Emerging Playwrights the time is now!

SOLO COLLECTIVE THEATRE ia again partnering with the VANCOUVER PLAYHOUSE on the seventh-annual EMERGING PLAYWRIGHTS’ COMPETITION.

Every competition entrant will receive written feedback from two of the judges.

Three winning monologues and/or dual character scripts will be selected from contest entries to be presented at SOLO FLIGHTS, our annual Emerging Writers’ Showcase, in April/May of 2011. The competition judges are Aaron Bushkowsky (co-Artistic Director of Solo Collective), Jan Derbyshire (Playwright and Dramaturge), and Andrea Yu (Dramaturge Intern, Solo Collective).

Please mail your properly formatted submission (see below) on or before February 1, 2011 to:
Solo Collective Theatre
1108-1202 Harwood Street
Vancouver, BC  V6E 1S3

For a full listing of submission and formatting requirements, please visit www.solocollective.ca

‘Tis the season!

As the theatre season ends and summer approaches, so do the Jessie Awards.  These annual awards recognize theatre achievement in three categories – Theatre for Young Audiences, Small Theatre, and Large Theatre.  Solo Collective fits in the small theatre category and we are thrilled to announce that last fall’s production of The Project has earned four nominations! These were awarded to:

Andrew McNee – Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Small Theatre

Lindsay Angell – Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Small Theatre

Sarah Rodgers – Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Small Theatre

Michael Rinaldi – Outstanding Sound Design or Original Composition, Small Theatre

Congratulations to all the nominees!  The main event happens on Monday, June 21 so stay tuned for the results…..!

Lenny Breau: Live! by Jeff Gladstone

Monday, June 14, 7:30pm
Carousel Theatre Rehearsal Space
1411 Cartwright Street, Granville Island, Vancouver

Join us! For the reading of this dynamic new script by one of Vancouver’s most promising playwrights, Jeff Gladstone. Jeff’s script was chosen from over 40 submitted to Solo Collective for development through dramaturgy and a professional reading. It’s a fantastic story of musician Lenny Breau whose self-destructive life leads to an early end, but not before changing the life of a budding musician, Mathew. This is a terrific blend of comedy and music. Please join us for this reading and talkback.

Pay what you can so come one, come all!

Word is…THE PROJECT is off and running!

Here’s what people are saying about “The Project”….!

It was an incredible show. Funny, well acted, produced, and directed. And the projections, as with all Bushkowsky plays, were a tremendous addition. Big congratulations to Aaron and Rachel, cast and crew for a phenomenal show!”
–Christina Perissini

“There are lots of funny lines here…. Bushkowsky is a witty writer…. Andrew McNee’s Fred is fantastically mercurial. Sarah Rodgers, who plays Sophie, gets on a roll in the second half, when the unstable star unleashes the floodgates of self-indulgence. And Maiko Bae Yamamoto is compellingly still–almost glowing–as Yuki.
With its rhythmic energy and precision, Jamie Nesbitt’s projection design is gorgeous, and Yvan Morissette’s set is sleekly upscale.” –Colin Thomas, The Georgia Straight

“This is the kind of play we need these days, i.e., dark comedies, because of the situation all of us are in these days. And this play, contentwise, was excellent. Rachel Peake did an excellent job directing this bunch of talented actors. They were funny in a serious way, especially Alvin Sanders (George) and Maiko Bae Yamamoto (Yuki) who articulated very well. Lindsey Angell (Leah) as an up-and-coming producer was entertaining….”
–Ed Farolan, ReviewVancouver

“Bushkowsky’s brand of political humor is a searingly honest portrayal of contemporary society , even as it manages to wrangle the idea that we are no longer capable of honesty.”
–Jan Derbyshire

THE PROJECT is open now and runs until NOVEMBER 15th. Tues – Sat 8pm, Sat matinee at 2pm, and Sun Nov 8 at 8pm, Sun Nov 15 at 2pm.

Tickets are $22 for adults and $15 for students and seniors.
Book now through VancouverTix at vancouvertix.com
(604) 629-VTIX

For more information visit our website www.solocollective.ca

Why come to see “The Project”? … we’ll tell you!

