WCT - Mom's the Word | Nest 1/2 Empty Program

Presents An Arts Club Theatre Company Production

MOMʼS THE WORD NEST ½ EMPTY By the

Momʼs the Word Collective L THEATRE E T O H S P , 2019 MLOO 5 A K L I T R S P A A O C AY 28 – FRID

ARC H M Y A D S R THU

1

THANK YOU TO OUR VALUED SUPPORTERS Presenting Partner

Government Support

Foundations

Season Partners

Printing | Signs + Displays | Responsive Marketing

Mom’s the Word Show Sponsors

Pre-Show Salon Partners

PWYC Mainstage Matinée Sponsor

Student Club Sponsor

GENERAL NOTES In consideration of your fellow audience members’ comfort and enjoyment of the show, we ask the following:

Electronic Devices: Please turn off all cellular phones and watch alarms prior to the show.

Late Seating Policy: Patrons who arrive after the performance has begun will be seated at an appropriate interval in the program.

Scent-free Facilities: Please arrive perfume/cologne-free and do not bring flowers into the lobby or theatre.

Children: WCT productions, unless they are identified as Family Friendly, are not suitable for children or babes in arms. Every patron, regardless of age, requires a ticket. For more information, please visit the FAQs on wctlive.ca.

Recording Policy: Due to copyright regulations, the use of cameras and other video or audio recording of this performance by any means is strictly prohibited.

Services for Patrons: The Sagebrush Theatre now has hearing assist listening systems.

Both the Pavilion and Sagebrush theatres are wheelchair accessible and equipped with wheelchair-seating locations.

Please see the House Manager for details.

2

Presents an Arts Club Theatre Company Production

MOM’S THE WORD NEST ½ EMPTY Written By

JILL DAUM, ALISON KELLY, ROBIN NICHOL, BARBARA POLLARD, and DEBORAH WILLIAMS STARRING JILL DAUM ALISON KELLY ROBIN NICHOL BARBARA POLLARD DEBORAH WILLIAMS

CREATIVE TEAM WAYNE HARRISON Original Director ANNA KUMAN Choreographer PAM JOHNSON Set & Costume Designer MARSHA SIBTHORPE Lighting Designer TED ROBERTS Tour Technical Director KATE DE LORME Sound & Projection Designer APRIL STARR LAND Stage Manager TANYA SCHWAERZLE Assistant Stage Manager

Running time: 2 hours and 10 minutes, including one intermission.

Taking photographs or making any recording is prohibited in the theatre.

Please turn off devices.

Mom’s the Word: Nest ½ Empty is produced by permission of the Authors and Marquis Literary (Colin Rivers) www.mqlit.ca Mom’s the Word: Nest ½ Empty was first produced in 2017 by the Arts Club Theatre Company (Vancouver, BC) in association with the Mom’s the Word Collective.

Western Canada Theatre and the Arts Club Theatre Company are active members of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT), and engage, under the terms of the Canadian Theatre Agreement, professional artists who are members of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association.

Programme Producer: Western Canada Theatre • wctlive.ca • 250-372-3216 Cover Art: Jennifer Taylor Paravantes • Printer: Wayside Press • www.waysideco.ca • 250-372-3373 Box Office: Kamloops Live! Box Office • kamloopslive.ca • 250-374-5483

3

Kamloops’ favourite countertops since 1975 A lot of luxury, a little price

Proudly Sponsors Western Canada Theatre!

4

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S NOTES Thanks for joining us for this third delightful instalment of the incredibly successful Mom’s series. The Moms have been together for over twenty years, watching their kids grow up, their parents age, and their relationships evolve, and it’s our pleasure that we get to enjoy their humourous, insightful, and poignant stories of family life. I saw this production at its premiere at the Arts Club two years ago and knew that it would have terrific appeal and relevance for our audience. I hope you’ll laugh and cry as much as I did.

You’ll have an opportunity tonight to renew your subscriptions for 2019-20, to ensure that you get the best seats at a fantastic price. And if you’ve enjoyed our offerings for the past few years as a single-ticket buyer, stop by our desk to see the incredible benefits of being a subscriber.

We’ve got a terrific line-up next season, including the greatest family musical of them all in The Sound of Music, the horror-comedy mash-up Dracula: The Bloody Truth, a production that celebrates the love and poetry of Canada’s iconic musical-poet with Chelsea Hotel: The Songs of Leonard Cohen, and two new Canadian plays: the sporty The New Canadian Curling Club and a world premiere about monarchy, colonialism, and pop culture, Serving Elizabeth.

Thank you to all of you for your patience and understanding with the recent upheavals that resulted from our temporary relocation from the Sagebrush Theatre. And special thanks to the terrific staff and volunteers at WCT for their extraordinary efforts to ensure that our patrons were well-cared for and well-informed.

