NWSS students bring ShrektheMusical to life

Continued from page 9 also a very strong female character I’ve just never played a character who was so quirky and uplifting and just so fun to play with It’s been really cool finding little nuances in her performance and in the script to see Fiona and see the similarities between me and the character ”

The appreciation the students have for each other extends beyond the cast Crew member Owen Ross is easily absorbed into the group dynamic as he explains how the school’s musical theatre program has helped him find his passion in life

He’s a student in the school’s carpentry apprenticeship program, where he’s honing skills that he puts to good use as a crew member He’s officially the mic tech, but he can also be found helping with the construction of set pieces, flies, drops, painting props “a bit of everything, really,” as he puts it

He’s planning to pursue a career in technical theatre, specifically carpentry for the stage, and that starts with getting his Red Seal in carpentry.

“And then just using that knowledge and those skills to create and keep creating, keep building, keep learning, because at the end of the day, it’s what I love You know, it’s tiring, and it makes me sore, but I love it. And I would happily do it every single day for the rest of my life,” he says, to nods of agreement from the other students

The supportive group dynamic that’s evident during the conversation didn’t happen by accident

All the students give credit where it’s due: to the team of teachers who lead them

The more than 85 students involved 48 cast and crew, 15 hair and makeup artists, and 23 members of the orchestra are led by five NWSS staff members

The trio of drama teacher Frances Monteleone, vocal teacher Kelly Proznick and dance teacher LindsayWald- ner “three very powerful women,” as Scotia describes them are in charge of the spectacle that will unfold on stage.Working closely along with them are band teacher Steve Clements, plus teacherTraci Cave on hair and makeup a particularly large undertaking in a musical that features ogres and other magical beings (The prosthetics and makeup for Rebecca alone take at least an hour each time.)

“There’s so many different things to learn from all of them,” Rebecca says, “whether it’s just the information that they’re bringing about the musical and how to go about that, or just how to present yourself in life and how to live life to the fullest and be a good person and have respect for others ”

Please

THURSDAY, MARCH 2 TO SUNDAY, MARCH 5

Coastal Dance Festival

Here’s your chance to be part of a four-day festival that celebrates Indigenous stories, songs and dance The 16th edition of the Coastal Dance Festival, produced by the B C -based Indigenous dance company Dancers of Damelahamid, will bring together not only artists from the northwest coast of Canada, but also the U.S., New Zealand and Australia. Some of the performances will include those by Saskatchewan’s award-winning Métis fiddler Adam Daigneault and Australia’s intergenerationalWagana Aboriginal Dancers.The festival, hosted by Anvil Centre (777 Columbia St.), includes free and ticketed segments.

WHEN: Ticketed evening shows Thursday, March 2 and Friday, March 3 at 8 p.m.; buy through www.ticketsnw.ca Free festival performances Saturday and Sunday starting at 1 p.m.

WHERE: Anvil Centre, 777 Columbia St.

THURSDAY, MARCH 2

TO SATURDAY, MARCH 4

Shrek The Musical

The towering green ogre who is familiar to us as an animated character in the blockbuster movie series is coming to the Massey Theatre (735 Eighth Ave ) stage in musical form thanks to NewWestminster Secondary School’s new musical theatre project. Besides offering a generous load of dance, comedy and peppy music, Shrek the Musical aims to convey the important lesson that the classic tale is primarily about:

Photo: Chris Randle/contributed

“what makes us different makes us strong ” Attend the show at 7 p m on March 2 and 3, or at 2 p m or 7 p m on March 4 Limited tickets available: $20 regular, or $18 student/senior/child

MORE: Buy tickets at ticketsnw.ca.

FRIDAY, MARCH 3

Spring Market

It may not be cherry blossom time yet, but spring is not too far away as the Uptown Business Association has already scheduled its spring market for this weekend The one-day event will have local makers and artisan vendors from the Arts Council of NewWestminster display their works both inside and outside of the Royal City Centre (610 Sixth St ) andWestminster Centre (555 Sixth St ) Get ready to enjoy some street entertainment and live music between 5 to 9 p m while you shop

MORE: See www.myuptown.ca.

Ongoing

Landscape Of Tranquility

ArtistWenyan Xu has turned the Burnaby Art Gallery into a striking work of art According to Xu, her Chinese ink paintings of a secluded building in the town of Jasper and of the many views from the Burnaby Mountain, besides the Burnaby gallery, convey “beauty, peace and calmness ”To experience it yourself, head to her show on till the end of March at the Plaskett Gallery at MasseyTheatre

(735 Eighth Ave ) It’s open between 1 and 4 p m Tuesdays through Fridays, during performances at the theatre, or by appointment at 604-517-5900. It’s free.

MORE: The show runs until March 30. See more at www.masseytheatre.com

Ongoing

Fleeting Moments

What do you do when fragmented and fleeting memories come to you?Two artists, Julia Di Sano andVictoria Klassen, used these thoughts as inspiration to create beautiful artworks. Head to their ongoing show at the Anvil Centre’s Community Art Gallery (Third Floor, 777 Columbia St.) between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. until March 22 It’s free

MORE: Find out more at tinyurl.com/ FleetingMomentsNW

– compiled by Naveena Vijayan