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...in the beginning
1995/96 Season
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2001/02 Season
2002/03 Season
2003/04 Season
2004/05 Season
2005/06 Season
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2007/08 Season
2008/09 Season
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Performance History
 The Rehearsal Katherine Schlemmer by Deborah Dunn |
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 The Angel of History Series Deborah Dunn photo by Diane Whelan |
___________ 1995/1996 ___________
 Herotica 2 Diane Brown and Mercedes Baines photo by Deborah Dunn |
___________ 1996/1997 ___________
 Serpent Kills Marcus Youssef and Mary Mancini photo by Katrina Dunn  Patagonia Carmen Aguirre Photo by Deborah Dunn |
Patagonia, by Karim Alrawi, was marked by its starkly original theatricality unrelenting political nature. Composer Andreas Kahre was nominated for a Jessie Richardson Theatre Award for his stunning original sound score.
The biannual Brecht In The Park event plays the role of both a neighbourhood happening and a city-wide cultural event. Started in 1994 with Public Dreams, we first co-produced Courage In The Park, an outdoor epic staging of Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children. The production met with such enthusiasm that we then co-produced The Threepenny Opera in 1995.
 Threepenny Opera Archer Pechawis Photo by Lincoln Clarkes |
Our other ongoing series is Acts Of Passion, an annual reading series of Quebecois plays produced with Pink Ink Theatre and Theatre La Seizieme. Also initiated in 1994, Acts Of Passion has exposed Vancouver audiences to some of Quebecs' most exciting theatre work, with special guest artists being flown out for workshops and lectures during the week-long event. Some of these leading Canadian artists include playwrights Normand Chaurette and Abla Faroud, translator Shelley Tepperman, French Canadian theatre expert and teacher Paul LeFebvre and internationally acclaimed writer/performer Pol Pelletier. Acts Of Passion not only offers Vancouver audiences the opportunity to experience Quebecs unique theatrical voice, it also affords those artists the opportunity to share and disseminate their work to fresh ears and minds This creates interest and dialogue, thus providing a link between the two cultures.
___________ 1997/1998 ___________
 Life During Wartime Diane Brown photo by Tim Matheson |
___________ 1998/1999 ___________
Our 1998/99 season was a resounding success. Ruby Slippers in collaboration with new co-producers Touchstone Theatre and Vancouver Moving Theatre produced their third installment of the Brecht In The Park series this summer. John Lazurus' adaptation of the Good Person of Setzuan premiered in August of 1998. Critics and audiences couldn't get enough as over 6000 people packed the parks at this wildly successful outdoor extravaganza.
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Our fifth annual Acts Of Passion reading series of Quebecois plays, co-produced with Pink Ink Theatre and Theatre Le Seizieme, was produced in association with the UBC Department of Theatre, Film and Creative Writing. We flew out internationally acclaimed playwright Michel Marc Bouchard, translator Linda Gaboriau, and teacher/director Paul LeFebvre to partake in the week-long event. Our guests gave lectures to theatre and creative writing classes at UBC and SFU. Ruby Slippers also commissioned the English language translation of Bouchard's Le Chemin des Passes Dangereuses (Dangerous Passes Road) especially for the series, which was performed by Andrew Wheeler, Dean Paul Gibson, and Bob Frazer.
In the spring of last season, Ruby Slippers presented the English language Canadian premiere of Francois Archambaults' play The Winners at the Firehall Arts Centre April 9 - 18, 1999. The Winners was a fastpaced, sharply satirical exposé of the urban class, portrayed by a cast of characters who embrace the materialist paradigm even as they sense that it is morally and personally void. Featuring an original soundscore by Andreas Kahre, visual design by Tim Matheson, set design by David Roberts, and lighting design by Adrian Muir. The cast was made up of some of Vancouvers best actors: Scott Bellis, Kurt Max Runte, Laura Di Cicco, Tiffany Lyndall-Knight, Courtenay J. Stevens, Sarah Turner, and Bob Frazer. Francois himself flew out for
opening night! The show was a critical and popular success.
The B.C. Arts Council supported our sponsor Carmen Aguirre and James Fagan Tait to write, rehearse and perform an adaptation for the stage of Walking Words by Eduardo Galeano. Thanks to the committee that made that recommendation, and congratulations to everyone involved in the project. Ruby Slippers was happy to be a sponsor.