We’ll wrap up our 2018-19 season with the beautiful Empire of the Son at the Pavilion Theatre at the end of April, and we hope you’ll join us there. We appreciate you being here, and we can’t wait to see you in 2019-20!

James MacDonald Artistic Director, Western Canada Theatre

5

PROUD TO SPONSOR WESTERN CANADA THEATRE 1

celebrating

10

years

with over 80 medals

Open Daily 10:30 to 5:30 April 19st to October 31st We ship to clients in Kamloops and area.

• Free public tours Wednesdays and Saturdays at 11 am and 2 pm • Venue for weddings/family reunions/stagettes Cabin rentals On the North Shore of Shuswap Lake, just past Scotch Creek Provincial Park.

2319 Beguelin Rd, Celista • 250-955-8600

www.celistawine.com 6





PLAYWRIGHTS’ NOTES 26 years ago, Linda Carson called a few friends and colleagues together to try to come up with a short piece of theatre that would expose the world of new motherhood in all its gore, guts, and glory. After a year of sharing tears, laughter, and hefty childcare costs, and under the encouraging umbrella of the Women in View Festival, the original Mom’s the Word was born.

Mom’s the Word went on to be a groundbreaking, award-winning hit in Vancouver and became an international sensation. It has since been translated into 14 languages, and has united parents around the globe. 10 years later, the Moms returned with Mom’s the Word 2: Unhinged, a show about the turbulent teenage years. Two years after that, those shows were united in Mom’s the Word: Remixed.

The children are now (mostly) grown, and are in various stages of leaving home, thinking of leaving home, trying to leave home, have left but are now back at home, or are being kicked out of home. Our marriages have evolved, devolved, or dissolved, and it’s time for another installment! Welcome to our endlessly changing, often humiliating and ever hilarious world. We gotta keep going, so we may as well laugh while we can.

Jill Daum, Alison Kelly, Robin Nichol, Barbara Pollard, Deborah Williams

20th Annual

Directors Festival T R U AC TO R S W O R K S H O P T H E AT R E 2 0 1 8 / 1 9 S E A S O N

Directed by senior theatre students

April 10-13, 2019

TRU, OLD MAIN, STUDENT STREET | CURTAIN NIGHTLY 7:30 PM TICKETS $15

tru.ca/awt

ART19018

7

THE KAMLOOPS ART GALLERY Bringing art, artists and communities together since 1978.

GALLERY // STUDIO // STORE

KAG.BC.CA • 465 VICTORIA STREET • 250-377-2400

Enjoy the Show

PS THIS WEEK

AT KAMLOO FROM EVERYONE

KTW staff Tara Holmes, Kate Potter, Christopher Foulds and Ray Jolicoeur pose with Sheldon Bergstrom at the 2019 Mayor’s Gala for the Arts, where KTW received the Mayor’s Award for CORPORATE CHAMPION of the Arts!

www.kamloopsthisweek.com

Winner of the Corporate Champion Award

8

250-374-7467 | Fax: 250-374-1033 1365B Dalhousie Dr.

DIRECTOR’S NOTES The great English playwright Harold Pinter used to ring his frequent collaborator, the director Peter Hall, and announce: “I’m pregnant again!” This meant there was a new play in the offing, and after a suitable dramaturgical gestation, something quintessentially Pinteresque would be born. Every couple of years, I get a similar call from one of the Mom’s the Word Collective to say—they don’t want to alarm me, so they don’t use the word “pregnant”—“there’s another one on the way.” I’m thrilled because it means I get to work again on a new chapter with a group of women who changed the theatrical landscape, not just in Canada, but on several continents.

Before there was The Vagina Monologues, Menopause the Musical, even Fifty Shades of Grey: Live on Stage!, there was Mom’s the Word, a group of Vancouver women, mothers all, who did Saturday morning “writing therapy” to fathom their lives as parents, partners, and, yes, sexual beings, and how to recover from the pain caused by treading bare-footed on a Lego brick. They were also keen to discover how multiple moms/theatre workers could inch their way back into the profession after having children. They were role models! Ironically, it was one of the hubbies who said: “This stuff’s good—funny, insightful, authentic—you should put it on stage.”

They did. And in the process, they changed their lives and the lives of countless moms (and hubbies etc.) who learned and laughed and cried in the Theatre of Recognition, as Mom’s the Word became a global hit. Last year alone, productions toured in Scotland, Germany, and Canada. I’m sure there’s not a day goes by when someone, somewhere in the world isn’t saying “Contractions quickening, more intense…” (The opening to Mom’s 1) or showing us that damn Lego brick (a big laugh in Mom’s 2 and the “best of” show, Mom’s Remixed). And now a new chapter, when the kids are on the move, or should be (or we pray they will, soon, please sweet heaven!), and the Moms have kept on working, holding up that mirror, examining the reflections, still teaching and learning, while being just a little bitter that The Lego Batman Movie was such a colossal hit.

