Humour is no accident with this group

trevor.kenney — Wed, 11 Sep 2013 16:21:08 +0000

Faculty of Fine Arts graduates are putting their education to work and bringing to campus a night of hilarious, mind-bending entertainment with an edgy and creative production of Happy Whackin’ Jim McCrackin by Amos Altman, presented by the Accidental Humour Co.

At the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Theatre from Sept. 12-14 at 8 p.m. nightly, poor Jim McCrackin’s tale of mistaken identity and mess of personal attachments sends him into a whirlwind of problems.

The Accidental Humour Co. hits campus Sept. 12-14 with Happy Whackin’ Jim McCracken.

Accidental Humour Co. is a collective of artists, actors, writers, designers and dreamers. Together, they create hilarious, exciting and innovative theatre productions, which blend live-action antics with high-octane video projection. This year’s production is touring Calgary, Stettler, Medicine Hat and Lethbridge.

The core members of Accidental Humour Co., all of whom have earned a BFA Dramatic Arts at the U of L, are: Kimberlee Stadelmann (’06), William Banfield (’06), Cliff Kelly (’07), Brent Felzien (’06), and Neil LeGrandeur (’06). Fellow Alumnus Amos Altman (BA ’04, BFA ’05) wrote the play.

The company prides itself on creating completely original productions that blend live theatre and films together, which often parody different film genres.

“This year, we decided to remount our second production, Happy Whackin’ Jim McCrackin, for two major reasons,” says Stadelmann, stage manager and costume designer. “First, it is our only production that only toured two cities during its first run, and secondly, the company is already hard at work on a sequel for Jim McCrackin’ for 2014.”

Happy Whackin’ Jim McCrackin played to sold-out houses at the Edmonton Fringe Festival and received a five-star rating in a review by Jen Hoyer of See Magazine.

Tickets are available at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Box Office, and are priced at $15 regular admission, $12 students. Tickets are also available online: uleth.ca/tickets.

Alma Matters

trevor.kenney — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:30:55 +0000

Keys to the City

On Oct. 7, a number of notable residents of southern Alberta, including many with ties to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, received a key to the city from former Lethbridge Mayor Bob Tarleck. Friends of the U of L included The Hon. Rick Casson (former U of L employee), Senator Joyce Fairbairn (LLD '04), Gary Kirk (2004 Faculty of Management Scholarship Dinner honouree), U of L researcher Dr. Ian Whishaw (DSc '08) and Rochelle Yamagishi (BASc '71, MEd '91).

Woykin Featured at TiFF

Cameron Woykin's (BFA '03) dramatic short film Open Window was shown at the 35th Toronto International Film Festival. Open Window was selected to premiere as a part of the Short Cuts Canada programme, highlighting short films by established and emerging directors from Canada.
Since graduating from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, Woykin has completed numerous short films, screening his work throughout Canada and internationally. Woykin currently resides in Toronto, where he is completing a master of fine arts in film production at York ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ.

Solie Awarded Griffin Prize

Karen Solie (BA '93) was the Canadian winner of the prestigious 2010 Griffin Poetry Prize for her collection of poems, Pigeon. One of Canada's acclaimed young poets, Solie first launched onto the scene with Short Haul Engine (2001), a finalist for the 2002 Griffin Poetry Prize and winner of many other awards and citations.

Past and Present

U of L alumnus, Darren Joblonkay.

During the summer of 2007, Darren Joblonkay (BSc '10) travelled with fellow U of L students under the direction of professor Dr. Shawn Bubel (BSc '96) to Tel Beth Shemesh, an archaeological site 20 km west of Jerusalem.

"I think the real 'aha moment' that led me to my career [in archaeology] was attending the field school at Tel Beth Shemesh," says Joblonkay.

Since then, Joblonkay has spent every summer working at archaeological digs around Israel. Joblonkay is now pursuing a master's degree in Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Toronto. In the summer of 2011, he will be digging at Tell Tayinat in Turkey, which he hopes will lead to his dissertation.

"I would like to eventually be a professor in Near Eastern Archaeology. I believe it was one of my mentors who told me once that 'any archaeologist would be lying if they said they didn't like digging up treasures,' but our discipline runs deeper than that," he says. "We attempt to preserve and understand humanity's cultural history. We are all captivated by what humans were able to achieve in the past."

Dow Finds Early Career Success

After graduation, Jazlyn Dow (BFA '10) worked on the millinery team for the Albert Ballet show Love Lies Bleeding, a contemporary ballet set to classic songs composed by Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Dow is now on a 10-month contract with the Canadian Opera Company as a wardrobe co-ordinator.

"This chandelier headdress for the Love Lies Bleeding production was so enormous that we had to build a separate crate just for it to travel," explains Dow.

Alumni Troupe Hit the Fringe

(L-R) - Cliff Kelly (BFA ’07), Amanda Blair (BFA ’08) and William Banfield (BFA ’06) in Happy Whackin’ Jim McCrackin.

Happy Whackin' Jim McCrackin, directed by Brent Felzien (BFA '06) and Neil LeGrandeur (BFA '06) and written by Amos Altman (BA '04, BFA '05), tells the comedic story of a veteran hit man who engages in some soul-searching while attempting to complete his last job.

Presented at the 2010 Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival, it received top reviews from the Edmonton Journal and SEE Magazine. The production featured William Banfield (BFA '06), Amanda Blair (BFA '08), Cliff Kelly (BFA '07) and Kimberlee Stadelmann (BFA '06) as stage manager.

