Tag Archives: victoria

Innovative documentary screening this week

Girl Rising
Thursday, June 20, 7 pm
The Caprice Theatre, Victoria
Sponsored by Dwight School Canada
Admission by donation

The movie tells the stories of nine girls from different parts of the world who face arranged marriages, child slavery, and other heartbreaking injustices. Despite these obstacles, the brave girls offer hope and inspiration. By getting an education, they’re able to break barriers and create change. Each girl’s story was written by a renowned writer from her native country.

From Academy Award-nominated director Richard E. Robbins and the award-winning Documentary Group, in association with Paul Allen’s Vulcan Productions comes Girl Rising–an innovative new feature film about the power of education to change a girl–and the world. Girl Rising is powered by strategic partner, Intel Corporation, and distribution partner CNN Films. Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Liam Neeson, Cate Blanchette, Selena Gomez and other A-list actors contribute voice performances to the film,which features original music from Academy Award winner Rachel Portman, in collaboration with Hans Zimmer.

The film spotlights unforgettable girls like Sokha, an orphan who rises from the dumps of Cambodia to become a star student and an accomplished dancer; Suma, who composes music to help her endure forced servitude in Nepal and today crusades to free others; and Ruksana, an Indian “pavement-dweller” whose father sacrifices his own basic needs for his daughter’s dreams. Each girl is paired with a renowned writer from her native country. Edwidge Danticat, Sooni Taraporevala Aminatta Forna and others tell the girls’ stories, each in it’s style, and all with profound resonance. These girls are each unique, but the obstacles they faced are ubiquitous. Like the 66 million girls around the world who dream of going to school, what Sokha, Suma, Ruksana and the rest want most is to be students: to learn. And now, And now, by sharing their personal journeys, they have become teachers. Watch Girl Rising, and you will see: One girl with courage is a revolution.

Old-fashioned Russians steep in the blues

Uncle Vanya
Written by Anton Chekhov
Directed by Brian Richmond
Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre
@ the McPherson Playhouse
Until June 16th

Reviewed by Leah Callen

In Uncle Vanya, life is a painful operation that begs for morphine, and the woods are heavy with sadness. When a famous professor and his young wife arrive on their Russian country estate, the locals lose their minds. Melancholy catches on among the forest inmates.  These human shadows squint psychologically through darkness, pining for light to brighten their dull lives. Drunk on vodka and unrequited desire, these Russians moan and steep in their misery. When tempted by romantic risks and revenge, some decide that living on a ledge is better than dying of boredom.

As the matriarch Marina pours the tea, characters boil over and grow cold. The doctor Astrov feels as numb to joy as a patient who has been chloroformed. Jacob Richmond plays his drunken scenes with an entertaining abandon and I feared for his safety as he balanced precariously on furniture. As self-righteous Sonya, Casey Austin portrays a pragmatic idealist, invisible to all the bachelors because of her plain face.  She often brings out the best in people with her simple purity, but develops a weary patina over time that is fatalistic. She really just wants to be loved.

Vanya despairs that he has wasted his life and wants to do something about it. Duncan Ollerenshaw’s performance ranges from subtle to over-the-top. Drowning in a deep midlife crisis, Vanya is attracted to the red flash of Yelena’s hair as she graces an outdoor swing like a rare songbird. Amanda Lisman was beautiful as the free spirit desperate for passion to heat her lukewarm life. She suffers from a loveless marriage, unable to spread her wings in her marital cage.  Her controlling husband Serebyakov, played by Chris Britton, was both starchy and wilting as he rules the roost with his whims. When Yelena broke down, I cried too. I wanted her to be free. This actress emoted even when she had no words.

The birch-coloured costumes blended elegantly with the set; characters were human trees cutting one another down. Their clothing had a nineteenth-century uniformity, but over time it struck me as olden-day beige–a symbol of hopeless ennui. Only Yelena wears some sky blue when she tries to soar, or maybe it’s the sea since the men see her as a siren. The diffuse lighting, Russian chant, and hints of guitar brew up potent atmosphere. Uncle Vanya seems more driven by mood than plot. This play creeps inside you like nightfall as the birches grow from gentle to suffocating.

