How does it feel to be back at Uno Fest, where Jake’s Gift started 5 years ago?

It feels fantastic to be back at UNO. I was so thrilled when Janet asked us to come back with Jake’s Gift. As UNO was our very first festival, it feels like the perfect place for us to celebrate our fifth year of touring. I started my theatre career in Victoria and so it always feels like coming home.

What was it that inspired you to write a play about a WW2 veteran?

When I was 12 years old I saw a documentary on the Second World War that shattered my comfortable first world childhood. It was the first time I had ever seen pictures of war and of the holocaust, and it was that documentary that made me understand both the horrors of war and the importance of Remembrance Day. After watching that Doc, I knew one day I would create something as a thank you to Veterans. It took years, but a 2002 workshop I participated in at Pacific Theatre in Vancouver was where I first created the character of Jake and his two older brothers who had fought overseas in WW2. Soon after that workshop, I learned about the 60th Anniversary of D-Day Ceremony in Normandy, France. I had a very strong feeling that was where Jake’s story would continue to unfold. I called Veteran’s Affairs Canada and got my name on a list for visitors passes to attend the ceremonies. I spent a week in Normandy interviewing as many veterans as I could as well as every day Canadians and local French families who were liberated by those Canadian soldiers. That week in France was – to this day – the most incredible journey I have ever taken, and I felt compelled to share that experience with other Canadians.

Why did you decide to tell this story through the eyes of a young girl?

I didn’t make a conscious decision that the main narrator of the story would be a ten year old girl. When I was 6 weeks away from my deadline for the first draft, “Isabelle” just popped into my head when I was doing dishes one night. I grabbed my recorder and improvised the bones of the first few scenes. When I went back over what I had recorded It made sense to me to have two contrasting generations. When I was in Normandy, I was so moved by how the French children would walk up to Canadian soldiers and shake their hands with a strong and heartfelt, “Merci beaucoup.” It was as if they understood on a deeper level what those men went through. Isabelle is a reflection of those kids, and of younger generations promise to remember.

Jake’s Gift always evokes incredible emotions and stories from audiences. What is one reaction to the show that stands out the most?

After five years, we are blessed to say that there have been so many incredible stories that people have shared with us after seeing Jake’s Gift. The most recent one would have to be that of Jack Hadley. Jack is a 90 year old Queens Own Rifles D-Day Veteran who landed on Juno Beach with his brother, George. George never made it home and Jack has gone back many times to Normandy to visit his brother’s grave and to visit the real life Isabelle that he met at the 40th Anniversary of D-Day. I got to meet Jack this past March in Toronto when he came to see a performance of Jake’s Gift. A past president of the Queens Own Rifles Regiment (which Jake’s talks about in the play) had been trying to get Jack to come and see the play for a few years. I was so moved to meet him and to sit with him after the show as he told me how he felt like he was watching his own life experience through the play and that it brought back some good and not so good memories. Jack recently mailed me a lovely letter and a picture of his “Isabelle” who he still keeps in touch with. I hope to meet her one day too. She is now in her late 30′s and has her own children. She and her sister met Jack at the 40th Anniversary ceremonies and when Jack returned for the 60th they recognized him and ran to him on the beach, calling out his name, “Jack, Jack!” The parallels between Jack’s real life experience and Jake’s is just a wonderful bit of magic that I will never forget.

Oh and here’s another one of my Jack’s – Jack Tueller – a 92 year old Trumpet Player. We became friends a few months ago after I heard his story on CBC. We chatted for ages and I sent him the script. He loved it and sent me back a booklet of his life during the war with his trumpet playing wife, Marjorie. They were married for 68 years and she passed away in May 2011. This story is amazing….  >>Jack’s Story (Youtube)

You’ve been performing the play for 5 years now, how has it developed over the years?

The script is pretty much the same as it was 5 years ago, with a few lines changes here and there. Since 2007 days, we’ve had a set built, hired a lighting designer, that kind of thing, but I think the biggest change has been the development of the character’s nuances; their quirks and quarks have developed over the years, and I think I do a better job of letting each character really listen to one another and react to one another more fully. Over five years of performing we have shared this story 540 times in 160 communities across Canada, and we are both still loving every minute of it. We feel very very lucky.