KAMLOOPS

Wayne Harrison

1322 McGill Road

Sales•Design•Installation

info@kamtileworks.com Phone: 250-374-1300 • Fax: 250-374-8115

www.kamtileworks.com

9

WE CAN HELP. Proud supporter of Western Canada Theatre WE CAN HELP.

For&aESTATES full listing• of our lawyers and services, • TRUSTS WILLS ESTATE PLANNING please visit our website mjblaw.com Mair Jensen Blair LLP - Lawyers 700-275 Lansdowne St. Kamloops, BC V2C 6H6 10 Ph: 250.374.3161 Toll-Free: 1.888.374.3161

ABOUT THE ARTS CLUB The Arts Club Theatre Company is pleased to bring their production of Mom’s the Word: Nest ½ Empty to Kamloops with Western Canada Theatre.

The Arts Club, one of the largest not-for-profit theatre companies in the country, is the principal gathering place for the theatrical arts in British Columbia. Led by Artistic Director Ashlie Corcoran and Executive Director Peter Cathie White and comprising three unique venues across Vancouver, the Arts Club welcomes more than a quarter million guests annually, tours provincially and nationally, and engages students and artists alike through educational and professional programs.

Above all, the Arts Club is dedicated to the advancement of local artists telling stories from around the globe and, in particular, those of our region. From this, we believe that culture expands, an understanding of differences is nurtured, and art bursts forth. artsclub.ca

249 Victoria St, Kamloops

(250)-374-1711

ions t a l u t a Conognr anothecrtion! odu r p t a gre Todd Stone, MLA

Peter Milobar, MLA

446 Victoria St., Kamloops (250) 374-2880

618B Tranquille Rd, Kamloops (250) 554-5413

www.ToddStoneMLA.ca

www.PeterMilobarMLA.ca

Kamloops - South Thompson

Kamloops - North Thompson

11

Western Canada Theatre continues to deliver VIBRANT professional theatre to our community.

The City of Kamloops is a proud sponsor and wishes the company all the best in its 2018-2019 season.

kamloops.ca

12

ARTISTS’ BIOGRAPHIES JILL DAUM Playwright/Performer Two-time Jessie award winner, Jill is a graduate of the Studio 58 acting program.

She has been working as an actor and writer for over 35 years. Most recently she premiered her new play Forget About Tomorrow in a co-production with the Belfry and the Arts Club Theatre Company. She is also one of the original co-creators and performers in all of the “Moms” productions: Mom’s the Word, Mom’s the Word: Unhinged, Mom’s the Word: Remixed, and Mom’s the Word: Nest ½ Empty.

ALISON KELLY Playwright/Performer Alison is an award winning actor and playwright of 30 plus years. She is one of the original co-creators and performers of the internationally acclaimed Mom’s the Word and the sequels, Mom’s the Word: Unhinged, Mom’s the Word: Remixed and, now, Mom’s the Word: Nest ½ Empty. Alison is also the writer/co-writer of seven other shows. As an actor, she has performed across the country and as far afield as Australia. Alison is a graduate of Vancouver’s acclaimed Studio 58 where she has also been teaching for the past 30 years.

ROBIN NICHOL Playwright/Performer Robin has been acting, directing, stage managing, and writing for the last 28 years.

She holds a BFA from UVic and an MFA from UBC and has been teaching acting and directing for the theatre program at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops since 2004. Mom’s the Word in all its incarnations has been an unceasing source of great joy, public humiliation, and improved mental health since it all started in 1994.

Much thanks to my honest and talented Mom-sisters, my extraordinary children, and my supportive and long-suffering husband, without all of whom this never would have happened!

BARBARA POLLARD Playwright/Performer Barbara Pollard is a classically-trained veteran of Canadian stage and screen. She has performed in Australia, Scotland, and London’s West End. In Canada, she has played in every province and territory save Nunavut (bucket list). Barbara divides her stage life between her own writing, classical work, and a busy film/TV career.

Recent TV includes All of My Heart 1, 2, & 3, iZombie, and the film Love and Oatmeal. Barbara does musical theatre, including Fiddler on the Roof (Gateway), My Fair Lady (RCMT) and Billy Elliott (Arts Club). Barbara played patriarch Leonato in the all-female Much Ado About Nothing, with Classic Chic Company, and is in Mom and Me, the web-series—now with almost 5 million views.

13

a season of brilliant favourites!

MAINSTAGE SERIES at the Sagebrush Theatre Dracula: The Bloody Truth

By Le Navet Bete & John Nicholson

October 10 to 19, 2019 Professor Abraham Van Helsing leaps off the pages of Dracula to set the record straight and bring to light the ‘truth’ of the legendary vampire and his terrifying story. With the rambunctious assistance of 3 eccentric actors playing multiple characters, Van Helsing takes the audience on a breakneck theatrical journey from the spooky Transylvanian mountains to the romantic English coast. A rollicking farce for families and vampire lovers alike. Monty Python meets the macabre in this WCT Hallowe’en treat!

