Pacific Theatre is producing the great classic, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe running now until January 2 2010.

From the novel by C.S. Lewis, this splendidly theatrical invention preserves all the magic of the twentieth century’s best-loved fantasy classic. Four young adventurers pass through a doorway to a land in the grip of an icy queen, where it’s always winter and never Christmas – but Aslan is on the move!

Ron Reed, Founding Artistic Director of Pacific Theatre talk a bit about the production.

Showtimes

Wednesday – Saturday Nights at 8pm and Saturday matinees 2pm (Until January 2, 2010)

Location

1440 W 12th Ave, Vancouver BC

Tickets

Regular priced tickets are $34 for weekend evenings and $30 for weekday evenings. Further ticket prices available on their website.

PROMOTION: 2 for 1 coupon available in the Production Heads Coupon Book. Pick one up today at Biz Books for $25 or have it mailed to you by ordering online. Enjoy a night out with The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and save money at the same time.

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I remember back in the day when I first discovered what acting really meant to me and how words on paper are only words until there was meaning behind it.

I was checking out some upcoming Vancouver plays at The Next Stage Video Listings and I saw one which reminded me of that discovery I had once made.

The play is Macbeth, part of Carousel Theatre’s Teen Shakespeare Program and actors Emily Snee and Afshin Haidari were talking a bit about their experience and reasons why you should come watch the show.  But what really hit me was when Afshin was reflecting on the whole acting process:

You do Shakespeare in school and you sleep through it. It’s one of those things where when we came to actually acting it out, it turned out to be so much different than how it was when we were doing it with the English teacher. You’re no longer just reading it. You’re acting it out and the words are, sort-of, what you’re thinking. The way we have been able to convey those feelings — using those words as a channel to convey those feelings — now I understand those words so much better and I know that anyone who is going to be watching us is going to understand those words a lot better.

The video made me smile.  It made me want to watch the show (turns out it’s free).

As an actor, I love discovering and rediscovering the meaning behind the words in a script. And as an actor, I love it when I see other actors and non-actors have their own discoveries.

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June 15 2009. Monday evening. Walking along Granville St in downtown Vancouver. Walking past people who had no clue that some of the most talented theatre professionals and an abundance of theatre lovers were culminating in the second floor venue, Commodore Ballroom.

I admit that it was the first time I attended the Jessie Awards and I didn’t know what to expect. Heading into the ballroom, the room was abuzz. It was like a family reunion for some — the kind of family you want to hang out with. I said hi to some familiar faces like Lori Triolo (Cold Reading Series) and Paul Armstrong (Celluloid Social Club) and introduced myself to some new faces, like Simon Ogden (The Next Stage Mag). Simon and I had exchanged tweets on twitter before so it was nice to meet him in person.

Even though we were there for the awards ceremony, I didn’t feel the sense that it was all about competition between theatre professionals or companies. It truly felt like a gathering of people to celebrate what theatre has to offer the community.

Simon said it well on his blog:

I saw people basking in the glow of community. I saw a room full of people who don’t make very much money off of the thing that they love, and celebrating it anyway. I saw revered community members proud of the industry they have created, and young professionals proud of the industry they are creating.

Community. Community. Community. I try to push the importance as much as possible for the film and theatre community. Without each other we will not be able to build a sustainable and thriving local industry. We need to work together to build that community which can be recognized around the world.

For a list of winners, you can go to www.jessies.ca . Or even better, Simon (@thenextstagemag) and I (@kenjimaeda) live-tweeted the event throughout the evening. You can check out the tweetcast here.

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners of the 27th Jessie Richardson Awards.

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