The adjudicator for the North Island Zone Drama Festival will be renowned director and educator Kathryn Shaw, announces Courtenay Little Theatre.
Shaw is artistic director of Studio 58, the nationally regarded theatre program at Langara College in Vancouver.
CLT was quick off the mark, snagging Shaw for the local festival.
“Soon after accepting North Island, I had invitations from three other zones,” Shaw laughed.
The ongoing success of her program and her effective instructional skills put her in constant demand.
Shaw's achievements are widely recognized.
She is a member of the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame, a recipient of the Career Achievement Award from the Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance, and, in 2010, the Vancouver Sun included Shaw in their list of B.C.'s 100 Most Influential Women. She has received awards for directing and producing from Halifax to Victoria.
During the NIZ Drama Festival, Shaw will provide public comment following each evening's performance. She is known as an astute but supportive adjudicator, where both audience and participants learn from her observations.
“We are very lucky to have lured her in,” said NIZ committee member Nancy Parker.
The North Island Zone Festival runs from May 13 to 18 in the Sid Williams Theatre. Each evening a North Island-based theatre company will perform at 7.30 p.m.
The festival brings a week of theatrical pleasure:
• May 13, Courtenay Little Theatre with Waiting for the Parade by John Murrell;
• May 14, Rivercity Players with The Long Weekend by Norm Foster;
• May 15, Nanaimo Theatre Group with Pack of Lies by Hugh Whitemore;
• May 16, Portal Players with Greater Tuna by Jaston Williams, Jo Sears and Ed Howard;
• May 17, Dramarama Theatre with The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown;
• May 18, Echo Players with Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel.
From this exciting series of contrasting productions, Shaw will be asked to present a number of awards. There are the Oscar-like traditions such as Best Actor, Best Costumes, or Best Set.
The major award, Best Production, goes to the group that provides the best all-round presentation. That play will represent North Island Zone in the Theatre BC Provincial Festival in Kamloops from June 30 to July 7.
Tickets for the North Island Zone Festival are available at Sid Williams Theatre, 250-338-2430, www.sidwilliamstheatre.com. Single tickets are $14, a group of three for $36 and a festival pass of six tickets for $69.
Full pass holders are also invited to join the two-hour Coffee Critique held by Shaw the morning following each production. These will be in the Courtenay Little Theatre rehearsal space at 17th at McPhee at 9.30 a.m. This is an opportunity to share your opinions with actors and adjudicator.
— Courtenay Little Theatre