Yearly Archives: 2015

Bertie & Jeeves Return, Hijinks Ensue!

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Hapless playboy Bertie Wooster (Warren Bain) and his save-the-day-valet Jeeves (Bernard Cuffling) in Jeeves Intervenes (photo: Cim MacDonald)

“great laugh-out-loud comedy”
Andrea Rondeau, Cowichan Valley Citizen – 15 Sept 2015

Cast hits comedic high in new ‘Jeeves’

An excellent cast will leave you with a big grin on your face as you leave the Chemainus Theatre following a performance of their latest production, Jeeves Intervenes.

Warren Bain and Bernard Cuffling reprise their roles as Bertie Wooster and all-knowing butler Jeeves, respectively, following on last year’s successful run with the classic P.G. Wodehouse characters in Jeeves in Bloom.

Bain is a bundle of energy, managing to make the shallow, unambitious and well-to-do Bertie someone we are both happy to laugh at, but also root for in his capers to avoid matrimony.

Cuffling as Jeeves is the comedic straight man to a “t”. His dry delivery is perfect as he reins in and directs Bertie’s life from the behind the throne, so to speak, but is nonetheless able to convey a sly wit. Behind the stoic facade the audience just knows he is rolling his eyes at the silliness around him, and we know he’ll fix it all in the end.

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By |September 16th, 2015|Categories: 2015 Season|0 Comments

Jeeves Intervenes: The Cast & Designers

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Warren Bain

Bertie Wooster

Warren is thrilled to return to Jeeves and Wooster! Selected credits include: Jeeves in Bloom (Chemainus); A Comedy of Errors (Company of Fools); . . . And Then, the Lights Went Out (Stage West Calgary); A Christmas Carol (Upper Canada Playhouse); Red Light Winter (Another Theatre Co.); and six seasons with the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival. He is a graduate of Ryerson Theatre School, and is one half of the Bain & Bernard Comedy duo. My deepest love to Katie, and my family.

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David Baughan

Stage Manager

Born in England, David is a theatre stage manager, lighting designer, author and photographer. Stage management credits in BC include numerous productions for TheatreOne (Nanaimo), Graffiti Theatre (Salt Spring Island) and Chemainus Theatre. David is pleased to return to Chemainus where he has already stage managed over 30 productions. Many of David’s photographs are held in the Musée National d’Art Moderne collection in Paris.

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David Boquist

Lighting Designer

Darren is thrilled to return to Chemainus having designed last season’s Over the River and Through the Woods. Based in Vancouver, he has had the pleasure of designing for Pi Theatre, Axis Theatre, Carousel Theatre, Western Gold Theatre, Upintheair Theatre and Theatre North West to name a few. He also continues to pursue his passion on the stage acting in an upcoming production of John Patrick Shanley’s Danny and the Deep Blue Sea.

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Bernard Cuffling

Jeeves

Previous work for Chemainus Theatre Festival includes: Jeeves in Bloom, Dracula (Director), Hay Fever (Director), Woman in Black (Actor/Director). Last season he was a member of the Bard on the Beach company in Vancouver, where he lives, in The Tempest, and Midsummer Night’s Dream. Later this season he will appear in The Arts Club Vancouver’s production of It’s a Wonderful Life playing Clarence, the angel.

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Ian Farthing

Director

Previously seen on stage at Chemainus Theatre Festival in A Christmas Carol and Jeeves in Bloom, this production marks Ian’s directorial debut in Chemainus. Other directing credits include award-winning productions of Macbeth, Othello & Two Gents of Verona at the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival in Prescott, ON. His acting career has seen him perform in London and across Canada with Shakespeare’s Globe, Arts Club, Pacific Theatre & Mirvish Productions amongst others.

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Olivia Hutt

Gertrude

A recent graduate of Studio 58’s conservatory acting program, Olivia is thrilled to be at the Chemainus Theatre Festival for the first time! Recent roles: Cosmonaut in Studio 58’s original production of Kosmic Mambo, nominated for a Jessie Richardson award, and Aunt Eller in Oklahoma! She and fellow graduates have launched their theatre company, SpeakEasy Theatre. Their first show was performed at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, 2015.