Also, as part of the Playwrights Theatre Centre's New Play Festival, Ruby
Slippers took part in All Together Now, a roundtable talk about the
process of creating works collectively. Available members from the RubyCAB
gang were on hand, along with The Electric Company and the gals from Mom's The Word, at The Festival Studio.
___________ 1999/2000 ___________
We kicked off the 1999/2000 season with our sixth and final installment of our Acts of Passion reading series featuring the hottest new work from the Quebec theatre scene. Co-produced with Pink Ink Theatre and Theatre la Seizieme in association with the UBC Department of Film, Theatre, and Creative Writing, Acts Of Passion was a week-long event which showcased cutting-edge works in the form of staged readings heightened by live original soundscores and slide designs. The event also offered lectures and informal discussions with our special guests from Quebec on and off the UBC campus. Ruby Slippers commissioned the English language translation from Robert Dickson of Jean Marc Dalpé's Trick Or Treat especially for the series. Our Passionate guests this year included translator Robert Dickson and playwright Larry Tremblay.
Our fund-HELL-raiser was a ton of fun, and a great success! Thank you to the media club, our board of directors, the participating performers, and all who came and supported the company.
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Dorothy Dittrich was the musical director, and Stephane Kirkland directed this reverently irreverent romp to the land of love and intimacy. (La Luna is a project of View the Performing Arts Society.)
___________ 2000/2001 ___________
After a long creation process spanning eight months, we were proud to present to you the all-knew, all-original RubyCAB 2000. Created in collaboration with music ensemble Talking Pictures, this raucous evening of jazz cabaret picked up where our 1998 hit The Ruby Cabaret left off, ushering in the new millenium with enlightened, offensive, highly entertaining skits, songs and social satire. RubyCAB 2000 featured most of the original artists including Shawn Macdonald, Ian Ross McDonald, Dave MacKay, Diane Brown, Carmen Aguirre, Katrina Dunn and Talking Pictures jazz Ensemble. RubyCAB 2000 was a huge critical and popular success, and was invited to One Yellow Rabbit's High Performance Rodeo, a national festival of the best experimental theatre in Canada!
___________ 2001/2002 ___________
Three of Vancouver's most innovative theatre companies combined to present an award-winning Brecht in the Park series, performed beneath the summer sky in three Vancouver Parks, in August, 2001. The event featured an original play with music, which though new, is still firmly rooted in the tradition of Brecht. Sucker Falls: The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, was written by Canadian playwright Drew Hayden Taylor, with music by Ron Samworth, and directed by Diane Brown, Katrina Dunn and Savannah Walling.
Award-winning Ojibway playwright and humourist Drew Hayden Taylor wielded his satiric pen to great effect in this world premiere inspired by the Bertolt Brecht / Kurt Weill repertoire. A broad comedy peppered with haunting images and powerful songs, Sucker Falls told the story of the appearance and collapse of a First Nations casino. This epic musical featured all the spectacular elements that have wowed Brecht in the Park audiences in past years: stiltwalking, giant shadow play, and pyrotechnics lighting up the sky. Throughout the play a hot quartet cooked into the night with an original brew of country / cabaret songs and soundscapes, straight out of the pop culture Cuisinart.
The ensemble featured well-known Toronto actors Herbie Barnes, Monique Mojica, and Michelle St. John; local favourites Tasha Faye Evans, Kim Kondrashoff, Jacques Lalonde, Kevin Loring, and Ian Ross McDonald; spectacle performers Sharon Bayly, Laura Crema and Bessie Wapp; along with musicians Travis Baker, Joel Lower, and Dylan van der Schyff, led by Ron Samworth. The design team featured a set by Kate King, costumes by Rebekka Sorensen, spectacle elements by Rick Holloway, and pyrotechnics by Nancy Lee.
Down Dangerous Passes Road
Our English language world premiere production
was presented at the The Belfry Theatre in Victoria in March 2002.
A haunting and poetic masterpiece
by internationally renowned playwright
Michel Marc Bouchard with translation by
Linda Gaboriau. Ruby Slippers'
Down Dangerous Passes Road featured the
original fabulous design team of
lighting by Adrian Muir,
set and costumes by Kate King,
soundscore by Yorrit Dijkstra, and visual
design by Tim Matheson. The show also included the acting talents of
Bob Frazer, Donald Adams and
Peter Wilds.
Directed by Diane Brown.