The answer couldn’t be simpler!  Hear in two of the actors’ – Alvin Sanders and Sarah Rodgers – own words why you should check out “The Project” by Aaron Bushkowsky, directed by Rachel Peake, opening November 5th at Performance Works!

 

In Fred’s Words

Hey. Wow. What’s wrong with humanity today? Think about it. We got
problems. Big problems: starvation, war, high gas prices and bad
movies. Want to change the world? Then go and do it. Think Michael
Jackson or Bruce Springsteen. Rock it out with whatever. Rock until
you drop. That’s what I’m doing and I’m only 36.  If the world isn’t
a better place by the time I’m 50, I won’t make films. I’ll get into
environmentalism. Invent a cloth or something to save the ice fields
of America. People gotta ski, right? That’s all very clean. Human
power is where it’s at. So, let’s get together and power up. You got
some canned goods sitting around at home? Send them to Africa. Let’s
see how baked beans can save the world. A little thing like that goes
a long ways, right?  Love the crew I’ve got. They are amazing. My
cutey pie PA is a firecracker. A great judge of character too (and
rumor has it she’s great in the sack but let’s not go there!). When
we finish this project, I’m going to make her an offer she can’t
refuse. Stick with me, and you’ll see…save the starving first, then
go to the Middle East and kick some real butt. God, I have so many
ideas…so little time.

Fred.

Rehearsals begin…..

Maiko Bae Yamamoto (Yuki), Jamie Nesbitt (projection design), and Andrew McNee* (Fred)

Lindsey Angell* (Leah) and Alvin Sanders* (George)

Rehearsals for The Project began in the basement of the “green house,” former home of Green Thumb Theatre, this Monday, October 19.  There were laughs, tears, and Timbits – a true recipe for Canadian theatre magic!

Michael Rinaldi (sound design) and Sarah Rodgers* (Sophie)

*appearing courtesy of the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association

THE PROJECT…behind the magic

What happens when Hollywood North takes on starvation in Africa? A black comedy on how NOT to make a documentary.

Don’t miss this latest offering by playwright Aaron Bushkowsky - November 4-15 at Performance Works on Granville Island.

**Video featuring Lindsey Angell as Leah**

The Cuts Have Come and the Fallout is Ugly

That’s it.  The government of British Columbia, after a “review” of BC Gaming has all but pulled the plug on the arts funding it provides.  And not next season.  Now.  In some cases, the promised money was already spent since it was a second-installment of an ongoing “commitment” to companies.  Those agreements, promising ongoing support of companies, are apparently invalid.

If you go to the theatre, you should be ENRAGED.  If you make theatre, you should be FURIOUS.  If you have any concern about a government fulfilling signed agreements you should be INCENSED.  This is not a time to sit back and see what happens – the face of theatre in Vancouver changed last Friday and it is time to stand up and say your part.

Find out more at http://www.allianceforarts.com/blog/gaming-grant-update

DO NOT SIT BACK.  We will only get one chance to fight for this.

Is that Fall knocking?

Someone turned to me the other day and said, “well, that’s it.  Fall’s coming.”

Turns out Aaron's Achilles heel is ... his Achilles heel

I guess I hadn’t noticed summer whizzing past, but it is true, fall is on the way.  It’s been a busy summer at Solo Collective – working to create the new website, workshopping the script of The Project for our fall production, casting, hiring, meeting.  It’s this “downtime” work that fuels the cold and dark winter nights of grant writing – the dreaming and scheming of wondrous things we will create in the season to come.

The summer’s been dramatic in other ways.  Beyond the news of the funding nightmares, Aaron blew out his Achilles tendon and had to miss out on a bike trip through France.  But this photo is of his suffering while aboard an Alaskan cruise, so no need to feel too sorry for him!  And the injury allowed him extra time to work on his book, which he informed me “is getting really good.”

With the fall comes Solo Collective’s ten year anniversary.  Ten years of independent theatre – of new Canadian work produced right here in Vancouver.

Yeah, I’m ready for fall – let’s break open the theatre season and celebrate!