In these special live-streamed events, WCT Artistic Director James MacDonald talked with theatre artists who both have local connections and work across the country. Also available on our WCT YouTube Channel.
We were thrilled to have Lori Marchand join us from Ottawa on Thursday, June 18. You will know Lori best for her long and impactful tenure as WCT's Executive Director from 1999 to 2018, a transformative time for the company. We discussed her transition from Kamloops to being at the centre of the national stage, the artistic journey of Indigenous theatre, and WCT's place in national theatre discussions.
Lori Marchand became the first Managing Director of the National Arts Centre's Indigenous Theatre in April 2018. She is a nationally recognized leader within the professional theatre community who made a significant impact as executive director of Western Canada Theatre for over 18 years prior to joining the NAC. A member of the Syilx First Nation, she has played a key role in the encouragement, development and production of Indigenous work. Ms. Marchand spent much of her early years in Ottawa when her late father, the Honourable Leonard S. Marchand, was elected as Member of Parliament for the riding of Kamloops-Cariboo. During her time at Western Canada Theatre, Ms. Marchand used her considerable leadership skills to make live theatre accessible, innovative, powerful and financially sustainable, and has helped make WCT the southern Interior’s largest professional theatre company. She was also an active member of the BC Arts Council from 2010 to 2017.
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WCT favourite Kirk Smith conversed with James during the Artist Talk Live of Thursday, June 25, which included an informative Beer Tasting Experience.
From his memorably over-the-top performance as The Cat in the Hat in Seussical in 2008 to his memorably over-the-top performance (there's a running theme here) as Buddy the Elf in Elf The Musical in 2018, Kamloops-raised Kirk has been in 13 WCT productions: dramas, comedies, farces, and some of our most popular musicals. You may have also seen him in Kamloops at Project X performances of The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged), James and The Giant Peach, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, and The Rocky Horror Show. Some other recent projects include Pride and Prejudice (Persephone Theatre); The Foreigner, Jeeves Takes A Bow (Chemainus Theatre Festival); Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, Billy Elliott The Musical (Arts Club); and The Rivals (Blackbird Theatre). Kirk co-produced and performed in Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me, with Dancing Monkey Presents, both in Kamloops and Vancouver.
Krystle Dos Santos & Tracey Power
James talked with Director/Writer Tracey Power (WCT’s Elf: The Musical) and award winning singer/actor Krystle Dos Santos. Krystle and Tracey discussed the development of their new musical cabaret Hey Viola!, based on the life of civil rights icon Viola Desmond: the first Canadian woman to be featured on a Canadian banknote. And our audience asked their questions in real time!
Watch the interview — and Krystle's moving performance — on either Facebook (start at 1:40 minutes into the video) or YouTube.
WCT is excited to be working with the talented team of Hey Viola! — based on the life of civil rights icon Viola Desmond, the face on the $10 bill — on the development of this new play. Krystle and Tracey are continuing to work on the show, with the intention of there being an upcoming production of the full work at WCT.