PHOTO: Nick Seiflow, actor: Mercedes Bains
The 2002/2003 season included the artistic residency of one of
Vancouver's hottest young playwrights, Lucia Frangione, the
premiere presentation of Karen Hines latest biting social satire (the third
in her infamous Pochsy trilogy), and the premiere production of Drew
McCreadies wickedly funny analysis of dysfunctional bliss.
In addition to these projects, Ruby Slippers is took part in the official
Canadian Delegation attending the Six Stages Theatre Festival in Prague.
We also met with several presenters, artists and Festival
Directors across Europe to further expand our pool of collaborators and
opportunities abroad and at home.
In March 2003, Ruby Slippers (in association with The Firehall Arts Centre)
presented the Canadian premiere of Karen Hines new play.
The third in the cult-classic Pochsy Trilogy featuring the
irrepressible Karen Hines, CITIZEN POCHSY was described as “an
apocalyptic vision of Betty Boop with the face of Clara Bow and
the heart of Joan Crawford.”
A dynamic collision between Dante's Inferno and Pochsy's day
timer, Citizen Pochsy comically mines the treacherous territory
of contemporary citizenship.
Ruby Slippers Theatre proudly produced the premiere production of local
playwright Drew McCreadie's black comedy, The Cat Who Ate Her Husband at the Firehall Arts Centre.
This dark sexual satire offered merciless insights into the secret fears and
fantasies of six sheltered suburbanites. It was directed by Diane Brown.
The working title of the project is M-M-M.
Mod is the icon child product of Marilyn Monroe and the grand
daughter of Mae West. She is at a crisis point in her life. She has to
choose between a career in the fashion industry as a top world model
or accept NASA's offer, and her growing intolerance of wheat is taking
up far too much of her energy with food preparation. She's addicted
to Yoga, allergic to oxygen, can't find her G spot, and has a boyfriend
who refuses to support her lesbian explorations. These conflicts lead to
a deconstruction of feminine ideals from the last century, and a wishlist
for the next as she attempts to carve out her own sexual identity.
To the Top
Peter Wilds, Donald Adams and Bob Frazer
PHOTO by inter.mission productions.
Love Bites
After two years of development and one workshop
production, Ruby Slippers in association with La
Luna proudly presented the mainstage production of
Love Bites written and performed by Mercedes
Bains. A musical storytelling of women
grappling with love and lust in an increasingly sexually
confused society. Our play married live improvised
jazz with spoken word poetry and live performance
in various downtown Vancouver bars and
nightclubs. Musicians Ron Samworth and friends
teamed up with us to help heighten and explore the
emotional and psychological fall-out of modern
romance. Seen through the eyes of many female
characters struggling with intimacy, Love Bites was a
visceral, sensual, and engaging journey through our
inner and outer battlefieds.
___________ 2002/2003 ___________
Ruby Slippers developed a new work with Playwright Lucia
Frangione over the course of the season. Three dramaturgical
workshops with Rachel Ditor culminated in a public reading with
professional actors in July of 2003. Ruby Slippers has scheduled
the premiere production in the fall of 2003.
___________ 2003/2004 ___________
Ruby Slippers Theatre and Pi Theatre co-produced the Western Canadian
premiere production of Shopping and Fucking by
Mark Ravenhill. Described as “a searing, intelligent, disturbing satirical
dialogue”, this cutting-edge drama of disenchantment
bowled over audiences across Europe and Russia.
A ruthless and surprisingly hilarious indictment of
consumerism and violence in our society, Shopping
and Fucking explores the desensitization of the
disenfranchised twenty-something generation.
Ruby Slippers Theatre, with the Firehall Arts Centre, co-presented the Western Canadian premiere presentation of Marie Brassard's haunting and sensual Le Noirceur. Le Noirceur featured Brassard, a protege of Robert LePage, sharing the stage with another actor / dancer and a musician. The three explored friendship in a story about a little girl killed by a car. Intimate, personal and highly refined, the piece induces a very direct rapport with the audience.
Ruby Slippers presented MMM, written by Lucia Frangione, with music by Jim Hodgkinson, directed by Diane Brown, with dramaturge Rachel Ditor.
When sex icon Mod released her first pop album Jam This Up
Yours, she was the toast of the town. Now she's dry toast, with a
career tits up and assets drooping. We joined Mod, Mae and Marilyn for too many martinis as we
traversed a century of feminine identity through a family of
battling sex icons.
