Celebrating International Women's Day is a Family Affair for WCT - Western Canada Theatre

International Women’s Day is on March 8th, and Western Canada Theatre is celebrating with an exclusive, nline event just for you. The whole event was produced, filmed, crewed, promoted and staffed by female members of the WCT family.  A Broad’s Way Cabaret: The Stage is Hers is a cabaret featuring a plethora of women who bring their own unique performance styles to the event. Recorded in the empty Sagebrush Theatre, these performers' skills will fly through the screen and reach you right in the comfort of your own home.

All My Relations First Nations Dance Group
All My Relations First Nations Dance Group | BERNICE JENSEN, JEWEL JENSEN, TIMARA JENSEN, BRITTANy JENSEN, SHYLA RAINE and SUSAN OLIVERIUS

Amongst the fourteen eclectic groups of skilled performers in the show, two groups remind us talent really does run in the family. The All My Relations Dance Group is a multi-generational group of Indigenous dancers, singers, musicians and storytellers, made up of sisters, daughters, mothers and cousins. Based out of Kamloops and featuring the phenomenal and powerful talents of Bernice Jensen, Brittany Jensen, Jewel Jensen, Timara Jensen, Susan Oliverius and Shyla Raine, this group has honed their skills by traveling from Pow Wows to festivals, sharing their stories and creating a performance with wonderful visuals, songs with powerful meanings, and an entire experience that will be sure to educate and entertain.

The second group keeping things close to home are Robyn Wallis and Valerie Easton, a versatile and talented mother/daughter duo, performing together for the first time. Robyn is an actor, dancer and singer who recently moved to Kamloops and is now a teacher with SD73; you may have seen her last as Cosette in WCT’s production of Les Misérables. Valerie is best known for her direction and choreography (most recently, choreographing WCT’s The Sound of Music), but she’s no stranger to performing on camera. Early in her career she was a regular on the Wolfman Jack and René Simard shows. Robyn and Valerie both met their husbands while working at Western Canada Theatre; talk about keeping the talent in the family.


VALERIE EASTON, ROBYN WALLIS, SUMMER BOGETTI-SMITH and CHIOMA DARAH-ANI

Along with these talented groups, the Cabaret also adds some bold and inspiring individuals to the mix. One of these is 15-year-old Summer Bogetti-Smith. Western Canada Theatre has always been a big supporter of youth theatre and giving kids a chance to perform. A Broad’s Way Cabaret: The Stage is Hers is no exception to this long tradition of encouraging young talent to reach for the stars. Summer is a skilled piano player, guitar player and vocalist. Her contribution is an original song, written for her best friend. Not only does her song celebrate how beautiful a friendship between two females can be, but it is also a true celebration of some of the upcoming talent within the Kamloops arts community.

There are many skilled singers belting out their beautiful melodies for the Cabaret, including Chioma Darah-Ani. Chioma is not only a very talented vocalist but she also leads worship at Motion Church in downtown Kamloops and is an important team member at Askem Talent. Chioma’s kindness, brilliant vocals and all-around inner beauty will surely leave you feeling motivated to rise up.

Watch these amazing women and many more, Monday, March 8th @7:30pm with A Broad’s Way Cabaret: The Stage is Hers Live! Virtual Watch Party! The broadcast happens on Facebook and YouTube, and audience members will have a chance to tune in and ask questions of our all-female creative team. This is all part of WCT’s Togather: A Celebration of Community, and to feature some of their community partners and collaborators, they are also hosting a giveaway contest with a basket of treats from The Noble Pig, The Fox’n Hounds Sa-Hali Liquor Store, Celista Estate Winery, and more. To find out more about all of this, Click Here.

Included Photos: A Broad’s Way Cabaret Poster All My Relations First Nations Dance Group: Bernice Jensen, Jewel Jensen, Timara Jensen, Brittany Jensen, Shyla Raine, Susan Oliverius Valerie Easton, Robyn Wallis, Summer Bogetti-Smith, Chioma Darah-Ani