THEVOICE |

THURSDAY, NOV. 2, 2017 |

EDITOR KURTIS GREGORY

Arts&entertainment

Andrea Smith and Dave Lidstone of Just Duets opened and closed the inaugural Langara Geezers' Gala on Friday. Nick VALKA PHOTO

Retirees return to rock it

Ex-Langara staff and teachers come back for night of talent

m= By NICK VALKA

angara retiree’s reminisced

and shared laughs in the

lobby outside of Studio 58

before the inaugural Lan-
gara Geezers’ Gala talent show on
Friday.

Dave Lidstone, a retired mem-
ber of the Langara mathematics
department, helped organize the
event and performed as a member
of Just Duets.

“The intention of this is to offer
an opportunity for retirees to en-

gage with the college,” he said.

‘Ihe Langara Geezers’ Gala was
put together by the same people be-
hind the Langara Gala, which was
retired in 2014 alongside the last of
its organizers.

Before ending, the Gala gave
current staff members a night to
display their talents, but this new
event focuses on performances by
retired Langara staff.

Master of ceremonies and retired
bookstore manager, Robert Leaf, is
no stranger to such events, having

hosted the Langara Gala from 2002

to 2014.

He was pleased with the buzz
surrounding the event and said it
was a great excuse to get together,
have fun and allow people to show
off their talents.

Attendees of the Gala were treat-
ed to musical performances, as well
as readings from past English de-
partment members.

Edgar Avelino, an instructor in
the mathematics and statistics de-
partment for 33 years, performed
Filipino music on his guitar.

“It was great seeing the event

revived, I hope it continues be-
cause for one, it benefits students.
Secondly, it’s fun,” said Avelino,
who performed at every year at the
Langara Gala since its inception in
1987.

During its run, the event raised
around $33,000 to support stu-
dents, while the first Langara Gee-
zers' Gala raised about $1,200 on
Friday.

“It’s a great pleasure to be back
at the Gala,” Andrea Smith of Just
Duets said before closing out the
show.

From 5

Actress Lillian
Doucet-Roche
finds success
early after school

= By PERRIN GRAUER

ittle more than a year out of
Studio 58, Lillian Doucet-

Roche is finding success as
an actress after a journey that began
at an early age.

“From the time she was a baby
she was acting. It’s all she ever
wanted to do,” said her father, Der-
ek Roche.

to film

sister was my hero and so I started
doing theatre because she was do-
ing theatre,” she said.

Since leaving Studio 58, Doucet-
Roche has landed a supporting
lead role in the feature film Live
Like Line alongside William Hurt
and Helen Hunt, as well as a lead
in Nickelodeon's new film Inside
Voice, both slated for release later
this spring.

Jane Heyman, veteran drama-
turge and co-founder of Vancou-
vers Women in VIEW Festival,
directed Doucet-Roche in Studio
58's production of The Train Carr
and Numbers and is not surprised
she is already beginning to find
success.

“Lillian was a

"She would [~ delight, incredi-
sometimes bring “She was SO good at bly hardworking,
to t . al d,
jee le fan,” he acting, she would a ‘great rene “of
s goo! ae ae, | SUCKmeinand then | rns
ing, she would I'd realize she was “She has re-
suck me in and ; . n ally strong, deep,
then I'd realize just pretending . easily acces
she was just pre- ~ DEREK ROCHE, FATHER sible emotional
tending. = sources.
Now 23, But Doucet-

Doucet-Roche also points to her
early days as having been the cata-
lyst for her pursuit of the dramatic
arts.

“I was at an age when my older

Roche hasn't let her early success
cloud her focus and credits lessons
learned from family and from her
mentors at Studio 58 for keeping
her honest.

her teachers at Langara’s Studio 58 theatre program, for her recent successes
in Vancouver's competitive film industry. PERRIN GRAUER PHOTO

“It is really important to stay pos-
itive and to laugh at yourself and
to look at the negative outcomes as
opportunities or stepping stones for
learning,” she said.

Though her plans for the future

are far from certain, Doucet-Roche

knows one thing for sure: she is
determined to continue perform-
ing.

“T have to fight for this thing,” she
said. “It's where my heart lies, it's
what I'm good at, it's what I want
to do. There’s no plan B.”

Picturing
perfect
protests

Langara photography
grads reflect on the
past and future of
photojournalism

= By BECCA CLARKSON

angara alumni featured in a
new photography exhibition

on Vancouver's past century
of protests say the display high-
lights the decline of photojournal-
ism’s golden age.

Langara photography alumnus
Wayne Leidenfrost, one of 70 pho-
tographers featured in City on Edge:
A Century of Vancouver Activism,
said the industry will never be the
same.

“A lot of those things won't ever
be captured again,” Leidenfrost
said, claiming that social media’s
immediate yet fleeting nature is
responsible for a reduction in the
necessity of photojournalists.

The three-room exhibition, which
runs until Feb. 18, 2018, boasts 650
photos curated and based on a book
by Kate Bird, who used to manage
the photo collection at the Vancou-
ver Sun and The Province.

“There were a dozen photog-
raphers for the Sun and Province,
each [newspaper] shooting more
than 4,000 assignments every year,”
Bird said, adding that photojour-
nalists were like “rock stars” in past
decades.

“Newspapers don't want to pay
for or support that anymore. There’s
a real concern over who will docu-
ment not just protests, but other
events in the city.”

The Museum of Vancouver had
just finished working with Bird on
an exhibition comprised of photos
of Vancouver in the seventies when
she pitched the idea for an exhibi-
tion of Vancouver's past century of
activism. The museum agreed to
host the display before the book
was even created.

Fellow Langara trained photo-
journalist Ric Ernst is also featured
in the museums collection.

“It’s a front row seat to life, that
job,” Ernst said, though he’s frus-
trated with the industry. “They
don't seem to be able to adapt to
digital media or monetize it and
now it’s a skeleton crew at both
papers. It didn’t have to get to this
point”

Leidenfrost, who was briefly an
instructor for the photography pro-
gram at Langara from 1978-79,
said he used to like giving students
a sense of the job’s “reality.”

“The adrenaline rush is always
there. While you're watching the
news, we [were] there living it,” he
said.

ABOUT THE GALLERY

1. Bigger than the
book

While Bird's book contains 120
photos, the exhibition has 650.

2. The shows six

themes of protest
Social justice, First Nations,
labour, enviroment, hooliganism
and government.

SOURCE: VANCOUVER SUN