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Astrid Beugeling is a graduate of the University of Victoria (BFA) and has been working and teaching at the University of the Fraser Valley for over 22 years. As the resident set designer she is responsible for designing 2 of the 3 shows in the UFV season. Along with designs for other companies, she as designed sets for over 50 productions, ranging from Shakespeare to children’s theatre. As the Technical Manager at UFV, she supervises the construction of the set and props for each production, oversees the technical aspects of the productions, and supervises work study students who are working in the various areas of technical theatre. Astrid has done stage and film makeup for various shows and productions, including the Victoria Opera Society, commercials for CHEK TV and local independent film companies. She has been a member of the Chilliwack Players Guild since 1975 and has done a variety of ‘backstage’ and ‘onstage’ roles throughout the past 33 years. Astrid has adjudicated several high school Drama Festivals in the Lower Mainland and was Technical Director for the workshop plays during Theatre BC’s Mainstage 1990.
 

Ken Hildebrandt is a producer, director, actor and lighting designer. He is the founding Executive/Artistic Director of Gallery 7 Theatre & Performing Arts, a community/semi-professional theatre located in Abbotsford, B.C, and has been with the organization for the past 18 years. Acting credits include Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, Our Town, Beau Jest and most recently, Cotton Patch Gospel. Directing credits include the award-winning Driving Miss Daisy, Talley’s Folly, Lost in Yonkers and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Lighting design credits include productions of A Winter’s Tale, Under Milkwood and Hamlet at UFV Theatre. In his spare time, Ken enjoys reading, playing computer games, watching his favorite T.V. shows on DVD, and flying the venerable Cessna 172. He has also announced at the Abbotsford, Pitt Meadows and Dawson Creek airshows.
 

Traditional methods of advertising are expensive, and the return on your investment may not be what you were hoping. How can you harness the power of the traditional and on-line media to sell your season? Rebecca covers traditional methods of marketing, media relations and publicity, as well as using online social networking to put bums in seats! Participants are asked to bring examples of shows that they are currently/soon producing.

Rebecca Coleman has been a freelance Theatre Publicist since 2001, working for such companies as Presentation House, Capilano University, Touchstone, Radix, Ruby Slippers, and Itsazoo. She is also an actor, whose performance as Meg in ETC’s production of Dylan in 2006 garnered her a Best Supporting Actress award in the North Shore Zone Festival. She is passionate about helping artists to become better business people. Rebecca is mother to a five-year-old son, Michael and two cats, Mulder and Tia. You can learn more about her on her website: http://www.rebeccacoleman.ca, and you can read her blog at http://artofthebiz.com.
 

This workshop builds on the seamless technique of ‘Scene to song’ for both actors and the directors. This entails back to basic principles, from walking on to a stage, holding an audience’s attention, telling your story clearly whether it be told in song or speech, and leaving them wanting more. Oh, and did I mention having fun?  Participants should wear comfortable clothing and shoes for movement and prepare a short song and monologue (eg. “Happy Birthday” and your grocery list).

 *This course is offered both morning and afternoon, participants are welcome to register for one or both halves*

Vancouver-born Jeff Hyslop is indisputably one of Canada's foremost performing artists. Equally masterful as a singer, dancer, actor - he has starred with unqualified success in such landmark musical productions as Cabaret, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Jacques Brel, The Producers and of course the role of Mike in both the London West End and Broadway productions of A Chorus Line. To many he is the quintessential Phantom of the Opera, a role he embraced for over 900 performances.  He starred as Jeff the Mannequin in the TVO children's series Today's Special which sustained a huge popularity for over 10 years. At age 21, Jeff was dancing and singing in Norman Jewison's film Jesus Christ Superstar. His numerous television appearances include series for both CTV and CBC-TV, the most memorable of these being his own Dancin' Man superspecial where he partnered his favourite leading lady, Karen Kain.  Jeff has received numerous awards including 3 Jessies - 2 for Best Choreography, the other for Best Director; 5 nominations for the ACTRA  Award for Best Variety Performer and a Dora Mavor Moore Award in 1984 for On Tap.  Choreography and directing are Jeff's real love and it shows in productions such as Peter Pan, A Chorus Line, On Tap, Guys and Dolls and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dream Coat. Recent productions under his direction as Artistic Director for Showcase Festival in Campbell River and Courtenay\Comox - The Dream On Royal Street and Kiss Me, Kate. The ever-growing resurgence of interest in adult tap & jazz classes and Musical Theatre in general are keeping Jeff "on his toes".
 

