Elf: Director’s Notes

MarkMark DuMez

Let me start by thanking all of you for an incredible 2015 Season! The enthusiasm, energy and vigour you’ve brought into this gathering place and the shows at Chemainus have been remarkable. Together, as partners in this creative work, we’ve enjoyed a place where imagination rules the day and stories sing. Thank you for your appetite for live, professional theatre in Chemainus – and for your willingness to take the plunge into our Mainstage shows, in the intimate Studio or with one of our many Education or Outreach programs. Through it all, together, we enrich the region, advance the arts, and build community while examining and celebrating our unique place on Vancouver Island.

In this holiday conclusion to 2015 – we get a bit silly. Ok – really silly. Now on many top ten holiday films lists, ELF is a jubilant celebration of innocence, hope and naivety. It invites us to see the world through the eyes of the child. This Broadway musical treatment builds on many of the film’s eccentric delights. In staging the show we want to do the same. Christmas to the max! So, feel free to take an elfie with Santa before the show, tap your feet when Buddy clogs or try to say “Sparklejollytwinklejingley” three times fast. We hope this show brings you laughter and joy as we celebrate being human (or elfin) during this festive time of hope, love and peace.

About Mark

Mark is a proud resident of Vancouver Island and has enjoyed directing Sherlock Holmes, Jeeves in Bloom, A Pretty Girl (A Shayna Maidel), Delicious Lies, Harvest, The 39 Steps and Amadeus for Chemainus Theatre. Other favourites include: A Christmas Carol, Strindberg’s Easter, Anne, Mr. Pim Passes By and Pet the Fish. He has collaborated with companies including Theatre X, Pacific Theatre and TheatreOne to develop over a dozen new plays. Favourite acting credits include: Mass Appeal, Enchanted April, Queen Milli of Galt and Streetcar Named Desire.

By |November 17th, 2015|Categories: 2015 Season|0 Comments

Get Your Family Cameo in Elf: The Musical!

Santa Claus sitting at home with family - little girl and her mother and reading book all together

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

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

Featured Artist Winter 2015

M. Morgan Warren

November 20 to December 31

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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.

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

Grace & Glorie Tickle Funnybones and Warm Hearts

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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

 

By |October 21st, 2015|Categories: 2015 Season|0 Comments

Grace and Glorie: Director’s Notes

HALSTEAD Pamela

Pamela Halstead

At first glance Grace and Gloria could not seem more opposite – old vs young, rural vs urban, educated vs uneducated, faithful vs atheist, extravagant vs frugal, and the list goes on. yet they not only forge a bond, they discover they have valuable insights to give each other. The journey through life to death is complex; guidance and inspiration can come from unexpected places. If you stay open to possibility, no matter how far along the journey you are, you may find there are still surprises. And at any point in the journey, no matter how closed your heart is, it can still be opened.

I have been blessed in my life with a number of elder women who have not only inspired me, but offered me rare and lovely gifts through their wisdom and friendships. I am still always surprised when their time comes, as I think of them no differently than my closest contemporary girlfriends. Age seems irrelevant when there is shared laughter and tears!

I dedicate this production to Phyllis Gray, my newest “Grace”, who inspires me daily with her courage, determination, kindness and laughter as she faces the greatest challenge of her journey.

About Pamela

As Artistic Director of Ship’s Company (Parrsboro, NS) then Lunchbox Theatre (Calgary, AB), Pamela produced or directed over 60 productions, mostly world premieres. Based in Nova Scotia, she artistically helms DMV Theatre, advises Valley Summer Theatre and coordinates PERFORM! in the Schools. In 2013, Pamela received the inaugural Evans Award for her contribution to the Calgary theatre community. She is thrilled to return to Chemainus after directing last season’s Over the River and Through the Woods.

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

Coming Soon: Grace & Glorie, Opening October 16

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Deep in the mountains of Virginia, a determined hospice worker meets her match in her 90-year-old patient. Grace, an altogether feisty, illiterate, and “amazing” woman, is living out her final days. By her side is Glorie, a lonely ex-New Yorker; a begrudging, woeful, and Harvard-educated hospice volunteer. They couldn’t be less alike. Or could they?

Confined in the remote forest cabin, the odd couple struggle to find common ground. Each has powerful things to confess and insight to share with the other. They tackle the great unknown that is death, with varying degrees of horror and humour. Hilarity ensues as the two overcome their culture clash and they begin to rely on each other. Two very different yet ordinary women, the stories they share reveal the honour in an ordinary life well lived. Grace and Glorie is a tale of hope and connection, its homespun wisdom born of hardship appeals to audiences of all ages and experience.

Join us for a play of easy laughs, a few tears, new perspectives and inspiration. This show runs October 16 to November 7, 2015. Tickets for Grace and Glorie are available now for evening and matinee performances.

By |September 29th, 2015|Categories: 2015 Season|0 Comments

Jeeves Intervenes: Sample Menus

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Jeeves Intervenes

September 11 to October 3

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During the run of Jeeves Intervenes we are offering a table d’hôte in the Playbill Dining Room. This is a set menu with your choice of three main courses and served with two selections from the available sides. The regular salad and dessert bars will also be included. Your server will be pleased to take your order when you arrive at the Playbill Dining Room.

Feedback Survey:

We appreciate your time and invite you to provide us with your honest and constructive feedback. All submissions are confidential, anonymous, and secure.

Your feedback is extremely important and will help us determine the future direction of what we offer in the Playbill Dining Room.

As a thank you for completing our survey and sharing your expreince and valuable insights, we are offering a chance to win two Dinner and Theatre tickets to Elf: The Musical.

To enter the contest, please complete the survey, then enter your information before submitting your responses. All submissions must be received by Oct. 13, 2015.

Please follow this link to the survey:

Jeeves Table d’Hote Survey (Now Closed)

Thank you.

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

Jeeves Intervenes: Director’s Notes

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Ian Farthing

We all need to laugh. Life has many trials, complications and hurdles and laughter is often the best medicine. The wonderful world of Jeeves and Wooster created by P.G. Wodehouse offers us a welcome respite for a couple of hours.

There’s something endearing about the innocence of Bertie Wooster and something comforting about the constant, calm and efficient presence of his butler, Jeeves. Watching them, it helps us feel that no matter what goes wrong in the world, it can always be fixed – with a few chuckles along the way.

So sit back and enjoy these colourful characters, their silly scrapes and their wry wit – hopefully some of that enjoyment will spill over into your lives after you leave the theatre!

About Ian

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.

By |September 18th, 2015|Categories: 2015 Season|0 Comments

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.

Download the rest as PDF

 

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