Meet Brad Fraser, Canadian playwright extraordinaire    

Brad Fraser is back with an audacious and outrageous new comedy of bad manners with True Love Lies, coming to The Cultch Sept 21 - Oct 1, 2011.

Brad Fraser is one of Canada's best known and most provocative playwrights. His play Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love was a huge international hit in the early nineties, and True Love Lies meets up with two of its characters - Kane and David - twenty years later. Once David's lover, Kane is now straight, married and living in mortgaged suburbia with two kids. David's reappearance outs dad to his kids and seeds wild change in this family with a secret.  Underneath it all is the question, "does true love ever die?"  With the crackle of lightning fast one-liners, acidic exchanges and wickedly witty characters, this hilarious new play shatters our illusions about the "perfect" Canadian family.

Brad Fraser is a playwright, director and producer whose work has been greeted with success across the globe, garnering him such awards as the London Evening Standard Award for most promising playwright, the LA Critics Award and Toronto's Dora Mavor Moore Award for best new play to name only a few. His films include Love and Human Remains (directed by Academy Award-winner Denys Arcand and winner of the Genie Award for Best Adapted Screenplay) and Leaving Metropolis, adapted from Poor Super Man. For television he spent three seasons as a writer/producer on Queer As Folk for Showtime and two seasons hosting his chat show Jawbreaker with Brad Fraser on OutTV. Check out www.bradfraser.net for more info and occasional updates.

True Love Lies opens at The Cultch on September 22nd (previews Sept 21) and runs until October 1st. Tickets start at $16 and are available online or through The Cultch's box office at 604-251-1363. For more information, click here.

 

Wicked Shorts - a fresh and hilarious take on love 

 

Alley Theatre's Artistic Producer Marisa Smith is "interested in work that brings "invisible" stories to light and gives voice to characters that we don't often hear from in society."

In Wicked Shorts, that voice is a waiter who wants nothing more than to offer his patrons dating advice. That voice is the story of two people on the "blind date from Hell", an affecting look at love and loss, and a comedic examination of secret-keeping.

Wicked Shorts is a series of four short plays about love and relationships performed in a café setting. Each play interacts with the environment and audience to produce "a performance that successfully takes turns at hilarity, pensiveness, pathos and the ridiculous" (Review Vancouver).

"I think that we may have heard from these types of characters before...but not necessarily from the angle that this play takes," says Smith.

Originally performed at Wicked Café as part of the 2010 Vancouver Fringe Fest, Wicked Shorts showcases the talents of local playwrights and two incredibly versatile performers.

Says Smith, "Fast forward to 2011 and we're in the Culture Lab! It has been a wild and wonderful process recreating the show for this space. I am incredibly grateful to my lovely actors, my marvelous creative team, the on-going support of the Vancouver Fringe, and especially to The Cultch for this amazing opportunity!  Enjoy the show."

Wicked Shorts takes over the Vancity Culture Lab from September 21- October 9, 2011. Come early to get the best table and enjoy a drink in our "Culture Café". Tickets start at $28 and are available online and through The Cultch's box office at 604-251-1363. For more information, click here.

GIANTS showcases Vancouver's world-class comedy for the 2011-2012 season

 

From the innumerable film and TV stars that have graced this city's stages to influential international festivals, Vancouver is known as a hotbed for laugh-makers. The Cultch is thrilled to announce that for its 2011-2012 season, this enormously talented community will bring their newest work to the theatre with GIANTS: Six Late Night Comedy Events at The Cultch.  

Uniting the funniest and most creative minds from Vancouver's sketch, improv, and stand up scenes with filmmakers, writers, and musicians, GIANTS' six shows will feature ambitious new collaborations. It will showcase the brilliance of the city's most established acts in an innovative, variety-hour style format.  Members of existing groups like Pump Trolley Comedy, the Sunday Service, Vancouver Theatresports League, and Hip.Bang! amongst others are counted amongst the first show's line up.

Hosted by funny men Tom Hill and Nick Harvey-Cheetham and woven together with video produced by Vancouver favourites Weekend Leisure, GIANTS will debut October 8th in The Cultch's Vancity Culture Lab and will present an all-new show every 5-8 weeks through May 2012.

To watch videos and meet the contributors to each show check out www.giantscomedy.com or to buy tickets visit www.thecultch.com.




FREE Youth PodPlay Workshop with Adrienne Wong of Neworld Theatre - September 20 & 21st, 5-9pm 

     

 

"a podplay is like a movie in your ears that you walk around in"

For over a year, we have been trying to bring neworld's podplays project to The Cultch. We are thrilled to announce we'll be doing so to launch The Cultch's Youth Program's new season. Youth 13 - 24 are invited to participate in this free workshop.

What is a PodPlay? 

A podplay is a short, site-specific audio play that takes participants on a walk through the geography of a city and the urban obsessions of its residents; much like you would listen to an audio guide in a museum, you load podplays onto portable media players and are guided on a walk by narration that combines story, music, technology and directional cues.

The Cultch and the neworld theatre are presenting DIY PodPlay Workshops. Try your hand at this unique art form. Put your stamp on it. Tell the story of the place where you live.
Neworld Theatre Artistic Producer Adrienne Wong will lead you through the imaginative and technological hoops of podplay creation.