See above for Course Description and Bio.

*This course is offered both morning and afternoon, participants are welcome to register for one or both halves*

The audience is full and a fire alarm has gone off.  What is the first step?  Who takes it? And where the heck is the fire extinguisher?!

While it isn’t the ‘glamorous’ side of showbiz, fire safety and a cool head during an emergency are crucial.  Join The ACT’s Technical Operations Manager Roger Lantz for a hands-on ‘what-if’ walkthrough of the theatre space. This will include discussion of the fire curtain, proper training and communication of front of house and backstage staff/crew, extinguisher usage and rules surrounding open flame on stage. Participants should wear close-toed flat shoes and no jewellery or clothing that can get caught in anything.

Roger Lantz has been Technical Director for the ACT Maple Ridge since 2003. Roger is also the TD for Royal City Musical Theatre. Working in this industry for the last 25 years Roger has accumulated a considerable knowledge of live theatre technical practices. Roger was also a volunteer firefighter with Maple Ridge Fire Rescue from 2003-2006.
 

You want a scene-change in your show where the backdrop is whisked up and away.  You are considering having an actor ‘fly’ across the stage.  And there is that trap door that can fit into the show somehow…  Which pipe do you hang the backdrop on?  How do you make sure your actors are safe?

The ACT’s Technical Operations Manager, Roger Lantz, will walk you through the main auditorium and cover exactly these topics.  He will demonstrate the counter-weight fly-system and provide hands-on practice securing curtains, lights and people to the pipes.  Participants should wear close-toed flat shoes and no jewellery or clothing that can get caught in anything.

(Bio: see above)
 

Setting the scene for Shakespeare presents particular challenges for the players and audience alike. How should I act? How should I speak? How will I make this accessible for a 21st century audience? Bring your curiosity and discover that Shakespeare doesn’t have to be boring. See how to incorporate the very best of yourself into the wondrous world of prose and poetry with the help of one of our greatest playwrights.

Registrants should be prepared with a memorised 2-minute speech from any Bard play.

Dean Paul Gibson is a director/actor that has worked across Canada on many different productions. His long association with Vancouver’s celebrated Shakespeare Festival-Bard on the Beach and his extensive work on world classics has contributed to his many successful productions over the years. This award-winning artist has also built a reputation for being a pull-no-punches kind of workshop leader. His irreverent and humorous style of instruction/coaching has served many in the professional and community theatre world. He is recognized for his passionate commitment to the theatre, both as a practitioner and witness.
 

Alan Brodie will explore lighting design fundamentals for successful modern lighting design for the stage. 

Discussion may include equipment and color choices, developing your design, collaborating, communicating your ideas and learning from your experiences.  Brodie’s seminars are always a very open and casual exchange of ideas, so bring your questions and the challenges you face in your own practice.

Alan Brodie is an award winning lighting designer based in Vancouver.  For 20 years he has created lighting designs for plays, musicals, opera and dance in Vancouver and across Canada, for companies that include the Stratford and Shaw Festivals, National Ballet of Canada, Canadian Stage Company, Canadian Opera Company, Theatre Calgary, Vancouver Opera, Arts Club Theatre, Vancouver Playhouse, Pacific Opera Victoria and the Belfry Theatre.  He has served on faculty in the UBC department of theatre and at the National Theatre School of Canada and he is frequently asked to present workshops and seminars on lighting for the stage. He received Jessie Richardson Awards for The Overcoat, Art, Mary’s Wedding and Diplomacy, as well as a Bay Area Critic’s Circle Award (San Francisco) for The Overcoat.
 

Learn the basics of stage management and production management while keeping an eye on the environment. This course will touch on the duties and the art of being the director’s liaison, the actors’ support and the show’s champion. Participants are encouraged to bring ideas to share on keeping the organization of a production “green”.

Carol Chrisjohn has stage managed for many years and many companies. Presently production manager at Studio 58, Langara College (over 20 years!) working with students who have gone on to stage manage professionally all over Canada. Has directed and acted in the past but found real niche backstage as a support to the director and designers’ vision.
 

