Last year I attended the popular Backstage with Bernard panel and did some blogging here about it.

This year it’s back with a new host.  Jackson Davies is a Vancouver based actor who appeared on The Beachcombers, 21 Jump Street, and Street Justice.

I’m sitting in on the 1pm panel and will be live blogging here and also live tweeting as @WTD10.

This afternoon’s panelists are:

Pat Smith – Head of Wardrobe, Vancouver Playhouse

Kenji Maeda – Actor, founder of www.vancouveractorsguide.com

Heather Redfern – Executive Director, Vancouver East Cultural Centre

Tanja Dixon-Warren – GVPTA President, Co-Artistic Director of Hoarse Raven Theatre

(not pictured) Manami Hara – Actress in film & theatre

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1:58pm – The 1pm panel is wrapping. There’s two more this afternoon: one at 2pm & one at 3pm. World Theatre Day is Saturday – check out the theatre happening in this city this week.

1:52pm – Jackson Davies “If you really want to freak out the parents of the people you are dating, tell them you are in the arts.”

1:45pm – Audience question: “Does needing to sell to people change the art?”

Tanja Dixon-Warren: “I wish I was a super creative person & could write my own play…What has worked best for us is when a script keeps us up at night and we just WANT to do, those have sold really well. When we’ve picked shows because we go ‘This will sell well!’ then blegh…I was so focused on trying to balance the money that it didn’t sell the way we thought it would sell and that goes back to the heart of why we did it….When you do a show that you love you can’t help but do it justice.”

Heather Redfern: “If it’s bad, nobody’s going to come. I don’t care if it’s West Side Story. You have to put the best work on the stage that you possibly can and then you have to market it the best you possibly can.”

Manami Hara: “When I start assuming something will sell…then yes, I think the art suffers because there is something that is not based on what you are really connected to.”

1:38pm – Audience member: “It really bugs me that fantastic actors have to leave here to get recognized… They should be able to make a living here. There are fantastic plays here…I just wish you good luck.”

1:37pm – Talk a little bit about Hive

Kenji Maeda – “As an audience member you go in – you buy a ticket – and then you find your way into one of the rooms. There are some that happen within the lobby area and three that are outside….Being able to see so many shows at once was so exciting. The energy in the building, of being able to choose, was fantastic.”

1:28pm – Jackson Davies: “What about Vancouver audiences? What kind of audiences are Vancouver audiences?”

Manami Hara – “Vancouver audiences are really well educated…[local companies] bring in such fantastic shows so the audiences are ready for something new and out side the box…but they are really laid back at the same time.”

Heather Redfern – “I don’t think there is ONE Vancouver audience. And there isn’t a lot of cross-over between audiences. You don’t get a lot of Bard on the Beach folks going to the Cultch UNLESS it’s a Blackbird theatre show or something in their meileau…My job in programming is to find the people that each show is for.”

1:21pm – Question to Pat Smith: “What would be your dream piece to do from a costume perspective?”

Pat Smith – “It’s sad to me that there are no period pieces now…I love to get a bolt of fabric and then make it into 3D. I get a real kick out of that…The more yardage the better.”

Heather Redfern – “I miss that. I started out as a designer…and that sense of creating something that you’re basically sculpting is extraordinary. I really miss that.”

1:19pm – Question: “Do you see theatre becoming closer to new media?”

Kenji Maeda: “I think that using new media or projections or new techniques brings in new audiences which is very important. I think if we are not adapting to what the community – or younger audiences are seeing – if they think theatre is only Shakespeare or kids wearing flowers or being a clown, then they are going to be turned off of theatre. I think new media is one way of doing it. But I also think that marketing traditional theatre in a new way is another angle. Theatre is about reflecting what the community is at a specific time.”

1:14pm – Question: “Can people specialize in theatre? Do we do these things because we want to or because we have to in order to survive?”

Manami Hara: “I didn’t choose to become a theatre artist. It somehow was always there – ‘come. come.’ And you answer that call and there’s no turning back.”

Tanja Dixon – Warren: “I think some people can afford to “just” be an actor. I wish I was one of them…I don’t think I would have survived in this industry if I didn’t wear all these hats.”

