Northern Groove

Acting is not only for the stage. Store clerks, students, and company managers can all benefit from a few acting lessons. Acting hones skills in presentation, builds confidence and helps quick thinking in tight situations. Stage North will host an intensive week of theatre courses August 23-27 in Fort St. John. The theatre summer school will include courses in acting, directing, script analysis, lighting and sound and more. Pick and choose among the seven different courses or attend the entire series. Those 14 years old and older are welcome to register at the North Peace Cultural Centre.

Among the instructors of the summer school are six theatre educators from Capilano University who together comprise the In the Flesh Theatre Company currently on a cross Canada Fringe Festival tour. In the Flesh Theatre will be performing in Montreal, Haileybury, Saskatoon, and Edmonton before they come to Fort St. John to facilitate the theatre summer school. Registrants will have the option of using some of their newly learned skills in a practicum with In the Flesh Theatre to stage BOX: or the Incredible Impact of the Totally Made Up on August 27.

BOX is a story about a woman named Lee, who works hard at a job she doesn’t really want to do. It isn’t until she is put up for a promotion that she discovers what she is truly capable of - what her imagination is capable of. This story is told through compelling physical work and vivid imagery.  Surprising transformations reveal a world beyond the everyday- a world of mobsters, greasers, police officers, ninjas, pirates, businessmen and monsters; a world of possibilities.

Graduates of the Acting for Stage and Screen Program from Capilano University in North Vancouver, have created this original piece using composition work, viewpoints and collaborative writing sessions.  They have been in the development process since July 2010 and have been working with the Technical Theatre Program, the Costuming Program, and Film Program graduates from Capilano. The show also features an original score by company members.  Inspired by the idea of people reconnecting with their imaginations, they aim to tell a story that motivates audiences to follow their hearts, no matter who they are.

The six members of In the Flesh Theatre and the instructors of the summer theatre school are:

Tracy Varju from Coquitlam, BC  is a graduate of the Acting for Stage and Screen Program. She has a jazz dance and musical theatre background, and has trained in Suzuki and Viewpoints with New York’s SITI Company.

Ryan Bolton from Mitchosen, BC spent last summer in Fort St. John as an assistance coordinator for the Public Library’s Summer Reading Club for Kids. He was a volunteer karate instructor for five years and taught professionally for two and is a volunteer swimming instructor.

Alyssa Kostello has trained in Suzuki and Viewpoints with New York’s SITI Company and with artists from Zen Zen Zoa in Australia. She started her theatre training with ten years of Deep Water Theatre School at the Cobalt Classic Theatre.

Christopher Fader is a member of the Coastal Sound Music Academy and was a choir member for ten years. He has trained with Andrew McIlroy, professional actor and director. Christopher was a teacher’s assistant for two years, and has a Fine and Performing Arts Certificate from Douglas College.

Jennifer Hoar was born in Israel and raised in Keswick, Ontario. Before attending Capilano, she trained for six months at the Vancouver Film School. She is a stained glass artist and attended a two month class at Emily Carr Art Insititute for Visual Arts.

Fort St. John’s own Chalene Scott, though born in Saskatchewan, was raised in BC which has forevermore confused her about her identity. She has devoted her life to theatre in the hopes that she may someday stumble across her true self.  She has trained with Dean Paul Gibson, Andrew McIlroy, Fran Gebhard, Stephen Drover, David C. Jones, and many more Vancouver professionals.  She directed Dog Sees God this past year and offers workshops in improv, script analysis, directing and auditioning for all ages.  Well-known to the theatre crowd in Fort St. John, Chalene has directed Seussical the Musical, The Importance of Being Ernest, and This is a Play.   She is excited to once again take the director's chair in Fort St. John for You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown this Christmas season.

For information on BOX visit www.wix.com/inthefleshtheatre/fringetour or follow us on twitter @inthefleshthtr.