Five reasons to get out of bed in February

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Whoo-hoo! Let’s hear it for February!

This underrated month – stuck between the post-holiday doldrums of January and the waiting-for-springness of March – has a lot going for it. Valentine’s Day and, uhm, well – it’s also the shortest month. So there’s that.

Plus, there’s always something happening in the worlds of theatre, dance, comedy and music. Here are a few highlights with nothing much in common but, perhaps, their ability to remind us that February isn’t so bad after all.

Yamato, The Drummers of Japan (Feb. 6 at Queen Elizabeth Theatre, 650 Hamilton St.) – Known around the world as the “U2 of Taiko drumming,” according to the press release, Yamato has been a hit with audiences from Japan to Europe to North America. The group is known not only for their musical talent, which they display through whacking and thumping a wide range of Wadaiko drums, but also for incredible physical feats and an entertaining, playful stage show. Tickets from $25 at TicketsTonight.ca and 1-877-840-0457.

Yamato drummers will blow your socks off at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Feb. 6.

PostSecret: The Show (Feb. 17th – March 5, Firehall Arts Centre, 280 E. Cordova St.) – PostSecret is a public art project created by Frank Warren in which people confess their secrets on homemade postcards, anonymously. Warren posts a selection of cards each week at postsecret.com, which has become one of the Internet’s most popular sites. A collaboration between Warren and Canadian theatre vets TJ Dawe, Kahlil Ashanti and Justin Sudds, PostSecret: The Show uses projected images, videos, three actors and a guitarist to guide the audience through crowd-sourced narratives revealing the true stories behind the secrets. The show returns to the Firehall, where it made its Canadian premiere in January 2015, during a 25-stop tour of Canada and the U.S. Tickets are $17- 30 at firehallartscentre.ca and 604 689 0926.

Bright Blue Future (Feb. 19 – March 5, Pacific Theatre, 1440 W. 12th Ave.) – Sean Harris Oliver won the Georgia Straight’s Critics Choice Award for his second play, Fighting Season. Bright Blue Future, the Harris’ first full-length play, explores one night in the lives of four 20-somethings in Victoria, BC during the global economic recession. Bright Blue Future’s characters grapple with feelings of inadequacy, sexual tension, and fear of the impending future. Tickets from $15 at pacifictheatre.org.

Dances for a Small Stage 33 – The Valentine’s Edition (Feb. 11 – 14, The Anza Club, 3 W. 8th Ave.) – The 33rd instalment of the Small Stage series brings together award-winning choreographers and dancers for original dance works inspired by Valentine’s Day. According to the media release, “audiences can expect performances that will embrace the underrated faces of love, ranging from the adoring bond between family and friends, to the passionate, twisted underbelly of betrayal, jealousy, and obsession.” The evening features a diverse line-up of new and returning Small Stage participants, including choreographer Lesley Telford, 2015 Mayor’s Arts Award recipient; choreographer/dancer Joshua Beamish, founder and Artistic Director of MOVE: the company; Naomi Brand, founder of All Bodies Dance Project, an integrated ensemble for dancers with and without disabilities; flamenco artist Karen Pitkethly; movement artist Jennifer McLeish-Lewis; bhangra artist Hardeep Singh Sahota; and Hannah Henney, member of the all-female hip-hop crew, Diamonds in the Rough. Drag entertainer Symone Says and burlesque star Burgundy Brixx – will MC the evening performance. Advance tickets are $25 at ss33-valentine.eventbrite.

Movement artist Jennifer McLeish-Lewis performs at Dances for a Small Stage 33 – The Valentine’s Edition.

Phantom Signal (Feb. 22, Fox Cabaret, 2321 Main St.) – This Vancouver trio specializes in what they call “blood-curdling tales based on actual speculation.” The format is a comedy-horror-radio show with live score (full band comprised of guest musicians), original scripts and the voice-acting talents of self-proclaimed “theatre geeks” (and accomplished playwright/performers) Jayson McDonald, Andrew Bailey and Tara Travis. The group prides itself on “irreverent comedy” and “smart, funny, creepy business.” Tickets for the Feb. 22 show are $8 in advance ticketf.ly and $10 at the door.