REVIEWS UCFVTHEATRE:ALICE...

ward day" al school. Thi.: puppets were designed by Judy Cameron (production Mnnager for the UCFV Theater Dept.). who designed Ihc ''look", unll Wil Wa1d10rn (second year theatcr student), who took care of the mechanical and operational aspects. Togethi.:r, the puppet creators walked creatures that may normally be left to the audience's own imagination right out onto the stage. Small hand puppets. stiff-strung marioncltes and a giant master• piece needing live of the silky background blending puppeteers to bring it to life danced hoth welcomed and chased Alice throughout the land behind the looking glass. Stuart Watchorn(UCFV !heater studcnl) arn111gedand composed the jazzy numbers pla1 cd by the live hand. In u convcrsution urter the show, he mentioned that writing (the music) for this produi.:tion hns made him think a lot more about how he can get involved in the musical composition aspect of the 1hcater.The combination of a three di men ional set full of surprises, costumes that brought back stone washed jeans with high tops from the 80's, quirky jazz from the live band in the corner, as well as the ulready mentioned pup- pets, gave the actors a lot to live up 10 on stage. The many comic.ii characters jumping around behind the looking glass were amusing. hut a bit pale in the light of the rest of the show. However, give the actors a little mcwe time from one more evening (that I admiucdly jumped the gun on). of director's critique and °Crip1 review and they may fully inflate the spark of the churnctcrs into the "full-on" gleam of outstanding.

Overall J thoroughly enjoyed the "Alice through thc Looking Glass" and recommend it, along with the giant homemude cookies from the concession stand, 10 anyone who apprcciutes great humor and silly plots that cun stand on their own-without the need to "mnke sense."

The show will continues showing through Thursday November 22 to Saturday. November 24 qar1ing at 7:30 PM ul the UCFV Thcnter on the Chilliwack campus. For more information and rcsi.:rvations call: 604-795-2615 or E-mail Thea1re@ucfv.bc.cu

Creative limits are pushed to the ma)( in UCFV's l.llcst thcutt:r prnduction of "Alice through the L()okinl,l Glu~s." Walk into the Slrnkespearcan styte !heater on the Chilliwacl. UCFV c,1111pusand you will be joining twelve year old Alice (plnycd by Glynis Iiannaford) us she climbs through the·tall "looking glass" on the mantel into the back• wards l:md full of comical characters, pointless rules, and strange creatures!

Though the performance I saw was a preview, and thus not the polished opening night performance as director Dr. Bruce Kirkley ( UCFV theatre department head) strongly reminded me• even with it's imperfections, I was impressed! The story itself is somewhat lacking in plot, unless you think an adventure across a giant ehcckerboard where every square is a land of it's own, sounds to you like an "opportunity of a lifetime!" To watch this multi-dimensional play is like watching the very meshing of the various artists that worked so hard al weaving this production together. Alice's silly world gave the artists behind the scenes the opportunity to use their imaginations with the freedom of a kindergarten student dressed up for "back•