Learn how to write a short play in which street corners, parking meters, fire hydrants and traffic lights play pivotal roles. Then learn all the steps of how to edit and present it. A challenging, fun-filled workshop that will develop both your creativity and technological savvy.

www.neworldtheatre.com 

IMPORTANT: Space is limited to 16 participants, so email corbin@thecultch.com to register today! This is a two part workshop. Participants must be able to attend both days (September 20th and 21st, 5-9pm).   

 

 

As part of the 2011 Vancouver International Fringe Festival (Sept. 8-18) at The Cultch:  

 

WHY WEIGHT?
A PLAY GUARANTEED TO MAKE YOU LOSE 5 LBS!

OK, not really, but don't we wish it were that easy?

When does the love of food become an obsession? When does the drive to get into shape cross the line? When does the number on the scale stop mattering? Maddi is a woman on a mission to lose enough weight to fit into the killer dress that she's going to wear to her ex-boyfriend's engagement party. The only problem is, the carrot-beet cleanse she's on is driving her crazy, and she's a food-ict who'd give anything for a giant plate of nachos!

WHY WEIGHT? is a dark comedy about one woman's existential journey into food, fat, fitness, and finally a discovery of what really feeds her. Directed by Lesley Ewen | Starring Hazel Venzon | Written & Produced by Loretta Seto. For full show details, please visit www.weightlessproductions.wordpress.com.

SALLY LIVES HERE: A TALE OF THE FORGOTTEN CITY

In a dilapidated old house, somewhere in East Vancouver, Sally Kemp -- a faded country music singer/waitress in a diner, and Aunt Phoebe -- an octogenarian, cigar chomping lesbian, who talks to her ghost lover in the chandelier, face an uncertain future. The old house that Phoebe has called home for fifty years, and that Sally has lived in since her last episode, is slated for demolition. Do Sally and Phoebe share the same fate?

After a standing ovation for the first public reading of SALLY LIVES HERE at the Gabriola Theatre Centre last summer, Playwright-Performer, Lynna Goldhar Smith, has collaborated with her award-winning creative team (Director Sarah Rodgers, Composer William Moysey and Lighting Designer Michael Schaldemose) to bring this darkly funny too true story to life on stage.

For full show details, please visit www.sallyliveshere.wordpress.com.

Single Tickets to our 11/12 Season Now on Sale 

 

Tickets to all Cultch 2011/12 shows are now on sale! Buy your tickets now to ensure great seats to see Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes in Penny Plain, Catalyst Theatre's
Hunchback and so many more exciting presentations from our season.     

  

The Future of The Cultch Begins With You

 

Our building is a century old, and we hope our recent renovations mean that The Cultch will be here for centuries to come. Please consider making a bequest to The Cultch in your will and ensure the presentation of innovative theatre, dance and music for future generations. For more information, please contact Director of Development Eleanor Stacey at 604.251.1766 x 110 or eleanor@thecultch.com.

Free tickets, free coffee, free t-shirt: Volunteer today

  

Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something.  ~Author Unknown

Looking for an opportunity to fill a free evening with some innovative and dynamic entertainment? How about meeting new friends and getting involved in the arts community? Then why not volunteer for The Cultch!

The Cultch is always looking for outgoing, reliable and friendly people with an interest in the arts to join our volunteer team as ushers. Our ushers are the first point of contact for guests as they enter the building, so play a crucial role in creating a welcoming atmosphere at The Cultch. No experience is required as we provide you with full training, but previous ushering or customer service experience is always an asset.

We do ask that all volunteers for The Cultch be a minimum of 16 years old, have a good working knowledge of English & be able to commit to 2 shifts per month (shifts are typically 3 or 4 hours depending on the show). As our audiences are quite diverse, we welcome anyone new to the city, students, seniors - the more the merrier!

If you're looking for a great way to get involved in the community, meet new people & see some of the fantastic shows coming up at The Cultch for free get in touch with our volunteer manager, Jenn Graham. For more information or to apply, please contact:

Jenn Graham
volunteer@thecultch.com
604-251-1766 ext. 111

 

Seat sale at The Cultch  

  

  

  

Post renovations, The Cultch now has an excess of banks of beautiful red velvet and hardwood theatre seating.  Banks of 4 are going for $800 OBO. If you're interested in having a piece of Vancouver's most unique venue in your home, contact us now. Vintage look in nearly new condition, perfect for a home collection or small theatre. Best in banks of 4, but can also be assembled/sold in other configurations.

 

Subscriptions are still on sale for the 2011/12 season

 

Our Build-Your-Own (BYO) 4 and BYO 8 allow you to choose from the diverse roster of performers and artist presented at The Cultch this year. Packages start as low as $50 and guarantee the best seats at the best prices. BYO subscriptions also offer unlimited free tickets exchange and 20% off single tickets for Ronnie Burkett's Penny Plain and Catalyst Theatre's Hunchback. Subscribe online or by calling The Cultch box office at 604.251.1363.

 

Become a Super Subscriber and enjoy even more benefits:

Beyond the benefits of subscribing to the 2011/12 season, you can further enhance your experience at The Cultch by becoming a Super Subscriber. By making a tax-deductible gift of $125 or more to The Cultch with your subscription, you'll receive special invitations to an opening night pre-show reception and a pre-show artist chat, a free pass to a Cultch movie night, and an exclusive backstage tour behind the scenes of a Cultch presentation.  And your donation will help us as we present our season and offer our Youth Program in 2011-12.

 

You can still upgrade to become a Super Subscriber, even if you have already purchased your 2011-12 subscription- simply call our Development Office at 604.251.1766 x 110 to add your gift of $125 or more to your subscription.