The Sound of Music

Music by Richard Rodgers | Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II | Book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse | Suggested by “The Trapp Family Singers” by Maria Augusta Trapp

November 28 to December 10, 2019 Continue a WCT family holiday tradition with the beloved story of the high-spirited Maria and the exuberant von Trapp family singers. The most popular musical in history overflows with such memorable songs as “My Favorite Things”, “DoRe-Mi”, and “Climb Ev’ry Mountain”. In the lush Austrian Alps in the shadow of the Second World War, the hills are alive with this thrilling and inspiring story of love, the joy of family – and a daring bid for freedom. An all-new WCT production!

The New Canadian Curling Club

By Mark Crawford Co-production with Thousand Islands Playhouse

January 23 to February 1, 2020 A show that is sure to rock the house. Comedy abounds when 4 new(ish) Canadians sign up to learn “a bunch of foolishness that’s not even a real sport”. But when the team organizer breaks her hip, the rink’s cantankerous ice-maker is forced 14

to step in as head coach. Trouble is, he has some strong opinions about immigrants… Will this group of unlikely athletes—facing off against prejudice, pulled groins, and slippery ice—become a true team in time to face high-pressure competition for the coveted Highlander Cup? From the playwright of the WCT hit The Birds and the Bees.

Serving Elizabeth

By Marcia Johnson

February 20 to 29, 2020 Nyeri, Kenya, 1952: In the key moments before Elizabeth becomes queen, Mercy, a Kenyan independence activist, is offered an exorbitant fee to cook for the visiting princess, who turns out to have a few surprises of her own. London, UK, 2015: Brexit, politics, and the making of a TV series about the royals cause more than a few culture clashes for a young Kenyan-Canadian production intern. A funny, fresh, and topical new play about colonialism, monarchy, and who is serving whom – or what.

Chelsea Hotel: The Songs of Leonard Cohen Created by Tracey Power

March 26 to April 4, 2020 Leonard Cohen’s powerful and inspirational music is the heartbeat of the nationally acclaimed Chelsea Hotel. Haunted by memories of his tumultuous love life, a writer checks into New York’s infamous Chelsea Hotel, desperate to find the words and inspiration for his next song. An enchanting, eclectic cabaret of love won, lost, and found again told through Cohen’s transcendent music and lyrics. Sexy, mysterious and daring, Chelsea Hotel is the perfect evening for a date, with Leonard or another.

STUDIO SERIES at the Pavilion Theatre The Drowning Girls

Every Brilliant Thing

September 19 to 28, 2019 Three Edwardian-era brides emerge from their clawfoot bathtubs to recount evidence against the same man who married them, took out life insurance policies on them…and murdered them.

Bessie, Alice and Margaret take back their lives and their voices through this haunting, ingenious tale of empowerment and social change. A stylish, haunting fantasia, The Drowning Girls is full of rich images, quirky humour, and spine-chilling thrills.

April 30 to May 9, 2020 (1) Ice cream, (2) rollercoasters, (3) the smell of old books - as a mother battles chronic depression, a child creates a list of everything that makes life worth living. As time passes and the list grows, what began as a simple attempt to deal with childhood sadness becomes an epic and heart-warming chronicle of life’s joys, both big and small. Staged in an in-the-round setting, this touching, funny and intimate solo piece charts the lengths we will go for those we love.

By Beth Graham, Charlie Tomlinson & Daniela Vlaskalic

Café Daughter

By Kenneth T. Williams A Workshop West Production

March 12 to 21, 2020 In 1950’s small-town Saskatchewan, nine-year-old half-Chinese, half-Cree Yvette Wong struggles to find her in place in a small-minded community, until an unexpected ally helps set her on a path that’s destined for greatness. Inspired by the life of Chinese-Canadian/Cree Senator Lillian Eva Quan Dyck, Café Daughter tells an uplifting story of finding yourself and defining your place in the world against all odds.

By Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe

Special Presentation Special Pricing to Subscribers

The Boy in the Moon

By Emil Sher, based on the book by Ian Brown Produced by Neworld Theatre in partnership with the Rare Disease Foundation

April 15 to 19, 2020 Based on Ian Brown’s candid and moving memoir of raising his son Walker, a child with profound disabilities caused by a rare genetic disorder. Told with directness, innovative staging, and stunning emotional honesty.

Save with a 2019-20 Season Subscription Get the best prices of the 2019-20 season with EARLY BIRD PRICING before June 1, 2019!

Compared to regular-priced tickets, you will save 25%!

Become a SUPER SUBSCRIBER – Purchase both the Mainstage Series and Studio Series to save even more: See 8 shows for the price of 5 regular tickets!

