Pi Theatre

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There is so much great theatre to experience in Vancouver, and now
that things have quieted down for the moment at Pi, that frees you up
to take in as much theatre as you desire. A few upcoming shows that
we suggest are as follows:

One of Pi’s own board members Christine Quintana wrote and is performing in a recession-era musical. Delinquent Theatre is proud to present Stationary: a Recession Era Musical playing at the Presentation House Theatre April 4-14.

Stationary explores the lives of 8 young people at a moment when big dreams meet reality checks. Saddled with crippling student loan debts, high cost of living and a recession-era economy, our young characters are just trying to get by in a “yoga and sushi-swilling succubus of a city.”

For more information on this show visit delinquenttheatre.com.

If you are looking for a morbid romp through Victorian funerary
culture, look no further than the Cultch from April 30 to May 4.

Highgate jumps straight from the darkest part of Tara Cheyenne
Friedenberg’s imagination. Reflecting personal and collective grief, a
band of figures captivate in this fascinating gothic dance of death,
physical oddity, humour, and horror.

For more information on this show visit thecultch.com.

If you are looking for adventurous, high energy, and sophisticated new
work by emerging companies and artists, visit the Cultch May 14 - 26.

rEvolver Theatre Festival is an Upintheair Theatre production bringing
audiences the full range of contemporary theatrical practice, from
script-based theatre to devised and site-specific works, staged
readings of work-in-progress, and in-depth discussions with artists.
Expect everything EXCEPT the Kitchen Sink.

For more information visit Upintheairtheatre.com.

For more information about the theatre scene, you can also check out
GVPTA’s website for information about upcoming shows and Vancouver’s performing arts organizations.

After a successful run of Terminus, we would like to invite all of our friends, colleagues, and members to our upcoming workshop reading of Sean Devine’s new play, Except in the Unlikely Event of War. Hosted by SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement, the reading is on April 4th at 7:00pm in the Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre at the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts.

Except in the Unlikely Event of War  is a dark, political satire on the use of war as a means of societal control, the politicization of art & media, the mutability of truth. Mixing fact and fiction, this exciting new play inter-weaves three different stories. Join us after the reading for a panel discussion reflecting the play’s themes.

Except in the Unlikely Event of War

April 4, 2013 | 7:00-9:30 PM
Tickets: $10

Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre,
Goldcorp Centre for the Arts

Written by Sean Devine
Directed by Richard Wolfe
Featuring Sean Devine | Mack Gordon | Luisa Jojic | Josette Jorge | Robert Moloney

For more information, please visit www.pitheatre.com or www.horseshoeandhandgrenades.ca.

A big thank you for all of the support that led to the success of Terminus! There are so many people that play a part in the success of a production, not only the talented artists who have done an incredible job with Terminus, making it a tremendously beautiful production, but also the many volunteers who played a part during the run of the show, and of course to our many patrons and sponsors, without you, this would not be possible. We appreciate all the continued support from patrons and audience members that are long-time fans of Pi, as well as all of our new members that have just joined us for this season. It has been tremendous fun, and we hope to see all of you in the Fall for our next production, and for many years to come! Thank you!

To celebrate our favourite day of the year, I thought I would write a post about the history of Pi Day! After a quick Wikipedia search, here is what I have found:

Fun Facts About Pi Day!

1.  Pi Day is celebrated on March 14 (3/14 in month/date format) as 3, 1, 4 are the most important digits of Pi in decimal form.

2. Pi Day was first officially celebrated by Larry Shaw in 1988 at the San Francisco Exploratorium.

3. MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) mails their acceptance letters to prospective students on March 14th to celebrate Pi Day. Good luck to all 2013 applicants/geniuses!

4. March 14th is also Albert Einsteins Birthday.

5. A common way to celebrate Pi Day is to literally eat pie or pastries. (Although some mathematicians do not support this)

6. To celebrate Pi Day in Vancouver, come to Pi Theatre’s production of Terminus by Mark O’Rowe! The show is tonight at 8pm at Performance Works on Granville Island. Yes, we’ll allow pie in the theatre.

The first week of Terminus is almost to a close! Audiences have been raving about the production, and, in particular, the distinct writing style of Mark O’Rowe. As my inaugural blog post as Pi Theatre’s Interim Office Manager, I thought I would share some information about the man in question.

Mark O’Rowe is part of a generation of playwrights who emerged in the 1990’s whose values challenge the norm with surreal and violent tales of a more urban focus. His contemporaries include Martin McDonagh and Conor McPherson. O’Rowe won the IFTA Award for Best Screenplay for his first film, Intermission, in 2003. His film work since includes Perrier’s Bounty, an adaptation of Jonathan Trigell’s acclaimed novel Boy A, and Broken, which debuted at Cannes in 2012.

