HEADLINERS

WORDS LAUREN KRAMER

A collection of all things arty, fun and spectacular happening this spring on Central Vancouver Island. Find murder and romance in Chemainus, revel in storytelling, take a studio tour, treat your ears to a symphonic rhapsody, enjoy theatrical comedy and visit an art show.

The 39 Steps at Chemainus Theatre.

MURDER + ROMANCE April 9 to May 3 ChemainusTheatre

Take a Hitchcock masterpiece, mix itwithan intriguing dash of spy novel and a sprinkle of Monty Python and you have The 39 Steps , a fast-paced whodunitplaying at the ChemainusTheatre this spring. In this play, which isa two-time Tony and Drama Desk Award winner, aman meets a mysterious, thick-accentedwoman who claims to be a spy. He takes her home and then discoversshe has beenmurdered. A nationwide manhunt ensues, in which the cast’s four actors create some 150 characters. The play includesan on-stage plane crash, handcuffs, missing fingers, romance and non-stop laughs.

“The way the piece is written allows each actor a comedic tour de force as the fast-paced show spins in all kinds of crazy directions,” says artistic director MarkDuMez. “The 39 Steps isa concoction of so many things that make for goodhumour: strong physical characters in impossible circumstances navigatingthrough a gauntlet of acting challenges. The show celebrates resilience in the face of all kinds of adversity and does it with comic aplomb that has broad appeal to a wide range of audiences.”

Chirine El Ansary.

The 39 Steps featuresKate Dion-Richard, Mallory James, Robert Clarke, andBrett Harris asHannay. Based on a classic movie, it’s become a classic comedy in its own right, saysDuMez, “and it really lifts the audience up in the telling. With its verbal and physical comedy, stylized scenes that harken back to film noir, and its fast pace, it feels right at home being performed at the ChemainusTheatre today.” Info: chemainustheatrefestival.ca

Choose the Mews boutique shopping and dining experience

• La Stella Trattoria • Primal Communications • Mobile Cellutions • Electric Umbrella • Robert Stacey Law Office • B. Clotheswise Uniforms • Bistro Taiyo • Lobelias Lair • Mad about Ewe • Real Foods

STORIES APLENTY! May 29-31 McMillan ArtsCentre

If you love stories be sure to diarize the Storytellers of Canada Conference, which will be held at the McMillan Arts Centre May 29-31.

Some of the best storytellers in Canada will converge onParksvillefor three days of workshops and fabulous storytelling at this annual conference. This year’s theme is Rivers of Voices, Ocean of Stories: Coming Together, andJennifer Bate, executive director at McMillan, says there’s lots to look forward to. “Chirine El Ansaryis one of our storytellers of note, an acclaimed Egyptian storyteller who will be telling herfavourite stories from the 1001 Arabian Nights on May 31,” Bate says. El Ansary hasdazzled audiences with performancesofher own writing and the stories of others in cities all over the world. All storytelling concerts and workshops are open to the public, and a free Introduction to Storytelling workshop will be open to the community on Sunday, May 24. For tickets and registration visit tinyurl.com/parksville2020.

COWICHAN ARTISANS SPRING STUDIO TOUR April 23-25 Cowichan Valley

The Cowichan artisans are a talented group of professionals whose crafts range from fine furniture and pottery to paintings, metal sculptures, intricate stone mosaics and smooth wooden bowls and boxes.

In their annualspringopen house, 12 members of the artisans’ guild willopen their home studios to the public for a weekend of arts conversation, touring, art appreciationandshoppingfor original art.

THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES FEB 14 - MAR 28

Kim’s Convenience: Maki Yi and James Yi.

PHOTO BY EMILY COOPER

“Many members of the public are fascinated with how we, as artisans, do our art and run our lives,” notes KarenTrickett, a member of the guild who specializes in making cabinetry. In its 11thyear, the guild’s artists all work full-time at their artfrom home studioslocated from Mill Bay to Ladysmith. Those studiosare open to the public for self-guided touring 10 am to 5 pm from Friday, April 23 through Sunday, April 25. Look out forbrochures with maps and information at tourist information offices, orvisitcowichanartisans.comto download anonline brochure.