EXTRA EARLY BIRD SPECIALS – On top of getting the best prices of the season: Order your subscription by APRIL 6, 2019 for a chance to win your subscription for free.

Order by MAY 4, 2019 to receive a buy-one-get-one free bonus coupon.

More details at wctlive.ca or call Kamloops Live! Box Office at 250-374-5483 15

Locally Owned & Operated

Proudly Supporting

Western Canada Theatre homehardware.ca

Rick Kurzac Home Store Owner Kamloops, British Columbia

1325 Josep Way Kamloops BC, V2H 1N6

Phone: 250-377-7234 Fax: 250-377-7256

Home Owners

helping homeowners Hours: Monday - Saturday 7am-6pm Sundays 9am-5pm

Full-Service Eye Care & Fashionable Eyewear

101 -286 St Paul St. Kamloops, BC V2C 6G4 (250) 374-2441 | info@nicolaeyecare.com | nicolaeyecare.com 16

DEBORAH WILLIAMS Playwright/Performer Deb has been an award-winning actress, playwright, director, and comedian for over three decades, and is the producer of The Flame, a Vancouver monthly storytelling event in its 10th season. She is an associate artist at the Belfry Theatre, where she debuted her one-person show, Taking Off. Most recently, she directed The Velveteen Rabbit (Carousel Theatre for Young People), One of a Kind (Vancouver International Children’s Festival), and Crow Hill (4th Line Theatre), and performed in HIR (PI Theatre) and The Matchmaker (Arts Club Theatre Company). Deb is a graduate of Studio 58, community-builder, gardener, and mother of a couple of wonderful adults.

WAYNE HARRISON Original Director Wayne Harrison, AM, is a long-time collaborator with the Mom’s the Word Collective, including the original UK production in London’s West End (2003) and last year’s premiere of MTW3 at the Arts Club Theatre Company in Vancouver.

Wayne is the former Artistic Director of Sydney Theatre Company, as well as Director of the New Year’s Eve celebrations on Sydney Harbour. Based in London, he was co-producer and/or director of Gumboots, Tap Dogs, Slava’s Snowshow, Fosse, and MTW for Clear Channel Entertainment (Europe). As the Head of Creation for Spiegelworld International, productions he has written and directed Absinthe, Desir, Empire (all in New York); Vegas Nocturne (Las Vegas); and Absinthe (Miami and Las Vegas). His production of Absinthe at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas is now in its eighth year.

ANNA KUMAN Choreographer A graduate of Capilano University Musical Theatre, Anna is a performer, choreographer, and director from Vancouver. Anna co-created/ directed CIRCLE GAME: Reimagining the Music of Joni Mitchell, which is currently on tour with the Arts Club. Internationally, Anna was on the choreography team for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Opening Ceremony in Brazil and the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games Opening in Turkmenistan, which featured a cast of over 8,000 people. She thanks the Moms for their eagerness with a pool noodle. www.annahuman.com PAM JOHNSON Set and Costume Designer Pam grew up in Kamloops and graduated from NorKam, and she is thrilled to be an honorary Mom. She has been a set and costume designer for 38 years! Her passion is transforming a black box into a magical space, supporting the actor through their costume and translating a play into a visual form; in other words, Theatre Design.

The love of her life is her husband of 26 years. She was honoured with a Career Achievement award in 2012 and hopes to carry on for another decade.

MARSHA SIBTHORPE Lighting Designer Marsha has designed over 400 productions for the Arts Club Theatre Company.

Favourites include The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man in the Moon Marigolds, Creeps, and Miss Saigon. Marsha also has numerous credits for Western Canada Theatre (Kamloops) including Seussical the Musical, Chemainus Theatre Festival, Magnus Theatre (Thunder Bay), Belfry Theatre (Victoria), and the Vancouver Playhouse (Vancouver). In 2017 Marsha was awarded the Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance Lifetime Achievement Award.

17

Enjoy the Show!

Presenting Partner

18

Ron & Rae Fawcett kelsongroup.com

TED ROBERTS Tour Technical Director Ted is the Arts Club’s Resident Designer. Recent designs include Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Once, Million Dollar Quartet, Billy Elliot, Disgraced, Les Misérables, In the Heights, The Mountaintop, Sister Judy, A Twisted Christmas Carol, Dreamgirls, Clybourne Park, It’s Snowing on Saltspring and the tours of Baskerville, Red Rock Diner, Do You Want What I Have Got?: A Craigslist Cantata, Henry & Alice, The 39 Steps. Elsewhere, Ted has worked on Chelsea Hotel, Urinetown (Firehall Arts Centre); Hedda Gabler, My Chernobyl, Treasure Island (Persephone); and Driving Miss Daisy, A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline (Magnus).

