30 Seasons of Setting the Stage at the Capitol Theatre
By Contributor
Now celebrating its 30th anniversary, the Capitol Theatre is set to celebrate with a stellar lineup for the 2017/2018 season. In addition to the usual exciting line-up, a special anniversary celebration, “Setting the Stage: 30 Years of Making a Scene,” is in the works for March 10.
The new season features 12 main stage theatre, music, and dance performances. The Arts Club Theatre of Vancouver appears twice, with “Mom’s the Word 3: Nest 1/2 Empty” and “ONEGIN”, which was written by Amiel Gladstone and Veda Hille.
Ragmop Theatre will treat us to a wonderfully bizarre mastery of physical theatre and Shay Kuebler returns with his contemporary dance piece “Telemetry” featuring tap dancer Danny Nielson. OURO Collective will be on stage with their dance performance “Tangent” and deliver workshops on hip-hop, waacking, breaking, popping and contemporary dance. We have a selection of music for all tastes from jazz to world music, and amazing performance about obsessive-compulsive disorder “Brain” by Brendan McLeod. Ballet Joergen Canada will treat us to “Anastasia.” ,and since we know that laughter is the ultimate medicine we are presenting two hilarious comedy acts.
“This season, Capitol Theatre performances will start at 7:30pm to make it easier for patrons who have to travel back home in the winter months and for parents who have to hire a baby sitter,” says Executive Director Stephanie Fischer. “Our patrons have been asking for this, and we’ve acted!”
We’ll offer two exciting Capitol off-site shows: “šxʷʔam̓ət (home)” asks: What does reconciliation mean to you? Directed by David Diamond this play will take be presented at LVR Secondary School. The second off-site performance is “Fireworks Community Choir”, directed by Allison Girvan, and is set to be the largest choir experience in Nelson’s history, performing at the Nelson & District Community Complex arena.
Five family shows from music to dance to shadow theatre round out the schedule, and the theatre’s partnership with Nelson Overture Concerts Society offers four additional classical music events. Performances on Screen presentations will bring live theatre from the Royal Theatre and National Theatre of Britain to the Capitol’s state-of-the-art screen. Many other events, music, and performances produced locally also take the stage at the Capitol during the season.
“This year special appreciation is due to those who had the vision and tenacity to refurbish a damaged old theatre,” says Fischer. Originally built in 1927 and re-opened in 1988, the theatre is thriving thanks to everyone whose efforts brought the Capitol back to life, she explains. “What does the future hold? If the past is any indication, it’s going to be amazing.”
The season kicks off with a free screening on September 16th at 7pm of “Under the Sun” by Vitaly Mansky – an inside look at North Korean propaganda, this documentary offers a vision of social perfection that comes at the expense of messy truth and human complexity.
The Capitol’s season brochure will arrive in mailboxes in September, with full subscriptions offered at a 20% discount. A full calendar is available at capitoltheatre.bc.ca.
Photo caption: Arts Club Theatre Vancouver “ONEGIN” – Photo courtesy David Cooper
