The Showcase of the Performing Arts (SOPA) that opened on July 2 continues this weekend in the air-conditioned Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons.
In this ninth annual presentation, there have been many magic moments and a few yet to come. Tonight (Friday) is the last evening of Talking Heads by playwright Alan Bennett and performed by the doyennes of local theatre, Colleen Elson and Nest Lewis.
Miss Berni G (Berni Garrison) takes to the stage in her Saturday evening performance entitled Spontaneous Combustion. The audience that watched her fall off her piano stool (on purpose) during SOPA's July 3 informal concert know she has a talent for comic pranks.
"It's a music and comedy show," Garrison said. "We make plans, but you never know what'll happen."
Two special guests will join the act. One is Zani Zelda: "She's promised to tone it down this time," Garrison said, and also a newcomer, Outback Ozzi. Actually, Ozzi is a well-known local actress with a comic flair.
"I'm having far too much fun with music these days," Garrison notes.
She often performs with her Frenz - in this case, local musicians Barry Taylor, Paul Steenhuis, Ian McLatchie and Gary McGwire. Expect jazz and pop standards with a bit of country and western swing. Actress Barb Christie will be on hand, as will the talented Walter Martella who is bringing his accordion. The show closes with a classic Miss Berni G sing-along.
SOPA's film night on July 7 proved to be much more than simply a screening. Silence at the Heart of Things is about the late composer and musician Oliver Schroer who was the inspiration for local young fiddlers - part of his Twisted String project. At SOPA, the evening opened with live dancers performing a piece from the locally produced H2O, last year's tribute to Schroer. The director of the film, Ellen Thalenberg, was in the audience to describe how it came about, and during the course of the film that focused on Schroer's last concert, many familiar faces could be seen - among them Coast fiddler Chelsea Sleep.
There were many magic moments in the 50-minute dance production of Skeleton Woman, particularly from choreographer and principal dancer, Lindsay Prentice. She and Pan Willson danced together in the scene, The Union, and it was both moving and passionate. Based on an Inuit legend, the skeleton woman is cast into the sea by her father until her bones are hooked by a fisherman.
Dancer Brittany Robert-son opened the show and nearly stole it with her dark energy. The music was eerie, from various sources, including original composition by J.J. Wagler. One scene in which the dancers use bones - an image often found in Inuit lore and art - effectively portrays people living on the edge of survival. The mood and movement is tense, until it is lightened by the younger dancers, from the tiny tots to preteens, who portray the beginning of the universe and are costumed to represent all of the earth's creatures.
Since the theatre was jam-packed and some had to be turned away, Prentice suggested that this community collaboration of many dancers might run again in the fall. Good idea. Many of the works produced especially for SOPA deserve an encore.
Check www.heritageplayhouse.com for more details on the remaining SOPA events.