Fitzmaurice Voicework (created by Katherine Fitzmaurice) approaches voice through “destructuring” and “restructuring” of breathing. The destructuring component of the work uses modified yoga positions and bioenergetic tremoring. These tremors (which are similar to the tremors of fatigue or fear) are induced by maintaining positions that engage antagonistic muscle groups. The tremors stimulate deep breathing, activating most strongly the muscles that are engaged in a natural breathing impulse. As we become socialized in our culture we tend to replace natural breathing with habitual breathing responses that stifle emotion and expression. By activating the natural breathing response, this work helps actors to reconnect their voices to their emotional impulses. The restructuring component of this work involves the active strengthening of muscles, reinforcing habits of musculature that in turn develop the natural breathing response for the more athletic use required for the stage or screen. – quoted from master teacher Dudley Knight

Kyra Zagorsky has been a professional actor on regional stages across the US, and in Film & TV since 1998. She is also an experienced drama teacher and mother of two. She holds a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Acting from the University of California, as well as a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Acting from Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon. She studied voice and speech under Katherine Fitzmaurice, Dudley Knight and Phil Thompson (president of VASTA - Voice and Speech Teachers of America). She is also the co-Founder and lead instructor at ACT Vancouver (the Actor’s Centre for Transformation, Vancouver). Kyra taught professional acting preparation, voice & speech as well as movement for actors at the University of California. She specializes in teaching Standard American speech to native English speakers and to those for whom English is a second language. She also works as a private acting and dialect coach for working professionals of all ages. As a teacher she hopes to guide the actor to explore a character creatively, intellectually, emotionally, vocally and physically so that they may embrace the many facets of drama with confidence and excitement about their individual creative expression. Her passion for the art of storytelling empowers the actor to build a strong foundation in script analysis, enabling them to interpret literature with their hearts and minds.
 

This workshop will deal with the special considerations of playing a role that requires the use of an accent or dialect other than your own. Topics that will be covered include the shape of sounds, the oral posture, the International Phonetic Alphabet as well as speech sample research methods. Accents that will be discussed are Standard American, New York, Plantation Southern, British RP and Cockney. This will be a “hands-on”, experiential workshop.

(Bio: see above)
 

(Bio: see above)
 

A fun workshop for performers, directors and other physical theatre buffs, or buffoons. Participants will learn the language, skills and techniques needed to safely perform and/or choreograph unarmed fight and other physically demanding scenes for drama or comedy. Topics covered include punches, slaps, kicks, falls, chokes, and hair pulling. Warm up exercises to raise the skill levels of balance and coordination will be incorporated as well.

This is a practical workshop so be ready to participate physically to the best of your ability. You can't truly learn without taking part. Participants must register and attend both sessions. Please come dressed in loose clothing free from belts, zippers and the like. Long pants are recommended instead of shorts. Layers are good. Footwear should be flexible and comfortable, bare feet may or may not be possible depending on the workshop space. None or a minimum of rings, watches and other jewelry. A sweat towel and fluid replacement is recommended. Participants are welcome to bring questions about particular techniques to the workshop and every effort will be made to address them in a portion of the afternoon session. No cream pies will be harmed during the workshop.

Douglas Newell is a working director, actor, writer and teacher with over 30 years professional experience in theatre, film, television and audio. Recent accomplishments include selling his film directorial debut Stick Up to the
Comedy Network and winning gold in 2005 and silver in 2007 in the Best Short Dramatic Screenplay competition at the International Family Film Festival in Los Angeles. Douglas adjudicated for Theatre BC at the Skeena Zone Festival in 2007 and the Central Interior Zone in 2006.
 

(Bio: see above)
  

David C. Jones has taught workshops across the country and throughout the province. As a facilitator he has design or adapted programs to cover a wide range of topics from self esteem and empowerment to team building. As an accomplished artist he also teaches in a variety of comedy arts, specializing in improvisation. He has appeared on radio and TV as well as the Arts Club and Belfry theatres. He is currently a teacher at the Vancouver Film School and a graduate of Studio 58.
His workshops have been described by one student as a ‘combination of hilarity, gentleness and challenge’.
David loves to laugh and loves to learn.
 

(Bio: see above) 
 

Actors – ever wondered what directors were looking at from your audition? Are you looking for ways to improve your audition prep?  How about directors – have you ever wondered if you were getting the most out of your audition? Are you looking for new ways to adjudicate acting talent? This unique workshop puts actors and directors in the same room to discuss the all-important, yet highly fallible audition process. Actors will get a chance to hear what directors are looking for so they can improve their chances and directors will get to explore finding new ways to conduct their auditions while helping actors to be as successful as possible. Be prepared to share your audition experiences for the benefit of all.  Please wear loose-fitting comfortable clothes suitable for some acting exercises.  A notebook and pen are also required.