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Laurin Kelsey

Set Designer

Laurin Kelsey obtained her BFA in Set & Costume Design from the University of Victoria and attended the National Theatre School of Canada for Design. Laurin is happy to return to the island after living and working in Germany for three years, where she designed for both theatre and film. Recent credits include Macbeth (Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre), The Mousetrap and Over the River and Through the Woods (Chemainus Theatre Festival), and My Romantic History (English Theatre Berlin) www.laurinkelsey.ca

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Näomi Lazarus

Costume Designer

Näomi is very excited to design her first show with the Chemainus Theatre Festival. She has designed over fifty plays and half a dozen films since she began in 2003. Recent productions include The Boy With The Enchanted Hands (Mortal Coil Performance Society), The Winter’s Tale (Classic Chic Productions), and The Cripple of Inishmaan (Ensemble Theatre Company). Näomi lives in Vancouver with her husband Jason and daughter Elizabeth who likes to “help” by decorating her
dressforms behind her back.

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Brian Linds

Sir Rupert

Brian previously appeared at CTF in Delicious Lies, Harvest, Arsenic and Old Lace and Barefoot In the Park. Other credits: Waiting For Godot, Brighton Beach Memoir, Uncle Vanya, Death of A Salesman, As You Like It (Blue Bridge Theatre), A Christmas Carol ,The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Urinetown (The Belfry), Driving Miss Daisy, August: Osage County, The Patron Saint Of Stanley Park, It’s A Wonderful Life (Arts Club).

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Seth Little

Eustace

Vancouver-born Mr. Little has played over forty character roles in the last 6 years. Favourites include celebrities and historical figures Richard Nixon, Carol Channing, Paul Lynde, Lotte Lenya, and Oscar Wilde in Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily (directed by William B. Davis.) Seth recently appeared as alien transvestite Doctor Frank N. Furter in The Rocky Horror Show, and as the bewigged fop Doctor Bartholio in Adam Henderson’s adaptation of The Marriage of Figaro.

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Barbara Pollard

Aunt Agatha

Barbara is thrilled to return to Chemainus for her third time, having last appeared as Ma Bailey in It’s A Wonderful Life. Barbara Is one of the authors of Mom’s the Word, a trilogy of internationally successful plays. Recently she was in My Fair Lady with RCMT, Steel Magnolias for Peninsula Prods. and played a lead in the movie Harvest Moon. Barbara is currently working on her own play Mother Loving Son and has two gorgeous grown children.

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Linzi Voth

Apprentice Stage Manager

Linzi is thrilled to be back in Chemainus after working on Over the River. With a Bachelor of Performing Arts & MT Diploma (CapU) Linzi thrives as a multifaceted performing arts addict.
Production Manager: Jesus Christ Superstar (FCP). SM/ASM: Dancing on the Edge Festival; Holmes & Watson (ACE Productions); The Competition is Fierce (ITSAZOO); Time Machine (MACHiNENOiSY); Crazy for You (Gateway). This Fall: Snapshots (WRS); Mrs. Claus’s Kitchen (Famous Artists).

By |September 11th, 2015|Categories: 2015 Season|0 Comments

Jeeves Intervenes: Current Exhibition

Johnny Lee and
Katherine Melanie Diewert

September 11 to October 3

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About Johnny Lee

Honoring the gift I was given, I draw in detail believing anything worth doing well takes patience, commitment and time. I choose realism, because for me it is a lot more challenging than doodling from my imagination; not the other way around. Chosen subjects evolve from memories I have as a boy.

A mother’s story of her ancestry coupled with the impact a grandfather had on this boy still today. The act of illustrating gives me peace, stillness, freedom, sense of accomplishment, purpose and pride. It allows me to exit the conceptual make believe reality of society and enter a place where time, meaning, rules and logic do not exist.

I am humbled of how nature can channel creativity through a body to a page. Drawing is in my nature and ma I never take it for granted.

More Info

For Johnny Lee’s website Click Here

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About Katherine Melanie Diewert

I was born an artist and have developed my skills through various courses and valuable instruction. My journey began in Winnipeg and I studied still life drawing, sculpture and Model drawing at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. Advertising Art at Red River Community College where I first studied photography.

Art History at University of Manitoba.

I had the pleasure to teach photography with the Stuate Lelum College and also a freelance photographer.

I am a mother of two wonderful children who I draw much inspiration from and I have worked in dentistry for over 20 years.

Artists draw attention to details in life that sometimes are overlooked and make beauty out of nothing at all.

I hope you enjoy my images of the magnificent history of First Nations of Haida Gwaii.