 Julia will be performing Jake’s Gift at the Metro Studio at Uno Fest on May 31 – June 2. See Ticket Rocket for online tickets or call 250 590 6291. You can read more about Jake’s Gift here.

Winner of the 2011 Vancouver Young Playwright’s Competition! Also appearing at the Cultch’s IGNITE! Youth Festival.

Date: Saturday, May 12th

Time: 8pm

Place: Intrepid Theatre Club, 1609 Blanshard (@ Fisgard)

Tickets: $10 at the door

With an all-star Victoria cast:

Byron Kjeldson (Paper Street Improv)

Chris Gabel (Sin City Improv)

David Radford (Tara Firm)

Karen Brelsford (Sin City Improv)

Mik Byskov (Phoenix Theatre)

and Kelly Hudson (Slut Revolver, Ride the Cyclone)

The Story:  A naive self-tracker prepares for love at first sight. A neurotic, a nostalgic, and a lost soul launch into a love triangle. An ex-wife confronts her depression while her ex-husband deals with his guilty conscience for having left her. A relationships comedy akin to Love Actually, The Romantics is a character-focused play that theatrically explores how these people grapple with relationships and love.

A staged reading performance of this endearing and entertaining comedy with an opportunity to provide feedback afterwards so that this homegrown play can take on the world!

Photo credit: Kimara Brillin

~ The YOU SHOW presents a CatFlap Collective production ~

Confessions of a Clown College Dropout

Saturday, April 21^st, shows at 6pm & 9pm

Intrepid Theatre Club, 1609 Blanshard (@ Fisgard). Tickets $12 at the door – cash only.  Info: (250) 414-0498.

A confused and discouraged performer attempts to navigate the thunderstorm of her own existence while struggling to prove herself a worthy member of “The Clown Club”.  This multi-media production combines live music, improvisation and stilt-walking.  This workshop production features local artists and CatFlap Collective collaborators Kimara Brilling, Marina Lagacé and Emma Zabloski (Cantadora, SnARK).

Warning: Partial Clown Nudity.

L’Orchestre d’Hommes-Orchestres' outdoor incarnation

Danya:  We try to take an oblique look at the notions of performance and our presence on stage. The idea is that of being neither musician, performer nor actor, but a bit of all three.  While the show is clearly constructed as a musical show (a succession of song divided in two sets like most bands), everybody has their own life to live on stage while having to play music. We also like our stage, our objects to have a life of their own! One way to achieve this is by playing music with objects you wouldn’t normally use. When you change the first purpose of an object, when you give it a new life, you don’t relate to it in the same way.  It creates disarming unbalances and direct, unassuming connections with the audience. Also, by avoiding the notion of a plot line, people are free to pick-up what they will from everything we offer. And we offer simultaneously!

S: LODHO work and create as a collective, can you tell me more about how you build your shows and work together?

D: We are a collective but don’t create collectively. It is a long process of personal work periods alternating with discussions on where we are all going. Once the ground is set, the project ends-up having a life of its own and takes us where it wants to go.

We like to keep things a little uncomfortable, a little unexpected, a little dangerous by keeping «open spaces» in the shows. Areas where we will be forced to play for real, not knowing how things might turn out and then deal with the consequences. Shows can never be exactly the same twice. We work a very approximate science.

S: What is it that attracted you to the work of Tom Waits?

D: We found his music and his stories to be very evocative. It is deeply anchored in American folklore, making it a very resourceful playground for the imagination. Also, he seems to have avoided specific musical categorization by visiting many genres; he can sing about low-lives, booze, cars, the moon and the stars, love and honey and whatever else he has to say. We can definitely relate to that kind of “make up the rules as you go” notion!

L’Orchestre d’Hommes-Orchestres. Crédit Guillaume D Cyr.

S: What process led you to use everyday objects like teapots, handkerchiefs and whiskey bottles as instruments in addition to conventional instruments?

D: The «American folklore» nature of this project lead the way to everyday objects. The stage looks like a cross between a pawn shop, a flea market and an antique store. Everything we use has had one or more other lives before having a stage life. Also, they are all things we had at home and were handy for musical and visual experimentation!

