UNews - artistic director

Family dysfunction hits a whole new level

trevor.kenney — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 19:00:22 +0000

A chill is in the air!

King Henry II and his family congregate for an even chillier Christmas celebration in James Goldman's The Lion in Winter, playing Nov. 20-24, 8 p.m. nightly on the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Theatre stage.

Set in the stark hollows of Castle Chinon in 1183, the dramatic tensions between members of King Henry II's family take centre stage in this historic play. The company includes Henry's quarreling and conniving sons, intent to claim the throne; his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, allowed a reprieve from her 10-year imprisonment to join the festivities; and Henry's young mistress, Alias, who is also betrothed to his son Richard.

As the party commences, the scandals of this dysfunctional dynasty explode, revealing shocking truths of betrayal, deceit and treachery.

And you thought your family had interesting Christmas get-togethers.

"This is a very complex script that explores the dynamics and dysfunction of families throughout history," says guest director Philip Adams. "It's about power and land and the successors to that land. We, the audience, can marvel at the dexterity of the noble family."

"Despite the lies and treachery of this dysfunctional family, there is still humour," Adams adds. "Families are funny and this script exposes that humour in very clever ways."

With a grand set, designed by Jim Wills, and period costumes designed by Leslie Robison-Greene, the production transports audiences to a medieval era of stone, wood, leather and furs.

"The production is very well crafted, and it's been a pleasure to be a part of this collaborative project," says Adams, who won Saskatoon's Best Director Award in 2012.

A bit of a nomad, he has served as the artistic director of Nakai Theatre in the Yukon and Mulgrave Road Theatre in Nova Scotia, and also directed productions across the country.

Tickets for The Lion in Winter are available at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Box Office (403-329-2616), Monday through Friday 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Individual tickets are $15 regular, $10 seniors/students. Regular tickets are also available online, www.uleth.ca/tickets.

This story first appeared in the November 2012 issue of the Legend. To view the full issue online, follow this link.

Vocal program draws talented singers

trevor.kenney — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 21:44:25 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Recital Hall is bursting with song this week as 43 talented young singers from across Western Canada take part in the 4th annual Southern Alberta Vocal Experience (SAVE), Aug. 12-18.

The SAVE vocal program offers talented young singers, aged 13 to 20, the opportunity to study and perform in close collaboration with established artists, teachers and vocal coaches. In addition to preparing musical excerpts, students participate in a daily regimen that includes choir, creative movement, private lessons and master classes, allowing them to develop vocal skills in a comprehensive program of studies.

Directed by Joanne Collier, the teaching staff includes U of L Faculty members Dr. Blaine Hendsbee, Dr. Sandra Stringer, Dr. Deanna Oye and Carolyn Herrington; U of L alumni McKade Hogg, Nicole Higginson-Swen, Acacia Doktorchik and Audrina Steciw; and guest artists David Shefsiek (managing director of Alberta Theatre Projects), Suzy Smith (Toronto-based vocal coach) and Winston Noren of Calgary's Mount Royal ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. They are joined by accompanists Gregory Knight, Elinor Lawson, Joel Goodfellow and Jesse Plessis and undergraduate student assistant Jana Holesworth.

The week of activity culminates in a pair of public performances, beginning with a Friday, Aug. 17 concert (7:30 p.m., ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Recital Hall) where SAVE singers will be presenting solos from the art song and concert repertoire, accompanied by piano. The program will open and close with a choral selection learned during the week. Admission for this performance is by donation at the door.

The final gala concert, One Enchanted Evening, will be held on Saturday, Aug. 18 at 7:30 p.m., also in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Recital Hall. Audience members will be treated to songs and tales from the lands of fairies and all things enchanting, including theatre classics from shows such as Brigadoon, Camelot and Cinderella, along with more recent selections from Into the Woods, The Secret Garden and Spamalot.

"All of the music has been chosen for its beautiful melodies, musical merit and ability to showcase each singer to the best of their ability," says artistic director Joanne Collier. "At the same time audiences will be treated to an array of musical maids and men, heroes, fools and villains."

Tickets are $10 each and available at the door.

Those interested in the SAVE program can contact the U of L Music Conservatory for more information: 403-329-2304.

Play Right winner debuts work

trevor.kenney — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 15:06:38 +0000

Wildly entertaining and delightfully quirky, TheatreXtra's season opens with the debut performance of Muse Control, by ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge student James Wade. Muse Control won the 2010 U of L Play Right Prize, and is the first play from the competition to be produced.

In the David Spinks Theatre from Sept. 30 through Oct. 2, at 8 p.m. nightly and at 2 p.m. on Oct. 2, this premier production plunges audiences into the fantastic life of a struggling author, desperate to break his writer's block. Reality is suspended and twisted as his muse encourages and exposes his creative truths.

Wade, who is working on a BFA (multidisciplinary) degree, was inspired by the writing of Woody Allen and a summer lecture he attended two years ago.

"The lecture revolved around the idea of the muse and its role in society. That lecture inspired me to think of the muse as a literal character," says Wade. "I started writing Muse Control and finished it to enter the Play Right Prize competition."

The U of L Play Right Prize and U of L Striking Prose competitions are made possible by the generous support of Terry Whitehead, a U of L alumnus. In addition to earning the first place prize for play writing, Muse Control also received a public reading in March.