KIM’S CONVENIENCE March 28 Cowichan Performing Arts Centre

Canada is a country composed of immigrant families, but not all ethnicities get equal access to the limelight. In his play Kim’s Convenience, Toronto-based Korean-Canadian playwright Ins Choi focuses on a Korean shopkeeper grappling with a changing neighbourhoodand the chasm between himself and his second-generation offspring.

“Audiences will be familiar with the characters from the television show,” said Kaitlin Williams, director at the Arts Club Theatre. “This play has broad appeal because it’s funny, filled with emotion and has a very strong heart. It’s the journey of a fractured but loving family forgiving the past and confronting the future.”

Choi was inspired to write the play after observing that he never saw himself in Canadian stories, where Korean characters were always marginalized.

“His goal was to zoom in to the margin and make a story about that corner store guy, the shopkeeper, and I think Kim’s Convenience will speak to Canadians across the country,” Williams said. Info: cowichanpac.ca

THE 39 STEPS APR 9 - MAY 3

DISNEY’S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST MAY 29 - AUG 29

GLORY SEP 11 - OCT 3

JOYFUL NOISE OCT 16 - NOV 7

2020 SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW

ELF: THE MUSICAL FEB 14 - MAR 28

Come and experience the Creativity

Joel and William Good Supernatural Eagle Bringing the Sun Back to the World

Tuesday to Saturday 10am–5pm Sunday 12–5pm EXHIBITIONS ART LAB PROGRAMS THE GALLERY STORE

SYMPHONIC RHAPSODY April 25 Nanaimo Port Theatre

At thisseason-endingconcert of timelessfavourites, islandaudiences will be treated to the sounds ofGershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue andDvorak’s Symphony No. 9. “Rhapsody in Blueis special to me because it was the piece I played when I auditioned for the Vancouver Island Symphony,” says Pierre Simard, artistic director and conductor of the VIS. “It established American composer George Gershwin as a serious composer and it has since become one of the most popular American concert works.”

It’s paired with Dvorak’s New World Symphony, a piece that astronaut Neil Armstrongtook along with him during the Apollo 11 missionin 1969, the first moon landing. Also being performed in this show isMarcel Bergmann’s Concerto for Two Pianos, played byacclaimed piano duo Elizabeth and Marcel Bergmann. TheBergmanns, who live and work in the Lower Mainland, have made recordings for CBC and NPR, among others, and have inspired international audiences with their extensive repertoire, which ranges from baroque to contemporary and includes numerous of their own arrangements and compositions. Info: porttheatre.com

An Acoustic Evening with Natalie MacMaster

Thursday Mar. 12, 2020 7:30pm Tickets $49.50

Cowichan Performing Arts Centre presents

A corner store comedy

Pierre Simard, artistic director and conductor of VIS.

BOARDERS UNITED April 24 to June 14 Nanaimo Art Gallery

Fans of snowboarding, skateboarding or surfing will want to check out this springtime exhibition at the Nanaimo Art Gallery. Boarder X featuresthe interdisciplinary contemporary art of11 artists from Indigenous backgrounds who each interrogate motion from different perspectives. Their pursuits of surfing, skating and snowboarding are vehicles to challenge conformity and status quo as well as to demonstrate knowledge and performed relationships with the land.

“We selected this exhibit because we want to broaden our audiences to new demographics,” says curator Jesse Birch. “This exhibit is the first show in our new inquiry, What Moves, and we’ve heard from other galleries where Boarder X has been exhibited that wherever it goes, it attracts new gallery-goers.” Boarder Xdiscussesthe intersection of culture, art and boarding, and the art represented includes painting, mixed media, carving, weaving, photography, performance and video. Each piece affirms and transmits cultural resilience and acknowledges respect and reverence for the land. The exhibit includes an opening celebration street party on May 2, with skateboarding ramps in front of the Nanaimo Art Gallery. Info: nanaimogallery.ca

Saturday Mar. 28, 2020 7:30pm

AFRIQUE EN CIRQUE KALABANTÉ:

Sunday Apr. 26, 2020 7pm

Tickets $36 Child (under 12) $16 Family $89 (2 Adults, 2 Children)

Tickets $38 Student $30 eyeGO $5