(Bio: see above)
 

Time management for directors?  Impossible...directing is an art that...well, must be...hmmm.

An informal guide with hints and suggestions on how to avoid the common traps that steal time away and sabotage your production. For the potential first time director to the more experienced one & everyone else.

(Bio: see above)
 

The colours are chosen. You’ve rented the fancy rotating light for the special effects.  You know when you want the cues to happen. You just need to ‘enter the cues.’  Oh yeah, and make sure the lights are plugged into the right spot…

The ACT’s Head Technician, David McDougall will walk through the process of ‘LX Hang:’ hanging the lamp, running the wires to the right spot and finding the correct button on the Lighting Board to operate it. From here, he will demonstrate how to create cues, transitions and ‘presets.’  Participants should wear close-toed flat shoes and no jewellery or clothing that can get caught in anything.

After completing his Bachelor of Arts Degree in 2003, David McDougall transferred from a part time to a fulltime theatre industry freelance technician and installer.  All in all, David has spent more than 15 years programming operating and designing lighting in the local area. You may have seen David working at venues such as the Clarke Foundation Theatre or the Chilliwack Arts Centre in the Valley, or perhaps at the Hotel Vancouver or the Bell Centre in the GVRD.  Beyond his first love, the lighting console, David has gained great experience in rigging and installation with Stagefab Custom Manufacturing and Gridworks Inc.  His wide variety of jobs such as designing, stage managing, event co-ordinating, client services representation, and of course his first love, hands on technical application have had him working in theatres and event services around the world for the majority of his life. David is currently Head Technician at The ACT in Maple Ridge.
 

Why didn’t DOUBT or FROST-NIXON win the Oscar?  What’s the primary difference between a stage play and a screenplay?  In a fast-paced six-hour double workshop, Keith and Brian reveal the similarities and differences between writing for the live stage and writing/adapting for the big screen.  Writers (and movie buffs) will explore the basics of screenwriting structure, visual storytelling, screen dialogue and action, and learn how to shape compelling characters and scenes to engage and excite a movie audience.  And be sure to bring along your own film story ideas – we’ll examine their potential as future screenplays!

Keith Digby was born in Coventry England and educated at St. Mary's College, London and The University of Alberta, Edmonton, Keith has worked at the top levels of live theatre in Canada, including a season at The Stratford Festival, Ontario. While in Edmonton, Keith worked with John Neville OBE at Edmonton's Citadel Theatre, and created The Phoenix Theatre. His award-winning premiere of Sharon Pollock's Blood Relations earned him one of his four entries in The Oxford Companion to Canadian Theatre. Keith recently completed a well-spent decade and a half as a teacher at Brentwood College on Vancouver Island, where he was Director of Fine and Performing Arts. He continues to teach both screenwriting and public speaking for VIU and as a private mentor to emerging screenwriters. As a commissioned writer for Centre Film Sales and Mediabus Productions in London, England, Keith has completed five screenplays and two film treatments, the latest being developed for acclaimed German actor Thomas Kretschmann (Eichmann in "Eichmann").

Brian Paisley was born in Belfast, and has been writing, directing and producing theatre and film entertainment for over 30 years. He is the author of eight stage plays for young people, seven feature-length screenplays and has also written extensively for radio, television, video and new media. Brian's first screenplay, BILLY'S RUN, was made into an independent feature (1132 PLEASANT STREET). LIES LIKE TRUTH premiered at the 2005 Victoria Independent Film & Video Festival. DREAMS OF FLIGHT, a dance documentary he co-wrote with Jason Bourque, won a 2008 Leo Award (B.C.) as Best Arts Documentary. Brian is currently developing two feature-length film scripts: SOINTULA, based on the novel by Giller and GG nominee Bill Gaston; and THE BEACHES (by Mark de Valk), a drama about Nazism in 1930's Toronto. He is also working with Good Medicine Media on SACRED SMOKE, an hour-long TV Documentary. Brian is perhaps best known as the founder of the world famous Edmonton Fringe Theatre Event. Since 1982, this festival of new and alternative theatre has grown from an audience of 7500 to an incredible 500,000+ in 2008. The artistic vision and administrative system Brian developed for the Fringe has been adapted in nearly every major city across Canada and several in the USA. In 2009, Brian will be inducted as a Member of the Order of Canada, the country's highest civilian award, for his ongoing contributions to the Arts in Canada.
 

