Get Into the Act With a Cameo Onstage During Elf: The Musical!

Ever dream of getting to take a turn on stage?  This could be your chance as we are providing a genuinely unique opportunity to enhance your Chemainus Theatre Experience during the run of this years’ Christmas show.

Available on a first-come, first-serve basis to patrons that have purchased show tickets, you can reserve the chance to be a shopper during the Santa scene at Macy’s in the first act. This cameo is for up to 4 people (ages 6 and up with a maximum of 2 children age 6-12) and can be reserved by making a donation to the Golden Neighbour Fund (suggested amount of $50 per person).

You will get to feel the raw back stage energy, the sensation of waiting in the wings under the blue lights and the thrill of walking out on stage. It will be an exhilarating experience and a special, memorable way to mark the Christmas season.

You will be required to arrive at the Theatre at 30 minutes before show curtain and so that we can show you when, where and how the Cameo will happen during the first act. You are asked to wear neutral colored outerwear; hats, scarves and coats. After all, it will be freezing in New York City. If you don’t have suitable attire, that’s no problem, we’ll have some spares on hand.

Have we peaked your curiosity?

Reserve your cameo appearance now by calling the box office 1-800-565-7738

M. Morgan Warren

November 20 to December 31

M. Morgan Warren lives and maintains a working studio at Canoe Cove Marina, North Saanich, B.C. During the past thirty years she has made an in-depth study of the fauna and flora of the region, recording her observations in hundreds of photographs, sketches and notes. Best known for her highly detailed realistic watercolours of the birds of North America and her native Britain, she strives to give the viewers of her work a special glimpse into the hidden lives of her subjects.

Morgan’s paintings and reproductions can be found in many private collections all over the world, including those of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth ll and HRH, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. In 1996 she was the special guest of the DeYoung Museum of Fine Arts in San Francisco where she demonstrated the techniques of John James Audubon for visitors to the national Audubon Birds of America Exhibition. Save the Children Fund Christmas cards, the international Sierra Club Foundation Annual Report, and Ducks Unlimited, among others, have all featured her work. Rogers Chocolates recently chose one of her images to be included in their special Canadian Art Collection.

Already a published poet with a degree in English Literature and Creative Writing, Morgan Warren recently released her first book, “Through Their Eyes and Mine”. In it she combines her love of birds and the ability to empathize with them in paint, together with thought -provoking text in both poetry and prose – the culmination of a four-year project.

As well as gathering ideas for a children’s book which she plans to write and illustrate, she is currently working on a waiting list for her commissioned original paintings, which are now in high demand with discerning collectors.

Nov 20 – Dec 31, 2015

When Buddy the Elf discovers he’s actually an ordinary human, he has just one wish – to discover his true identity! Off he goes on a solo journey from the North Pole to the big city. But finding his father, and reuniting his family, brings more surprises than a Christmas morning! As Buddy encounters skeptics, scrooges, and people on the naughty-list, he realizes that his greater purpose is to bring back the holiday spirit! It will take every elfish trick he knows, maybe a miracle, and a lot of holiday cheer for his plan to work.

Elf: The Musical, based on the motion picture of the same name, is a smash hit – a “tight, polished, expensive-looking affair that has enough jokes for adults and enough special effects for kids,” (Mark Kennedy, Associated Press). The acclaimed show promises a wonderful experience of live music, superb singing, energetic dancing, laughable follies, and a charming story of togetherness. Featuring 18 seasonal songs, and an incredible ensemble cast!

Erin Ormond and Valerie Pearson

“Grace & Glorie, superb.”
Andrea Rondeau, Cowichan Valley Citizen – 20 Oct 2015

Grace and Glorie touches the heart and stays in your thoughts long after you have left the theatre.

Here is a story about the meaning of life, what it means to be a woman, what it is to die, what’s really important and the joys and sorrows that make up every day. But this isn’t some tedious lecture on the nature of the human condition from playwright Tom Zeigler. While you might reach for a tissue a few times during the show, you’ll also laugh out loud, particularly at the antics that ensue from Gloria being such a fish out of water in the lessthan-modern cottage that Grace has chosen to die in. Whether the ladies are debating using an heirloom soup tureen as a bedpan or talking about what it’s like to endure the death of a child you’ll be riveted to the stage by Ormond and Pearson.

Download the rest as PDF

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.

Download the rest as PDF

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!

Shuddering suspense and suspicious characters (with sordid pasts) – Christie’s greatest mystery is back! There’s a shot. And a scream! A murder has been committed, and the clues suggest that more victims of vengeance will soon fall.

At Monkswell Manor, a snowstorm is raging and has confined eight people (or, shall we say, suspects) to the old boarding house. The situation is indeed miserable – and quickly becomes murderous as a series of betrayals begin to unfold. Can you identify the killer?

Everyone is suspect, including the newlywed proprietors, the curious spinster, the wanna-be chef, a retired Army major, the miserable jurist, a strange lost motorist, and a police detective whose arrival offers anything other than safety.

Who will escape, and who will get trapped for good, when the world’s longest running play reveals its final twist?!

The Mousetrap, a classic Agatha Christie tale of intrigue, has been playing consecutively for over 60 years around the world. The production is returning to The Chemainus Theatre Festival stage, April 24 to May 30, 2015, due to popular audience demand. Also returning for this brilliant play are a superb cast of actors, including: Jay Lift, Chris Cope, Bernard Cuffling, Victor Dolhai, Ruby Joy, Leala Selina and Matthew Hendrickson.

Come see “The cleverest murder mystery of British Theatre” (The Telegraph).

Tickets are available now online and at the Chemainus Theatre Festival box office.