S: Who are the New Cackle Sisters? What is their role in the show?

D: The New Cackle Sisters are a trio, playing the fabulous music of the DeZurik Sisters (American yodeling queens of the mid 30’s).

What could have been the definitive LODHO was a four-man band playing in bars until one day, when they invited the New Cackle Sisters to share their stage during a show. Everybody liked the counterpart to the very «guy» show and we’ve been playing together ever since. And that’s how LODHO grew from 4 to 6 performers.

S: How long have LODHO been performing the Tom Waits show? How do audiences react to it?

D: We’ve been playing the show in its current form for about three years.

Because the shows evolve on stage and every performance is unique in its nature, we like to play our shows for a relatively long time. This also means that we usually play at least 4 of our productions every year, alternating from one to another depending on the season and demand.

The Joue à Tom Waits show has a way of fascinating audiences, revving-up their imagination, whether you’re a Waits fan, not a fan of Waits, or have no idea who Tom Waits is.

What other shows do LODHO perform?

We have three street-art shows involving music, vintage trucks, performance, sound-art, video, etc. etc.

And two other stage shows, one of which we will be opening in Québec City upon our return from this tour. It is constructed around the works of German composer Kurt Weill.

You can check out our website, it’s pretty good :  lodho.com

L’Orchestre d’Hommes – Orchestres Performs Tom Waits is on at the Metro Studio this Sunday March 25, 8pm. It is nearly sold out, so get your tickets online now! Tickets $35*/ $27  (arts karma/regular) – available @ ticketrocket.org / 250 590 6291.

CBC Canada Reads Winner Carmen Aguirre. Photo: Itai Erdal.

Here at Intrepid, we’ve been trying to contain our excitement about the incredible line up of performers that Artistic Director Janet Munsil has snared for Uno Fest 2012 until we could could share the news with you. Uno Fest celebrates its 15th anniversary this year (it’s the longest running solo performance festival in North America) and the festival includes an extraordinary line up of North America’s finest solo performers to mark the occasion. You’ll recognise some Fringe favourites, returning Uno Fest performers (including Julia Mackey!), plus we introduce new performers we know you’ll love like Carmen Aguirre. And if that wasn’t enough, we’re also launching a unique new site-specific audio monologue project called Press>Play at Uno. Exciting times!

So here it is, the line up for the 15th Annual Uno Fest, May 24 – June 3, 2012.

§  Hawksley Workman/2b Theatre – The God That Comes. This new work-in-development by the famous Canadian rocker combines the chaotic revelry of a rock concert with the captivating intimacy of theatrical storytelling in this concept album for the stage, inspired by Bacchus, god of wine.

Juno Awarding winning rocker Hawksley Workman

§  Carmen Aguirre (Nightswimming, Vancouver) – Blue Box. CBC’s Canada Reads winner Carmen Aguirre’s show about her remarkable experiences as a brave daughter of the Chilean resistance.

§  Julia Mackey (Vancouver) - Jake’s Gift. 5th anniversary! This Jesse-nominated production premiered at Uno in 2007 and has gone on to tour to every part of Canada.

§  Deborah Dunn (Trial & Eros, Montreal) – Four Quartets. Deborah Dunn (Elegant Heathens) returns to the Metro with this beautiful dance piece performed to the music of T.S. Eliot’s poetry.

Meagan O'Shea in 'The Atomic Weight of Happiness'

§  Meagan O’Shea (Stand Up Dance, Toronto) – The Atomic Weight of Happiness. Interdisciplinary dance artist and Dora Award nominee Meagan O’Shea returns to Uno Fest with her show about global warming and achieving inner peace – complete with laughter-powered lighting.

§  Michael Delamont (Victoria) – God is a Scottish Drag Queen. Winner Best Solo Show, Victoria Fringe 2011.

§  Trent Baumann (Australia) – The Birdmann. Co-winner Best Comedy, Victoria Fringe 2011.

§  Dave Morris (Victoria) – Photo Booth. Co-winner Best Comedy, Victoria Fringe 2011.