The stage bloomed with visual metaphors: the winding of yarn as characters discuss fate, the unloved Sonya embracing roses that were given to another woman, Vanya pushing the swing of the woman he’s trying to seduce.  A touching moment arose when two women share a cup of wine, a peacemaking communion. However, I struggled with how abruptly chaos explodes on stage later. The sudden intensity of the most dramatic scene seemed slightly comical. Though I enjoyed the emotional fireworks, it was a touch melodramatic.  Still, the plot is perfectly frustrating in this forest of futility.

Chekhov’s moody masterpiece is deeply poetic, but it also made me laugh. It was both darker and lighter than I imagined–a theatrical chiaroscuro. Perhaps only a Russian writes that our best hope is to dream in our coffins. One can’t help feeling that these people bury themselves alive. They think goodness equals boredom and only destruction leads to joy, that life is a dull pain to be endured until it’s over. I wanted to shake them out of their emotional comas or prescribe them anti-depressants–to beg them not to give up on happiness. Perhaps that was Chekhov’s point. And I really wanted a shot of vodka when the play was over.

Leah Callen is a budding poet-playwright-screenwriter in Victoria.

White Hot Jet’s (skillfully) bizarre debut

White Hot Jet
Rehab Nightclub, Victoria BC
June 7, 2013

 Reviewed by Blake Morneau

I was filled with an unhealthy dose of skepticism as I walked into Rehab nightclub for the unveiling of new all-girl rock band White Hot Jet–after all, the press release I received stated that the band was put together through auditions by local producer and songwriter James Kasper (who has also written the bulk of the band’s music to this point), where he “cast” Animal Amber (drums), Messica Wild (guitar), Jillian Drayz (bass/lead vocals), Jennie Boomboom (lead vocals) and Courtney LeStrange (guitar). It wasn’t only the idea of a male setting out to build an all-girl band which made me a little uncomfortable, but of a band built by a mastermind. This goes against nearly everything I’ve been taught to believe in regards to honest, pure music. But playing their first show months after the audition process began must be a wholly exciting time for White Hot Jet, so I assured myself over and over I would go in with an open heart and mind, ready to honestly embrace whatever I saw on the stage.

White Hot Jet kicked off after what can only be called “The Great Raffle Disaster of 2013,” which left the band standing awkwardly on the stage, filling with impatience as ticketholder after ticketholder abandoned their door prizes and chose to remain silent. It was an auspicious start to say the least.

The band’s strength is danceable power-pop that lies somewhere between The Donnas and Metric. The first track they played, their first single “Never Comin’ Down,” is a piece of pop-rock clearly written as an introduction to the group that features singer Jennie Boomboom declaring the band’s name as the hook drops. “I’m a white hot jet, I go the speed of the sound!” I didn’t like it when Bad Company did it, and I can’t say I really like it any more now.

All competent players, the women of White Hot Jet can kick out a jam, no doubt. This is tight, lean music, devoid of filler. I would have liked to see more guitar solos (with two guitars playing this kind of music, the solos seem sort of requisite) and maybe a longer appearance of the accordion, briefly played by Messica Wild. This would have prevented it from feeling like some bizarre, out of place gimmick. Really, these are minor things that any new band goes through. There’s always room for growth.

As this was the band’s debut, no one knew the songs they were playing but people seemed to be digging it. The crowd was ecstatic as the Jet broke out a pretty raucous cover of Adele’s all-too-covered hit “Rolling in the Deep,” a song that really needs to not be covered any more, by anyone. It seems a strange choice, if not just an all-too-easy choice, for a band trying to establish their identity to choose such an iconic pop song as their lone cover. The crowd was eager and appreciative to hear a song they knew and it would have been an ideal closing track. Playing such a heavy-hitting and, more importantly, familiar, song in the middle of their set seemed to suck some of the energy out of the remaining songs. After those final few songs the concert ended as abruptly as I have ever seen with simply the proclamation “Thanks. We’re done.” Hold for the audience’s awkward befuddlement. I still haven’t gotten over mine.

