Theatre BC North Shore Zone Festival of Plays starts on Monday, May 4 and runs to Saturday, May 9 at Presentation House Theatre, 333 Chesterfield Avenue, North Vancouver. A weekly pass costs $108 ($96 for Theatre BC members/seniors/18 and under) Individual performances are $20 ($18 for Theatre BC members/seniors/18 and under). Reservations and information: 604-990-3474 or phtheatre.org.
Thespians from across the North Shore are stretching their acting muscles and gearing up for what is considered the Super Bowl of community theatre.
Presentation House Theatre will play host to a theatrical playoff of sorts in which local acting companies put on their best show during the week-long competition that culminates in the crowning of a North Shore community theatre champion.
From a whodunit murder mystery to examinations of interpersonal relationships, the fare at Theatre's BC's annual Festival of Plays North Shore Zone promises to offer entertainment that will appeal to all audiences.
Each evening will feature a different play by member clubs of the North Shore zone, which stretches from Deep Cove to Pemberton and includes Bowen Island and the Sunshine Coast.
Taking part in this year's festival are renowned theatre clubs North Vancouver Community Players and Deep Cove Stage Society, along with SMP Dramatic Society and newcomer Seabrooke Entertainment. Rounding out the draw is the Driftwood Players theatre company from Sechelt.
"One of the most interesting parts of the festival is the coming together of all the actors and their respective clubs, a mixture of new talent and mature veterans, mingling and discussing their experience," says Deep Cove Stage Society president Mike Jarvis.
The high stakes on the PHT stage - there's a trip to the community theatre provincials on the line, along with plenty of awards to be won - should make for value-added entertainment. Each entry in the festival, explains Jarvis, will have endured three or four months of intense rehearsal with the respective theatre companies striving to do the best they possibly can to win an award in categories that include best actor, director, stage manager and set designer.
"This usually produces a good calibre of theatrical entertainment and a fine educational procedure for the participants," says Jarvis, the director of one of this year's most well-received plays on the North Shore, and a strong festival of plays' candidate.
The Butler Did It revolves around a struggling writer and director who is preparing a play - a classic whodunit - where all the characters are named Butler. Murder and mayhem take centre stage throughout the comedic mystery, as the director motivates his actors by using manipulation and mind games.
"Apparently, The Butler did very well at the box office and had 90 per cent attendance," says Festival of Plays North Shore Zone administrator Anne Marsh.
Adding to the festival's eclectic offerings is the dark drama Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, directed by William Smith and performed by SMP Dramatic Society. The audience is taken on an emotional rollercoaster ride that begins with a fateful meeting between a brooding, self-loathing young man - who resorts more to violence than reason - and a divorced, guilt-ridden young mother, who relinquishes responsibility of her troubled teenage son.
The venerable North Vancouver Community Players theatre company, meanwhile, is hoping their rendition of Rabbit Hole, directed by Peter Zednik, will lead them to the theatre crown. Rabbit Hole follows the story of Becca and Howie Corbett who have everything a family could want, until a life-shattering accident turns their world upside down and leaves the couple drifting perilously apart.
Grandpa 'n Me, written and directed by W.A. Troyer, is a festival entry from North Shore community theatre neophyte Seabrooke Entertainment. Husband-and-wife acting duo Warde Ashlie and Cayla Brooke star in this tender and charming story of a girl raised by her grandfather on the family farm and set during three stages of her life.
Each festival performance will be adjudicated by Dolores Drake, an alumnae of Langara College's celebrated Studio 58. Drake has worn many hats including teacher, director and writer during her 29-year theatre, film and TV career.
Having their acting skills professionally critiqued helps the actors learn how to overcome possible doubts or insecurities they may have, explains Jarvis.
"Observing others undergoing a similar critique is an excellent confidence-building process, particularly for the younger participants, when they know they are performing in front of their peers," he says. "This whole atmosphere carries over to the audience who are there to enjoy a production, enhanced because it is actually competitive." Drake's choice for Best Overall Production will go forward to represent the North Shore at the provincial community theatre finals festival in Kamloops from July 3-11.
It was North Vancouver Community Players that took the regional crown last year and competed at the provincials where they won awards for best set design and props. But it's been 15 years since NVCP has taken home the Best Production top prize from the long-running festival.
NVCP member Marsh, a stalwart in the North Shore community theatre scene for many decades, has been to the provincials about 30 times in the festival's 40-year history.
The theatre provincials, she says, is an opportunity for her to catch up with her old friends and fellow thespians. In a new venue, the performances become an entirely different experience for the actors.
"Well, you are on a huge stage .... we are used to small stages here," explains Marsh, who adds it's less intimidating because the audience is so far away.
On the subject of recruiting new actors, Marsh says a common misconception with community theatre is that you have to possess prior experience. "Well I didn't. I just walked in, and you learn as you go," attests Marsh, recalling back to 40 years ago when she walked into Centennial Theatre for an audition. "I went and it changed my life."
