Fundraiser Set for New Theatre Company

When it comes to live theatre, Regina's scene is generally not regarded to be as strong as the one in Saskatoon. In prairie dog we've written on this issue before. There's no magic formula for creating a vibrant theatre scene in a city. Rather, you need a mix of things. Playwrights, performers, theatre companies, quality venues, savvy promotion, critically engaged media, supportive sponsors and, finally, audiences who hunger for more than just the TV/movie experience.

Feb. 12 at 7 p.m, a fundraiser's being held in the atrium of the T.C. Douglas Building (3475 Albert St.) to raise money to help launch Regina's newest theatre company. Golden Apple Theatre Company is the brainchild of veteran local impressarios Robert Ursan and Andorlie Hillstrom who are the driving force behind Do-It-With-Class Young People's Theatre.

According to the press release, Golden Apple is a professional theatre company dedicated to delivering cutting edge Canadian and international musical theatre and drama to Regina audiences. Plans currently call for the company to launch its inaugural season in the fall. In addition to hors d'oeuvres and desserts, the fundraiser will feature a performance by former Reginan Kyle Golemba (pictured) of his well-received cabaret of Canadian musical theatre Making Love in a Canoe. Accompanying Golemba on piano will be Robert Ursan.

Tix are $35, or $250 for a table of eight, and are available at Bach & Beyond in the Golden Mile Mall and at the door.

Deadline Extended

I've been informed by organizers of the 2010 Regina Fringe Festival that the deadline for entries has been extended until February 20. If you're interested in presenting work at the festival, check out this link to a post I did on the festival earlier this month. (DogBlob)

Regina Fringe Festival

Yeah, the 2010 festival isn't going to be held until July 2-6. But applications are apparently available now for anyone interested in performing at the festival. There's fifteen spots up for grabs. They're allocated on a first-come, first-served basis until January 29. All you have to do is visit the festival website at http://www.reginafringe.com/ for all the details. And who knows, come next summer, we might find a way to review your show on what will undoubtedly be our awesome new website.

Curtain Call

If you happen to be downtown tomorrow between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Globe Theatre (1801 Scarth) is holding an open house with free guided tours of backstage facilities like the green room and prop department, along with a host of fun activities like a chance to play dress up in the theatre's costume archive and have your picture taken. The event's designed to give theatre lovers, plus just the plain curious, a behind-the-scenes look at all the work that goes into presenting a play at the Globe. (Globe website)

A Thirst Undone

Caught the opening performance of the final work in the 2008-09 Sandbox Series at the Globe Theatre last night. It's a bit of a departure from previous works in the series in that it's grounded--and I mean that semi-literally--in dance. Choreographer is Johanna Bundon, who also performs along with Joelle Arnusch, Branwyn Bundon, Natalie Zoey Gauld and Barbara Pallomina.

As the title, and the accompanying publicity image, suggest, water is a central theme of the piece. Prior to entering the space, in fact, we were warned to be on the lookout for glasses that had been placed on the floor. To get to our seats, we actually had to do a mini-detour around several dozen glasses partially filled with water. Even before the performers have appeared, therefore, we were physically and intellectually engaged with the work.

The first row of seats was open when we arrived. Typically, I'm not a first-row person, but we decided to sit there for simplicity's sake. That turned out to be a fortunate choice because a significant portion of Bundon's choreography involves floor work where the audience's view of the dancers from the back row is partially obscured by people sitting closer to the performance area. So if you go, don't be shy about sitting up front.

As the work opens, the five women, dressed in simple frocks and tights, are arrayed in a line to the audience's left. One by one they slip off their shoes and, as if entering the water, slide to the floor and begin almost to swim across the stage area. In terms of structure, the approximately 50-minute piece is divided into six chapters. By varying the tempo of the music, and having the dancers interact with each other in various combinations from solos and duos to five-person ensembles, Bundon inspires a host of interpretive possibilities. Being a non-literal art form, dance defies strict interpretation as everyone who views a piece will inevitably give it their own spin. For me, some of the dominant themes that emerged related to ideas of friendship, support, rivalry, fear, longing, physical and emotional enclosure, dominance, and even servitude through the offering, whether in a domestic or restaurant setting, of water for guests to drink.

Like the lunar-influenced ebb and flow of the tide in coastal waters, there are rhythms and repetitious elements in the piece that evoke the notion of cycles that are inherent in life, be they biological or socio-cultural. If you want to check the work out for yourself, it's on at the Globe until May 9. (Globe Theatre)