Vancouver Island's Canadian College of Performing Arts launches first in-person show since pandemic began
The Canadian College of Performing Arts’ studio ensemble has launched its latest production, Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land, which will serve as the kick off to the island college's 2021/22 season.
“The show is about two competing shows rehearsing on the same stage,” says director Derek Chan. “They are both related to stories of love, loss and memories.”
'Secret Love' is a romantic drama, and 'Peach Blossom Land,' a riotous comedy. Two theatre groups, mistakenly double booked in the same rehearsal space, discover how to coexist with each other while rehearsing very different plays.
The show will be the first time that students from the Oak Bay-based college have performed in front of a live audience in the theatre since the pandemic began.
There have been several virtual performances in the past 20 months. This production will be the first to offer both.
“I’m really excited to do this play,” says Mackenzie Langdon, a third-year student at the college. “This is our year’s first opportunity to do a play in front people who are outside of the student body.”
Taiwanese playwright Stan Lai (Lai Sheng-chuan), wrote the iconic play, which has become popular in contemporary Chinese theatre and has been performed over 10,000 times worldwide in the past 30 years.
“This play is a metaphor for the way that we live alongside each other,” says Chan. “And sometimes when we actually listen to each other, things start to blend and new stories start to come out.”
Chan is an award-winning playwright, director and performer who is originally from Hong Kong and now lives in Vancouver.
Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land resonates personally for the director as it represents stories that have lived within his own family for generations.
Students from the Canadian College of Performing Arts (CCPA) were involved in every aspect of the production, from performances and original musical compositions to set design, costumes and lighting.
Langdon herself plays multiple characters in the play, such as ‘Blossom’ and ‘Woman in White’.
“I’ve had to work very hard to develop different physicalities and different vocal qualities to each of the three characters,” she says. “Especially since they are very similar, so that the audience can differentiate between all three. That’s been really challenging, but it’s been really exciting to get to do that work.”
Other performers say they hope the play will resonate with audience members.
“I hope that audiences can walk away recognizing how important the people they have in their life are and how important the people who are no longer in their life were,” says Tyrus Williams-Penney, a non-binary performing artist with CCPA who also plays multiple characters.
“This play is so much about gratitude and kindness,” according to Williams-Penney. “There is an immense amount of kindness from all the characters in the show by the end.”
Sixteen cast and crew members are involved in the production, which runs from Oct. 21 to Oct. 24.
Tickets are available for in-person or live-streaming viewings and can be purchased through the Canadian College of Performing Arts website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.