‘Nucklehead fever grips The Cultech From page 18 at any venue or Starbucks). Stopping by the oudoor Blood Alley venue Tuesday we noted 67 paying patrons and a dis- gruntled drunk seeking access to his usual coop. Here, in no particular order, are three productions that all have something to recommend them and are fairly typica! “types” of Fringe fare. & ’Nucklehead Fever! New Wit! Conceived by Carole Higgins, produced by Piglet Productions. At the Vancouver East Cultural Centre today at 3:30 p.m. The hit “hocumentary” is back from the °97 Fringe. This show is really for theatre audiences who also know about hockey and, preferably, support the woeful Canucks. Word had it that the sold-out show on the weekend just rocked the Cultch. A much smaller audience Monday evening still got involved in the show right from the faceoff. Cast members were playing street hockey as the audience took it its seats and it was not long before good saves or blown dekes were being checred and booed. One audience member even joined in for a whilc! The lineup has changed from two years ago but some of thie sketches live on. Don Cherry administers the sacred oath while our national anthem (the theme tune from CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada) plays, Claude Lemicux still provides hockey tips on such things as cross checking for maximum ‘injury, and the Zamboni and orca blimp again make guest appearances. : New. Wit! mi might be stretching things as an appellation — othe premise for the show remains the same: the Canucks ~ sucked from the. beginning when the Sabres drafted Perreault -and we got Dale what’s-his-name, the guy now selling used ~cars in Burnaby. ‘But "Nuckichead fever hits every 12 years “when the Canucks actually do something good i in the playoffs. ". New Wit! does make good use of its cast’s physical talents: > Howie Squeaker analyses a goal in slow motion, forcing the - cast to repeat the hysical action over and over again (back- ‘wards and forwérds)!, and tap-dancing goal-busting refs disal- low ‘goals for crease infractions to the tune of Ghostéusters. ~THiked Carole Higgins version of mind hockey when she is : forced to invent careers for Me, Myself and I after the boys fuse to play with her. If you love vhockey, you'll find a lot to ‘like too. Tf you're just a theatre buff, you might want to give this .one.2 pass and shoot for one of the many other revues in the - Frin where sibject expertise won't make a difference. a My Left Breast by Susan Miller, directed by Renee Iaci, produced’ by shameless hussy productions. At the ancouver . East Cultural Centre today at 11:15 p.m.; ‘Saturday at 3 45 Pan. and Sunday at 11 a.m. As a: male,. I cannot begin to imagine the emotional devas- station to: be Gonquered by a woman facing breast cancer and a omy. If penis cancer was something guys had to fear, A guessing ‘research funding would be an even higher priori- ty, than it isn And just in ¢ c you't think J. am being sensational, let me tind you that.in the last two years over 12,000.women have d'or are expected to die from breast cancer in Canada: ' I didn’t know Susan Miller’s play going in, only that it won i 995 {also the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for the best play by a woman in the English speaking theatre). I was’ ipecting anger but hoped senumentality would be avoided. No worries. Despite the incredibly tough hand that Miller © dealt, he et shies av from pathos.-Indeed, Milter’ 's No GST. No PST. > Until Sept. 30/59 * downright silly category. Like most comedy, it photo Piglet Productions DA ’NUCKLEHEADS: (clockwise from bottom) Todd Talbot, Carole Higgine, Chris Roheon, Peter Grier, | Dan ; Tinaburri and Jacques Lalonde. Absent fram the photo (holding out?) was Graham Shiels. ; ‘fast- -paced writing coupled with the energy of Deb Pickman’s performance occasionally had me wanting the odd second to catch up and absorb the information i had just reccived. My Left Breast is about far more than illness, surgery, chemotherapy, complications and recovery. A lesbian relation- ship, a mother/son relationship and the support of friendship weave in and out of fractured timelines. It was a little too jum- bled a journey for me, but I’ve never seen so much of one per- son’s life experience compressed into one hour before. By the end of the play when Miller states her surgical scar is a “mark of experience. The history of me.” I could only nod my head in admiration of her journey and her honesty. -@ Bald Faced Lie. Broken Nose Productions at VPAC, 138 ‘East Cordova St today at 4:45 p.m. and Saturday at 7:15 p.m. Somebody from this company phoned the News last week to implore Curtain Call to attend a performance. We moved on .from the usual “Do you know how many Fringe calls Pve had this week?” once it was established that performance dates did in fact intersect with an evening when I planned to review. Two tickets and a photo for publication were promised. : Neither tickets nor photo were at the box office window on ‘Tuesday evening, leaving me-to wonder whether I had been the victim of another bald faced lie while the. company rolled - around laughing at my expense backstage. The company is billed as “Seattle’s longest running sketch , comedy group” and its easy to see why. . You might not like all of the material, -but the actors (who-- ever they are, there is no program) are exactly that: actors first and comedians second. The result is a lack of sclf- indulgence, a _ fast pace and really tight timing. Many of the picces are skort; most fall into the witty, zany: or it would work bet- ter with a fall house (and a drink, a da the WI. S.E. Hall venue), but I gradually warmed up to the show and ended by making mental comparisons to Monty Python. Really. :-My companion was less impressed, but then you probably . have to be English to truly appreciate silliness. ° Bed Frames — © Entertainment Centres ® Dining Room © Desks © Bookcases ¢ Occasional Tables Heritage Oak & Pine . 997 West 1st St., NoRTH VAN 984-3255. OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK , grant from the North S! Anthology seeks N. Shore writers. THE North Shore Writers’ Association is seek: | ing short story and non-fiction submissions ‘from emerging and established authors’ for i its. winter 1999 anthology. The North Shore is central to the theme of the anthology and must play a substantial role in each piece. The reader should get a good sense of the physical setting .- (or settings) and location whether in the present or the past. if set in the past, the association prefers references to the present as well. Only previously un ublished works will be considered : The association is also looking for the highest quality liter- ary fiction, creative non- fiction, magic realism, historical’ ‘pieces * and humour. . . Poetry will be considered but only toa maximum: ‘of 20 lines and one submission per author. . . Hbustrators are also invited to send two to three samples of. _work that match the theme. Tilustrations should. be suitable, for - printing in black and whit The call for submissions.is open ‘to current residents of North Shore only, including Lions’ Bay.and Bowen. Islan - Submissions must. be received by. Nov. 15 a The project is made possible through an arts assis Arts Commission, A‘portion of. the grant will:be distributed to the publish d 2 illustrators as an honorarium. 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