Showcasing some of Vancouver’s most talented young artists, the annual festival boasts a curated selection of theatre and musical theatre classics. The festival features performances by students in the Pre-Professional Program: Arts Umbrella’s Junior and Senior Musical Theatre Troupes, and its Junior and Senior Theatre Troupes.
Expressions Theatre Festival
Where: Waterfront Theatre ( 1412 Cartwright St, Granville Island) When: May 17-25, 2019 Tickets: Available online now
This year audiences will be treated to a selection of family-friendly programming, including the fairy-tale classic Peter Pan, the whimsical musical rendition of James and the Giant Peach, the mythical Animal Farm, and the magical tale of Into the Woods.
James and the Giant Peach Sunday May 19 @ 4:00pm & Thursday May 23 @ 7:00pm Tickets: $12 When James is sent by his conniving aunts to chop down their old fruit tree, he discovers a magic potion that results in the growth of a tremendous peach… and launches a journey of enormous proportions. Suddenly, James finds himself in the center of the gigantic peach, among human-sized insects with equally oversized personalities. After the peach falls from the tree and rolls into the ocean, the group faces hunger, sharks and plenty of disagreements. Thanks to James’ quick wit and creative thinking, the residents learn to live and work together as a family.
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie Saturday May 18 @ 7:00pm & Friday May 24 @ 7:00pm Tickets: $12 Peter and his mischievous fairy sidekick Tinkerbell visit the Darling children nursery late one night and, with a sprinkle of pixie dust, begin a magical journey across the stars that none of them will ever forget. In the adventure of a lifetime, the travelers come face to face with a ticking crocodile, the lost boys, a band of bungling pirates and, of course, the villainous Captain Hook.
Animal Farm by Nelson Bond, George Orwell Saturday May 18 @ 9:00pm & Friday May 24 @ 9:00pm Tickets: $12 George Orwell’s stinging allegory to communism is brought to life on stage. Old Major’s dream comes to fruition after the creatures emancipate themselves from the cruel mastery of a human owner during their triumphant rebellion. His dream inexorably turns to a nightmare of disillusionment in which the other animals discover themselves now subject to the rule of even more ruthless autocrats: the greedy, cunning pigs. Meet the beasts whose prototypes continue to dominate news headlines. Animal Farm wrings the emotions, leaving audiences shaken with the tale of a tragedy that happened in a mythical barnyard far away but could happen in our own backyard.
Into the Woods Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; Book by James Lapine May 17, 19, 21, 22, 25 @ 7:00pm Tickets: $20 James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim take everyone’s favorite storybook characters and bring them together for a timeless, yet relevant, piece. The story follows a Baker and his wife, who wish to have a child; Cinderella, who wishes to attend the King’s Festival; and Jack, who wishes his cow would give milk. When the Baker and his wife learn that they cannot have a child because of a Witch’s curse, the two set off on a journey to break the curse.
Win Tickets and More
I have a family four-pack of tickets to give away plus $200 towards registration for an Arts Umbrella program! Here’s how you can enter to win:
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Follow Arts Umbrella on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more info. I will draw one winner at random at 9:00am on Friday, May 17, 2019.
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by Rebecca BollwittDisclosure: Sponsored Post — Sponsored by Vancouver TheatreSports Please review the Policy & Disclosure section for further information.
Canadian comedy icon Colin Mochrie returns to Vancouver TheatreSports (“VTS”) this month for three benefit performances May 30th to June 1st. Join the VTS alumnus and star of Whose Line Is It Anyway on Granville Island and in Downtown Vancouver for a side-splitting good time.
Colin Mochrie in Vancouver
Don’t miss out on this rare opportunity to catch one of the world’s greatest improvisers at his best!
COLIN UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL Where: Improv Centre, Granville Island (502 Duranleau St, Vancouver) When: Thursday, May 30, 2019 at 7:30pm Tickets: Tickets range from $99 (theatre seats) to $109 (tables/banquette seats) buy online now » Details: Your chance to see Colin up close and catch every expressive comedic nuance in an intimate space! This very special evening includes a full 90-minute improv performance starring Colin along with VTS ensemble members, and a Q&A session where audience members ask the questions. VTS patrons who arrive early for a drink at The Improv Centre’s Neil Macrae Bar & Lounge might even get lucky and snag a selfie with Colin Mochrie before the show.