1:08pm – None of the panelists want to use the microphone. They’re actors & know how to project.

1:08pm – Why is Jackson doing this? “As an actor that’s probably my favourite time. Right before the lights come up and you’re standing backstage. I love that kick of adrenaline.”

1:06pm – The panels today are being video taped and will be available online in the days to come.

1:05pm – Trivia: Jackson has been in over 110 Theatre productions.

1:04pm – The panelists are starting to take their place.

12:43pm – The panelists & audience are beginning to arrive for the 1pm panel.

2010 will mark the seventh year that The Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance has organized local World Theatre Day celebrations. While World Theatre Day was established by the International Theatre Institute on March 27th, 1961, many theatre artists are still unfamiliar with this one day a year when we commemorate Theatre.

This year’s WTD celebrations will take place primarily during the final week of March, and include free and discounted theatre performances, open rehearsals, play readings, backstage tours, and talkbacks. Also, expect the unexpected in the form of theatre flashmobs popping up all over.

This year also includes the ever-popular Art by Actors, where well-known theatre personalities try their hands at visual art for a change. Their paintings will be on display at The Stanley Industrial Alliance Theatre and viewable online on the Arts Club website from March 11–April 17.

On March 21, at the Central Branch of the library, Vancouver’s beloved stage and screen actor Jackson Davies (The Producers, The Foursome, The Beachcombers) will be hosting a series of intimate, no-holds barred discussions with people who shape theatre in this city. The panel includes Pat Smith (Playhouse Costume Mistress), Colleen Wheeler (Bard on the Beach), Amiel Gladstone (writer and Artistic Director), Sasa Brown (Jessie-winning actor) and many more.

On March 28, come to the World Theatre Day Wrap Party at the WISE Hall. Mix and mingle with other theatre lovers and artists as we party it up, World Theatre Day style! Program includes reading the International WTD message, encore performances and videos of our flash mob events, and video conferencing with other WTD parties world-wide. Admission is by donation.

In addition, this year’s World Theatre Day message, written by Dame Judi Dench, will be read prior to curtain on stages all over Vancouver and the World on March 27.

For a full schedule of local events go to: http://www.gvpta.ca/world-theatre-day.

From Deb Pickman, publicist at the University of British Columbia’s Theatre program:

We’re offering $5 rush seats on World Theatre Day for Christopher Durang and Albert Innaurato’s wild comedy The Idiots Karamazov – and of course we’re reading the WTD message before the show!

www.theatre.ubc.ca
http://blogs.arts.ubc.ca/wordpressmu/theatre/

Twitter: @TheatreUBC

Here are some highlights from Vancouver:

Free and discounted performances of: The Real Thing, Homechild, Bashir Lazhar, Écran de Fumée, Tony ‘N Tina’s Wedding, Toronto, Mississippi, A Time to Dance, This is CANCER?, Final Draught Script Reading Series, Theatre Sports, Stone Soup, The Idiots Karamazov, Mesa, and Where the River Meets the Sea.

Open Rehearsals for Tony ‘n’ Tina’s Wedding, and Life Savers.

Art By Actors
Well known theatre personalities try their hands at visual art for a change!
On display in the lobby of the Stanley Theatre until April 12. Participating local
theatre artists include: Tanja Dixon-Warren, Nicola Cavendish, Pam Johnson,
Sara-Jeanne Hosie, David Adams and many more. You can
even take an original work of art home! Available to the highest bidder.
View art and bid online at www.artsclub.com. Info: 604.608.6799.
Info: 604.684.2787 or www.pitheatre.com, www.ticketstonight.ca

SceneFirst: Three Plays in Three Days!
Gateway Theatre announces its fifth annual SceneFirst play development series.
Out of 70 plays from across Canada, three have been selected by both emerging
and established playwrights. Come and see the plays of the future today.
March 18 and 19, 8:00 p.m. and March 20, 2:00 p.m. at
Gateway Theatre,Studio B. Tickets Pay-What-You-Can (suggested $5).
Info: 604.270.1812,www.gatewaytheatre.com,
artisticassociate@gatewaytheatre.com.