"This show is exciting because the playwright is one of our students and also because it's a great show," says Derek Stevenson, fellow student and TheatreXtra artistic director. "It was really well received by the audience at the reading in March."

"TheatreXtra provides opportunity and experience to students with a passion and commitment to theatre," explains Stevenson. "Our shows this semester, Muse Control and The Good Egg by Michael Lewis MacLennan, are both light-hearted and comedic in nature. TheatreXtra, for the most part, is student-run and these shows showcase and challenge drama students' abilities."

Tickets for Muse Control and The Good Egg are on sale at the U of L Box Office (403-329-2616), priced at $11 for regular admission and $7 for senior/student. Box Office hours are Monday through Friday from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. in W510.

Play Right winner debuts work

trevor.kenney — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 22:15:33 +0000

Wade, who is working on a BFA (multidisciplinary) degree, was inspired by the writing of Woody Allen and a summer lecture he attended two years ago.

Vocal Experience at Recital Hall

trevor.kenney — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:09:48 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's Recital Hall will come alive with the sounds of music Saturday as the Southern Alberta Vocal Experience will conclude its two-week study program with a public performance.

The Southern Alberta Vocal Experience program, conducted by the U of L's Department of Music, hosts 17 to 21-year old singers from across the country for a two-week study program.

Under the direction of artistic director Dr. Blaine Hendsbee, participants from across Canada develop skills in the primary areas of vocal study, including solo repertoire, choral literature and staged works from musical theatre, operetta and opera. The focus is intensive, one-on-one training with faculty in private voice lessons, coaching and master classes. Additionally, classes are offered in movement, lyric diction, acting techniques and stage make up.

The program culminates with Saturday's public performance, 7:30 p.m. in the Recital Hall, W570. Tickets are priced at $10 and are available at the door, or in the Conservatory of Music office (W850, 403-329-2304).

Gallery News

trevor.kenney — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:12:52 +0000

Annual Juried Student Exhibition

Each year a prominent Canadian arts professional is invited to jury an exhibition of undergraduate student work. This year it will take juror Jen Budney a long week of studio visits and talks with students to select the work that will fill the U of L Main Gallery from Mar. 13 – Apr. 9. The exhibition opens on Mar. 13 at 8 p.m. with a reception and the presentation of the Visual Arts Awards presentation.

"This is a great opportunity for students to gain the professional experience of having their work judged by someone new to their work and having it presented in an exhibition," says Josephine Mills, director/curator.

This year's juror is Jen Budney, the associate curator at the Mendel Art Gallery in Saskatoon, Sask. She has held previous positions as curator at the Kamloops Art Gallery, program officer in the Visual Arts at the Canada Council, artistic director of Gallery 101 (Ottawa), and news editor of Flash Art magazine. Budney has a BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and an MA in Anthropology from Carleton ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, where her thesis focused on racial attitudes and access/participation in Brazilian contemporary art.

Serendipity

Serendipity is the theme of the annual exhibition of work by the U of L Dept. of Art faculty and staff and the U of L Art Gallery staff. The exhibition is in the Trianon Gallery from Mar. 7 – Apr. 18 and the gallery is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The exhibition provides the opportunity to show the range of work produced by the artists who work and teach at the
U of L.

First Faculty Work Featured

First Faculty is the next exhibition in the Helen Christou Gallery, Mar. 20 – May 29. Curated by Jane Edmundson, First Faculty presents the contribution to the development of Lethbridge's art community made by the founding and early faculty in the Art Department.

On the Ice of Labrador, a unique, visual experience

trevor.kenney — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:06:26 +0000

True stories about aviators, trombone players, mortality on railroad tracks, blood sugar cycles of a young diabetic, an English woman in a hut of rotten potatoes and a journey of Alzheimer's are all woven together in one stunning dance production.

On the Ice of Labrador, by Montréal Danse, appears Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 8 p.m. in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Theatre.

Known for its captivating dances and exceptional dancers, Montréal Danse has toured throughout Canada, South America, the United States, Europe, Asia and Central America. In this production by British Columbia-based choreographer Sarah Chase, seven dancers move and talk together, bringing fragments of identity and memory to life.

As these fragments accumulate in beautiful dances and personal stories, we glimpse something more essential, something unidentifiable.

"This is a performance that goes beyond the words and the dancing to connect to audiences in a powerful way," says Lisa Doolittle, Now Showing curator/producer. "Every one of us has pieces of family stories, almost like fragments of those songs that you can't get out of your head. Maybe you've heard these stories a thousand times but never fully comprehended. One day, unexpectedly, a story resonates and at last you feel and see what it means. On the Ice of Labrador is full of such flashes of recognition and connection. It's a beautiful piece."

Montréal Danse is devoted to creating vibrant works that play with concepts, visions, structures and vocabularies in its pursuit to capture the imagination. Artistic Director Kathy Casey seeks choreographers who stand apart from the crowd and asks of them and the company's dancers to delve into the unknown.

"This approach is Montréal Danse's way of discovering what is fresh, audacious and exciting in the art form," says Doolittle.

Tickets for On the Ice of Labrador are priced at $20 students/seniors and $25 regular from the U of L Box Office (403-329-2616).

UNews - artistic director

Family dysfunction hits a whole new level

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Vocal program draws talented singers

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Play Right winner debuts work

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Play Right winner debuts work

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On the Ice of Labrador, a unique, visual experience

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