features
By Darren Barefoot on September 8, 2005 - 9:55am
Cross-posted from my site.
Last night I went to the Fringe Preview Gala. Not only did I see excerpts from a bunch of shows, but I also grilled artists and staff alike for their favourites. Here's a quick run-down of what looks promising:
- The TJ Dawe Box Set - A Fringe veteran, and one of the most entertaining and talented performers I see every year (disclaimer: he's an old classmate of mine). He's doing a 'best of' his shows from the past decade. I wouldn't hesitate in recommending his shows to anybody, from theatre noob on up.
- Three Chicks in a Tub - This is a Bring Your Own Venue (BYOV) show that's not on Granville Island. It's in a bathroom in the West End, and features 30 minutes of comedy with 3 women in a tub. What's not to like?
- The Pajama Men in "Stop Not Going" - I don't know much about this show, but the early buzz has been very positive.
- Cosmic Banditos - I haven't seen this show, but the creators are good friends of mine. They're both smart, talented and experienced performers, and the show's got a cool premise. They should have written a better blurb, though. Next year, guys, get me to write your blurb.
- Live Group Sex Therapy II - I saw an excerpt from this show, and it was something funny, raunchy stand-up comedy. If you actually attended "Just Jack", Jack's theatre show on Will & Grace, it might be a little like this.
- The Fear of Going Down - I helped out with this show, so I'm unable to give an unbiased account. Disappointingly, not about oral sex.
- Boy Groove - Again, haven't seen it, but hear very good things about it.
- The Anger in Ernest and Ernestine - If you're looking for a well-performed, straight-up play that won't scare you (much), this is for you. It's a well-written surreal comedy, and the performances looked strong in the snippet I saw.
- Ricardo Garcia's "Flamenco Flow" - I was blown away by the excerpt I saw of this show. I just felt privleged to be in the room with such a great guitar player. This isn't theatre per se--it's music and dance. It's got a very globalized groove. Part of the excerpt I saw combined flamenco music with hip hop dancing. It sounds dodgy, but I thought it worked.
Bonus top tip for the locals: The Fringe Silent Auction is going on throughout the festival at Performance Works. Currently, there are some amazing deals to be had for weekends away, jewelry, yoga stuff, rowing lessons and all manner of other fineries. Seriously, this stuff is super-cheap at the moment. I don't know how 10 days of the Fringe will affect prices, but if you're on Granville Island, I'd recommend wandering over. Thanks again to everybody who contributed.
After a rousing game of croquet, Mark (of Raincity fame) suggested that we start an informal, non-competitive weekly soccer game. This sounded like a great idea, and Rolly Polly Soccer was born.
To play, you must adhere to the following guidelines:
- You must suck at soccer. The more talentless, the better.
- This will be a non-competitive game. Anybody who exhibits any form of competitive spirit will receive a yellow card. Keep it up, it's a red card and the Time Out Corner for you, Sport.
- You must have a history of non-athleticism. Former high school and university jocks are not welcome.
- Jocks of any kind are not welcome.
- No cleats are allowed.
- Both genders are welcome.
- Bring a dark and a light shirt.
- Again, it's freakin' non-competitive.
Mark's providing the ball and I'm locating something to serve as goalposts. Our first game will be this Sunday:
Rolly Polly Soccer
Johnathan Rogers Park (Manitoba and West 7th)
Sunday, July 24 at 4:00pm
We'll probably schedule games for future Sundays, should this one go well.
UPDATE: Whoops, that's July, not August 24. This Sunday.
By Darren Barefoot on March 20, 2005 - 12:05pm
Last night, for old times' sake, I went to see Spirit of the West at the Commodore Ballroom. The show marked the conclusion of Celtic week in downtown Vancouver.
For the unfamiliar, SOTW is an energetic Celtic-folk-rock band that was very popular when I was in university (they're something of an aging college band). At those legendary parties in the theatre department, no song made my fellow students more manic than SOTW's "Home for a Rest" (meanwhile, I was ensuring the place didn't burn down because somebody was hot-boxing the lighting booth--damn my responsible streak). I'll post an MP3 of "Home for a Rest" at the end of this entry.
By Shane Birley on September 12, 2004 - 9:48am
The Vancouver theatre world has a tremendous amount of talent but no where will you find a more dedicated group than within the Theatre Terrific Society.
A hidden gem in the Vancouver community, Theatre Terrific began in 1985 with a mandate to "gain public acceptance for people with disabilities by enabling them to participate in Vancouver’s vibrant theatrical community".
For the last few years, Theatre Terrific has been featuring a show in the Vancouver Fringe. Each summer, Theatre Terrific hosts a Summer Fringe Camp and each member of the camp is responsible for writing and producing the show.
Theatre Terrific has created The Errors of Eros' Arrows and it is an awesome show! The show talks about love, relationships and all of the pitfalls and problems involved. Using imagery, laughter and mythological characters the actors give the audience a small glimpse into the essence of love. The play is a story about The Goddess of Hurting Love and Cupid plotting to destroy as many relationships as they can with Cupid's arrows. Cupid flits about firing his love arrows where they are not required. But, the Goddess of Healing Love has other ideas.
The show is performing until September 18th, 2004 at the Vancouver Japanese United Church located at 4010 Victoria Drive at 23rd Avenue. All shows start at 7pm and tickets are $10. Check the Vancouver Fringe schedule.