By |September 8th, 2015|Categories: 2015 Season|0 Comments

Jeeves Intervenes: About the Show

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From entanglements to entertainment. The beloved Jeeves is back!

Devotees and newbies, welcome to another madcap Chemainus Theatre Festival production featuring the work of British author P. G. Wodehouse. This fall, we bring you Jeeves Intervenes, a terrific episode in the thematic series about the unlikely duo of doddering, trouble-finding Bertie Wooster, and his save-the-day valet, Jeeves.

photo_jeeves2How much mischief can these two characters get into, and out of? There seems no end or answer to that question. Wodehouse produced thirty-five short stories and ten full-length novels about their wacky adventures together, each a fresh and familiar jaunt designed to accentuate the varied notions of friendship. The characters first emerged in magazine short stories in the 1910’s, and were published during periods of economic depression, war, and political and social upheaval. Through his series, Wodehouse presents the idea that the trials of external forces may be overcome by the longevity of human bonds, and a good dose of humour.

“What’s brilliant about Wodehouse’s writing”, says artistic director, Mark DuMez, “is the world he creates. He constructs a place to step outside reality for a moment and delight in a little absurdity.”

What Jeeves foregoes in epiphanies is more than made up for in buoyant entertainment (qualities said to be attributed to the author himself). Do not be fooled by the lightness of tone, however; the story is also rich with understated meaning. Amid the tomfoolery of the tale is a warm relationship between Bertie and Jeeves, a connection between the old allies that highlights the great assurance of friendship.

“With an indisputable charm,” suggests DuMez, “the Jeeves stories remind us that friends and family provide a timeless connection we can count on – quirks and all.”

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It’s in this eccentric way that Jeeves Intervenes delights audiences. Confirmed bachelor Bertram Wilberforce Wooster and his old school chum Eustace Bassington are both desperate to escape their high-society fate – for “Bertie” an undesired marriage to Gertrude, and for “Bassy” an unwanted job in India (which he’d happily trade for Gertrude’s hand at the altar). To save themselves they must enact an outrageous scheme of deception and disguise. But before the duo can dodge the traps of meddling Aunt Agatha and Uncle Rupert, their plan spins wildly out of control. Only the quick-witted manservant Jeeves has a chance to rescue these bumbling fools from their unfortunate futures.

We hope you enjoy Jeeves Intervenes and thank you for taking the time away from sometimes-senseless reality for a gag that never spoils. Amid modish slang, shrewd insinuations, gratuitous abbreviations, bewildering metaphors, and delightfully lavish description, we invite you to let your imagination run wild as our wonderful cast and crew Intervene!

By |September 4th, 2015|Categories: 2015 Season|0 Comments

Fall 2015 Message from the Managing Director

photo_jeeves4Welcome Friends.

2015 has been a tremendous season at Chemainus Theatre. We’ve enjoyed knock-out theatrical productions and a record number of sold out houses. This season also marks the close of our current strategic plan titled Sustaining the Festival 2012 – 2015 and what a way to cap things off!

Our Board of Directors recently met to review the plan and it was so gratifying to recount the accomplishments and milestones achieved during this period.

To me, the highlights have included…

  • Striving for higher artistic standards and diversity by staging a wide range of productions from intimate dramas like A Shayna Maidel and Waiting for the Parade to musical tributes such as Buddy and our largest production to date Les Misérables.
  • The complete (and slightly overdue) renovation of the Playbill Dining Room with the addition of the popular Fireside Lounge.
  • The launch of our 60 seat Studio Theatre (next door to the Best Western) with Freud’s Last Session.
  • Expanding of our theatre networks by joining the Professional Association of Canadian Theatre as affiliate members and attending the annual conference.
  • Revamping the Gallery Gift Shop with new lighting and an updated mix of merchandise.

Of course, all this was made possible by you – our audience. We’re pleased to reach the above goals. Engaging our audience in a deep and meaningful manner is essential for sustaining great theatre. The beating heart of any vibrant theatre is its audience. As we embark on the planning process to set our next strategic plan, I thank you for your support along the way and look forward to the journey ahead.

Randal Huber

Coming Soon: Jeeves Intervenes

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Look out London!