His work for the stage includes Howie the Rookie (1999), which won the George Devine Award, the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, and the Irish Times/ESB Theatre Award. Howie the Rookie and his follow-up Crestfall are both, like Terminus, monologue plays, where the characters address the audience directly and never speak to one another. A self-professed fan of kung-fu movies and horror films, O’Rowe wants to push Irish theatre forward and examine contemporary life. He has what he describes as a laddish interest in violence and gore, but writes in a distinctively poetic style.

Oh, by the way, my name is Catherine Ballachey and I’ll be taking over the blog posts for the next month or so. Becky moved on to Rumble and the search for a new General Manager is on! I’ll be filling in until that person is found. You may remember me from my Administrative Intern and Outreach Coordinator days with Pi. I’m excited to be back!

Terminus opened last night to a full house and enthusiastic post-show comments. The Terminus Lounge with a video installation by Parjad Sharifi was a big hit as well. An electric time was had by all.

More of the amazing team that has worked creatively behind the scenes to bring you Terminus.

Parjad Sharifi, Projection Installation

Parjad Sharifi is a theatre scenographer, director, and new media creator. He holds a MFA in scenography from the University of British Columbia. He is the recipient of the 2012 Jessie Richardson Award for outstanding lighting design in small theatre. Parjad is currently pursuing research on new media and expressive scenography as a PhD candidate at SFU’s School of Interactive Arts and Technology.

Carmen Alatorre, Costume Designer

Originally from Mexico City, Carmen earned her MFA degree in Theatre Design from the University of British Columbia and has worked as a designer in Vancouver since 2006. Some of her local recent design credits include: The Patron Saint of Stanley Park (Arts Club), Fresco (Bella Luna Theatre), Women of Troy (SFU Woodward’s), The Forbidden Phoenix, The Sound of Music, and Fiddler on the Roof (Gateway Theatre). Thanks to Pi Theatre for this opportunity. Carmen is a member of Associate Designers of Canada. www.carmenalatorre.com

Alan Brodie, Lighting Designer

Alan is very pleased to return once again to Pi Theatre, having previously created the lighting design for the 1998 Pi production of Warriors. Past collaborations with Richard Wolfe include Diplomacy, and A Skull in Connemara with Western Theatre Conspiracy. Alan has been recognized with Jessie Richardson Awards for his lighting design for The Light in the Piazza, Tear the Curtain, Beyond Eden, Miss Julie: Freedom Summer, Diplomacy, Mary’s Wedding, Art, and The Overcoat, a Betty Mitchell Award for Beyond Eden, a Sterling Award for Red, and a Bay Area Critics Circle Award for Vigil. In 2012 he was shortlisted for the Siminovitch Prize in Theatre. Alan has designed for most of Canada’s regional theatres, in addition to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Shaw Festival, National Ballet of Canada, Canadian Opera Company, Vancouver Opera, and Pacific Opera Victoria. On the international stage his work has appeared at American Conservatory Theatre, (San Francisco), Centre Theatre Group (Los Angeles), and Nederlands Dans Theatre (The Hague), as well as numerous international theatre festivals. Recent productions include Spring Awakening, (Studio 58), Fiddler on the Roof (Gateway), A Christmas Carol (Belfry), The Light in the Piazza (Persephone Theatre), Tear the Curtain (Canadian Stage/Electric Co.), Macbeth (Pacific Opera Victoria), Wanderlust (Stratford Festival), and Ragtime (Shaw Festival). A 1989 graduate of the UBC Theatre Program, Alan has taught at UBC and the National Theatre School of Canada. He is a member of the Associated Designers of Canada. www.alanbrodie.ca

David Roberts

What a pleasure it is to be working with such a talented team of creators. It has been too long since my last Pi collaboration, The 8th Land, and I hope there are many more to come. Other satisfying projects this season: Don Pasquale for Saskatoon Opera, She Stoops to Conquer for the Arts Club, Attempts on Her Life for Studio 58, and Eternal Hydra for Touchstone. David is a proud member for the Associated Designers of Canada. www.davidscenographer.ca

David Mesiha, Sound Designer, Composer

David is an award winning music composer/sound designer for theatre, film, and multimedia. David has enjoyed critical acclaim for his innovative approach to music in theatre, an example of which are his scores for shows such as The Busy World is Hushed, Project X, and Trunk. He utilizes a mixture of orchestral composition techniques with creative multi-channel sound design that is often derived from his computer programming research to provide a fully immersive oral experience for audiences. Whatever the medium may be, David strives to communicate complex ideas through innovative means that take audiences on journeys of immersion and discovery while not leaving them behind as mere spectators.

