks).
The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Rush tickets (adult $20, kids 6-18 $8) are available from Coyote Moon Cantina (Turner Valley), Terra Cotta Gallery (Black Diamond), the Millarville General Store (Millarville) and Harvest Moon Health Foods (Okotoks). For more information call 933-5811 or 933-7040.
Musician true to his Yukon roots
By Tamara Neely
Staff Reporter
Gordie Tentrees will play his brand of Yukon roots at The Stop in Black Diamond on Sunday at 4 p.m. photo submitted |
Gordie Tentrees is on the fast-paced tour schedule of a musician who loves what he does and is working to expand his fan base.
However, a Sunday afternoon show at The Stop in Black Diamond will be the last before returning home to Whitehorse, Yukon, and taking a month off.
Trying to describe music is usually difficult, and with only 30 minutes before going on stage to play in Jasper, the pressure was on Tentrees to explain his sound and what music means to him.
“We play Yukon roots, it’s country/folk/blues,” said Tentrees. “It’s a blend of a lot of things, it’s original. People say, ‘That’s different and unique, you guys have your own sound.’”
Tentrees has released two albums: 29 Loads of Freight was released in 2004 and Bottleneck to Wire was released in 2007.
The Stop’s Sunday performance includes Tentrees, who will be playing guitar, slide guitar, harmonica and performing vocals; Ken Hermanson who will be playing lap steel, guitar and vocals; and Matt King who will be playing upright and porch bass and vocals.
In addition to writing music and performing, a big draw for Tentrees is the opportunity to travel and meet people he never would have met hanging out at home.
“I get to play with my friends and to be able to meet some of my heroes, people you don’t normally get to meet, that’s a really cool thing.”
Tentrees’ show will begin at 4 p.m. and tickets, which are $10, can be reserved ahead of time by calling The Stop at 933-3002. The Stop is located at 123 Government Road South.
Exhibit examines human form from head to toe
By Tamara Neely
Staff Reporter
This sculpture by Mary Swain, called Lead a Horse to Water, is included in the exhibition Being Human that opens on March 15 at the Leighton Art Centre.
photo submitted |
The human body has been painted, sculpted and drawn since the beginning of recorded history. The body continues, however, to present a challenge and be a source of inspiration to artists.
The Leighton Art Centre invited artists from Canada and the United States to submit figure artwork to be considered by their jury, and on Saturday between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. the centre will celebrate the launch of the resulting exhibition, Being Human.
Being Human is an exploration of the figure through the eyes of 47 North American artists. The show includes the human form represented in painting, sculpture, photography and mixed media.
Pauline Walsh, advertising and promotion coordinator at the Leighton Centre, is excited about the artists’ interpretations of the body in this exhibition.
“It’s a stunningly beautiful show,” said Walsh.
The work, she said, is conceptually and aesthetically interesting. A photograph by Amy Dryer, for example, caught Walsh’s imagination.
“It’s a photograph of twigs in a river and they look kind of like a person,” said Walsh. “Amy Dryer is an up-and-coming artist in Calgary.”
Also out of the ordinary is what Walsh called soft sculpture – which is created with fabric.
“One of the artists in the show, Louise Chisholm, is from a little island off the east coast in Nova Scotia and her work is folk art that’s quite fun, really neat stuff.”
At the opening reception, the Leighton Art Centre will be awarding a total of $2,000 in cash prizes to artists winning first, second and third place recognition. The jury was comprised of two Calgary-based professional artists Jean Pedersen and Jack Riguaux.
Pedersen, an award-winning painter from Calgary, will be in attendance at the reception launching a book of her paintings, called Expressive Portraits.
The exhibition Being Human will run from March 15 to April 26.
The Leighton Art Centre’s winter and spring hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information and a map of where the centre is located, go to www.leightoncentre.org, or call (403) 931-3633.
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