RYAN BANAGAN THE VOICE, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2013 4 By ANGELA HOLUBOWICH Ihe Vancouver Jewish communi- ty welcomes their 13th year of international performers and lo- cal artists on showcase in the Chutzpah! Festival February 7 to March 3. The festival combines dance, come- dy, theatre and music into a multi-dis- ciplinary platform offering artists an outlet for their work to evolve and be introduced to new audiences. “We have many different events, but as far as culturally, Chutzpah! is one of our biggest,’ Debbie Tabenkin pro- gram director of the Jewish Communi- ty Centre of Greater Vancouver said. “Tt is absolutely 100 percent received by the Vancouver Jewish community.” While the majority of events will be presented at South Vancouver's Nor- man & Annette Rothstein Theatre, the inclusion of new venues throughout the city including the The Vogue The- atre, Venue Nightclub and Cory Weed’s Cellar Jazz Club, promises to bring in new audiences of every artistic taste. Mary-Louise Albert is in her ninth year as the Artistic Managing Director the Chutzpah! Festival and the Norman Rothstein Theatre. “Chutzpah! is proud to present the outstanding artists featured in this year’s festival, and provide a platform on which they can flourish,” Albert said in a letter posted on the festival’s website. “By supporting and giving emerging and established artists the freedom to grow, explore and create new work for audiences, and by showcasing work a ie ore pe Gy w) & CHUTZPAH! FESTIVAL photo Three Hysterical Broads off their medication, starring Cory Kahaney, Dana Eagle and Emmy Award Winner Judy Gold are looking forward to their upcoming performances in Vancouver. Chutzpah! fest returns to city Vancouver’s Jewish community welcomes local/international artists that challenges us, energizes us and thrills us, the Chutzpah! Festival con- tinues to enrich the local and interna- tional arts community.” Offering up its Canadian Premiere is the comedy stylings of Cory Kahaney, Dana Eagle and Emmy Award Winner Judy Gold in “Three Hysterical Broads off their Medication.” An irreverent look at three womens lives when they take the plunge and go off their medication. Can they cope with kids, relation- ships, divorce, mortgages and life with- out them? The three women take the audience through a hilarious series of multime- dia presentations and stand up come- dy. For more information go to http://chutzpahfestival.com EVENTS WHO: 3 Hysterical Broads... off their medication WHEN: Sat Feb. 9 @ 7:00 pm and Sun Feb. 10 @ 2:00 pm WHERE: Norman and Annette Rosthstein Theatre WHO: War, Love and Loss WHEN: Mon Feb. 11 @ 7:30 pm WHERE: Norman and Annette Rothstein Theatre Residents ready to kick off Chinese New Year Vancouverites prepare for “Year of the Snake” By JESSE ADAMSON are making plans to celebrate the upcoming Year of the Snake as Chinese New Year approaches on Feb. 10. Sun Yee Chinese Restaurant on Vic- toria Drive expects to be extremely busy on the 10th and the following weeks. “It’s going to get pretty crazy in here,” said Hazel Chang, an employee of the restaurant for the last three years. “We get very busy on Chinese New Year, but it stays busy for at least two weeks after because the celebrations continue.” The Vancouver Buddhist Temple is having a New Year’s lunch from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The Marpole —- Oakridge Community Centre is also having a celebration on Feb. 9 from 2-5 p.m. Vancouver resident Alex Whang is excited for the feast at the temple; it will be the second consecutive year that he and his family will attend the New Years lunch. “My family and I had a great time last year,” said Whang, who will once again attend with his parents and his younger brother. “The food was so good and there was so much of it. It was a great celebra- tion.” Although there are things to do in South Vancouver, many people will choose to go downtown or across the bridge to Richmond. Langara student Cindy Ng plans to attend the annual Chinese New Year parade in Vancouver’s Chinatown. “The parade is definitely a highlight for me,” she said. “You get 50,000 people coming out every year. It’s such a great atmosphere for all ages.” Another popular destination is the International Buddhist Temple in Rich- mond, the second largest Buddhist temple in North America, where many Vancouver residents will take their families for events taking place from Feb. 6-10. S™ South Vancouver residents Spring Awakening in full bloom at Studio 58 ‘til February 24th Cast happy with way play is progressing By GARIN FAHLMAN Sater’s musical adaptation of Spring Awakening is an intensely personal, tragically dark, and musical- ly uplifting coming-of-age tale that takes the struggle of self-awakening and filters it through a gaslight and a guitar amp. Lead actor Riun Garner, who plays Melchior Gabor, said that what makes the intimate subject matter work on stage is having a supportive working environment during rehearsals. “You get comfortable with who you’re working with,” Garner said. Considering Spring Awakening has Ss: 58’s production of Steven the added complexity of being a musi- cal, it’s impressive how comfortable the cast is on stage after so short a time. “We started rehearsing three weeks ago,” Garner said. “We only got to read the script and audition before Christ- mas break. We get singing classes in third semester, but the school is pri- marily about stage acting.” Garner said that as the play moves forward, the cast is able to commit to the story much more. Co-star Dallas Sauer, who plays Moritz Stiefel, said that there are parts of each show that are stronger than the one before, but every show is an im- provement. “It’s good that the play is going for three weeks because I find that I’m al- most overacting my character, so I need that time to settle in to him. The rest of the cast will too, and little rela- tionships between characters will be- come clearer,” said Sauer. The actors are confident that the play is only going to improve. “T think coming to this play with lit- tle expectations is good, because some things are shocking. Prepare to be sur- prised. If it doesn’t affect you, we aren’t doing our job,” Sauer said. “My dad came on Sunday and the- atre isn’t really his thing, and he was mad he was missing the super bowl - but he loved it. He was singing he songs afterwards. “Tt’s the most fun I’ve had,” Garner said. Spring Awakening is playing until Feb. 24 at Langara’s Studio 58. Tickets are available at the box office, or by calling 604-323-5227. 4 DAVID COOPER photo Ruin Garner as Melchior acts out one of his scenes during Studio 58’s Spring Awakening.