COLIN AND FRIENDS Where: Improv Centre, Granville Island (502 Duranleau St, Vancouver) When: Friday, May 31, 2019 at 7:30pm Tickets: Tickets range from $89 (theatre seats) to $99 (tables/banquette seats) buy online now » Details: On Friday, Colin returns to The Improv Centre, VTS’ home on Granville Island, to perform with some of his improv friends from the VTS ensemble. With only 186 seats available, the setting is intimate and provides a welcoming experience where every seat is a great seat. This is a wonderful opportunity to catch an improv master at work in an evening that is sure to tickle your funny bone. The Improv Centre is fully-licensed and guests are welcome to take their beverages with them into the theatre to enjoy during the show.
THE COLIN MOCHRIE EXPERIENCE Where: Vogue Theatre (918 Granville St, Vancouver) When: Saturday, June 1, 2019 at 7:30pm Tickets: Tickets range from $29 to $65, buy online now » Details: Saturday night sees Colin take the stage at The Vogue Theatre, located in the heart of Vancouver’s Entertainment District. This performance once again features the improv master with some of your favourite VTS improvisers in a free-wheeling improv laugh-fest.
All performances benefit Vancouver TheatreSports™, a registered
non-profit charity, and the Colin Mochrie Scholarship
Fund at VTS’ theatre
school, The Improv Comedy Institute. Established in 2014, this scholarship
provides assistance to those wishing to study improv but are unable to do so
because of financial barriers.
Colin Mochrie’s return to VTS and Vancouver is sure to be one of the hottest comedy tickets this spring, get your tickets today!
The Richmond Night Market is open for the season, featuring an international food fair with over a hundred vendors with over five hundred food items from all over the world.
Fridays and Saturdays 7:00pm to 12:00am; Sundays & Holidays 7:00pm to 11:00pm
Admission & Details: $4.75, free for children 10 and under, free for seniors 60+.
Skip the long lines with an Express Pass. Fast, easy and transferrable, for just $28 you get 6 visits, front of the line access, and you can share it with friends or family.
The night market is the best place to find unique culinary creations, from steaming liquid nitrogen ice cream cups topped with churros to potato tornadoes, bubble waffles, grilled octopus, ramen spam burgers, takoyaki, and so much more.
New This Year
A Summer Chill Party theme
Slushies in the Angle Duck Cafe
Non-alcoholic Champagne and Ginger Beer – served in Party LED Cups
Hershey’s Cookies n Creme and Hi-Rev Mocha – served in signature Ducky Cups
Follow the Richmond Night Market on Facebook for the latest updates.
The BC Highland Games answer the questions: Who is the strongest? Who can flip a huge log (caber) to land perfectly at the 12 o’clock position? Who is the best piper or drummer, dancer or pipe band? Taking place in BC for more than 100 years, and in Scotland for centuries, these games complete with a full festival with delicious food, concerts, and fun for the whole family.
BC Highland Games and Scottish Festival
Where: NEW location! Lafarge Lake Park (1209 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam)
When: Friday evening, June 14 (FREE) and all day Saturday, June 15, 2019 (ticketed)
Look for stock dog demonstrations, performances from pipe bands, live music, vendors, cultural talks, haggis-hunting, beer garden and whisky school, all taking place at one time, on one day in one place: Lafarge Lake Park
Enjoy Scottish delicacies, like haggis and Irn Bru while the kids get their faces painted. Pop into the beer garden, and enjoy live Celtic music from The Paperboys and other bands on Lew Ross Field North. In the northwest section of the park, some of the world’s best highland dancers will be competing.
Competitions
As the name suggest, the BC Highland Games are all about the competitions. From pipes, drums, bands and dancing, to stone putt, hammer toss, caber toss and more.
Tartan Run
The inaugural Tartan Run will take place on Friday, June 14th. It’s the first ever BC Highland Games 5 & 10k Tartan Run (and walk) at 6:30pm. The run finishes at the new Games site for a free concert-in-the-park with a beer garden, vendors, bagpipers, whisky school and The Paperboys on the Ceilidh Stage (bring lawn chairs).
Follow the BC Highland Games on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more information about this festival and its amazing tradition.
