You can experience three exciting shows live at the Newmont Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre and Granville Island Stage with the Arts Club’s fall theatre trio.
The Arts Club Theatre Company Artistic Director Ashlie Corcoran has revealed the company’s three-show fall theatre lineup, one she calls “a trio of bold, exciting one-person shows guaranteed to reinvigorate our audiences’ love and appreciation for live theatre.”
The performance and rehearsal models are uniquely designed to be as safe as possible for artists, staff, and audience members. Each show will have two rotating casts and crews, who will do seven performances each week and rehearse in separate halls.
“Though we were heartbroken over cancelling our original 2020–2021 season, we’re excited to begin producing theatre safely once again,” added Corcoran. “The Arts Club won’t be doing any big blockbusters this year, but we are still very much committed to bringing high-quality, inspiring theatre to our stages. These three small yet fierce shows are a testament to the resilience of the performing arts community during this time.”
Over 30 freelance artists have been hired to create these shows, some of whom were previously contracted to work on shows for the Arts Club’s original 2020–2021 season.
“These smaller, more intimate shows allow us to be nimbler than we would be with larger productions,” explained Executive Director Peter Cathie White. “This ‘bubble method’ of alternating casts and crews is a brand-new way of producing theatre for the Arts Club, and we hope it will become a model for performances going forward as we continue to navigate our new normal.”
Show Lineup
NO CHILD… By Nilaja Sun September 24 to October 25, 2020 Newmont Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre This bold examination of arts education in public schools had its initial off-Broadway run at the Barrow Street Theatre in 2006 and has since garnered the playwright 21 awards—including an Obie Award and two Outer Critics Circle Awards.
BUFFOON By Anosh Irani October 22 to November 22, 2020 Granville Island Stage This play—which follows the story of Felix the clown as he grows up, falls in love, and has his heart broken at the circus—had its world premiere at Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre in November 2019 and won the Dora Award for Outstanding New Play this year. It was originally part of the Arts Club’s 2018 ReACT: New Plays in Progress festival, which gave audiences a glimpse at plays in the early stages of development.
THE TWELVE DATES OF CHRISTMAS By Ginna Hoben November 19 to December 20, 2020 Newmont Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre A bubbly holiday comedy about finding love in unexpected places. Hoben’s seasonal hit was inspired by both her own experience re-entering the dating world and her resolve to create more lead roles for women in holiday plays, which are dominated by traditionally male figures like Ebenezer Scrooge. It has been produced over 60 times across the globe and was previously programmed for the Arts Club’s 2020–2021 season.
All three shows will be staged in adherence to safety guidelines established by the BC government, including an audience cap of 50 patrons, staggered admission times, and a mandatory mask policy (with the exception of patrons with respiratory or other health concerns). The Arts Club is also taking additional precautions to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health and welfare of patrons, artists, staff, and volunteers.
In addition to the in-theatre experience, patrons will be given the option to purchase tickets to a digital recording of each of the three productions, which will be available to view for a limited time.
Applications are now being accepted for BCMA micro-grants for emerging and diverse professionals. Due to COVID-19, the BC Museums Association (“BCMA”) has been unable to deliver its regular regional workshops around the province and they are using this opportunity to reallocate funding to support museum professionals with diverse experiences and ideas to create new online resources, workshops, and networking events.
Deadline is September 18, 2020. Once accepted, proposals must be carried out before March 31, 2021.
Through these micro-grants, BCMA hopes to encourage new voices and ideas by supporting content proposals from diverse and emerging museum professionals.
These proposals can range from webinar presentations (view BCMA YouTube Channel for examples of recent webinars), networking ideas (like Watercooler Wednesday or the BCMA trivia night), written resources (view the BCMA BRAIN for examples), or other ideas for online content that would support members across the province.
BCMA encourages proposals from emerging museum professionals and diverse professionals (BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and those with disabilities).
They also encourage submissions from museum professionals who have been laid off, furloughed, or have had their employment impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Funding Available
The Association has allocated $4,000 to support the creation of new online resources and events and will offer two types of micro-grants:
$500.00 “short” proposals
“Short” proposals are for activities that take between 10-20 hours to plan and deliver, this could include webinars, blog post-style resources, one-off networking events, etc.
$1,000.00 “medium” proposals
“Medium” proposals are for activities that take between 20-40 hours to plan and deliver, this could include a brief webinar series, longer-form written resources, multi-part networking events, etc.
Priority will be given to emerging professionals, professionals with diverse lived experiences, and professionals whose employment has been impacted by COVID-19. Through these micro-grants, the Association hopes to support voices who are not typically heard, so preference will be given to applicants who are working with the BCMA for the first time and applicants from parts of the province that are typically underrepresented. Find more information and a contact here.
