Due to pandemic restrictions, fewer than 50 tickets could be sold for the Dave Brubeck Centenary Concert last month at Raven’s Cry Theatre, as part of the Sechelt Arts Festival. But you can catch a free performance on YouTube and enjoy the Sunshine Coast’s Dan Brubeck and Katherine Penfold as they join Miles Black, Adam Thomas and Steve Kaldestad celebrating the 100th birthday year of jazz giant Dave Brubeck. The performance is intercut with the Dan sharing stories about his dad. Priceless.
Go to the Sechelt Arts Festival website and check under the Video heading to get the link.
Sans Cru
The Off the Page play reading series is back at the Heritage Playhouse on Sunday, Nov.15, with Chloe Packer’s one-act play Sans Cru, about a teen and her parents celebrating a birthday, although the celebratory part quickly goes off the rails. Actors Tara Fynn, Richard Austin, and Sophia Ballantyne will bring us this painfully funny crucible about family. Playwright Packer will be on hand for a chat with the audience and actors following the reading. The in-theatre show is sold out, but as of press time, the producers were still working to get the performance live-streamed. Check the Off the Page Facebook page for details.
Stepping up
Plays have been performed in parks for centuries, and a production in that grand tradition has generated a $515 donation to the Heritage Playhouse. The theatre, like those up and down the Coast and around the world, are struggling with meagre revenues – if any at all – due to the pandemic. So, the Driftwood Players theatre troupe put together a show at Dougall Park on Sept. 29, garnering donations from an appreciative, socially distanced, and masked audience who turned out on a sunny Tuesday afternoon for a performance of Nothing to Be Done. Starring Micheal Oswald and Richard Austin, the play was a mashup of three absurd masterpieces, Babel Rap, by John Lazarus, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, by Tom Stoppard, and Waiting for Godot, by Samuel Beckett. Bravo!
Talking trees
The Sunshine Coast Arts Council is hosting two online discussions related to the current exhibition, Our Ancient Forests, at the Doris Crowston Gallery in Sechelt. On Friday, Nov. 13, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., hear stories about two sacred rainforests in two very different regions – the Amazon and B.C. – sharing rituals, mythology, and testaments from the people who have protected them. On Saturday, Nov. 14, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. you can join in an Artists in Dialogue conversation with the creators whose work is part of the exhibition. What role can art play in saving our ancient forests? Ross Muirhead from Elphinstone Logging Focus will lead the discussion by sharing a context for the Dakota Bear Sanctuary on the slopes of Mount Elphinstone. The events are free, but pre-registration is required through eventbrite.ca.
Live music
Last we heard, the Clubhouse Restaurant at the Pender Harbour Golf Course was still planning to serve up some live music this weekend. On Friday, Nov. 13, from 5 to 8 p.m., you can hear Apasionado, featuring Lori Carmichael and Randy Rayment. On Sunday, Nov. 15 it’s the Blue Line Trio, from 2 to 5 p.m. 604-883-9542
Happy hip hop
It can be hard to wrap my balding head around a rap tune, but the Coast’s Keely Halward has joined with Vancouver’s Jo Megasonic for a song that all ages can enjoy. Look to Tomorrow features Megasonic’s sweet rap mixed with a chorus sung by Halward. You can catch the locally written and recorded tune about life amid COVID in a video shot in Roberts Creek, on YouTube. Just search for Look to Tomorrow.
Space is limited in Art Beat but please let us know about your events at arts@coastreporter.net