KATE DE LORME Sound and Projection Designer Kate is a Sound Artist and Designer based in Vancouver, BC. She graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2015 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, majoring in Theatre Design and Production and has a certification in Audio Engineering. Kate was recently an Artist in Residence at The Spatial Sound Institute in Budapest, Hungary, researching and creating using the 4DSound Spatial Sound system. Select design credits include Epilogos, Telemetry, Feasting on Famine (Shay Kuebler Radical Systems Art); Salmon Girl (Raven Sprit Dance); Major Motion Picture (Out/ Innerspace Dance Theatre). katedelorme.com APRIL STARR LAND Stage Manager April Starr is so very happy to be back on the road with her “Moms”, having spent both a Beautiful Spring working on Mom’s the Word: Nest Half Empty on Vancouver’s Granville Island and a long Winter’s car ride in a small vehicle with the ladies. Recent favourite theatre includes Beauty and the Beast, Mamma Mia!, Fun Home, It’s a Wonderful Life, Bittergirl: The Musical, Avenue Q (Arts Club), and Mark Leiren-Young’s Bar Mitzvah Boy (Pacific Theatre). April Starr has spent seasons past with Vancouver’s Bard on the Beach and The Stratford Festival of Canada. In real life April Starr plays Mom to Noah and Auntie to Elizabeth. Tony, Noah, and Elizabeth, I love you and I miss you. Xoxo TANYA SCHWAERZLE Assistant Stage Manager Tanya is excited to be back on the road with this amazing team! ASM/SM credits include Circle Game (Firehall), Charlie Brown (CTYP), and Bombay Black (Diwali Festival). Selected apprentice Stage Management credits include Winter’s Tale and Much Ado About Nothing (Bard on the Beach); Mamma Mia!, TopDog/UnderDog, Bittergirl, A Christmas Story, Bullet Catch, Blue Box (Arts Club Theatre); Miss Shakespeare, J. Caesar (Escape Artists, Firehall); How to Survive An Apocalypse (Touchstone Theatre). Tanya has her BFA, from the University of Alberta. Love and thanks to Brian, her family and friends for their everlasting support, Captain and Gordie. Adam, “I miss you.”

19

UP NEXT AT

EMPIRE OFTetsuroTHE SON Shigematsu Written and Performed by

0T1 RE8 EA 1 N2T,H2 IO R IL E V A B P M 2E0C1E9 4, D TO Y 9 A 2 M R O E T B RV2E5M ANPO & MAY 4, 2:00PM Pay-What-You-Can Matinees APR 27

20

SNEAK PEEK OF EMPIRE OF THE SON

Tetsuro Shigematsu in Empire of the Son. Designs: Pam Johnson (Set), Gerald King (Lighting), Barbara Clayden (Costume), Steve Charles (Sound) | Photo by Raymond Shum

Up next at the Pavilion Theatre is the not-to-be-missed Empire of the Son, a show praised across the country as ‘beautiful’, ‘surprising’, ‘innovative’, and ‘touching’.

Empire of the Son is the story of two generations of broadcasters, and the radio silence between them. As father and son, Akira and Tetsuro Shigematsu shared the same profession as public radio broadcasters. Each of them revelled in communicating with millions of their listeners, but they never spoke with each other. When Akira’s health begins to falter in his old age, Tetsuro bridges the gap between them with the only object they both understood: a microphone.

Based on a series of audio interviews with his father, Empire of the Son is an original theatrical production by Tetsuro Shigematsu (former host of CBC Radio One’s The Roundup). It is a unique presentation hybrid, which combines the cinematography of a film being screened at the moment it is being shot and the raw immediacy of live performance. In doing so, the show magically conjures entire worlds: from the ashes of Hiroshima to present-day Vancouver, marshalling the tiniest of objects to focus on life’s biggest questions.

The show, hailed as “A riveting, emotional theatrical experience” by the Vancouver Sun, sold out before it opened at its premiere at The Cultch in 2015, unprecedented for the world premiere of a Canadian play. Colin Thomas of the Georgia Straight pronounced it “Exquisite” and wrote, “I’m telling all of the people I love most to see this show… I can’t say enough good things about Empire of the Son.” Van City Buzz proclaimed it “understated perfection.”

The critical acclaim to Empire of the Son is echoed by the response of its audiences: “A gift.” | “Intelligent, humorous, touching & stirring. Just beautiful.”

“Innovative, surprising, unique, plus moving beyond belief.”

“Beautiful story so delicately framed. I will remember how this show made me feel.”

“What a wonderful experience to share the memories of a father through the eyes of a loving son.”

WCT is proud to bring you this unique, immersive story that is as innovative as it is beautiful.