Blake Morneau is a lover of aural pleasure who has been writing about his passion for nearly two years. Follow him on Twitter @MusicRags

Get kicked in the ears by Blackberry Wood–in a good way

Blackberry Wood
Logan’s Pub, Victoria
June 6, 2013

Reviewed by Blake Morneau

I remember being 11 or 12 years old and seeing the video for Tom Waits’ “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up” and having the image of Waits dressed in his ridiculous devil costume, riding a tricycle and holding a magnifying glass burn itself into my mind. For years that image has represented everything that is good and pure and fun, a treasured frame to remind me of the absurd silliness that enveloped all things. As Blackberry Wood front-man and mustache enthusiast Kris Wood took the stage dressed in an outfit wholly inspired the one worn by Waits in that video, that soul-freeing feeling that image has always brought up was front and center. Really, that’s the best way to see Vancouver alt-country-gypsy-circus outfit Blackberry Wood–with a childlike enthusiasm and boundless imagination.

Blackberry Wood’s energy is unflinchingly infectious, spreading through the room like an amoeba on speed. Drummer Amrit Basi’s rhythms could be considered a sort of aural warfare, forcing people to shake their bodies with reckless abandon. The recently added bass sound really gives the band the bottom-end groove that benefits the danceability aspect of their gypsy swing music. It acts as a sort of musical bouncy-castle for the rest of the group to jump off of. Hearing all these elements come together for an incredible reading of the haunting jazz standard “Saint James Infirmary” is a real wonder. Infecting such a legendarily song with their trademark joy and energy without taking away any of the song’s inherent eeriness is a feat of musical agility and precision.

There were people on the dance floor much quicker than I usually see at shows. At nearly every show I’ve been to, even those in smaller venues, the trickle to the area in front of the stage is slow, with nobody wanting to be first to initiate the festivities. I don’t know if it was the crowd this night or the magically contagious spirit of Blackberry Wood (I’d like to believe it was the latter), but by the end of the opening song more than half the people in the house were shaking their groove-things wildly. Admittedly, I was one of the first people out there, finding myself quickly surrounded by fellow body-shakers.

It was all of a bit of whirlwind–a mass of sweaty, smiling bodies jumping and flailing to the sounds of a band oozing psychotic energy. If you don’t like dancing and prefer your music subdued with space for quiet clapping and reflection, you may want to skip Blackberry Wood. But if you’re like me, and apparently the patrons of Logan’s, and you like to get kicked in the ears, get yourself to a Blackberry Wood show as soon as you can. Your musical soul will thank you.

Blake Morneau is a lover of aural pleasure who has been writing about his passion for nearly two years. Follow him on Twitter @MusicRags

Ballet Victoria strives for fusion

Dances with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Ballet Victoria, Royal Theatre, Victoria
May 30-31

Reviewed by Candace Fertile

Ballet Victoria is known for its innovative, eclectic choreography, and Dances with Wolfgang effectively demonstrates the fusion of classic and contemporary. Paul Destrooper, the artistic director of the company, choreographed this latest offering.  His personal touch is evident not only in the moves but also the sounds.

Destrooper gave a short introduction to the audience May 30, explaining that the ballet is not a coherent narrative but a series of linked vignettes or images meant to evoke emotion. He noted that musicians, like dancers, face challenges, and focused on the difficulties Mozart had. In a smooth transition, Destrooper spoke of the problems life flung at Freddie Mercury, whose music with Queen is used in the ballet. Most of the music is Mozart’s, with one selection, “Skyfall,” by Adele. As the music of a dance performance affects whether or not I can enjoy it, the choices (especially all the Mozart) were a joy.

The idea of the ballet is to show how Mozart’s imagination was stifled by his job as a court composer. The role of Mozart was danced by Matthew Cluff, and the Muse was Andrea Bayne. The King (Geoff Malcolm, in what may be his last performance with the company) and the Queen (Keika Hayashi) made a memorable couple visually. The rest of the company played attendants, musicians, courtiers, music, and instruments. Destrooper played Death, whose embrace ultimately frees Mozart from the burden of conformity.

The stark set allowed focus on movement. One prop was a table that served several purposes, the most exceptional being a piano with the dancers’ legs becoming the piano keys. Fog infused much of the performance, lending a dreamy quality when Mozart was at the height of his powers, then an oppressive atmosphere when he was suffering at court. The lighting worked well with the clean stage and fog.