The Firehall Arts Centre is hosting Music in the Courtyard on weekends throughout the months of August and September.
Music in the Courtyard
Music in the Courtyard Latin Jazz Night: John Korsrud, Niho Takase, Ronny Swirl, Raphael Geronimo, and Chris Couto
When: Fridays and Saturdays at 7:00pm, and Sundays at 3:00pm (with the exception of the performance on Sunday, September 13, which will take place at 7:00pm).
Tickets: $20 available online. A limited number is available in order to comply with COVID safety protocols.
Lineup
Thursday, August 27 at 7:00pm Elle Wolf Friday, August 28 at 7:00pm The Patsy Klein/Tony Wilson Band Saturday, August 29 at 7:00pm Waxwing Sunday, August 30 at 3:00pm The Anti-Fogmatics Friday, September 4 & Saturday, September 5 at 7:00pm | Sunday, September 6 at 3:00pm Small Town Artillery Friday, September 11 at 7:00pm Gord Grdina Trio Saturday, September 12 at 7:00pm Itamar Erez Trio Sunday, September 13 at 7:00pm Sitka String Quartet Friday, September 18 at 7:00pm Paul Pigat Saturday, September 19 at 7:00pm Ruby & Smith Sunday, September 20 at 3:00pm Laura Crema Quartet Friday, September 25 at 7:00pm Triology Saturday, September 26 at 7:00pm Microcosmos Sunday, September 27 at 3:00pm Van Django
“When planning this music series with Diane Kadota and John Korsrud, I wanted to offer a place where audiences could sit back, relax, and enjoy music from some of BC’s finest musicians, and to provide a little joy to people’s COVID lives,” says Artistic Producer, Donna Spencer.
The events are designed for limited audiences, who are all encouraged to wear face masks and to follow the COVID-19 Health and Safety Protocols the Firehall staff had put in place. For more info, follow the Firehall Arts Centre on Facebook.
Gastown Unplugged is a new, free music series that will be set in four different neighbourhood locations, entertaining patio guests and the general public from now until October.
Gastown Unplugged
Locations include Water St. at Richards St. and Cambie St., Abbott St, and in the new Maple Tree Square Pop-Up Plaza.
The initiative, led by the Gastown BIA, follows the success of Patiotown (announced last month) as a way to support local artists that are no longer booking indoor gigs. Through a collaborative effort, businesses are now scheduling several musicians per week to take over public spaces throughout summer and fall.
Happy Day, All Day Happy Hour
Gastown also announces Happy Day, a community-wide all day happy hour, running every Thursday throughout August and September. All day specials can be enjoyed at more than 30 retail and hospitality locations. A full list of participating venues can be found here.
And it’s not just limited to food venues, Happy Day participants include @coastalpeoplesgallery (10% off your purchase), @a_plus.cleaning (20 % discount on your first cleaning when you sign up for a 6-month contract for recurring cleaning services), @makegastown (10% off regular priced products) and more.
Follow the Gastown BIA on Instagram for the latest schedule and info.
My timelines are full of memories of the last Hip show, four years ago when they took to the stage in Kingston for one final act. Forever in our hearts, and on our radios, Canada’s band, The Tragically Hip continue to support their community this time with the new Courage Masks. All proceeds from these will go directly to the Unison Benevolent Fund – an assistance program that provides discreet relief to music industry professionals in times of crisis.
The Tragically Hip Courage Masks
“Dear all, by popular demand and sad necessity we want to introduce the new Courage Mask,” says The Tragically Hip. “All proceeds from sales will go directly to the Unison Benevolent Fund. Formed over ten years ago, the Unison Fund provides emergency financial assistance to musicians and their crew members during their time of need. With venues shuttered and tours cancelled for the foreseeable future, the need has never been greater. Please spare a thought and prayer for all folks in the arts during these difficult times. Thanks for the support and thanks for wearing a mask! Stay safe.”
The reusable non-medical cloth masks are available for purchase for $15 via The Hip’s online store.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Unison has received an overwhelming number of requests for assistance from the music community, seeing an over 5,500% increase in applications.
Do a kind act, protect those around you, and support a great cause!
Unison Benevolent Fund is a non-profit, registered charity that provides counselling and emergency relief services to the Canadian music community. We are here to help professional music makers in times of hardship, illness or economic difficulties. Unison Benevolent Fund is an assistance program – created and administered for the music community, by the music community – designed to provide discreet relief to music industry professionals in times of crisis through financial assistance and counselling and health solutions.