Suriano Looks to Engage an Online Generation

Jason Suriano (BA '01) is using gaming as a means to enlighten a new generation of kids about science, history and technology. Recently, he launched Seek Your Own Proof, a new online game at Discoverykids.com. The game targets six to 12 year-olds and follows the story of three investigative siblings who discover a secret underground agency known as the Central Institute for Exploration (CIE).

The teens are quickly drawn into a chase through time and history against enemy agents who are plotting to rewrite the past, change the present and alter the future. Online users can play the game in traditional form but also have the option of taking field missions to real museums. The debut field mission involved facts around the King Tut exhibit at the Discovery Times Square Exposition in New York, N.Y. Other mission locations include the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton and the Galt Museum in Lethbridge.

U of L Alumnus to Lead Lethbridge

On Oct. 18, Rajko Dodic (BASc '78) was elected as mayor of Lethbridge. Fellow alumni joining Dodic on Lethbridge City Council as alderman are: Jeff Carlson (BFA '92), Liz Iwaskiw (BASc '77), Joe Mauro (BASc '83) and Bridget (Pastoor) Mearns (BA '95).

1970

Ralph Dilworth BASc '74, BEd '85, MEd '92

Dilworth, a teacher-librarian at Western Canada High School in Calgary, was featured in a Calgary Herald article called: Librarians We Love. Originally from Camrose, Alta., Dilworth is a former diplomat who, after graduating from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, went on to work with the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa and then at embassies in Poland, France and Yaounde, Cameroon; he speaks English, French, Spanish and Polish. Before becoming a teacher-librarian, he served as a teacher and writer of textbooks including a Social Studies 30 classic, written in French and used regularly in classrooms for a decade until it was recently updated. If stranded on a desert island, Dilworth cited The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky as his book of choice.

Annalee Hearn BEd '74

"After teaching for 30 years, I have retired and moved to Vegreville to be near my two granddaughters. I also have two grandsons living in Abu Dhabi."

JoAnn St. John BEd '75, DipEd '92, MEd '03

"I'm very excited to be coordinating and working in the FastForward High School Completion Initiative with Lethbridge School District #51. I have the opportunity to support, engage and assist young adults in completing their high school careers and moving onto post-secondary studies."

1980

Lynette Duncan BEd '81

"We are enjoying our first grandchild, Cameron Reed Stone Shackleford, born March 21, 2010."

Dawn Ronne BEd '84

"I am principal of Sunnyside School, an elementary school with Palliser Regional Schools."

Daniel Lynn BMgt '85

"Last year I migrated from Hong Kong to Vancouver, B.C."

Doug MacLaren BMgt '88

MacLaren is presently the CEO of the Resource Training Organization (RTO) in British Columbia. RTO oversees the management and development of apprenticeship training for the resource sector in B.C.

1990

Glen Trafford BEd '92

"Marie, Kyle and I moved to Okotoks in September 2009 so that I could become the general sales manager of Straightline Kia in Calgary. Marie has opened a remedial massage therapy clinic in Okotoks and we are settling into being back in Alberta."

Caroline Velie BA '94

"I obtained a bachelor of social work degree from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary in 2004 and obtained a master of social work degree from Dalhousie ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in 2008."

Amanda Chow BA '96

"Hi everybody! I just want to keep in contact with the U of L – I have been missing the people, scene and life stories happening there. I am now a lecturer and teach social work in Hong Kong. Let's keep in touch, I miss you all."

John Granzow BA '99, MSc '10
Michael Granzow BA '06, MA '10

John and Michael, sons of the late Carl Granzow, both received their master's degrees at the 2010 Fall Convocation ceremony. John is currently pursuing a PhD at Stanford ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and Michael is now living in Montreal. Their sisters, Andrea Klassen (BA '97, BEd '01) and Kara Granzow (BA '99), are ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge graduates as well.

2000

Aaron Barr BFA '02

Barr was a character surfacer for the newly released 3D movie Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole. Among numerous other projects, he also worked on the movies The Ant Bully and The Wild. Barr currently works as a surfacer/modeller at Image Engine Design Inc. in Vancouver, B.C.

Nathan Crosby BA '04, BEd '06
Lisa (Polley) Crosby BSc '05

"Lisa and I just got married on Sept. 25, 2010. Although we did not meet at the
U of L, we were both friends with people at the U of L who knew each other. Small world!"

Jarrod Charron BMgt '05

"I recently accepted a media planning supervisor position at PHD, one of Canada's leading media and communications agencies. I will be overseeing media plans for Scotiabank. In January I was nominated for the 2010 Media Planner of the Year."

Sheena DeVries BMgt '06

"I am currently working for MIX 97.7 FM in Calgary. I previously worked at the Calgary Herald."

Michael Macintyre BA '06

Macintyre was recently installed as the new pastor for St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in Spruce Grove, Alta. After graduation from the U of L, Macintyre moved to Saskatoon to attend Lutheran Theological Seminary. While at Seminary, he spent three weeks in Peru as a part of a cross-cultural experience. In April 2010, he graduated with a master of divinity degree.

Cyndy Packard BMgt '07

Packard passed the Chartered Accountants Uniform Evaluation (UFE) in 2009. She previously worked at KPMG in Lethbridge from September 2006 to May 2009. She is currently a manager at Quon & Associates in Calgary.

Alumni Relations
��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge
4401 ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Drive West
Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4
Toll-Free: 1-866-552-2582
E-mail: alumni@uleth.ca

For a look at the full issue of SAM in a flipbook format, follow this link.

UNews - Cliff Kelly

Humour is no accident with this group

Related Topics

Alma Matters

Related Topics