By Melanie Minty, Now-Leader arts columnist
This is the “golden” season for Surrey Civic Theatres. Yep, it’s 50 years of theatre at Surrey Arts Centre. The newer Centre Stage at Surrey City Hall theatre space (which doubles as city council chambers) is included in the celebrations.
The 50th-anniversary season opens with a “Canada 150” musical tribute called “Oh, Canada, We Sing For Thee!” on Friday, Sept. 22 at 8 p.m. at Surrey Arts Centre. Tickets range from $29 to 49, including all fees, via 604-501-5566 and tickets.surrey.ca. The production features hit songs by Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Gordon Lightfoot, Anne Murray, The Guess Who, Neil Young, Bryan Adams, Michael Bublé, Shania Twain and more. Sounds like a great start to the season.
Highlights for the anniversary season include the Arts Club On Tour series, part of the Surrey Spectacular season. It is pure-gold entertainment featuring Mom’s the Word 3: Nest 1/2 Empty, the latest chapter from the creative team behind the world‑renowned series. Next in the theatre series, at Surrey Arts Centre’s mainstage, are Stephen King’s chilling thriller Misery, and then Onegin, a hit musical and winner of many awards.
New at Centre Stage this year is a series of staged readings in partnership with Peninsula Productions, the company that brought Sea of Stories to White Rock (it runs until Saturday, Aug. 26 at Coast Capital Playhouse). Staged readings have no costumes, set designs, props or actors memorizing lines. The play is read from a script. It is an economic way to bring a play to the public, and get a taste of theatre. First of these staged readings is For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again, by Canadian playwright Michel Tremblay, on Oct. 18.
A big thank you to Melanie Minty of the @SurreyNowLeader for this wonderful review of #SeaofStories! https://t.co/oGNQ9oJ15N
— PeninsulaProductions (@PeninsulaProduc) August 17, 2017
Would any of these presentations be happening outside of the 50th-anniversary flag? Of course. Our civic theatres are not going to leave you with nothing. But this is a special season with new series, seating and pricing packages to choose from. The full schedule can be found at surrey.ca/theatre. Hard copies of the Surrey Spectacular season brochure are available at community centres and libraries throughout the city. Go for the gold.
While the above productions are from professional companies, it is to be noted that community theatre is alive and well and absolutely thriving in Surrey. The goal is to build audiences; we amateurs in theatre do like to think we are doing our productions for you, and not just for ourselves. Want to get involved with theatre? Of course you do. Start with taking some acting classes and workshops.
Imagine That! Productions has acting and improve classes for 16 years and up. These classes run from Sept. 11 to Dec. 4, and I imagine that you will totally enjoy all the classes. They will be on Monday evenings from 7 to 8:45 somewhere in the West Langley/East Cloverdale area. Hey, it isn’t easy to find suitable space. Contact Faith at imaginethatplace.com to pre-register and get the lowdown. For now, just imagine that space that will be available.
Each of the 10 classes will cover some aspect of acting and end with some improv fun and games. Oh yes, improv is fun. For the novice actor, improv is outside the comfort zone. But then, being on stage and acting means taking risks. Take the risk – practice may not make you perfect, but it does create a comfort zone. I know, I know, everyone wants you to go outside your comfort zone and “think outside the box.” I am saying right here and now, that there is nothing wrong at all with creating your own comfort zone. Just take the classes, interact, react, and then go on to acting. You can do it.
Surrey Little Theatre is also offering acting classes. The Acting Outright Theatre Program is aimed at children aged six to 11. The instructor is Linda McRae and classes start Sept. 11; a 12-week program starts Sept. 20. It includes basic acting, singing, movement, improv games and more. I don’t have a lot more information about this program right now, so this is just a heads-up warning. September is upon us, and back to school for kids is the priority right now. If you are interested in this program, send a message of interest to actingoutright@gmail.com for particulars. How about that? I am assigning homework already and school hasn’t even started yet. What can I say, it’s a golden moment.