24 - Wednesday, May 23, 1990 - North Shore News Garage Sale named best play THE NORTH Vancouver Com- munity Players’ production of Gwen Pharis Ringwood’s Garage Sale will travel to Chilliwack next month to compete for the provin- cial title in Theatre B.C.’s annual Mainstage ‘90 festival of plays. The local amateur theatre group beat five other companies to cap- Success came fast for actor From page 23 dience changes and you get a mix of people they will start to demand different types of plays,” she says. “Ethnic playwrights should write more plays, and if a role doesn’t specify a particular culture, it should be played by a minority.” Yamamoto is also proof that an actor can become, if not a star, a success overnight. Two years ago she auditioned for Steve Petch’s Another Morning ona whim and to her own suprise, landed the lead role. Without an ounce of training or experience, other than playing a dark witch when she was 15 — “(had to sit on a tree and cackle a lot’ — Yamamoto was pres- ented with the Jesse Richardson Award for Most Promising New- comer for her performance. That gave her the confidence to seek other roles (she played Rosie in Rosie’s Cafe — a play about the Canadian internment of the Japa- nese) and helped to build her reputation as an actor. Looking back, she describes the whole experience as a “whirl- wind.” “(had no desire to get into theatre, | hardly even went to see it,” she recalls. “I never consid- ered acting as something that could support me, and | knew there were very few roles for ethnic actors. § was really surpris- ed to win. t didn’t even know how to get on the (Arts Club’s) stage. | didn't have time to be nervous.” A self-described ‘‘realist,”’ Yamamoto still doesn't consider acting to be a profession that can support her; she works as a man- ager for the Lynn Valley and Capilano Japan Camera stores (her parents opened the North Shore's first one-hour photo outlet). ‘‘I don’t like the instability of theatre ~— that's why I stick to my other job. | also have a strong bond with my family.”” Ironically, being Japanese has actually helped Yamamoto land a few roles. T.V. series like Wiseguy, 2! Jump Street and Danger Bay have cast her in minor roles — al- though they have mostly been stereotypical. Theatre, on the other hand, has proved to be more rewarding. . Yamamoto’s own parents were interned in B.C. during the Second World War and she has spent years trying to come to term with that injustice. in both Rosie’s Cafe and Another Morning she played characters who, like her mother, experienced feelings of anti- Japanese sentiment. The roles allowed her to feel the same feel- ings of betrayal. “My parents have been very supportive because I’ve been able to tell the story of the Japanese- Canadians,’’ she says. While Yamamoto says she is proud of her heritage, she appre- ciates the fact that she doesn’t have to have a Japanese accent in Local Colour. “'m proud of being Japanese but I want to be seen as an actress — not a Japanese actress,”’ she says. ture the North Shore zone title for best overall production for the se- cond year in a row. Last year the group won both the local and provincial titles for The Dresser. Garage Sale was also awarded for Best Male Actor (Richard Strachan) and Best Set Design (Dave Edwards, Tony Akester). Other winners were: Best Female Actor: Brenda McDonald, North Vancouver Com- munity Players, Fugue For Female Voices. Best Male Actor: Strachan, North Vancouver Community Players; Stephen Cooper, West Vancouver Lii- tle Theatre, What I Did Last Summer. Best Supporting Female Actor: Ry Janice Ryan, West Vancouver Little Theatre, What I Did Last Summer, Carole Higgins, First Impressions Theatre. Rites of Spring. Best Supporting Male Actor: Rees Haynes, First impressions Theatre, Rites of Spring, Glen Magee, Howe Sound Players, The Glass Menagerie. Best Director: Peter R. O’Rourke and Sarah-Ann Dafoe, First Impres- sions Theatre, Rites of Spring. Costumes: Patti King, West Van- couver Little Theatre, What 1 Did Last Summer. Lighting/Sound: Michael Smith and Vickie Grisdale. First Theatre, Rites of Spring. Special Effects: Sylvia Forrest, Deep Cove Stage, The Greening of David Browne. Festival chairman Rita Weakes was awarded the Don Marsh Award. Theatre B.C. board member Mary Caple called the competition a ‘very successful week of theatre.” “Amateur theatre is definitely im- proving,” she said. The winner of the Mainstage event will travel to Regina, Saskatchewan to compete in the nationals. Impressions The Council of The Corporation of The District of North Vancouver is in the process of considering a revised draft of the DISTRICT OFFICIAL COMMUNITY PLAN and wishes to invite you to examine the proposed Goals, Objectives, Policies and Implementation Strategies at an OPEN HOUSE to be held on Saturday May 26 from 10 am to 5 pm at the DISTRICT MUNICIPAL HALL 355 West Queens Road North Vancouver Note on Procedure: The original By!aw 6000 was given a public hearing on May 30th 1989. This hearing was adjourned in order to allow time for a review of some major issues raised in connection with The Official Community Plan. Bylaw 6300, the new district Official Community Plan incorporates the following revisions based on input from the Citizers Review Committees and Professional Consultants; The designation of Maplewood Flats and filled lands as conservation areas; The designation of five industrially-zoned parcels West of Cates Park for Park, Recreation, and Wilderness land use; The elimination of new residential uses in the Inter-River Area and the expansion of Lynn Canyon Park; The inclusion of elements of the North Vancouver Transportation Network Study's recommendations; The elimination of the Greater Vancouver Water District Lands from the Urban Reserve land use category. Council intends to recommence the public hearing on Bylaw 6000 only for the purpose of closing it and defeating it at a Special Council Meeting immediately following. The new Bylaw 6306, which is the subject of the Open House, will be given a public hearing on the same date. This OPEN HOUSE is an informal meeting for the examination of the proposals. The formal PUBLIC HEARING will be held on June 12 at Balmoral Junior Secondary School. We look forward to seeing you there. J Diaipizate Lo Mayor Marilyn Baker