Empire of the Son plays April 25 to May 4 at the Pavilion Theatre 21

Proud to Support Western Canada Theatre

22

WESTERN CANADA THEATRE STAFF VENUE SERVICES Shevaun Fortune, Venue Services Director Allison Bregoliss, Volunteer Coordinator Morgan Benedict, Front of House Manager Front of House Staff: Amanda Breuer, Brian Charbonneau, Nicolle Dupont, Maxwell Gallagher, Bert Keeper, Jakob Kopytko, Christine Leroux, Krystine Lucas, CJ Renee, Liz Spivey

James MacDonald, Artistic Director Evan Klassen, Managing Director ADMINISTRATION Catrina Crowe, Marketing & Communications Director Lucy Gearey, Special Events Manager Suzan Goguen, Growth & Engagement Director Bryce Herman, Fund Development Consultant Frankie Knight, Marketing Associate Terri Runnalls, Education Coordinator Ron Thompson, Financial Manager Ali Webster, Development and Events Coordinator Marilyn Zuke, Associate Finance Manager PRODUCTION Dawn Bergstrom, Producer Bill Chabassol, Production Manager Nathan Cordeiro, Production Technical Director Brian St-Amand, Sagebrush Technical Director Paul Cuthbert, Sagebrush Assistant Technical Director Liam Befurt, Intern Production Manager/Technical Director Cindy Wiebe, Head of Wardrobe Rory Lynch, Head of Scenic Carpentry Angela Frye, Head of Properties Ken Wells, Scenic Painter Laurie Harder, Carpenter Dani Foisy, Production Assistant Meagan Petrie, Dresser

KAMLOOPS LIVE! BOX OFFICE Subscriber Services Lead: Michelle Chabassol Box Office Representatives: Robin Arundel, Kory Cudmore, Judy Day, Jane Harestad, Maddy Henry, Grace Labossiere, Christine Leroux, Stephanie Moniuk, Grayson Norsworthy, Chris Tran

BOARD Tim Rodgers - President Grant Chu - Past President Lori Bregoliss Marilyn Fallis Beverley DeSantis Wesley Eccleston Sharon Frissell Gordon Miller Honorary Life Artistic Producer Founding Artistic Director § Honorary Life Chairman * Honorary Life Member

† ‡

David Ross † Tom Kerr ‡ Judge T.W. Shupe § Francis Barnett * D. Michael Dobbin * Peggy Gilmour * Mike Latta * Anne Manson * Maureen Marshall * Lanni Shupe *

SPECIAL THANKS Hilltop Barber Shop Perry’s Sound Studio TRU Actors Workshop Theatre All our Volunteers!!

23

Proud Supporter of Western Canada Theatre

Alastair Murdoch

Accounting Group Ltd. Chartered Professional Accounting Firm 490-546 St. Paul Street, Kamloops, V2C 5T1 Phone 250-851-9900 • Fax 250-851-9901 www.alastairmurdoch.ca

24

BRAVO! Western Canada Theatre gratefully acknowledges the following government agencies, corporations, foundations, and individuals for their generous financial contributions through sponsorships and/or charitable donations. We are very thankful to everyone who plays their important part in helping us to bring the highest quality of work to the broadest possible audience. Listings based on annual contributions from January 1, 2018 to February 28, 2019.

Funders The City of Kamloops Canada Council for the Arts Department of Canadian Heritage Canada Cultural Spaces Fund Government of Canada The Province of BC British Columbia Arts Council Foundations BC Interior Community Foundation RBC Emerging Artists Project The Hamber Foundation Presenting Partner Kelson Group, Ron & Rae Fawcett Season Sponsors CFJC TV Home Hardware Kamloops This Week Stone Hazell & Company Wayside Show Sponsors 98.3 CIFM B-100 British Columbia Lottery Corporation Schoening & First Memorial Funeral Services ideaLEVER Kami Countertops Kamloops Airport K97.5 New Country 103.1 New Gold Overland Press Paul & Company Radio NL The Riverland Inn & Suites Simply Computing TNRD Watson Engineering Ltd. Mainstage PWYC Sponsor BEST WESTERN PLUS Kamloops Hotel

Diamond Companions: $10,000 + Michael E. Black & the Late Denise E.L. Fortier Anonymous, In honour of Helen Barnett’s Birthday Platinum Patrons: $5,000 - $9,999 Rae Nixon Gold Patrons: $3,500 - $4,999 The Bostock and Fallis Families of Monte Creek Heritage Fund Silver Patrons: $2,000 - $3,499 Roland & Anne Neave Peter H Baron Russ & Jane Reid Copper Patrons: $750 - $1,999 Bill Adams Hugh & Marilyn Fallis Guy & Jeanine Parker Edith Pletzer Kim Senklip Harvey James MacDonald Bud & Daphne Smith David & Rosemarie Stoltze James & Barbara Wentworth Patrons: $500 - $749 Anonymous Ben & Lorene Anders Jill Calder Grant & Nancy Chu Lois Crown Jessie & James Fedorak David & Jaylene Hanna Mirella & Bob Holden Charles Izowsky & Judy Moser Michael & Debbie Kowbel Gwyneth Lamperson June McClure Master Robert W. McDiarmid & Justice Sharon Matthews Thomas & Sharon Moore Judy Moser Murphy & Katharine Shewchuk Nancy Stewart

