ASHLEY LEGASSIC photo Vancouver Lego Club member Paul Hetherington’s structure, titled “Firetruck Hotrod,” is displayed at Oakridge Centre’s Lego store. Big kids with little toys Adults unite to play with Lego and embrace their inner children By ASHLEY LEGASSIC ego isn’t just for kids, and the Vancouver Lego Club (VLC) has shown that a strong community can be built using tiny blocks. The adults-only club has grown from a handful of friends in a basement to a team of 25 consistent members with an online base of 600 people in just 10 years, according to Oakridge resident and club publicist Pierre Chum. The VLC exhibits its Lego art in many shows, which requires the efforts of each member, and sometimes more than a year of planning. In the past, their creative structures have been showcased at places such as the Oakridge Centre Lego store and the VanDusen Botanical Garden’s Festival of Lights. Although these shows make up the largest chunk of the group’s activities, Chum said the club has also laid the building blocks for a young boy’s dream through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. “We managed to help a little kid with his Make-A-Wish, which was to go down to Legoland. Since he relapsed we were able to bring him into our ex- hibit and have him [see] the show be- forehand, before anybody was there. Just watching the expression on his face was just priceless,” said Chum. The Surrey Museum’s bi-annual Lego show requires some of the longest planning. The most recent one, Lego: Myths and Muses, clocked in at a year- and-a-half’s worth of work. The collaborative effort from each member resulted in a landscape that highlighted goddesses, monsters and heroes from across the ancient Medi- terranean. “For me personally, I think the big- gest thing we’ve ever done... was the Surrey Museum. I think that stands as the biggest show we still do,” said VLC member Keith Reed. “I joined the club just when they started the planning for that so I was thrown right into the mix- ing pot.” Anyone is welcome to join the VLC to get in touch with their inner child, Chum said. “People are big kids at heart. That’s always what we’re saying. “We're always looking to re-connect with our youth... That’s what we aim to do with the [VLC], to show people that Lego is still cool and very relevant, and you can build amazing things with it.” VLC LEGO Past events SCIENCE WORLD AFTER DARK Brick and drink mixer, Feb. 21, 2014 MUSEUM OF VANCOUVER DIY Daniel: Lego build day, Dec. 14, 2013 Source: www.vic.ca Collision grad show hits Langara 66 The exhibit is completely conceived and produced by [students], and that gives them the confidence that they can do it MARCELA NORIEGA A final exhibit showcases 2D and 3D objects created by Langara students By HANNAH MYRBERG nat does it look like when a 2D Weve: meets a 3D one? You can find out at the Langara’s design formation grad show, Collision, which will show at Langara starting April 3. The title Collision hints at the multi- disciplinary format of the program, in which students create pieces that run the gamut from 2D prints to 3D sculp- tures. Design formation program head Marcela Noriega said the show draws inspiration from the cube. “You can see [the cube] as a 2D form or you can see it in perspective, inside or out. The idea behind it is the collision of these two worlds, 2D and 3D.” The show will be held in Langara’s Pop gallery, a temporary gallery that will be in the main foyer of Building A until the end of May. These kinds of pop-up galleries are the industry standard for accommodat- ing travel and dwindling gallery spac- es, said Tomo Tanaka, chair of creative arts. Collision is the final school exhibit HANNAH MYRBERG photo A design formation student walks by works designed and created in the program. for these students before graduation. “The idea is that Lit’s an opportunity for] people from the industry get to know the grads, and some of them get contacts later and get to go for jobs,” Noriega said. Mostly though, Collision bridges the gap between study and practice, Norie- ga said. Students show their work in a professional gallery setting that is stu- dent-driven from concept to fruition. Everything from the theme of the show to the works included - right down to the curtains and carpets used on opening night - is a culmination of planning and design by the students themselves, said Noriega. “The exhibit is completely conceived and produced by them and that gives them the confidence that they can do it.” On stage: Awkward families Studio 58 grad’s first work as a playwright explores sexuality and culture By MEGAN BOBETSIS first-ever play was like being a fly on the wall at an awkward first date. Ga Ting, which is Cantonese for fam- ily, is Ly’s debut as a playwright. It ex- plores the story of a Chinese couple forced to accept their son’s death and true identity after a confrontational dinner with his Caucasian boyfriend. The character trio grappled with is- sues of culture and sexuality in what was a strikingly realistic story. But more real than that was the dialogue between the characters. Throughout the play, the charac- ters’ verbal ex- changes artfully escalated the ten- sion between the traditional Asian father and his dead son’s young boy- friend. Observing their interaction was an uncomfortable experience, but it was difficult to tear your eyes away from what was happen- ing on stage. It was easy to identify with the fa- ther’s reluctance to accept his son, who was living in a world his father couldn’t understand. At the same time, you can’t help but empathize with the boyfriend as he is forced to defend himself and his love with frustration. Powerful flashback scenes gave in- sight into each character’s relationship with the deceased son as they spoke into the audience as if he were there. The single dining room set made the play unique, as well as the English and Chinese subtitles displayed on projec- tion screens during the show, empha- sizing even more the theme of commu- nication. “The core of the piece is about com- municating - communication among parents and their child, and children’s responsibilities in sharing themselves with their parents,” said Ly, who grad- uated from Studio 58 in 2006. Ga Ting, which is co-presented by the Vancouver Asian Canadian The- atre and The Frank Theatre Company, is Ly’s first work as a playwright. “T strive for diversity onstage, so when I had an opportunity to write a show, I thought it’d be interesting to have a... middle-aged Asian couple with a white dude sitting beside them. “Td like people in any family dynam- ic to walk away wanting to share them- selves more with their loved ones,” Ly said. Ga Ting is playing at the Richmond Cultural Centre until March 30. B= at Langara grad Minh Ly’s MINH LY Studio 58 grad and playwright Submitted photo Ga Ting, a play about culture, identity and family shows until March 30.