Workshop Play #1: Fri. Jul 3rd- Sun. Jul 5th
Instructor: Barbara Wheeldon

Workshop Play #2: Mon. Jul 6th- Wed. Jul 8th
A Dying Family Tradition, by Dianne Lococo
Instructor: Garry Davey

Workshop Play #3: Thu. Jul 9th- Sat. Jul 11th
Instructor: Garry Davey

The Directors' Lab, attached to each Workshop Play, provides a mentorship opportunity for directors and potential directors, intended to follow the process with the theatre professional as he/she provides consultation and scene workshopping for the Workshop Play production.
Lab participants will meet with the Workshop Play Instructor before the 1st performance, who will outline the process. Following the first performance the Workshop Play Instructor will meet privately with the Directors' Lab participants to discuss all notes, give his/her perception in terms of directing the piece & what he/she plans to do in terms of the workshopping, as well as discussing how to achieve specific directing goals for the piece.The Workshop Play Instructor will meet briefly a few times to discuss progress during the reworking sessions, to outline what is next and answer any questions the Directors' Lab participants may have. After the second performance the Workshop Play Instructor will meet with the Directors' Lab participants to wrap up the session, discussing observations made during the second performance and answer any final questions.

NOTE: Directors’ Lab participants have no voice during the workshopping sessions and will audit the sessions only. Discussion is reserved for the private meetings with the Workshop Play Instructor.
The show’s original director will not be included in the private
Directors’ Lab discussions with the Workshop Play Instructor and participants.
This is not about questioning the original directorial choices. It is about considering each participant’s perception of the play and the choices he/she might make as a director, with feedback on those choices from the Workshop Play Instructor. The original community director should be respected at all times.

Garry Davey has been directing for over 20 years; recent productions include The Drawer Boy by Michael Healey, Shirley Valentine by Willy Russell, Marion Bridge by Daniel McIvor, and an acclaimed production of Edward Albee's Three Tall Women. In 2007, he adapted the script and co-directed a street theatre version of A Midsummer Night's Dream for TheatreOne's Young Company. Garry is currently the interim Artistic Director for TheatreOne in Nanaimo (where he served as AD 2004-06) and was AD of the William Davis Centre for Actor's Study in Vancouver where he taught acting and directed for many years. A graduate of The Vancouver Playhouse School, he has also worked as an actor across the country, as well as appearing in many film and television productions including Da Vinci's Inquest; Cold Squad, and The X-Files. Most recently Garry played Captain Keller in William Gibson's The Miracle Worker at the Chemainus Theatre Festival, which he will reprise this season at Western Canada Theatre in Kamloops.
For the past 10 years, he has shared his experience with Theatre BC in many ways - several times as Zone Festival adjudicator, as a workshop play director, and teaching acting and directing workshops around the province. In 2005 he had the honour to adjudicate the Mainstage Festival in Nanaimo. He has twice served as a juror for the Canadian National Playwriting contest and as dramaturge at the New Play Festival in Kamloops. This year Garry was pleased to be invited back as adjudicator for the OZone festival and he is equally pleased to be back in Maple Ridge for Mainstage as one of the workshop play instructors.

Barbara Wheeldon's show business career has spanned four decades. In Ontario, Barbara owned and operated Wheeldon's Workshop for fourteen years. She wrote a how-to book called: The Camera and You! advising new hopefuls in the right way to approach a successful career. Her theatrical roles included Marilla in Anne of Green Gables, Miss Hannigan in Annie as well as Faye in Chapter Two and Emma in Over the River. Her latest role for television was the Minister in Queer as Folk and this summer she appeared as Mrs. Watson in the movie Lily. Barbara has directed many theatrical plays - most of them comedies - for different theatres across Ontario. These include Brighton Beach Memoirs, 1949, Guys and Dolls to name a few. Moving to Ladner, B.C. four years ago changed her life. She formed a senior acting group, called: The GERI ACTORS, writing and directing plays. In 2008, she joined the ranks at Theatre BC and enjoyed Adjudicating for the Okanagan Zone Festival and ACToberfest in Prince George. She is thrilled to once again Adjudicate for the 2009 Fraser Valley Zone at the Langley Playhouse. In the spring of 2009, The Last Weekend, a play written by Barbara was work- shopped in Armstrong. Barbara continues her quest to see The Last Weekend produced and performed.