To the Top
___________ 2004/2005 ___________
In November of 2004 Ruby Slippers and The Firehall Arts Centre presented the premiere of A Fabulous Disaster, starring and created by Denise Clarke.
A tragic comedy of dire warnings and light hearted musings drawing on all things opposite - Denise Clarke has given up and is ready to go. Clarke bought sharply drawn observations and glorious physical response together in a strange but beautiful and funny little show about the whole world and one person in it. Denise Clarke is known for her solo work and for her long-time association with One Yellow Rabbit. Last season she brought her theatre/dance piece Sign Language to Vancouver, and the season before was part of the OYR ensemble in Dream Machine also in Vancouver.
In March 2005 Ruby Slippers Theatre and Studio 58 presented the Western Canadian Premiere of The Waiting Room, by Lisa Loomer, directed by Diane Brown at Studio 58, Langara College
Sets by Yvan Morissette Lights by Itai Erdal, costumes by Sheila White, sound and visuals by David Hudgins, featuring Scott Bellis, Beatrice Zeilinger and Allan Zinyk along with the senior students of Studio 58
Wanda, a modern New Jersey gal, is having problems with breast implants. Victoria, a tightly corseted Victorian, is waiting to have her ovaries removed. Forgiveness, a wealthy 18th century Chinese woman with bound feet, is waiting to have her toe re-attached. The Waiting Room examines the balance of power between men and women, eastern and western cultures and conventional and unorthodox medicine. Lisa Loomer's ironic comedy asks - at what cost beauty?
To the Top
___________ 2005/2006 ___________
Photo of Denise Clarke by Sean Dennie
Ruby Slippers presented a repeat performance of Denise Clarke's A Fabulous Disaster in November of 2005 at the Firehall Arts Centre.
Ruby Slippers presented The Leisure Society in March 2006. Penthouse view, fine wine, great food, old friends ...What more could
you want?
Ruby Slippers Theatre's production of The Leisure Society was nominated for FIVE Jessie Richardson Theatre awards, and won for Outstanding Production and Outstanding Direction (Diane Brown) at the 2006 Awards Ceremony at The Commodore Ballroom.
"One hell
of a show."
Eye Weekly
"A vicious,
erotically
charged
spectacle full
of cynical
disdain and
gripping
pathos."
Montreal
Gazette
"The Leisure
Society is a dark,
twisted and
brilliant take
on modern
marriage ... It is
a play that will
no doubt arouse
deep-seated
discussions
and thought."
Calgary Sun
Read more reviews
To the Top
___________ 2006/2007 ___________
In September Ruby Slippers Theatre and the Firehall Arts Centre present the world premiere of bANGER: the power hour
Created and performed by Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg, Directed by Sophie Yendole with Music composed by Marc Stewart
Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg began creating bANGER as Ruby Slippers' Artist In Residence two years ago. Theatre meets dance meets metal!
"... while her brilliant text and hilarious male
characterizations are a feminist tirade,
she actually brings poignancy
to the men she targets."
Paula Citron, The Globe and Mail
In April 2007 we presented Trout Stanley at Performance Works and at the Shadbolt Centre. Trout Stanley written by Claudia Dey and directed by Diane Brown. It featured Lois Anderson,
Colleen Wheeler, and Jonathan Young. Set was by David Roberts, lights by Itai Erdal, sound by Patrick Pennefather, costumes by Sheila White, visuals by Tim Matheson.
Grace works at the town dump. Sugar makes tragic figurines. Together, they have settled into routine until the Scrabble Champ Stripper disappears, and Trout Stanley appears, turning the tables on these mismatched twins.
"a deliciously lyrical piece of Canadian Gothic"
Anita Gates, NY Times
"The frequently arresting imagery spilling out of people's
mouths lends music to the sometimes dark, sometimes
comic action, which involves various loves bent out of
shape by too much or too little expression."
Jon Kaplan, NOW Toronto
Our Western Canadian premiere production of Trout Stanley was nominated for many Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards, including Outstanding Direction and Production.
Playwright in Residence
James Long
James has been writing since becoming inspired to
compose a book of poetry about his teeth at the age
of 10. Since then he's written a couple of plays by
himself; one about a chicken - Broiler, one about a
TV - Idiot Box, and a bunch of plays with other
people, including one about trees - The Last Stand -
with Kendra Fanconi and one about karaoke - The
Empty Orchestra - with Maiko Bae Yamamoto,
Adrienne Wong and Darren O'Donnell.With Visions
of Roland he is on to mudslides, addiction and class -
three things that make Vancouver the special little
place it is.