Backstage with Bernard
2:00, 3:00 & 4:00 p.m. at the Alice McKay Room, Vancouver Public Library,
Central Branch. Join the Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance and
the Vancouver Public Library as we celebrate World Theatre Day. Vancouver’s
beloved actor Bernard Cuffling hosts a series of intimate, no-holds barred
discussions with people who shape theatre in this city. Guest panelists include
Artistic Directors Max Reimer, Christopher Gaze and Wayne Specht, actors
Anna Cummer, Karin Konoval and many more. Join us for one or all three of
these fascinating discussions. Find out what REALLY goes on backstage!
While there, check out the GVPTA’s costume and set model displays on the
library’s main and 3rd floors. Info: 604.608.6799, or info@gvpta.ca.

Performing Arts Lodge presents the first session of The CONVERSATION Series
featuring inspirational interactive discussions on various elements of theatre
production led by distinguished veterans of the community. Eminent actors Joy
Coghill and William Samples will will host a session on “Creating a Role.”
6:00-8:00 pm. at the PAL Theatre, (581 Cardero St.). Tickets are free of charge but
reservations are advised. Info: camillaross@shaw.ca.

Hoarse Raven Theatre hosts a World Theatre Day Club at The Other Space.
Open to artists, audience and crew alike. Come have a drink and unwind after
your World Theatre Day activities. 9:30 p.m.–midnight. Info: 604.665.2373.

Playhouse Theatre Company Production Centre
Come behind-the-scenes of Western Canada’s biggest theatrical production
facility to see how our talented artisans create the magic you see on stage and
meet our Artistic Managing Director, Max Reimer.
6:00-7:00 p.m., at the Playhouse Production Centre (127 E. 2nd Ave).
Info 604.629.2096, or mnorrad@vancouverplayhouse.com.

MARCH 29…………………PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN
My First Time – The Tour
Cast members from Mum’s the Word, Tony ‘n Tina’s Wedding,
Vancouver TheatreSports League, The Number 14, and Shameless
Hussies perform scenes or tell anecdotes of their first or most
memorable touring experiences. This annual celebratory benefit has
developed a following and is a great way to share many fascinating
theatre stories from onstage and behind the scenes. Also appearing:
Musical Theatre students from Capilano College. Hosts: Bob
Robertson & Linda Cullen of Double Exposure. Preceded by a
reading of the International 2009 World Theatre Day Message, and
followed by a Reception and Silent Auction to benefit the GVPTA.
Tickets are Pay-What-You-Can, suggested donation $15.
8:00 p.m. at Performance Works, Granville Island.
Info: 604.608.6799, info@gvpta.ca.

For a full listing of all of Vancouver’s World Theatre Day events, click here.

On March 27, join us at The Other Space (formerly the Queen Elizabeth restaraunt, home of Hoarse Raven and Tony ‘n’ Tina’s Wedding) from 10:30 pm on for the WTD After Party! We will have the blog up so you can see how other theatre artists are celebrating, and we will share our party with them!

And stay tuned to the blog for updates and coverage from Vancouver by the WTD team: Lois Dawson, Simon Ogden, Trilby Jeeves and Rebecca Coleman.

Vancouver has been a long time celebrator of World Theatre Day.  Our local theatre alliance organizes big events every year (and this year is no exception).  While those plans are still yet to be announced, local companies are beginning to blog about what they are doing.

Here are a few examples of what’s happening:

Pi Theatre

Join us for the World Theatre Day matinée of Bashir Lazhar on March 8. Tickets are only $18.

Pacific Theatre

Please join us in celebrating World Theatre Day, 2009! World Theatre Day is celebrated every year on March 27, and is sponsored by The International Theatre Institute.*

BUY A REGULAR TICKET TO A TIME TO DANCE AT PACIFIC THEATRE FOR FRIDAY MARCH 27, 8pm AND RECEIVE A 2nd TICKET ABSOLUTELY FREE!

As more local companies announce their plans, I’ll be updating this post.
If you and your company have plans that you’d like to see posted on the official World Theatre Day blog, please send an e-mail to findbex(at)gmail(dot)com or dawson(dot)lois(at)gmail(dot)com.