EDITOR SIMONE PFEIFFER THE VOICE, THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013 4 DAVID COOPER photo Chris Cope, who plays Joe, a drug dealer, meets innocent Darlene, played by Masae Day in Studio 58’s production of Balm in Gilead. Review of new Studio 58 play Balm in Gilead, Studio 58’s final production, presents an intimate and often gritty take on what’s it’s like to survive in the big city By KRISTEN HARPULA tudio 58 finishes its season with a realistic interpretation of the hardships young people face when they’re short on luck in the production of Balm in Gilead. Lanford Wilson, who wrote the play in 1964, drew inspiration from sitting in a seedy all-night diner in New York. Set designer Naomi Sider essentially transformed Studio 58 into this diner and this intimate play has the audience sitting amongst the 27 actors. To prepare, the cast actually spent time in the Downtown Eastside, meet- ing and watching the people and this is evident in their acting. As people enter the theatre, they’re harassed by addicts asking for ciga- rettes or drug dealers trying to sell them dope. It sets the mood right away and ex- plains why the program given at the door has a disclaimer on it. Director Bob Frazer really wanted the audience to “be immersed in the truth” and the close proximity does just that. One character that really stood out was Babe, played by Julie Leung. Al- though Babe doesn’t have any dia- logue, her presence is definitely felt: She’s a heroin addict and the play doesn’t shy away from showing the au- dience exactly what that entails. The overlapping dialogue makes it’s difficult to give your undivided atten- tion to just one conversation, but the costumes, designed by Connie Hosie, really helped differentiate the individ- ual personalities of each character. Darlene, played by Masae Day, was dressed conservatively and that made her really standout. She’s instantly drawn to the only other presentable person, Joe, played by Chris Cope. One of the few weak points in the play was an extensive monologue by Darlene in the second half. While her nervous, fast-paced speech is meant to add to her naiveté, it carries on too long to really hold everyone’s atten- tion. Ultimately, this unique theatre expe- rience is definitely worth seeing and may offer a newfound appreciationof the search for belonging found in every shape and form. Cast and crew DIRECTOR: BOB FRAZER SET DESIGNER: NAOMI SIDER CHRIS COPE (JOE) MASAE DAY (DARLENE) JULIE LEUNG (BABE) New play needs work Strong performances don’t rescue The Winslow Boy By PATRICK COLVIN espite strong individual perfor- Dm the Metro Theatre’s production of Terence Ratti- gan’s The Winslow Boy appeared hast- ily put together as prop and set mal- functions frequently interrupted the show. This came as no great surprise. The Metro Theatre Centre prepared for The Winslow Boy on a tight schedule after the original play for the 2013 spring slot, See How They Run, was cancelled. Set in Britain during the period lead- ing up to the Great War, the play is based on a true story of a boy expelled from the Osborne Naval College for a crime he never committed. The boy’s father, Arthur Winslow, never loses faith in his son. He subsequently spends his wealth in hiring Britain’s top barrister to push the case of his son’s innocence all the way to court. The cast of The Winslow Boy includ- ed many actors who appeared in the Vagabond Players’ production of The Winslow Boy last summer. While cer- tain actors brought life to their roles, this cannot be said of the entire troupe. The play was bolstered by passion- ate performances from both Isabel Mendenhall, who played the mother and Gina Raye Young, who played the daughter. Mendenhall noticeably af- fected the crowd with her impassioned monologue during the second act,while Young also brought passion to the stage. Father and son duo Arthur and Ron- nie Winslow, played by actual father and son Michael and Adrian Jones, lacked the on-stage chemistry one would have expected. However, Michael Jones’s individual performance was successful as he man- aged to gracefully balance his charac- ter’s cold wit with the heart-warming sentiment of a father fighting for his son’s honour. Winslow’s brother Dickie, played by Kris Michaleski, was supposed to be a confident and carefree young man. This characterization was not realized due to Michaleski nervously clenching and unclenching his fists during the majority of his stage time. It was a taste of things to come when Michaleski picked up a prop Victrola and it fell apart in his hands. By the time the play had finished, a cane had also broken, a top hat had fallen apart and instead of raising the curtains to begin the second act, the bar holding up the curtain began to lower precari- ously. It appears as though the bar was lowered for The Winslow Boy as well. Pop-up gallery springs into action Ar Langara’s graduating creative arts students will get a chance to show their best work to the public and industry during the first-ever Pop-up Gallery, on April 11-May 17 By BEN BULMER ine glasses will clink and chins will nod when students and art lovers come together for the opening night of Langara’s very first pop-up art gallery. The Creative Arts Pop-Up Grad Gal- lery show will be held in the main con- course at Langara from April 11 to May 17. The event gives students from the creative arts programs a chance to showcase their work to industry pro- fessionals and the public. Students will be given a large board to display the best pieces they’ve pro- duced throughout their program. Each department will display work for about one week before giving the space to the next group of artists. “l’m both nervous and excited,” said Shawna Wajzer, a _ photo-imaging student.“We’re gone through so much these last two years,” she said. “We’re finally here, and we can finally say that we produce quality work.” Design instructor Yvan Morissette said the idea of a pop-up gallery is a space within a space. Partitions and carpet tile will create a gallery space within the concourse, he said. Morissette estimates as many as 30 industry people may attend the exhibi- tion. Design student Christian Hanhau- sen is happy about the prospect of meeting with employers. “The ultimate thing of this exhibit is not only to show- case what we’ve done, but to potential- ly get a job,” he said. Conrad Stel, a fine arts student, said that this will be his first time present- ing his work in a gallery. “It will be nice to have my stuff displayed to people who can help me go somewhere later,” he said. The gallery’s opening night will be held on April 11. Entrance to all the shows will be free. ERtib veal DEPARTMENT DISPLAYS: *Design: April 11-19 *Fine arts: April 24-May 1 *Photo-imaging:May 3-10 7 *Publishing: May 33 =i BEN BULMER photo Tracy Oan works on one of the pieces she will display at the pop-up gallery.