Investors: $200-$499 Peter & Debra Allik-Petersenn Francis & Helen Barnett Evelyn Baziuk R.C. Bidnell Richard & Fearon Blair Jack & Pauline Braaksma Ed & Patti Bruzzese Ken & Brenda Christian Telus Communications Robert Dalgleish Dan & Denise Douglas David & Laura Farrow Glen & Sara Farrow Allen & Sharon E. Frissell (In Memory of Evelyn Gollar) Lois K. Hollstedt Jo-Mary & Bob Hunter Michael & Margaret James Rob & Lila Jennejohn Sharon Kika Fred & Nancy Leake Ray LePage Donna Marchand Terry & Joan McQuillan Tanya Mihura Jim & Beverley Mundle Jake & Marg Ootes Colene Palmer Carl & Penny Pentilchuk Mary Ann Peressini Sheila Pierson Ginny Ratsoy Tim Rodgers Susie Safford Ray & Susan Sewell Craig & Sharlene Sharpe Kent Stasich Marijke & Al Stott Marg & Don Waldon Trisha Watkinson Dave & Maryanne Whiting J. Marilyn Zuke

25

BRAVO! - continued Benefactors: $100-$199 Wendy Bainbridge Michael A. Baker Mike & Mary Elizabeth Baker Percy Brackett Barry & Judy Brown Maureen Brown Mavis Chalmers John & Jean Crowe Jeffrey Cummings Joan Cummings Fredrick Cunningham Roxanne Dauncey Donald Dalgeish Kathy & Sinclair Dalgleish Pat Decker Rhonda Diaper Ross & Judy Dickson Bob & Pat Esdale Shirlee Ezowski Reno & Marie Fabbro Ronald & Doreen Fairhurst Ruth & Michael Fane Marvyn Fitzpatrick Ali Floyd Blake & Linda Fox Jim & Joan Rosemary Gordon Linda Hall Susan Hammond Coleen Hansen Lucy Heslip Rosemary Hibbard Dave & Dorothy Carl Hilton Mavis Hollman Darrel Jones Bob & Pat King Ted & Maryann Kowalsky Ron & Glenda Miles Beverly Martin

SUMMER CLASSES

Kirsten McDougall Doris McNutt Murray Mitchell Vic & Sally Mowbray Dennis & Maxine Mucha Wendy Nielsen Jeannine & Bob Nishiguchi Maria Paccagnella Robert & Lorraine Pick Reg & Tracey Pointer Sandra Pryce Laura Randall Niki Remesz Terry & Susanne Rogers G Kelly and Shirley Rowland Lynn Rutherford Shirley Sze & Peter Schwirtz Rosemary Saint-Michaels Terry & Lanni Shupe Don & Sandy Staff S Sunder Peggy Swanson Lynne Totten Nicole Tougas Judith Treherne Bob & Jennifer Trudeau Pat Wallace (In memory of Evelyn Gollar) Friends: $25-$99 Karen Albiston Margaret Brown Sharon Carrell Michael & Gerrianne Clare Donna Demarni Elizabeth Dye Dave Edamura Susan Endersby (In memory of Evelyn Gollar)

WCT’s Stage One Theatre School!

Registration Opens May 1

For over 20 years, we’ve helped young people grow in confidence, creativity and physicality.

Plus, they have fun!!

We have classes for everyone aged 4 – 18: Introductory • Teen • Musical Theatre

More at 26

Julie Feather Jean Gagne Yanni Giftakis Ina Gory Cathy Hall-Patch Ron & Judy Hatch Ken & Marylyne House Bill & Sally Jennejohn Valerie Kemp Evan Klassen Wendy Krauza Avalean Loerke Melissa Lowenberg William & Stephanie Albert McIntosh Bob & Robbie McLaren Dean & Wendy McLean Susan Nelson-Smith Ross & Robin Nichol Stan & Louise Oakes Wilma Pagan Mavis Paravantes Barbara Pettie Valentina Putoto Jay Rilkoff Nancy Rigby Margaret Sharon Karen Siggers Kathy Sinclair Jeff Sodowsky Elaine Stade Dawne Taylor Cristina & Petros Tsaparas Nancy Van Wagoner Diane Webb Lois & David Williams Gillian Mary Woods

wctlive.ca/stageone

PROUD

SUPPORTER

Theatre OF LIVE

Printing | Signs + Displays | Responsive Marketing

PRINTING SIGNS+ DISPLAYS RESPONSIVE MARKETING 902 Camosun Crescent, Kamloops, BC

250.372.3373 | waysideco.ca

27

28