Inside Vancouver

1-Act Theatre Fest Coming to Vancouver, June 14-15

by Remy Scalza in Entertainment on June 12, 2012

Like theatre but got a short attention span? This festival is for you.

The Cultch in Vancouver is hosting a unique one-act theatre fest June 14-15. For $18, you get four mini plays back to back – with all the action and drama condensed down into a single act each.

I think this is brilliant. The traditional, three-act play is a cultural pillar that goes all the way back to Aristotle – but lots of people are intimidated by the length. With so many other entertainment options out there – 3D movies, HD TV, YouTube – asking an audience to sit through two intermissions is a tall order.

Enter the one-act play. Think of it as a short story. You get all the climax and character and tension – but none of the tedious lead up and resolution of a three-act play. Here’s what’s in store at the 1-Act Festival. Continue reading:
1-Act Theatre Fest Coming to Vancouver, June 14-15

Transgender Drama: The Silicone Diaries in Vancouver, thru Feb 25

by Remy Scalza in Entertainment on February 15, 2012

Nina Arsenault is a classic blonde bombshell. But she wasn’t always that way. Born in 1974 in an Ontario trailer park as Rodney Arsenault, Nina lived her life as a man until 1996, when she underwent the first of more then 60 surgeries to transform her into the perfect woman.

Arsenault relays the sometimes harrowing, sometimes inspiring story of her transformation in the one-act play The Silicone Diaries, appearing in February at the historic Cultch theatre. Her surgical odyssey spanned more than eight years of cosmetic operations, with medical bills totaling more than $150,000.

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Transgender Drama: The Silicone Diaries in Vancouver, thru Feb 25

The famous play about nothing: Waiting for Godot at the Cultch

by Remy Scalza in Entertainment on January 9, 2012

Even if you don’t follow much theatre, you might have heard about Waiting for Godot. It’s the famous play by Samuel Beckett, which premiered in France in 1953, about absolutely nothing. Two guys wait on the side of a road for a few days – then the curtain falls. End of story.

And though it might sound like a weird form of audience cruelty, Waiting for Godot has actually been electrifying and intriguing viewers for decades. Vancouver audiences can decide for themselves whether Waiting for Godot is a masterpiece or a bore this month during the play’s run at the Cultch, presented by Blackbird Theatre.

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The famous play about nothing: Waiting for Godot at the Cultch

Canada’s Puppet Master comes to the Cultch

by Remy Scalza in Entertainment on December 5, 2011

Photo credit: JohnLambert.ca

Puppet shows are supposed to be for kids – unless Ronnie Burkett is working the strings. Canada’s uncontested master puppeteer, Burkett has spent 25 years entertaining audiences with sultry, bawdy and introspective tales – all acted out by his tiny, hand-crafted puppets.

Burkett’s darkly comic stories have focused on everything from underground puppet shows during the Nazi era to mental illness and the quest for self discovery. His latest piece – showing now until Dec. 17 at the Cultch in east Vancouver – hews closely to those lines.

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Canada’s Puppet Master comes to the Cultch

Vancouver’s Biggest Youth Arts Festival: Ignite! April 25-30

by Remy Scalza in Entertainment on April 23, 2011

Photo credit: igniteyouthfest.ca

A one-act play about four friends moving into their first apartment. A musical showcase ranging from classic rock to classical guitar. An experimental piece of theatre about a young girl’s dream vision and ensuing battle with a giant spider. These are just a few of the offerings at the annual Ignite! Youth Festival , held in the historic Cultch theatre in East Vancouver from April 25-30.

Hundreds of young people from age 13-24 are involved in planning and staging a full week of programming in Vancouver’s largest youth culture festival. The event showcases music, dance, spoken word, one-act plays, a visual arts exhibit and variety shows featuring improv, drag and circus arts.

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Vancouver’s Biggest Youth Arts Festival: Ignite! April 25-30