Ted Osborne, artistic director with the South Okanagan Amateur Players, informed Rotary Club of Osoyoos members, including president Marieze Tarr, about the 2016 Okanagan Zone Theatre Festival, which kicks off this weekend at the Frank Venables Theatre in Oliver. (Keith Lacey photo)
Theatre lovers are in for a very special and rare treat as the South Okanagan Amateur Players (SOAP) prepare to host the Okanagan Zone Theatre Festival starting this weekend.
During a presentation to the Rotary Club of Osoyoos last Thursday, SOAP artistic director Ted Osborne said he and the fellow members of SOAP are anxious and excited about hosting this special regional theatre competition.
“We’re calling it eight great days of plays in May,” said Osborne.
A total of eight theatre troupes stretching from Osoyoos to Vernon will perform over the eight days of the festival, which kicks off Saturday night at the beautiful Frank Venables Theatre inside Southern Okanagan Secondary School in Oliver.
All performances between Saturday, May 21 and Saturday, May 28 will be held at Frank Venables Theatre, with the curtain rising at 7:30 p.m.
This is the first time that SOAP has acted as the host for this event and everyone involved in the organization is excited, said Osborne.
The Frank Venables Theatre is an outstanding facility complete with all of the audio, visual and technical equipment needed to host a festival of this size and having that facility available is the biggest reason SOAP was selected as host, he said.
“You need a venue with all of the bells and whistles and state-of-the-art light and sound equipment and we’re lucky to have those at the Frank Venables Theatre,” he said.
All of the plays will be full-length productions complete with distinctive sets and it was imperative to have a facility that could host large-scale productions that will be on display over the course of the festival, he said.
There are 10 theatrical zones spread out across the province and the winning production from this festival will qualify for the provincial theatre festival in Chilliwack in July, said Osborne.
The local organizing committee had to raise close to $30,000 through arts grants and fundraising events to put this festival together and members of SOAP deserve a great deal of credit for putting so much time and effort into hosting this festival, he said.
Gary Davey, a well-known theatre critic and former artistic director with the amateur theatre company in Nanaimo, will act as adjudicator for the festival and will be selecting the winning entry as well as awards for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Stage Production and several other awards, he said.
Those awards will be announced at the closing festival banquet at the Walnut Beach Resort in Osoyoos on May 28.
SOAP’s entry into this year’s festival is the romantic comedy called Sleeping Indoors, which will take the stage on Monday, May 23.
Saturday’s opening night play is called Rabbit Hole, presented by the theatre troupe in Princeton. This play tells the story of a young couple struggling to cope following the tragic death of their young child.
Tickets for the festival are $22.50 per production for adults and $8 for students under age 18.
Prices are reduced to $20 per show if you purchase tickets for three shows and a pass to see all eight plays is $122 or $17.50 per play, said Osborne.
Tickets are available online at www.soplayers.ca/festival and tickets for the SOAP production of Sleeping Indoors are also available at Sundance Video in Oliver.
Theatre fans from Osoyoos and Oliver will also be able to purchase tickets for each performance at the door for the same price.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
