i n* ; <5 Mes . é j ih SU : AY. “i A screenshot from The Hole, a World War Two film which won Best in Show at the Wizard World Film Festival in Portland in January. Grad wins with WWII film Short film about trapped Canadian soldier showing across the U.S. By MIKE HODDER angara digital film production alumnus Steven Stiller won the Best In Show prize for his latest film, The Hole, at the Wizard World Film Festival last month in Port- land, Oregon. The festival is held in conjunction with the popular comic book conven- tion, Comic Con. The Hole, Stiller’s fourth film, is about a Canadian soldier trapped in a foxhole during the Second World War. Stiller says the film portrays a unique type of Canadian humility, mak- ing it appealing to a broad audience. “Tt’s more about sacrifice than glo- ry,” Stiller said. “A small story in an epic setting, that’s how I thought about it. [In] World War Two stories, there never seems to be a Canadian voice, SUBMITTED photo and being a very proud Canadian I wanted to give that voice to it and give it that Canadian character.” Originally from Winnipeg, Stiller moved to Vancouver in 1999 to work as an actor, and later progressed into making his own short films. Stiller found success in the industry after releasing his first film, Guilt - about an aggressive panhandler who commits murder — but decided to enroll in Langara’s digital film production program, something he said required him to be humble. “T thought I needed a better back- ground technically,” Stiller said. “Ev- erything I did was from an actor’s standpoint and as an actor you’re not always in a position to see how every- thing works. I wanted to be able to talk to the actors, the director of photogra- phy and to the lighting guys from a place of intelligence.” Langara film instructor Jonathan Tammuz remembered Stiller for his strong work ethic. “By the time Steven got to Langara he already had a bit of an acting career. He was a mature student, and he knew the industry, knew what it would take and he was going to get his way... and he’s made quite a reputation for him- self,” Tammuz said. Stiller graduated from the program in 2009. He said stubbornness helped him succeed in the industry. “T won’t take no for answer. If I had one piece of advice it would be never accept hearing no,” Stiller said. Although a date hasn’t been set for a Canadian premiere, The Hole is cur- rently screening at 15 locations across the U.S. including New Orleans and Chicago. 66 If Thad one piece of advice it would be never accept hearing no STEVEN STILLER A risky performance of Macbeth? CURTIS LEBLANC photo David C. Jones leads a read-through of Macbeth? with Studio 58 students including Jessica Wagstaff. Studio 58 students perform improv of Shakespeare play By MADELYN FORSYTH in Shakespeare’s Macbeth by cre- ating an improvised version as part of the Risky Nights series that ran from Feb. 3 to Feb. 9. The Risky Nights series gives sec- ond year acting students the opportu- nity to work with a professional direc- tor and create an original piece. This season students worked with David C. Jones — a Studio 58 alumnus and one of the top-20 improvisers in Canada according to The Vancouver Sun - to produce a version of Macbeth. “We found something very unique as we were studying the script. We start- ed to notice that there were some things that didn’t make sense, or there were things that you would think, ‘Well that was lucky,’ so we decided to make the improv, for the most part, be about the problems with the script,” said Jones. S:= 58 students filled plot holes The audience played a large role in deciding what happened in the play. During the performance on Fri. Feb. 7 the setting of the play changed to Pent- icton, Lady Macbeth was told to act like Lord Voldemort and when Banquo needed an animal characteristic, a pan- ther was the winning suggestion. “Not only are they improvising but they’re constantly flipping back and- forth between characters,” said Jones of the nine actors who took part. Olivia Ann Hutt played Hecate who co-narrated the story along with the Porter and Lady Lennox, all of whom were killed early on in the play. She de- scribed the show as one of a kind. “Tt’s been a huge learning experience to do improv because we depend so heavily on the audiences and what they have to offer,” said Hutt. Jessica Wagstaff was among the ac- tors who jumped from character to character. “Yow’re kind of just flying by the seat of your pants for a lot of it. It makes it really exciting, scarier I'd say than a normal theatre piece, but it’s super ex- citing,” said Wagstaff. Studio 98 grad brings the laughs Andrew McNee currently appears on stage in The Odd Couple, but still finds time for his family By LUKASZ JONCA is starring as one of the mis- matched roommates in the classic play The Odd Couple by Neil Simon, at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage. Andrew McNee plays the part of Os- car Madison, a carefree sports writer living by himself after a recent divorce. Robert Moloney, another Studio 58 graduate, plays Felix Ungar, a neurotic neat-freak news writer who moves in with him after separating from his wife, Francis. The uptight Felix and the mellow Os- car clash as roommates with ups and downs throughout the show, which runs from Jan. 23 until Feb. 23. “T feel really lucky you know, you sure don’t get into theatre for the mon- ey but the benefits are you have so much fun,” said McNee. McNee graduated from Langara’s Studio 58 in 2001. He has appeared in several Arts Club productions, Bard on the Beach, and film roles like Coach Malone in Diary of a Wimpy Kid. “When I graduated I had a pretty particular look, I used to have a giant afro and that helped with some film roles,” said McNee. Stephanie Elgersma, a graduate of Studio 58 who has worked with McNee, praised the actor’s comic abilities. “You believe everything he does and he does it so simply that he could just make the smallest movement and you burst out laughing.” Managing his full-time theatre ca- reer and raising his two sons has been quite the balancing act for McNee. “In the last two years it’s been just straight theatre which is great, but a lot of work when you have two of these lit- tle guys,” said McNee, referring to 18-month-old Thomas and Finn who’ll be turning four in April. “The great thing about theatre is that once rehearsals are done, I can be a stay-at-home dad. Once the show opens, the down side is I start work at 6:30 a.m. and go until 11:30 p.m.” Looking back on his time at Langara, McNee said he gained a real apprecia- tion for the amount of work that went into putting on a play. “You had to experience all the as- pects of putting on a play. The acting, but also stage managing, building a set, hanging the lights, doing sound and sewing costumes.” S tudio 58 graduate Andrew McNee LUKASZ JONCA photo Andrew McNee balances acting and time with his 18-month-old son.