On Stage
I Hope My Heart Burns First
Falsework
Support Us
Scholarships
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Opening Next Week
Please join us for our Year II students' first public performances of the year, with two captivating productions opening next week!
Special Note
The casts will be performing in masks, in accordance with the COVID-19 safety protocols in effect for our Year I and II students. We recommend watching from devices with good audio/speaker quality.
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I Hope My Heart Burns First
by Colleen Murphy
directed by Jessica Van der Veen
A gang of six break into a mansion looking to loot themselves out of a drug debt. Governor General's Award-winning playwright Colleen Murphy has crafted a black comedy full of youthful vigour that pushes resentment, violence, and class to an unavoidable emotional extreme. I Hope My Heart Burns First will take you to the edge of your seat, praying we all miss the head-on collision.
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"Acting is a path to compassion. Walking a mile in these shoes, while tackling the pacing and comic timing, the emotional demands, and the physical exploration inherent in roles like this is a superb opportunity for students' growth as people and as artists.”
Jessica Van der Veen
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About the Director
Jessica Van der Veen studied acting at the Banff School of Fine Arts and completed her BA in Theatre at UBC. For decades years she acted and directed in film, TV, and theatre. After a decade working for social justice, she joyfully returned to acting and directing, recently appearing in Family Law.
Van der Veen’s selected co-writing and directing credits include: The Waltonsteins (with Frances Sheridan); The Shadowbox; Scary Stories; and The Triangle Factory Fire Project. Van der Veen and her writing partner won Best Screenplay at Beverly Hills Film Festival for their feature script, Emma’s Song.
Jessica built a successful career as an acting teacher and Director of Part Time Studies in Vancouver at Gastown Actors’ Studio. She teaches Acting for the Camera at the Canadian College of Performing Arts and is co-owner of CASTVictoria, providing acting coaching, taping and consultation services to professional actors across North America.
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Livestream Schedule*
Wednesday, March 10th - 7:30pm
Friday, March 12th - 7:30pm
Saturday, March 13th - 2:00pm
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Falsework
adapted from the book of poetry by
Gary Geddes
adapted for the stage and directed by
Christopher Weddell
On June 17, 1958, Vancouver’s Second Narrows Bridge collapsed while under construction. Eighteen men plunged to their deaths, and many others were injured. Falsework provides an elegiac portrait of the many lives affected by the crumpling of that seemingly indomitable structure. Balancing documentary and fiction, this premiere workshop production follows compelling characters through intimate vignettes as families and workers struggle to come to terms with this terrible accident.
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"Falsework is an intimate scrapbook of the mishap, a gritty and moving ode to intrepid workers and their families. It offers our student actors a bracing immersion in total theatre. As the story is assembled, they will explore the rigors of physical theatre, mime, choral work, and song."
Christopher Weddell
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About the Director
A graduate of the Playhouse Acting School, Christopher has played on stages in Europe and Canada. He is a founding member and past Artistic Associate of Bard On The Beach. Weddell has written several plays, including the hit adaptation of Gulliver’s Travels for Kaleidoscope Theatre. This year, Weddell is creating the libretto for a musical version of W.O. Mitchell’s Who Has Seen The Wind.
In 2005, Christopher received the Edmund Kean Sword Award from the Bard On The Beach for lifetime achievement.. He has been nominated for various awards, including a nod for Outstanding Direction for Richard II. In 2017 & 2019 he received 2 NCRC awards for sound design & production. Weddell has taught at the Canadian College Of Performing Arts since 2000.
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Livestream Schedule*
Thursday, March 11th - 7:30pm
Friday, March 12th - 2:00pm
Saturday, March 13th - 7:30pm
*Dates subject to change if required by the Provincial Health Authority.
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Livestream Tickets
The college has invested in a four-camera set up to broadcast our performances live. You will have access and angles like you’ve never experienced in theatre before, plus the best seat in the house for every show – your own!
In addition to our online ticket platform, tickets for our productions are available over the phone (250 940 6851) between 1:00pm and 4:00pm Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
Tickets will be available up until to one hour before the performance. Patrons are encouraged to purchase their tickets in advance. All tickets are non-refundable and have no cash value.
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Support the Scholarship Program
The Canadian College of Performing Arts has over 26 merit-based scholarships offered to all current students. These scholarships are awarded for meritorious course work and outstanding promise and conduct at the end of the school year. In the prior school year, we were able to disburse $14,000 worth of scholarships to our student body.
If you would like to contribute to supporting our scholarship program, please donate to our Legacy Scholarship Endowment Fund (held at the Victoria Foundation) by clicking below.
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The Canadian College of Performing Arts gratefully acknowledges the Lekwungen-speaking peoples (also known as the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations), on whose traditional territory the college stands, and on whose home we learn, create, and perform. |
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photo from The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (2016) by Leanne Green.
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