By Gagandeep Ghuman
Published: May 18, 2012
Cemetery Club, a production of the Between Shifts Theatre Company, has won eight out of 11 awards at the North Vancouver Theatre Festival.
It’s now heading to one of the biggest theatre festivals in B.C., Mainstage, in Kamloops.
The play competed with bigger clubs at the North Shore Zone Festival, which was held from May 3 to May 11, at the presentation house theatre in North Vancouver.
The show was received with warm applause and a standing ovation in North Vancouver, said Kathy Daniels.
It won 10 out of 11 awards including Best Overall Production.
Directed by Judi Price, the show starred local actors Kathryn Daniels, Carla Fuhre, Liz Gruber, Skai Stevenson, and Janice Hayden.
Between Shifts first started competing in the north zone festival 1995, and has since taken its productions to the festival 11 times.
Cemetery Club competes with well-funded clubs from West Vancouver, Deep Cove and North Shore.
The challenge is to match and exceed the quality of these very established clubs, Daniels said.
“We are a small club, and we are competing with clubs that have 300-400 members,” Daniels said.
At the Mainstage, the play will compete with nine other winners from their respective zones.
The first performance would be on July 1st, where Cemetery Club will play to a festival and public audience in the Sagebrush theatre which seats 740 people.
Daniels said the play would be adjudicated publically right after the performance. She said the crew is excited to perform in Kamloops.
“We will have to raise money to help us get there, so we may do a couple of more performances as a benefit for trucking and travel costs,” she said.
The Award list for Cemetery Club
Best Overall Production
Best Director – Judi Price
Best Actress – Kathryn Daniels
Best Supporting Actor – Skai Stevenson
Achievement Award for Actresses in a Leading Role – Liz Gruber & Carla Fuhre
Best Set Design – Nancy Thompson
Best Lighting Design – Michael Hewitt
Best Costume Design – Janet Dundas
Best Overall Design – Mike Hewitt, Nancy Thompson, Janet Dundas
