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the atre Presentation House Showcases Wilde and Pinter b\ Kathrin Lake The inaugural production of the West Coast Masterclass Showcase opened with The Night of the Iguana last November, and enjoyed a successful run with high audience attendance and critical acclaim. In the New Year, the selection of classic plays for the Masterclass Showcase series continues at Presentation House Theatre. The showcase is the first of Its kind on the West Coast, and represents a coming of age lor the West Coast theatre scene. Masterclass Showcase is a program initiated by the Canadian Actor's Equity Association which has been running for a long time in other major theatre centres like Toronto and New York. Top calibre directors coupled with outstanding coaches in voice, dance and movement work with seasoned professional actors who are seeking to refine their skills. The actors participating are often veteran players interested in working against traditions and typecasting that involve age. colour and gender. It is the actors themselves who choose the projects they will be working on, and this January and February they have chosen two superb plays by Britain's greatest playwrights. Harold Pinter and Oscar Wilde. Harold Pinter is known not for what he writes, but how he writes, or perhaps you could say by what he doesn't write. The "Pinter pause" is now a standard term in theatre dramaturgy to describe Pinter's use of dramatic silence to sculpt an eerie, but authentic, sense of relationships in his plays. Pinter's No Man's Land was written in 1975. and opened in London to raves that reinforced Pinter's mastery in blending reality and unreality together. The play was revived last summer in London's West End to renewed audience interest and critical acclaim. It is easy to see why professional actors would relish an opportunity to work on this play along with vocal coach Trish Allen and director John Milton Branton. The cast includes Peter Brockington, Peter Howarth. Eric Schneider and Matthew Walker. Yousscf is looking forward to playing a part in this production. Says Youssef, "1 don't happen to be Anglo-Saxon looking. Although my training at the National Theatre School used classics of Western theatre like Wilde, I would usually never be cast in this production, so this is a great opportunity for me." As well as helping actors hone their craft. The Imparlance of Being Earnest has always been a popular draw for audiences, and Presentation House is expecting enthusiastic attendance for this production that will include movement coaching by choreographer Trudi Forrest, whose work is well known at the Vancouver Opera and the Vancouver Playhouse, and the direction of Martin Millerchip, well-known North Shore News theatre critic and director. The cast includes Tracey Olson. Marcus Youssef. Merrilyn Gann. and Allan North Shore News theatre critic Martin Millerchip directs Oscar Wilde's 7?ie Importance of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde's classic The Importance of Being Earnest needs practically no introduction, for it is probably the definitive comedy of manners about Victorian social/sexual indiscretion, penned by one of the greatest wits in English history. Precisely because it is a classic of Western theatre is why actor Marcus The final play in the Showcase series, A Classic Case of Women, is slated for March and is an exquisite anthology of conversations between women compiled by M i c k i Maunsell and drawn from classic works by Shakespeare. Ibsen. Chekov, O ' N e i l l , Anouilh and others. This fascinating array of depictions of women is sure to entertain audiences as well as bring out the best in its cast. It will be directed by Micki Maunsell. who was classically trained in Britain in both theatre and dance and has worked with such eminent actors as Dame Peggy Ashcroft. Ms. Maunsell will be joined by choreographer Victoria Langton. their combined talents producing a very dynamic and original production. Kathrin Lake is a new writer and director on the Vancouver theatre scene, studying at Sirnon Fraser University where she reviewed arts for The Peak newspaper. Her first writing and directing efforts outside SFU will premiere at the Vancouver New Play Festival in March. m Summer Musical Extravaganza Beckons in Santa Fe by Jack Downs A musical, artistic, and historical paradise. Santa Fe. New Mexico is really worth a visit! It lies in the lesser folds of the Rocky Mountains, at the 7500-foot level about an hour's drive north of Albuquerque. The climate is moderate in summer because of the high elevation. Archaeological finds in New Mexico date back thousands of years. The Spanish arrived in 1540. so Santa Fe itself is said to be the second oldest city in the United States. What are some of the attractions for visitors? For years, artists like Georgia O'Keeffe have flocked to Santa,Fe. lured by the beauty and clarity of the landscape. Their work is on display in the many art galleries and antique shops lining the streets. There is also the neighbouring Taos, another artist's mecca high in the mountains, where there are more galleries and shops and a unique Indian Pueblo built m the adobe style. The Native Indian culture is well preserved here. Silver jewellery, weaving and pottery, all done by native artists, can be had everywhere in New Mexico. But as far as I'm concerned, the best reason for going to Santa Fe is to attend the Santa Fe Opera and the Chamber Music Festival. On our last visit there, my wife and I saw three operas and three chamber music concerts in the space of one week! A l l performances were outstanding, with artists of international and national renown. The Santa Fe Opera is world-famous and has a reputation for its interpretations of Mozart and Richard Strauss. We saw Cost Fan Tutte, Ariadna AufNaxos, and La Boheme. Set on a high hill outside of town. U SiC series of rehearsals which one could attend for free. A schedule was posted each morning, and we could decide which works we wanted to hear rehearsed. In some cases, it was more meaningful to hear a new work prepared and then performed. In others, it was fun to hear how professionals tackled ensemble playing and interpretation of the music, etc. It was also a surprise to learn that sometimes even professionals play better during a practice session than they do during a performance! And now the exciting part. The West Coast Amateur Musicians Society is planning a one-week tour to Santa Fe. August 7-14. 1994. The Chamber Music Festival will be featuring the music of Schubert. Bartok. Schnittke and Danielpour. and operas to choose from include Tosca, Barber of Seville, Abduction from the Seraglio, Intermezzo and Blonde Eckbert. By going together, we can arrange more reasonable rates for travel and accommodation than if we went individually. There would be ample free time and an opportunity for short da> trips if you wish. For more information, call Jack Downs at 980-5341. It's a chance of a lifetime! Jack Downs is the Director of the West Coast A mateur A lusictans Society. The venue tor the Chamber Music Festival the opera house is an open-air theatre, but most of the seats are under cover in the unbelievable and each evening the sunsets act as a colourful prelude to the opera What was perhaps most interesting about the Chamber Music Festival was the daily \ \ .11 l'><>4 11