Category Archives: Theatre

07.26.16
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Kelly Hudson to Star as Piglet in “Hundred Acre” Vic Fringe Play

KellyHudsonIf you’ve followed Kelly Hudson’s Twitter in a previous lifetime you’ll surmise that this actress is nothing like the timid Piglet she’ll be portraying in Outpost 31 Victoria‘s Fringe play Winnie the Pooh and Tales of 100 Acre Wood. But her bubbly personality matches the talent she will bring to the stage during this play that is based off the works of A. A. Milne.

After uprooting from Saskatchewan over 20 years ago, Hudson has become a comfortable fixture of the West Coast arts scene. A co-founder of RKO Productions, the company that performed The Rocky Horror Show in 2014 (where she played Riff Raff), Hudson has loaned her talent to many local productions on the island she now calls home. Some of her past roles have included Wes Borg and Paul Mather’s The War of 1812 (One Dead Troll and a Cranny), the Conjur Woman of Howard Richardson and Richard Berney’s Dark of the Moon (at the University of Victoria’s Phoenix Theatre), Ronnette in Little Shop of Horrors (Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre), Madre/Chorus in Elaine Avila’s Lieutenant Nun (Theatre SKAM, Puente Theatre, and SNAFU Dance Theatre), and Constance Blackwood in the Broadway-bound, Dora award-winning musical Ride the Cyclone (Atomic Vaudeville).

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07.17.16
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Melissa Taylor Announced for “Winnie the Pooh” Fringe Play

MelissaTaylorThe Hundred Acre Wood has become a little more populated recently. In an earlier article, we announced the reuniting of Langham Court Theatre‘s Pride and Prejudice actors Ellen Law and Ian Simms for Winnie the Pooh and Tales of 100 Acre Wood. Today, production company Outpost 31 announced a new cast member Melissa Taylor. She is an actor, writer and director. She created Bereavement (produced by the University of Victoria’s Student Alternative Theatre Company in 2011) and The Oldest Trick in the Book (as part of Theatre SKAM‘s SKAMpede in 2015).

Her one-act play Macramé will be performed next month (August 4 and 5) at Intrepid Theatre. Taylor has garnered critical praise for her portrayal of Mia in the Victoria Theatre Guild’s edgy production of Polly Stenham’s That Face. Times Colonist newspaper’s resident critic Adrian Chamberlain wrote, “[Taylor] captured the truth of her character, Mia, in a tremendously convincing manner. It was a skilled performance.”

She will be juggling the roles of bouncing Tigger and the respected Owl.

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07.12.16
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Pride & Prejudice Actors Reunited for Fringe’s Winnie The Pooh

Illustration by E. H. Shepard

Illustration by E. H. Shepard

By James Robert Shaw

Actors Ellen Law and Ian Simms, who performed together in Langham Court Theatre’s hit production of Jane Asuten’s Pride and Prejudice, are reuniting on stage for Winnie the Pooh and Tales of 100 Acre Wood. University of Victoria alumni Law and Simms played Kitty Bennet and Charles Bingley in Janet Munsil’s adaptation of Austen’s novel and will be taking on roles of Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh for this production. Theatre critic Janis la Couvee wrote of Pride and Prejudice:

“My guest for the evening is more familiar with rock and roll than the genteel considerations of Austen. The genius of this production of Pride and Prejudice is that it captured his attention completely. Bravo to cast and crew for a job well done—you have breathed new life into an undisputed treasure of the English language canon.”

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06.09.16
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[Victoria, BC] 4th Annual Kaleidoscope Family Theatre To Paint Centennial Square with Fun June 11-12th

familytheatrefestivaljpg

$12.00 Adults
$10.00 Children, Students & Seniors

Victoria’s Centennial Square will soon be transformed into more than just a Kaleidoscope of fun, thrills and joy! Not only is this seminal theatre production company hosting this theatre festival in the heart of downtown, but also Puente Theatre, Outpost 31 and The Purple Pirate will participate. Together, they will be offering productions which includes The Little Prince, Gruff (based on the Norwegian fairy tale “Three Billy Goats Gruff”), Winnie the Pooh and Magic & Mayhem being displayed by these respective performance groups. There is more than one show, so families can check their whimsy in nearly any time of the day from 11am to 5pm.