High society isn’t prepared for the dual antics of confirmed bachelor Bertram Wilberforce Wooster and his old school chum Eustace Bassington-Bassington. The men are each desperate to escape their fate – for “Bertie”, an undesired marriage to Gertrude; for “Basie”, an unwanted job in India (which he’d happily trade for Gertrude’s hand at the altar). To save themselves they must enact an outrageous scheme of deception and disguise. But before the duo can dodge the traps of meddling Aunt Agatha and Uncle Rupert, their plan spins wildly out of control. Only the quick-witted manservant Jeeves has a chance to rescue these bumbling fools from their unfortunate futures.

Jeeves Intervenes is a delightful installment in the comedic series by British humourist P.G. Wodehouse – adapted for the stage by Margaret Raether. Its “vivid wordplay and snappy, sugar-coated insults,” (Daily Herald) promises a highly entertaining autumn play of mistaken identities, strained friendships and broken engagements. Don’t miss the mayhem!

Tickets for Jeeves Intervenes are available now for evening and matinee performances. September 11 to October 3.

Featuring a special add-on dinner in the Playbill Dining Room. Pair one of three delicious entrees with our full salad and dessert bar.

By |August 20th, 2015|Categories: 2015 Season|0 Comments

James and the Giant Peach: The Cast & Designers

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Tamara McCarthy

Director

Select directing: Tough! (Twenty Something); Whistler Chairlift Revue (2010 Paralympics); Munsch Alley (Carousel -Outstanding Direction nomination). A 5-time Jessie Award nominee -favourite acting nomination for Gollum in The Hobbit. Next up: directing A Doll’s House, & The Double Axe Murders (Presentation House/ Vertigo). For Lucas, Tamara’s almost 5-year old -an everyday inspiration why Theatre for Young Audiences is necessary theatre!

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Maggie Winston

Puppet Creator/Builder & Ensemble

Maggie Winston is a puppeteer/ community engaged artist, director of Lost & Found Puppet co. She studied puppetry at Sarah Lawrence College, (NY) and trained as an actor at British American Drama Academy (UK). Recipient of Vancouver Mayor’s Arts Award- Emerging Artist in Community Arts. Maggie has collaborated with Vancouver Moving Theatre, Runaway Moon Theatre (Enderby, BC), Sogo Visual Theatre (South Africa), and Katkatha Puppet Theatre (India)

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Matthew MacDonald-Bain

Sound Designer & Ensemble

Matthew, a Vancouver resident, is very excited to be at Chemainus for the first time! A graduate of the Studio 58 Acting Program, he has been Sound Designing recently, with past productions including the Jessie nominated The Competition Is Fierce (Itsazoo), In a Forest Dark And Deep (Naked Goddess) and the Jessie Award winning Of Mice and Men (Hardline) which won Best Sound Design. He will be seen on stage this Spring in The Out Vigil in Vancity!

Breanne Jackson

Stage Manager

Breanne is thrilled to be back in Chemainus after working on Countryside Christmas. Breanne has worked for theatres across Canada, including: Arts Club, Shaw Festival, Chemainus Theatre, Axis Theatre, shameless hussy productions, NAC, Presentation House Theatre, Patrick Street Productions, Blackbird Theatre; Neworld Theatre. Next, she will be touring across Canada with Axis Theatre’s Hamelin: A New Fable. So much love to her husband-to-be, Ian.

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Georgia Bennett

Crew

Born and raised in Chemainus, Georgia is excited to finally be working on a production in her hometown! She is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Musical Theatre Performance at Sheridan College. Some of her favourite past roles include Fantine in Les Miserables (CYMC), Ado Annie in Oklahoma (South Island Musical Theatre Society), and Gigi in Miss Saigon (Victoria Operatic Society). This is her first time behind the scenes, and she is loving every minute of it!

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Randi Edmundson

Ensemble

Randi is an actor and puppeteer from Vancouver. She has a BFA from UVic and is thrilled to be back on the island working on this delightful show. Favourite theatre for young people experiences include playing a dog named Monk in I Have Seen Beautiful Jim Key (Intrepid Theatre), Annie in Runaway (Theatre SKAM), the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland and a nine foot tall dragon puppet in The Last of the Dragons (Project X Theatre). Enjoy the show!

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Laura Jaye

Ensemble

Laura is pleased to be returning to Chemainus and the world of puppets, after making her debut at the Festival, as Toto in The Wizard of Oz many years ago. Recent theatre credits for young audiences include Munscha Mia, Robin Hood and Munsch Alley, all with Carousel Theatre in Vancouver. Also busy with film and television. Credits: Ties That Bind, The Haunting Hour, Flowers in the Attic, & Supernatural. Thanks to Tamara for letting her come and play!