§  Julian Cervello (Victoria) – Canterbury Cocktails. Winner Best Spoken Word, Victoria Fringe 2011.

§  Erin Fleck (Toronto) – Those Who Can’t Do… this provocative new play about the challenges facing a high school sex ed teacher was a hit this season at Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto.

§  Andrew Bailey (Victoria) – The Adversary. The latest show from the acclaimed monologist of Scrupulosity, Limbo, and Putz – Based on his 2011 Uno Works show Diamond Tiaras in the Gutter.

Press>Play Four short site-specific audio plays exploring historic Victoria locations, created by local playwrights and musicians, to be experienced by the solo audience member on personal audio players or cell phones. Part of the City of Victoria’s 150th Anniversary through the Addressing Arts and Culture program, made possible by the Greater Victoria Spirit Committee and the Dept. of Canadian Heritage.

Uno Works – shows in development

§  Missie Peters (Victoria) – Where’s My Flying Car?!

§  Katrina Kadoski (Victoria) – Cougar Annie Tales

§  Constance Cook (choreography) / Alisoun Payne (performer) – I Be Caribou

Workshops by

• Nicolle Nattrass
• Dave Morris
• Meagan O’Shea

Tickets go on sale for Uno Fest go on sale May 1. Sign up for Intrepid’s enews to receive updates on Uno Fest.

Thanks to the Funders who help make Uno happen:

CRD Arts Development, The Department of Canadian Heritage, BC Arts Council, The Province of British Columbia, The City of Victoria and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Ian Case in Intrepid Theatre's production of 'Influence'. Credit David Bukach.

Ian Case, Intrepid Theatre’s General Manager has announced he will be moving on to a new position as Director of the University Farquhar Auditorium in the beginning of April. Case has worked for Victoria Fringe Festival organisers Intrepid Theatre for just under 10 years, building the budding theatre organization into a one of Canada’s most highly regarded theatre presenters and festival producers. His expertise, dedication and hard work have steered the company through a major capital campaign to acquire Intrepid Theatre’s first theatre space the Metro Studio, the creation of the Intrepid Theatre Club space, and building a community box office. These small theatre spaces have become vital to ensuring that independent theatre and dance in Victoria thrives.

When Case started with Intrepid, ticketed attendance for the Victoria Fringe was around 10,000. Under his leadership, the festival has grown to become Vancouver Island’s biggest theatre event, attracting an audience of 27,000 people in 2011. Under his direction, Uno Fest, Intrepid’s solo performance festival, has become a high profile theatre event that attracts performers from around North America.

Intrepid Theatre’s Board President Karen Lee Picket said Intrepid was very sad to see Case go. “We’ve been blessed over the last ten years to have Ian. We honestly wouldn’t be where we are today without his leadership skills, enthusiasm and expertise, and wish him the best of luck with his new job.”

Case has not only led Intrepid Theatre to its many successes over the last ten years, but has also been a leading member of the arts community in Victoria, speaking out against arts cuts.  He was recognized for his outstanding contribution to Victoria’s arts community with an award for ‘Arts Leader of the Year’ at the 2010 C-FAX Community Awards.

Whether it be as a Director, Actor, Producer, General Manager or behind the scenes, Case has worked tirelessly to help build Victoria’s vibrant arts community to what it is today. He has actively worked with several other theatre organizations including William Head on Stage, Victoria Shakespeare Society, CCPA, and runs a popular local production company Giggling Iguana, who are behind one of Victoria’s favourite site-specific annual productions at Craigdarroch Castle  (now in their 12th year).

Intrepid Theatre will be seeking national applications for a new General Manager and a job description will be posted March 6 on intrepidtheatre.com

March 10, 8pm at Intrepid Theatre Club (Fisgard at Blanshard)

Tickets available at the door, cash only: $15 regular, $10 students & seniors. In advance from ticketrocket.org

Pick of the Fringe 2011 performer Julian Cervello (Canterbury Cocktails) premieres his newest Middle English production of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales – The Wyf of Bathe as part of Intrepid’s You Show. This ridiculous, visceral, six-hundred-year-old comedy is a 14th Century Vagina Monologues.

