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focus Main stage '93 Takes the Stage in North Van by Ann Macklem Theatregoers on the North Shore are certainly not lacking in opportunity this spring After the North Shore Zone Theatre Festival (held at the Deep Cove Shaw Theatre in late April), they will just have lime to catch their breath before Mainstage "93 unfolds June 26th through July 3rd at Centennial Theatre. Presentation House Theatre and Hendry Hall. This will mark only the second time the North Shore has hosted Mainstage. the annual provincial community theatre festival organized by Theatre B.C. (TBC). And this time, it has the added honour of helping Theatre B.C. celebrate its 60th anniversary. The President's Reception promises to be quite the event this year. A very special guest is flying over from England for the occasion--the son of TBC's founder, Major Bill. A celebrity auction is also planned; memorabilia junkies will be able to bid on such plums as the autographed script of Save the Tiger, for which Jack Lemmon won an Academy Award in 1971, theatre cover programs designed by Margaret Atwood, photos and posters autographed by Bob Hope, Jay Leno. Muhammad Ali, Karen Kain and even Donald Trump! Special Merit award in T B C s 1991 playwriting competition. Joan MacLeod's The Hope Slide, part of Touchstone Theatre's 1992-93 season, was given a reading at Mainstage a few years ago, as was a play written by David McKay, son of Don and recent star of Touchstone's The Number 14. Martin Millerchip, reviewer for the North Shore News, has also directed and acted in local productions. The Host Community Mainstage travels to a different community each year. The last time it was held on the North Shore was in 1979. The festival represents an occasion for the host community to take stock, as public attention is inevitably focussed on local, ongoing theatre activity. In the course of researching this story, it quickly became apparent that the North Shore was more than up to the challenge. I spoke with a number of local residents, some of whom have been involved with Theatre B.C. for years. Mien van Heek. a long-time member of Theatre West Van. is one such devotee. She attended her first festival in 1958, and has been on TBC's executive since the 1960s. TBC has expressed appreciation for her forty-odd years of service by awarding her an honorary lifetime membership. Another honorary lifetime member is North Vancouver resident Anne Marsh. Considering that only five such awards have ever been granted, this is quite the North Shore accomplishment! Community theatre is thriving here, and has been for a long time. Anne and Mien both had a number of anecdotes to share about members of the local theatre community who have made good by their involvement with amateur theatre. Mien recalls Anne Cameron's play. The Trouble with the Women s Movement Is that It Has No Sense of Humour at All, winning the best production award for Theatre West Van at Mainstage in 1976. One of its actors was a young Brenda Robins, who recently played the lead in Death and the Maiden at the Vancouver Playhouse. Brenda may not have had this opportunity had two West Van residents and members of the West Vancouver Theatre Guild, Mary and Robert Cole, not been instrumental in setting up the Playhouse in the first place. El Grande de Coca Cola, the Actor's Company entry in the North Shore Zone Festival Not only is community theatre thriving on the North Shore, but so, apparently, is the theatre community. In the 15-odd years since the North Shore Zone was formed, it has certainly reaped its share of Mainstage awards. Let's hope the trend continues. Theatre B.C. Theatre B.C. owes its start to one of the province's colourful historic characters. Major Bill Bullock-Webster. Pictured below. Major Bill toured the province as an actor, stage manager and producer in the early 1900s. In 1923, he established the B.C. Drama Festival Association and mounted its first festival in 1932. Another more familiar figure is TBC co-founder Jessie Richardson, after whom die Jessie awards are named. S o m e P r e v i o u s North S h o r e Mainstage Winners 1976 Best Production The Trouble with the Women's Movement... Theatre West Van 1980 Certificate of Merit Next North Van. Community Players 1982 Best Production "Conduct Unbecoming Actor's Company 1985 Best Production, Best Director The Dumb Waiter North Van. Community Players 1988 TBC is the parent organization for more than 80 community theatre groups across the province. These member groups are organized into ten geographical zones. Each zone holds its own local festival, and zone finalists go on to compete at Mainstage, In addition to the annual Mainstage Festival, TBC fosters community-based theatre through regional workshos, an annual playwriting competition (see the Arts Callboard for details) and a week-long series of technical workshops. Best Actress Sunday Morning North Van. Community Players 1989 Best Production The Dresser North Van. Community Players 1992 Mainstage *93 Several events are planned in addition to the performances of the (en plays in competition. There are workshops (some of these arc open to the public, others are specific to festival registrants)- nightly cabarets; a President's Reception (hosted this year bj Ton) Parsons, BCTV news anchor); daily coffee critiques led by Jackie Maxwell, the festival adjudicator; the atft aids ceremonj I featuring a new award design by Kelowna sculptor Geert Maas); and the closing night party (a futuristic masked ball intended "to propel Theatre B.C. into the future"). Best Production, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director Home North Van. Community Players The late Don Marsh, yel another local Deep Cove resident and playwright Maureen Robinson has had several of her plays produced at both Zone and Mainstage festivals. In addition, she received the The ten plays in competition will not be announced until early June, when the Theatre B.C. Zone Festivals wrap up. Ticket prices are $14; discounts are available for students, school groups, seniors, groups and Theatre B.C. members. For box office information, call 984-4484. and for programming information, call the festival office at 984-9798. Ar» A c c e M-y/Junc 1993 5