The company is a young one, and it’s facing financial trouble, an all-too-often-heard lament from the arts sector in general. Destrooper’s blend of old and new may not be for everyone, but the audience on May 30, while small, was definitely appreciative. The dancers are competent, and the troop is developing. Cluff and Bayne do an excellent job with the varying needs of their roles, and the Attendants (Parisa Mehgregan, Hikari Shigeno, Azusa Kishida, and Ayaka Miyazaki) looked especially entrancing in their matching white dresses while they swirled elegantly. And the Attendants injected humour into what is at times a sad story. The timing needs some work, but the Attendants were a pleasure to behold.

While Ballet Victoria’s reputation is partially built on synthesis, it does get a tiny bit routine to be sitting waiting for the next surprise. Inserting a moonwalk into ballet gets attention, but after a while, the movements seem to be created more for surprise than to serve aesthetics or narrative.

The company is also committed to breaking certain barriers: Andrea Bayne sang “Skyfall,” then moved smoothly back into role as the Muse. (That took guts—Bayne’s voice is not Adele’s.) Having expressed my reservations about the eclectic nature of the choreography, I am determined to see more of Ballet Victoria’s performances to try to understand more fully what this company has to offer. And make no mistake—this company has a great deal to offer.

Candace Fertile is Coastal Spectator’s poetry editor and a local reviewer.

When wool and words entwine

FictionKNITstas Reading Series
Dede Crane, Gillian Campbell, Nicole Dixon and Stella Harvey
Monday, May 27, 7 pm
Beehive Wool Shop, 1700 Douglas St, Victoria

Reviewed by Liz Gusul

“Colourful place, isn’t it?”

Surrounded by hanging skeins of cotton and baskets of wool, a chatty group gathers and mingles at Beehive Wool Shop in downtown Victoria. Some members of the group are knitters, and some are not. Some buy yarn and patterns, dreaming of their next project, while others stroke the knitted samples around the shop. All are readers and literature enthusiasts, gathered for a knit-related literary event hosted by Victoria writer Dede Crane.

Since 2006, FICTIONistas has organized annual events such as this evening at Beehive Wool Shop, which will include readings from three books by Canadian women writers. The events were conceived as a way to promote works by female authors, and this year’s event, titled FictionKNITstas, focuses its attention also on knitting.

Each of the authors involved in the FICTIONistas tour has been paired with a local knitter, who read and had time to reflect on the written work before embarking on another sort of creative process. Whether an existing pattern was used, or the knitter chose to create her own design, a hand-knit garment was created for each book. The inspirations for these knitted pieces could come from any aspect of the book. Some knitters focused on concrete images, textures, or even colours of the book, others on thematic imagery or cultural context.

Gillian Campbell, author of The Apple House wore a bright red shawl, matching the colour of the novel’s cover. The outline of a boxy farmhouse and two trees on the shawl set the scene for the passage Campbell read from her novel, a book, she says, about a girl with big feet who happens to marry a shoemaker, about a widow, about a life.

Reading from Nicolai’s Daughters, Stella Harvey describes how the textured stitches of her shawlette reflect the mountains of Greece, where sections of her book are set, and how its brilliant blue hue is an iconic colour in Greek culture. She hints at a tragic and not much remembered event in Greece’s past, but reads tender and amusing passages about cultural separation in families, and inter-familial relationships.

After a cancelled flight in Cape Breton, Nicole Dixon hadn’t had the chance to connect with her knitter, and was without her knitted garment. She explains however, that it is a cozy wrap sweater, as the knitter felt that the characters in High-Water Mark, Dixon’s collection of stories, needed a hug, and she wished to create something that would offer both comfort and warmth. Dixon reads the story High-Water Mark which, although bitingly funny, does evoke a blustery cold feeling.

Blue-grey light filters through the windows, and buses roll along Douglas Street as the readings conclude. The books which were sampled tonight are available for sale. The group lingers, fingering the brightly coloured skeins of silk, mohair, and merino.

