Lifeline artists make splashes all over town! (All over the continent, actually…)
This months’ splashy outside doings include:
Toy sound designed Souvenir, playing at Northlight Theatre thru Dec 20.
Rob‘s performing in Mojo Mickybo with Seanachai Theatre Co. thru Dec. 6. This two-man show is a tour de force for two great actors and it’s gotten RAVE reviews. (And it’s only an hour long! What’s not to love?)
Alan just returned from supervising the remount of A Dicken’s Christmas Carol at Silver Dollar City in Branson (opened Nov 7 and plays to Dec.31). He’s currently in production for The Wind in the Willows for City Lit. (opens Dec 1). He’s in design mode for Les Liaisons Dangereuses for Remy Bumppo–opening in March. And as strange as it seems, he is also currently designing for 2011 Christmas productions of a new adaptation of Rudolf The Red-Nosed Reindeer at Dollywood (a stage version of the 60’s stop action animation TV special) and a new adaptation of It’s a Wonderful Life at Silver Dollar City in Branson.
Frances‘s adaptation of Strong Poison is currently playing at the Manitoba Theatre Centre in Winnipeg. And they had Frances up there a week before opening to do a press junket! (Other Lifeliners who made the trip to see the Winnipeg production were Peter and Jenifer, our own Lord Peter and Harriet Vane.) There’s been cross-traffic as well. Greg Ellwand, who plays Lord Peter in the Winnipeg production, was one of the Canadian team that visited Lifeline recently to see Busman’s Honeymoon.
Next up at Lifeline: There be dragons! (at least one!)
We’re about to start rehearsal for The Last of the Dragons. Yes! We’re totally going to have a dragon! And sword fights! And songs! We’re also excited to have David Fink (Duck for President), Scott Allen Luke (Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle) and Mike Ooi (The Mark of Zorro) back at Lifeline for this show, plus exciting newbies Mallory Nees and Anne Sears. Lifeline’s tech director, Ian Zywica will do his first scenic design for Lifeline (though he has done many wonderful designs elsewhere in town). David Bareford is the adapter. Does his name sound familiar? That’s cuz he’s a LIfeline regular wearing a new hat. This is his first adaptation for Lifeline but he and his fight partner Richard Gilbert have choreographed fights for many Lifeline shows (The Island of Dr. Moreau recently, Dragons right now and Neverwhere coming soon). Fun fact: David is married to Lifeline’s former managing director, Melissa Bareford. Music will be by Mikhail Fiksel, who has designed sound for LIfeline before but this will be his first musical with us as composer. Sarah Hughey (Mariette in Ecstasy) designs lights. We also have two Joannas on the team: Joanna Melville (Busman & Piggle-Wiggle) returns to design costumes and Joanna Iwanicka (scenery for The True Story of the 3 LIttle Pigs! and puppets for Dooby Dooby Moo) is our dragon maker! Jennifer Aparicio (Snowflake Tim) returns as stage manager and we’re very glad to have Andy Junk and Sara Gorsky understudying the whole team.
Dorothy Milne
Artistic Director