The structure of Chaucer’s six hundred year old drag act has evolved into a template for modern one-woman plays. The Wyf of Bathe is on pilgrimage to Canterbury, seeking a sixth husband. In doing so, she re-lives her previous five marriages. Full of lies, embellishments, and deep confessions, Alisoun’s autobiography is bizarre and surprisingly moving. She is the original desperate housewife.

This show is not suitable for young audiences.

The YOU Show is an Intrepid Theatre program that provides an opportunity for local artists to test drive new scripts, workshop ideas and get their work on its feet. >>Read more.

What was it that attracted you to the One Thousand Cranes story?

Because it is a beautiful story with a strong anti-war message.

What prompted you to bring the play on tour to Canada in 2012?

As you know “One Thousand Cranes” was written by Colin Thomas, a Vancouverite, and premiered by Green Thumb Theatre of Vancouver. I wanted to have the play make a sort of home-coming to its birthplace.

What is it that makes Sadako Sasaki’s story relevant to today’s audiences?

Despite the public cry against it, nuclear armament and nuclear power generation have not been abolished yet. I do hope “One Thousand Cranes” reminds people of potential disaster the nuclear armament and/or power generation might bring about.

Is One Thousand Cranes a production that audiences of all ages will appreciate?

Yes, the show is for all ages. In Japan 70% of the audience was grown-ups on an average except when the show is presented in schools.

One Thousand Cranes is a sad story in some ways, but do you think it ultimately has a hopeful message?

Yes, it has a very positive and hopeful message. After all Buddy, the Canadian boy, decides to take part in the peace march and Sadako’s friends decides to erect a peace monument in memory of Sadako.

What experiences have you had in the past bringing a Japanese-speaking cast to Canada on tour?

In the past I invited two Japanese shows to Victoria. Both times the artists billeted at private homes and beautiful, long-lasting friendship developed between the host families and artists. Some of them are exchanging letters and Christmas greetings over the years. A girl even married with an artist and now lives in Japan with a kid between them.

You’ve translated over 30 Canadian plays to Japanese, why do you think it is important to create cultural connections between disparate countries through theatre and literature?

I came to Canada in 1970 as a businessman. My business thrived thanks to the help, cooperation and patronage Canadian people accorded me. I wanted to do something in reciprocation and started introducing Canadian theatre to Japanese theatre practitioners and audiences. Up until that time, no Japanese knew Canada had such an excellent theatre of high artistic quality.

One Thousand Cranes is on at the Metro Studio on Thurs Feb 16 and Fri Feb 17 at 8pm. Tickets are $18/23/31 (student + senior/adult/arts karma) and can be purchased through Ticket Rocket online or by phone (250 590 6291, W-S, 2 -6pm).

(we’ll make this pretty tomorrow)

"Intrepid Theatre is the lynch-pin of the city's arts scene." (Times Colonist)

Intrepid Theatre is giving you the once-in-a-lifetime chance to leave your mark on the Metro Studio and support live theatre in Victoria. All donations of $100 or more between now and March 31, 2012 will be recognised with a brass plaque on a chair in the Metro.

We are at a critical turning point and need your help more than ever before to be able to continue bringing exciting live theatre to the island (read more about why here). If you believe in the work of Intrepid Theatre, we urge you to consider sponsoring a chair in the Metro Studio. There is a limit of 191 seats! >>Donate online now.

WHY DONATE?

Intrepid Theatre is a non-profit organisation that contributes to the vibrancy of our city by  developing work by talented emerging artists, presenting alternative theatre from around the globe, and providing affordable venues for local performers. We are able to do this because of the generous support provided by individual donors who believe in the importance of live theatre.

DONATE NOW

CLICK HERE to donate online (this helps us keep admin costs down) or buy a ticket to one of our upcoming shows online, and when you pay for your order, you can add a donation. You can also make a phone donation (250 383 2663) or drop by our offices (1609 Blanshard).  When you donate $20 or more we send you a charitable tax-deductible receipt.

WAYS TO DONATE: PHONE – 250-383-2663   |   ONLINE   |   IN PERSON – 2-1609 Blanshard (at Fisgard)