“Will you sign my book?” I overhear. “And are you a knitter?” someone asks, as the writers autograph copies of their books for patrons. Whether leaving Beehive Wool Shop with a new book, a ball of yarn, or both, all of tonight’s patrons are inspired to spin a yarn, whether literary or literal. The event kicks off a Canada-wide tour, visiting eleven locations over the next week and a half. To view additional tour dates and locations, or for more information about the FICTIONistas, please visit fictionistascanada.wordpress.com.

Liz Gusul is an avid reader and knitter who lives in Victoria.

Po’ Girl Awna Teixeira tours with solo album

Awna Teixeira and Jennifer Louise Taylor
Sunday, June 2, 2-4 pm
Spiral Cafe, 418 Craigflower RD, Victoria
$10 at the door

Awna Teixeira has toured the world from Africa to Spain and back again with internationally renowned roots band Po’ Girl. She is currently doing a tour in support of her first solo album, Where the Darkness Goes. With a uniquely sultry voice and incredible songwriting, Teixeira brings beautifully styled music to the world.

She joins popular local folk musician, Jennifer Louise Taylor, for an afternoon show this Sunday, at Spiral Cafe.

Swept off my feet by a lady and an iron horse

SPIN
May 25, The Metro, Uno Festival, Victoria
Written and performed by Evalyn Parry

Reviewed by Leah Callen

SPIN is a fun trip through time and metaphor on a three-speed steed steered by the talented Evalyn Parry with Brad Hart as back-up. I can honestly say this was the first time I’d ever heard someone play a bicycle like a musical instrument. That alone is worth hearing. The play uses song, spoken word, and monologue in an ode to cycling and ingenuity. As we ride through the scenic past, we are reminded how important it is to keep on trailblazing.

Though I am not a bike lover (yet), I enjoyed the obscure stories of these biker women; SPIN really spoke to me. Annie Londonderry teaches us a lesson in guts: the first woman to cycle around the world taking only her courage, a pearl-handled revolver, and a change of underwear with her. She left her children and husband behind–all thanks to an alleged bet. And a song about Amelia Bloomer, an early pro-pants activist, encourages us to fight for our political legs.

Parry’s wordplay is both bright and dark; the word spin means progress and propaganda, freedom and commercialism. She shows us the front and back wheel of every story, the good and bad with ironic bitter sweetness. Parry keeps it real. Steampunky costuming was a spunky sidekick to her monologues. She stepped visually in and out of characters, helping us travel a few miles in other women’s pants. Film also added visual poetry and joie de vivre to the staging.

Overall, it was fascinating watching Brad Hart bowing spokes and thumping away on a bicycle seat as if it was the most natural drum kit in the world. Many of the duets featured Parry taking the low vocal roads while Hart took the higher harmony. Even the music had an unexpected, feminist twist. The rhyme and repetition of the poetry evoked the circular motion of a bike brilliantly. I was happy to tag along on this joyride in the audience.

There is humour and honesty here. As Parry says, the heart is the motor. SPIN moves through the outer spokes to the hub as her performance travels from the historical to the personal–and what you get is inspirational. Though the old adage saying, “It’s not the destination but the journey that counts,” is a touch clichéd, this was a heart-opening performance which reflects back on the past with fresh eyes, and compels us to carry forward with bravery. Parry asks us: why settle for friction when you can choose momentum? This show is about the female quest for autonomy, but it’s also about the magical freedom we all experience when we take off life’s training wheels and fly down unknown avenues under our own steam.

Uno Fest runs until June 1st. Full calendar available on their website.

Leah Callen is a budding poet-playwright-screenwriter at the University of Victoria.

Fiction, knitting, and purls of wisdom

FictionKNITstas Reading Series
Dede Crane, Gillian Campbell, Nicole Dixon and Stella Harvey
Monday, May 27, 7 pm
Beehive Wool Shop, 1700 Douglas St, Victoria

The FictionKNITstas tour is coming to Victoria for a night of fiction, knitwork, and fun! Expect gripping yarns and purls of wisdom that just may leave you in stitches.

FictionKNITstas is a unique Canada-wide reading series for female writers of literary fiction and their writers, and it’s starting the cross-country tour in Victoria on May 27!