Terminus had its last day of rehearsal today. It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with this remarkable acting company of Leanna Brodie, Pippa Mackie and John Emmet Tracy and the extraordinary design team of Alan Brodie, David Roberts, Carmen Alatorre,  David Mesiha and Parjad Sharifi. SM Jethelo E. Cabilete, and ASM Jillian Perry kept things running smoothly. We’re all looking forward to joining our first audience on preview night, Thursday Feb. 28th for a drink in the Terminus Lounge before and after the show.

Let us introduce you to the fabulous actors, designers, director, and members of the crew that help to make up the Terminus Team!

Richard Wolfe, Director

Richard came to Pi Theatre in 2008 after more than a decade with Theatre Conspiracy. Plays he’s directed include seven Canadian premieres of contemporary international work and six new Canadian plays - four of which have been published - as well as plays translated from French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Mandarin, and Russian.

Richard has received four Jessie nominations for Outstanding Director and one for Significant Artistic Achievement. He is a member of the Lincoln Centre Theatre Directors’ Lab in New York (where he led a workshop on Thornton Wilder); has participated in the Directors Project at the Shaw Festival, and is a member of the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas.

Richard has devised and directed shows for Hive 1,2, and 3, was a founding member of Theatre Under the Gun, and has worked as a dramaturg/director on many new scripts and collective creation pieces.

Leanna Brodie “A”

Leanna is a newcomer to Vancouver whose work as a Toronto-based actor has ranged from Shakespeare to Carmen Aguirre’s The Refugee Hotel and the Canadian premiere of Road.

Leanna’s own plays - including The Vic, For Home and Country, and The Book of Esther - are known for their range of powerful roles for women, are published by Vancouver’s Talon Books, and have been performed across Canada. She has created Libretti for BC composer Craig Galbraith, Ontario-based David Ogborn, and most recently, New Zealand’s Anthony Young. Their opera Ulla’s Odyssey premiered in Auckland in May 2012.

Leanna has translated the work of several noted Quebec playwrights into English: Catherine Leger’s Opium_37 will shortly be published by Playwrights Canada Press, and Helene Ducharme’s Baobab is coming to the Vancouver International Children’s Festival in May, having toured North America with over 400 performances.

Currently, Leanna is the Playwright-in-Residence at the Lighthouse Festival Theatre and at the 4th Line Theatre.

Pippa Mackie “B”

Since graduating from the National Theatre School of Canada’s acting program in 2009, Pippa has worked with the Arts Club (Gordon), Green Thumb Theatre (Wired), United Players (Rosmersholm), Delinquent Theatre (Spring Awakening and Our Time), Twenty Something Theatre (Us and Everything We Own), Touchstone Theatre (In Tune Conference) and the Gateway Theatre (Annie and Sylvia).

Pippa is also a writer; she co-wrote, directed, and performed in Progressive Polygamists, which received 5 stars at Fringe Festivals across Canada, and was awarded the Vancouver 2011 Pick of the Fringe, and Edmonton Fringe Festival Hold-Over. Her latest play Bait, which she performed at the 2012 PULL Festival, has been picked up by Sociable Films for a feature-length screenplay, and her newest short play Protest Pie premiered at the 2013 PULL Festival at Little Mountain Gallery. Pippa is currently writing a television show with Joseph Klymkiw entitled Vancouver.

Pippa’s upcoming shows include Don Juan at the Gateway Theatre, and Oleanna at Pacific Theatre.

John Emmet Tracy, “C”

In over 30 years as an actor, John Emmet Tracy has worked extensively in theatre, film, television, commercials, and voiceovers. He has performed in over 80 stage productions, including playing Hamlet in Hamlet (Japan tour) and recently performed at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London, where he was selected as a member of the Globe’s International Actors’ Fellowship. Additional productions include Macbeth, Animal Farm, and Little Women, all with Kaleidoscope Theatre. TV/film credits include Supernatural, Smallville, Fringe, Sanctuary, The Killing, Psych, Fairly Legal, Motive, Divine: The Series, The Dead Zone, and American Mary among many others. Additionally, his voice may be heard in Assassin’s Creed III, the latest installment of the award-winning and critically-acclaimed video game series.

John received his training at Rose Bruford College (Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre), the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, the National Shakespeare Conservatory in New York, and from master teachers Uta Hagen, Lynn Redgrave, Edward Albee, and Madeleine Sherwood.

Check out this blog posting by our newest board member, Rob Maguire. We’re very excited to have Rob on the team!