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Curtis Tweedie

James

As a graduate of CCPA in Victoria, and alumni of Company C, Curtis is grateful to be back on the island for his first contract in Chemainus. Curtis has twice been nominated for Jessie Awards for his work with Green Thumb Theatre. Select credits include: Wired & Night Light (Green Thumb), Spelling Bee (STC, Magnus), James; the Giant Peach, Romeo & Juliet (Project X), Blood Brothers, Lord of the Flies (Company C), and Sleeping Beauty (STC).

By |July 31st, 2015|Categories: 2015 Season|0 Comments

SHOUT it out! Best time EVER in Chemainus this summer!

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Cast of Twist and Shout

Popular music was never the same after the “British Invasion” of the 1960s. Many new artists with groovy new sounds – including four mop-top singers called The Beatles – arrived in North America, where an adoring public rocketed their music to the top of the charts. It’s been 50 years since the true “British Invasion” started in North America, but the radical fun remains in Twist & Shout: The British Invasion at the Chemainus Theatre Festival.

“Wonderful theater in a quaint little town.”
Reviewed 3 July 2015
Such a surprise to find such a large theater in such a small town. The shows are of a much higher quality than one might expect so far from major centers. When I came here from a large city I was a little apprehensive about the standard of the shows but they are all good and some would rival any production anywhere.

Twist & Shout is playing to the delight of many, from nostalgic baby boomers to younger generations who dig its “retro”-cool music, dance, trivia and vibe of the era. The top notch talented ensemble performs 64 all-time hits in this high energy, record breaking summer hit. This well-loved show is selling out to enthusiastic audiences in record numbers, with more than 80% of the performances sold out!

“Fantastic show Twist and Shout”
Reviewed 17 July 2015
The entire cast is to be complemented on this awesome production. The singing, dancing, band, interaction with the audience were superb. This production could easily go to Las Vegas and be a HIT!!! You found yourself singing with every number. Loved it! Loved it!

Do you have something to say about this show? SHOUT it out on our Trip Advisor page!

By |July 22nd, 2015|Categories: 2015 Season|0 Comments

Review: Traveling Islanders

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Cast of Twist and Shout

Written By Gretta Kennedy, Traveling Islanders

Last night I went to the theatre…or at least that’s what I was planning on doing. As it turns out, I actually went to a televised talk show and watched the amazing performances of British bands of the 60’s.

I was born in the 1970’s and the music played in my home growing up was of the classical variety, so I pretty much completely missed the music of the 60’s.

When I heard Chemainus Theatre was doing Twist and Shout: The British Invasion for the summer, I thought it was going to be a concert by the Beatles. Boy was I wrong.
It was so much more and so much much better than I ever imagined.

After a delicious dinner at the Playbill Dining Room, Jay and I headed into the theatre to await the show. I sat in my seat and was immediately transported back in time to the 1960’s. We watched real commercials in black and white for products like razors, cereal, pickles and the like.

We were greeted by Roy Solomon, our hilarious and energetic host for the evening, and when the silver curtain parted and the show began, we saw none other than the Beatles, right on stage! We all started singing and clapping along with John, Paul, George and Ringo. I thought maybe it was just me, but as I looked around at the other audience members, I know I wasn’t alone. The energy in the “studio” was electric and it didn’t let up.

Roy Solomon took us on an educational journey starting in 1964 with the Beatles’ arrival to the United States.

By |July 15th, 2015|Categories: 2015 Season, Reviews|0 Comments

Twist and Shout: Current Gallery Exhibition

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Judy Hilgemann

June 11 to July 19, 2015

About Judy

Northwestern B.C. has always been my home. My formative years were spent in Port Alice, and I recently returned to live on Vancouver Island after many years on Haida Gwaii. Wild and remote landscapes are my favourite places to be. I have been drawing and painting since childhood. I paint in watercolour, acrylic, and encaustic. I enjoy loose “plein-air” landscape painting, and highly detailed studio work. My subject matter is diverse but centers around drawing and seeing. Landscape and birds are a constant in my work. Lately I have also been exploring abstraction within natural realism, such as patterns within rock formations, and reflections in moving water.

More Info

For Judy Hilgemann’s website Click Here

By |July 10th, 2015|Categories: 2015 Season|0 Comments