z 2 y g g : : s E : & E z e % 3 PRL ESN GAP de BOR IEE Nt ie MOS NEWS photo Mike Waketictd LIONS BAY producer Paul Smith stands outside Grouse Moun- tain’s new mountain-top attraction, Theatre-in-the-Sky. Smith and his company, The Producer’s Workshop, are the technical wizards behind Our Spirit Soars, the theatre’s feature show. Video producer’s spirit soars with Grouse project HE SOARING eagle has for centuries held the imagi- nation of humankind: its long, swooping wings and gracious, powerful flight have led us to mythologize the creature. The eagle holds a special place in the heart of video producer Paul Smith who gave the mighty bird the starring role in his new show, Our Spirit Soars, for Grouse Mountain’s new multi-million dollar Theatre-in-the-Sky. On Sept. 5, the glitzy moun- tain-top venue opens its doors to the public for the first time. Locals Ann Mortifee, Long John Baldry and Haida artist Robert Davidson have all contributed to Smith’s project as singers and narrators, and a handful of local choirs have lent their angelic voices to the closing song, Fly Like an Eagle. EVELYN JACOB spotlight feature Smith, a Lions Bay resident and a teddy bear of a man, left the two-dimensional world of graphic design for a career in video pro- duction 13 years ago. Since then he’s created projects for Expo “86 and Hawaii's new Ocean Centre, but he doesn’t hesitate in choosing the local Grouse project as his favorite. It’s also one that he ad- mits was in many ways the most difficult. First of all, it took an army of 2,G00 people to get the project up and running. Smith and his video production company, The Pro- ducer’s Workshop, created not only the film but the entire con- cept for the mountain-top theatre — which includes a video pre- show and post-show gallery exhib- it — in conjunction with a loca! architect. “What has most surprised and pleased me,” the Ontario-born Smith says over lunch at a fash- ionable Yaletown restaurant, ‘is that everyone involved with the project has taken on ownership of One of his greatest difficulties was to create a show that would capture the spirit of Vancouver and accurately convey it to visitors and residents. “It’s difficult to do a show about a city you love,” confesses Smith, 48. “We've probably labored more over this show than anything we've ever done.”’ The 25-minute film consists of two parallel tales. In one, David- son carves a majestic mask of an eagle as he narrates and chants in traditional Haida. When the mask is complete he puts it on and is magically transformed into an eagle. This tale is then linked to the story of Vancouver's recent transformation into a bustling, cosmopolitan city. “As Robert carves the masks we see Vancouver in exactly the same context — being carved, shaped, formed and painted,"’ ex- plains Smith. ‘‘As Robert is transformed by the mask, Van- couver is transformed into the eagle of the Pacific.”’ Smith has long held that the eagle is a fitting symbol of Van- couver, “It’s majestic in a natural way, it’s gracetul, spiritual and poweriul. It’s a city that has really just now taken fiight.’’ Smith says his film is unique among promotional films because of a number of what he calls “techno-magical” surprises — none of which he will give away until opening day. One “‘magical’’ feature in store for viewers will be the sight of a live eagle, which will be released into the theatre during the film. Smith is convinced that Our Spirit Soars is the perfect moun- tain-top attraction because of Theatre-in-the-Sky’s sweeping view of Vancouver. Besides which, tourism is a booming global business, with cit- ies and countries pouring millions of dollars into fancy, multi-visual films that promote their destina- tions. With Theatre-in-the-Sky, Smith's strategy has been to use the entire theatre as part of an attraction, not just the stage and screen. “Film-makers just don’t have the sarne opportunity,” he says. “We can make the theatre part of the performance so that the whole theatre becomes a stage and the audience a performer.” Wednesday. August 15. 1990 - North Shore News - 19 Seymour Gallery holds competition TES BACK to the qirawcna bere tor al! 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