 Director, Nathan Linders, is pleased to announce that a full cast has been selected to stage The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon, to hit the Venables stage starting February 4. Thank you to all the others who expressed an interest in this show and a special welcome to SOAP Theatre newcomer actors Atif Zaidi, Derek Beaton and Bill Shields (though Bill is currently rehearsing in his debut role in Flaming Idiots).
O. CLOUTIE (Curtis Boomhower): Travelling man. For millennia he has had his own curling rink. He is founder of First Fallen Angel Church, Closed Assembly of Satan. He is a poor loser. WULLIE MacCRIMMON (David Badger): A shoe-maker, and continuing Presbyterian. He skips his curling rink. Like Cloutie, he prefers to win. REVEREND PRINGLE (Joel Browne): Skilled curler. Since the union of the Methodist and Presbyterian churches in the twenties, he has been minister of Grace United Church. ANNIE BROWN (Connie Mythen): Malleable Charlie Brown' wife. She is Mormon and does not curl. A little of Annie goes a long way and there seems to be quite a lot of her. She also is a poor loser. PIPE-FITTING CHARLIE BROWN (Derek Beaton): Plumber, who curls second for Wullie. Over the years, the joints of his Protestant soul have sprung many leaks, but he feels that time and corrosion will heal up anything. CLOCK CHARLIE BROWN (Clem Jones): A jeweler who curls lead for Wullie. He is Catholic. MALLEABLE CHARLIE BROWN (Tom Szalay): A blacksmith who curls third for Wullie. He has two problems: (1) an untrustworthy lower back, and (2) his wife, Annie. GUY FAWKES (Joe Rupcich): Explosive Englishman, who curls lead for Cloutie. JUDAS ISCARIOT (Atif Zaidi): Lapsed Christian, who curls second for Cloutie. MACBETH (Bill Shields): A rather wordy and ambitious countryman of Wullie's, who curls third for Cloutie. Like Wullie, he is a continuing Presbyterian and he can appreciate Malleable Charlie Brown’s marital problem.
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We are busily working on three shows for our 2021-2022 season. Rehearsals for Flaming Idiots are in full swing for opening night on November 19. Auditions for The Black Bonspiel of Wullie McCrimmon will take place over the week. (Fill out this form if you are interested in a part.) Auditions for our spring show, When the Wind Blows, will be announced at a later date. Tickets for all three shows are on sale now! You can get yours online by clicking on the buttons below. If you prefer a personal touch, you can also purchase them in person at the Venables Theatre box office at 6100 Gala Street in Oliver, or by phone at 250-498-1626. The box office is open Tuesday through Thursday from 10:00am - 3:00pm. Customers should be aware that by order of the Provincial Health Officer (PHO), a QR code proof of vaccination is required to access all live theater events in BC. To maximize patron safety, we are advised that the Venables Theatre has required all of their staff and volunteers working at any live event to be vaccinated as well.