Miss604 is proud to be the Social Media Sponsor of the 2019 BC Highland Games.
Cherry blossom petals pirouetted in the entranceway of Arts Umbrella’s East 7th location when I rang the bell to meet up with Artemis Gordon, Artistic Director of the Arts Umbrella Dance Company (“AUDC”). Inside, graduate students were rehearsing for the season finale show, BE MOVED.
There are two studios at this location, with three more on Granville Island. The new permanent Arts Umbrella space will be the refurbished Emily Carr University building on Granville Island once renovations are complete. “I would say that I foresaw this growth my first day,” Gordon told me as rehearsals continued. “I came here from Toronto and it was with a bit of a mission to develop and understand and research and create a community for contemporary dance.”
Season Finale is Just the Beginning
“This was always a goal, to have more studios, to be able to offer more programming, and to have the flexibility to be able to do multiple things that further the art form, and further the education in the program.”
Arts Umbrella’s growth is attributed to its world-class programming, and the reputation of its staff, choreographers, and dancers. In fact, more than half of Ballet BC dancers are Arts Umbrella graduates and many grads are dancing all over the world. “There’s a real ripple of what’s happening in the dance world right now because of what we’ve been doing at Arts Umbrella.”
For BE MOVED, the production will include pieces by Crystal Pite, Emily Molnar, Johan Inger, Lesley Telford, James Kudelka, Mats Ek, and Amos Ben-Tal.
“If you are a human being that has listened to music and walked, you know dance. Whether or not you are able to do what they do on stage, that’s another thing, but you know it. We all know what dance is.” – Artemis Gordon
Gordon tells the dancers: “The reason we have these amazing choreographers is on the reputation of what people have already done. It’s your responsibility to do the work, then I get these choreographers for the future. It’s uncanny to have the roster that we have, of professional choreographers and dance artists.”
From the ground up, Gordon says it’s the Arts Umbrella work ethic that also makes a difference.
“We do a lot of new creations which means there’s an entire skillset that is identified, and worked on, and articulated, and developed. We have a great work ethic and respect for the work in the studio and that we have these amazing choreographers really makes my job easy. I think it’s really a testament to the work that’s being done in the program.”
Arts Umbrella’s Season Finale BE MOVED
Where: Vancouver Playhouse (600 Hamilton, Vancouver) When: May 23-25, 2019 Tickets: Available online now
Arts Umbrella Dance Company’s Season Finale: BE MOVED will be the culmination of months of exploration and rehearsal of bold and innovative works created for AUDC dancers by leading International and Canadian choreographers.
As someone whose only on-stage dance experience has been watching The Nutcracker at Christmas, I asked Gordon what someone like me could expect from BE MOVED.
“A divergence, a great diversity of music, a diversity of ideas, you’ll see everyone’s vision of what they think dance is. You’re going to see some extraordinary commitment of young people on stage, a real virtuosity of the ability to create new movement – not movement that is programmed or has been done before – but a new way of approaching movement vocabulary. You’ll see what is the human potential.”
We popped in on the class one more time as she whispered and pointed at all of the international students who sought out Arts Umbrella. “I just wish that it didn’t have an elitist connotation,” Gordon added as we walked back into the hallway. “Doing it is elite, it’s hard! It is a 12 year rigorous study to be able to do what these kids do and then you can only do it until your body says no more, but watching it is a lifelong thing.”
“I hear other people say I don’t get it. But why would you expect to get it? Nobody asks you to explain music, and somehow we feel it’s ok to just feel music. But why is it with dance, we feel we need to know it or get it?” That’s what Gordon really wants to break down. “We’re all the same. Everyone feels that urge to express themselves physically, through what we wear, how we do our hair, the choices of what we say or where we go. It’s all the dance of our lives.”
Win Tickets
I have a pair of tickets to give away to the opening night performance on May 23rd, thanks to Arts Umbrella. Here’s how you can enter to win:
Here’s how you can enter to win:
Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
Click below to post an entry on Twitter
[clickToTweet tweet=”RT to enter to win tickets to #BEMOVED the season finale of the @ArtsUmbrella Dance Company http://ow.ly/4dD330oIKQd” quote=” Click to enter via Twitter” theme=”style6″]
Follow Arts Umbrella on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more information about the Dance Company, and their programs. I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Friday, May 17, 2019.