Four fantastic authors— Dede Crane, Gillian Campbell, Nicole Dixon, and Stella Harvey—will read from their new books. And they’ll do so in style: fabulous knitters have custom-created pieces inspired by the books, and these knitwork pieces will be on display. Acclaimed Victoria author Dede Crane will host the evening.

About Dede Crane:

A two-time finalist for Victoria’s Butler Book Prize, Dede Crane is the author of the acclaimed short story collection The Cult of Quick Repair and two YA novels, and was the editor of the collection Great Expectations: Twenty Four True Stories about Childbirth. Her first published story was shortlisted for the CBC Literary Award, and her stories have been published in numerous literary journals. A former professional ballet dancer and choreographer, Dede has studied Buddhist psychology and psychokinetics at Naropa Institute in Colorado and the Body-Mind Institute in Amherst, Massachusetts. She currently calls Victoria, B.C. home. Every Happy Family is Dede’s second publication with Coteau Books.

About Gillian Campbell

Gillian Campbell‘s short fiction has been published in Grain Magazine, Creekstones: Words & Images, The New Quarterly, and The Antigonish Review. She has a BA from the Université de Montréal and a master’s of library science from the University of British Columbia, and for many years she worked as a children’s librarian. Gillian grew up on the West Island of Montreal and now makes her home on the West Coast on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia. The Apple House is her first novel.

About Nicole Dixon

Nicole Dixon has lived in Toronto, Sarnia, Windsor, North Bay and Halifax. Her work has been nominated for the Journey Prize and a CBC Literary Award and appeared in The New Quarterly, Grain, The Fiddlehead, and Canadian Notes and Queries. In 2005 she won the Writers’ Trust of Canada RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for short fiction. Previously a French teacher for young children, Nicole is currently electronic resources librarian at Cape Breton University and divides her time among New Waterford, Cape Breton, and Advocate Harbour, Nova Scotia. High-Water Mark (The Porcupine’s Quill) is her debut book.

About Stella Harvey

Stella Leventoyannis Harvey was born in Cairo, Egypt and moved to Calgary as a child. In 2001, Stella founded the Whistler Writers Group, also known as the Vicious Circle, which each year produces the Whistler Writers Festival under her direction. Stella’s short stories have appeared in The Literary Leanings Anthology, The New Orphic Review, Emerge Magazine and The Dalhousie Review. Her non-fiction has appeared in Pique Newsmagazine, The Question and the Globe and Mail.  She currently lives with her husband in Whistler, but visits her relatives in Greece often, indulging her love of Greek food and culture and honing her fluency in the language. Nicolai’s Daughters is her first published novel.

SALT New Music Festival starts Saturday

SALT New Music Festival and Symposium
May 25-June 2
Open Space, 510 Fort Street, and UVic School of Music

The SALT New Music Festival and Symposium is a one–week event, occurring from May 25 to June 2, taking place at Open Space and the University of Victoria School of Music.

At the University of Victoria School of Music  you can find a week’s worth of free lectures, colloquia, and masterclasses. At Open Space, three stunning concerts–including seven world premieres–will take place. The event’s hosts, The Tsilumos Ensemble, have invited world–class experts in contemporary and electronic music to join them in Victoria present audiences with new sonorous adventures in contemporary music.

The concerts will consist of local musicians such as Max Murray, a tuba soloist originally from Victoria and now based in Berlin alongside many esteemed international performers such as the Quasar Saxophone Quartet (Montreal, QC), the award-winning Ensemble Dal Niente (Chicago, USA), and Experimentalstudio (Freiburg, Germany).

This iteration of the SALT New Music Festival and Symposium will premiere three new compositions by Wolf Edwards (Victoria, BC), Steven Takasugi (Cambridge, USA), and Gianluca Ulivelli (Florence, Italy), made possible by a grant from the Ernst von Siemens Foundation for Music (Germany).

Students of music from around the world have been invited to this program and offered reading sessions, workshops, and lessons in composition and contemporary music interpretation, hopefully to invigorate the study, research, and performance of contemporary and electronic music.  Come and join them in this exploration of the cutting edge of new music.

For more information see www.openspace.ca/SALT2013 Information about free events can be found at www.tsilumos.org