Visit the the Provincial web site for information on how to get your BC Vaccine Card. While current PHO rules limit indoor event attendance to 200 people, we anticipate that if vaccine requirements sufficiently limit the spread of Covid-19 at indoor events, these audience limits may be increased before our scheduled show times. If not, SOAP will attempt to add additional performances so that our dedicated patrons will still be able to see our stuff!  SOAP's upcoming Annual General Meeting will take place:
The Province's restart plan announcement on May 26 anticipates that as long as vaccination, case number and hospitalization data remains positive, large capacity indoor events (such as concerts AND PLAYS ! ) could resume as early as September 7. This makes us very optimistic about staging a full season of plays for the 2021-2022 season. In addition, SOAP has been chosen to host the next Okanagan Zone Theatre Festival in May 2022! If you are interested in Community Theatre, you are encouraged to attend our AGM. Find out what we have planned, see how you can be come involved and perhaps even step to serve as we elect our our board of directors for the coming season. All those interested are invited to attend, but only paid-up members can vote at the AGM. See our web site for membership information. Minutes of past AGMs are available on our "About Us" page.  While we are still on hold because of Covid-19, planning for next season continues. We have to remain optimistic about vaccine rollouts through this coming summer, and SOAP theatre has booked time slots for our usual 3-production season at Venables Theatre for 2021-2022. The tentative dates are:
We would still like to produce the shows we were planning for last season, which were Flaming Idiots, Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon and When the Wind Blows. However, this is subject to change depending on cast and director availability and the actual pace of reopening theatres to regular audiences in British Columbia. As a filler, SOAP is also considering a shorter show, about an hour long, comprised of comedy sketches in a variety show format that can economically be offered to limited audiences of up to 50 people. Again, depending on when theatres will be permitted to resume operations in a limited capacity, such a production will be considered for late spring or early fall of 2021. If you are interested in becoming involved in Community Theatre, we recommend subscribing to our newsletter. All subscribers will be notified of audition and backstage opportunities as our planning becomes more certain.  In response to COVID-19 restrictions limiting audiences to 50 people, and the requirement for safe physical distancing by actors, SOAP had to cancel its planned 2020-2021 season. However, we are exploring options for small-scale live performances to present in the next several months. Preferences include:
If you have seen or know of a play or two that may meet these requirements, please leave a comment below or contact us privately using this Form. We would also love to hear from you if you are interested in becoming involved as an actor, a director or some other capacity. If your suggested script is chosen, we would love to provide you with two free tickets for opening night!  We regret to announce that the ongoing COVID-19 situation has required the SOAP Theatre executive to cancel all shows in our 2020-2021 season.
Unfortunately, live performing arts events that rely on audiences greater than 50 people will be the most affected by this pandemic and will likely be one of the last social functions to re-start. When announcing their reopening plan on May 6, 2020, the Province of BC indicated that events with more than 50 people are not proposed to happen until Phase 4, which must be preceded by a successful vaccine, effective treatment or community immunity. In addition to monetary pressures from audience size limits, we cannot resume rehearsals until safe to do so for our casts and crews. So, we have now cancelled all of our upcoming performances. Tickets already sold for cancelled SOAP Theatre shows are eligible for a credit or a refund. Patrons can contact the Venables Theatre by email to tix@venablestheatre.ca or by phoning 250-498-1626 Tuesdays through Thursdays between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm. Progress, or lack of progress, on COVID treatments or vaccines will determine when we can resume our normal operations. In the meantime, we are also exploring possible other adapted scripts and show formats that may permit safe rehearsals and can be produced to small audiences. We will keep our supporters informed on our web site, on social media and in future newsletters. Born Yesterday wrapped up on February 15 to great, appreciative crowds. The show became an audience favourite as Friday-Saturday numbers on the closing weekend more than doubled the Saturday-Sunday crowds the weekend before. "This growth in numbers is likely directly attributed to the great word-of-mouth in the community, arising from fantastic performances by this talented cast the weekend before," speculated director, Tom Szalay. There were over 770 audience members who took in this show, including an energetic crowd of 240 on closing night. "It's always great to end on a standing ovation from a large house!"  What Local Audience Members said:
“We highly recommend this play. Everything about it was outstanding – casting, acting, sets, costumes. Besides being highly entertaining, it has an uncomfortable message about our world today even though it was written in 1946. This should not be missed.” – Cheryl Dumais “Wow! What a terrific play. The set was amazing as were the costumes. The story Written by Garson Kanin was thought provoking and so topical – I loved the connections to the politics of today ... what talented people! Don’t miss this production! We are very fortunate to have such talented actors, directors and production crews in this valley!! Thank you!” – Birgit Arnstein “Another fantastic performance by SOAP THEATRE! Everyone was sooo good and perfectly cast! Jenn, your accent rocked! Nathan, we wanted to get up and punch you countless times! Great job, Tom Szalay, your cast and crew were great!” – Angela Stuart “Great play and great acting, enjoyable evening.” – Dan Clark “Went and saw the show this afternoon. It was fabulous and we are so lucky to have these performances here. Congratulations to all the performers on a good show. Can’t say enough good things about it and highly recommend it.” - Marg Harkness “Great show!!!” – Larry & Claire Schwartzenberger "This is an awesome performance. The local actors are amazing. So much work and time spent, thank you." - Sandra Lawton |
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