Music by Ride the Cyclone creator Brooke Maxwell will be part of the show.

The 4th Annual Kaleidoscope Family Theatre Festival takes place June 11-12 and it will be inviting audiences to free their imagination and celebrate the best in what the performing arts can offer for young people.

“The stories being told at the 2016 Festival encourage families to experience the magic of live theatre,” said Roderick Glanville, Artistic Director of Kaleidoscope. “From a rocking musical for two goats and a troll, to the exploration of the unknown, these plays will inspire audiences of all ages and invite them on a journey to a new way of imagining, thinking, and being.”

For two full days, audiences will enjoy unique theatrical experiences alongside free performances from beloved Victoria entertainers Cam and Daisy. The Festival’s Activity Village makes it easy for the whole family to be creatively adventurous together with such activities as mask making, face painting, dress up booth, and more.

The festival marks the first official use of Kaleidoscope’s Igloo theatres. The largest of the two igloos measures 15.2 metres wide and 7.3 metres high will feature three productions seating 150 audience members, with the smallest of the igloos housing Kaleidoscope’s The Little Prince in an intimate 50 seats performance. The igloo’s are inflated through continued forced air and will create a whimsical theatre environment in Centennial Square.

Tickets can be purchased online at rmts.bc.ca, by phone at 250-386-6121, in advance through the McPherson Playhouse Box Office or during the Festival at the on-site box office. The schedule of performances is as follows (please click to enlarge):

 

FTF-Schedule

05.05.16
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Will There be Further Adventures of Ape Man and Fish Boy for Victoria, BC?

ape man and fish boyEach Adventure of Ape Man and the Fish Boy will no doubt be different and I certainly like to see them again. On May 3rd, they were billed as a duo of secret agents and on May 4th (the show I attended), they are performers going on a trip through time to undo a misfire as they took to the Intrepid Theatre Club stage to play … well, they did not even get that far in a funny way.

This act is still in development and in what I saw, I loved the camaraderie Rod Peter Jr. (Atomic Vaudeville) and Charlie Ross (One Man Star Wars) shared on stage. They’re buddies in real life and the concept they are shaping (mixing a hint of mime, pre-recorded cabaret-style music and geeky stand-up) feels like a blend of what I loved seeing from the days of the Carol Burnett Show when Harvey Korman and Tim Conway took to stage for their acts. In reality, they are working in the absurdist theatre medium, like in Monty Python. In the cinematic sense, I can see a style reminiscent of Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan’s show in Michael Winterbottom’s movie, The Trip. I could tell they’re fellow nerds (my Spidey sense kicked in) when they were riffing on recent pop culture products like Back to the Future, Batman, Doctor Who and Mad Max, to name a few. I look forward to keeping tabs on where this new comedic duo will go next. There’s a possibility of taking the show to Vancouver and Toronto according to Peter Jr. He also mentioned the thought of testing it out in the Fringe theatre circuit before going nationwide.

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03.01.16
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Victoria, BC Gets a Visit from The Phantom of the Opera!

Phantom

The St. Michaels University School performing arts department puts on at least one musical theatre production per year, usually during Victoria Fringe Festival time, and I’ve been fortunate enough to watch more than a few recognizable faces grow up before my eyes. While I have to admit I don’t follow all this school’s productions (this film and nerd enthusiast’s life gets hectic at times), but after seeing their version of Phantom the Opera at McPherson Theatre last weekend only further enhances my appreciation in the shows they love to put on. In the past, they have done West Side Story, Pirates of Penzance and Jesus Christ Superstar. These are shows I could have gone to see, but I’m still holding out for Grease and Hairspray.

Theatre director Ian Collett revealed to the Two Hungry Blokes early on last year about what was next after their Fringe show, Band Geeks. I enjoy Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s works and have only watched and listened to his shows through recordings. Being island bound does not prevent me from going to the big shows in Seattle, but it does get expensive. I really have to pick and choose when I hear about a must see show off the island but for the Phantom, he’s one who must not slip away!

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