He thinks Ruby Slippers Theatre is very brave.
To the Top
___________ 2007/2008 ___________
FEMMES FATALES SHOWCASE
Each season, Ruby Slippers Theatres' Femmes Fatales series showcases a visionary heroine from the world stage, a woman who creates and performs her own work.
Firehall Arts Centre and Ruby Slippers Theatre presented Living Shadows: A Story of Mary Pickford, written and performed by Tracey Power, and directed by Brian Dooley October 24 - Nov 3, 2007. www.firehallartscentre.ca
There's something winning about this sepia portrait of a woman who gave up everything for a 2-D image of herself.
Edmonton Journal/Liz Nichols
You won't want to miss a moment of Power's performance. She plays Mary with a wide-eyed innocence and enthusiasm that is simultaneously evocative of silent film acting and entirely natural - and completely engrossing.
CBC Winnipeg/Joff Schmidt
MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION
Ruby Slippers Theatre presented the English language World Premiere of The View From Above, a co-production with Theatre la Seizieme. It was written by James Long and directed by Diane Brown, with dramaturgy by Marcus Youssef, and featured Tom McBeath, Karin Konoval, Donna Soares and more
Vancouver 2011. Global Warming, class warfare, the return of the prodigal son... Just another day in paradise.
At Performance Works from April 12 - 27, 2008, and at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts from April 30 - May 3
To the Top
________ 2008/2009 20th Anniversary Season________
It's always best to be recognized by your peers, and Ruby Slippers Theatre is thrilled to wrap up it's 20th Anniversary Season leading the Small Theatre nominations with an exciting 8 Jessie Richardson Award nominations - including Outstanding Production - for the English language World Premiere Production of Serge Boucher's LIFE SAVERS, translated by Shelley Tepperman. Read more here
No woman ever made history by behaving.
A weekend of theatrical misbehaviour led by Governor General's Award winning playwright Colleen Murphy (The December Man).
November 22 and 23, 2008
Masterclass with Colleen Murphy
November 22 and 23, 10 - 6 pm
Reading
Saturday, November 22, 8 pm
New works read by Vancouver's hottest theatre makers followed by
In conversation with Colleen Murphy, hosted by Martin Kinch.
Festival House,
1398 Cartwright Street,
Produced in association with
The Playwrights Theatre Centre
Life Savers
A life-affirming comedy about death.
English language World Premiere Production
by Serge Boucher
translated by Shelley Tepperman.
Directed by Diane Brown.
Featuring Patti Allan, Kevin McNulty,
Mike Wasko, Colleen Wheeler, Deborah Williams,
Naomi Wright and many more!
April 4 - 19, 2009
Performance Works,
1218 Cartwright Street,
Granville Island
April 22 - 25, 2009
The Shadbolt Centre for the Arts,
6450 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby
What the audience said...
"Loved the Stage. Loved the Aunt (in Mom's the Word as well). Father, mother, sisters, everyone was really really good.
When it comes to live theatre, I always hope and hope that the actors will be convincing, and then second that the story is well-done (I just can't concentrate on the play, if I don't buy the performances). But they were all fantastic - nice work everyone!"
S. Bailey
"It was indeed a fabulous performance! {We} went off to the GI Hotel for a drink and what turned out to be a really deep conversation about our various takes on the "story" - a sign that each of us was profoundly affected by the play. What greater statement is there than that?"
Brenda Berck
"The play and the production tonight was absolutely fantastic. Your direction was flawless and the ensemble cast stellar. What a perfect night at the theatre! I will most certainly spread the word to my entire acting student base that this is a must see play. Congratulations on twenty years, and have a great run!"
Iris Quinn and Fred Henderson
"Diane's direction (of the play) was masterful. Please pass on my congratulations to Diane on bringing together one of the most diverse groups of players & roles in a play that had people around me both laughing and crying!!! She did a great job and thank you."
Allan & Faigie Waisman
Plus these...
"Powerful performances."
"Bravo to all!"
"Fantastic!"
"Thoroughly impressive."
"Excellent show."
Produced with the generous support of
The Playhouse Theatre Company
Ruby Slippers Production Society
1398 Cartwright St., Second Floor,
Vancouver, BC V6H 3R8
Phone 604-602-0585
Fax 604-602-0562