‘Se

photo Ted Cole

Voyaging to familiar territory in Star Trick The Musical are (from ‘eft): fan Ross McDonald (Scotchy)}, Bili
Pozzobon (Spork), Ellen Kennedy (The Queen), Michael Teigen (Guts) and (seated) Doua Funk (Captain Quirk).

Not really, although that may not matter.
 Theatresports has had Vancouver audiences in stitches since
2980. I used to love the old City Stege Friday-night laugh
meets featuring many actors who have gone on to bigger and
better things: Jay Brazeau is a local theatre legend and is in
most every U.S. movie filmed locally, Roman Danyliu has a
regular gig on the X-Files and there are many, many more
hose faces you might recognize. Some of the older guard still
improv, most notably Colin. Mochrie who can bz seen every
k on network TV with- Drew Carey.
tar Trick debuted some cight or nine years ago and was so
pular it was hard to get a seat some nights. Of course we
¢ closer in time to Star Trek and Gary. Jones physical lam-
ooning of William Shatner‘s, Captain Kirk was hilarious.
time around it’s Doug Funk in the barber’s chair on the
idgeof the Star Ship Improvise: He too has the bad hair, the

a

corseted belly, the odd physicality and the need
to be at the centre of every camera shot. Hf his
crew doesn’t quite have the stage magnetism
of the original gang they are, with one excep-
tion, still very zood -— Tan Ross McDonald is
a funny Scot, Ellen Kennedy is a vanilla domi-
narrix but sings well and Bill Pozzobon was
obviously the third Blues Brother. This pro-
duction also boasts better staging values than
the original, with the sound really excelling.
However, I was a little disappointed and am
still trying to work out why. —
I don’t believe my reservations have much
to do with the increasingly distant original
Star Trek episodes, nor even the fact that I had
enjoyed the original so much. ;
Improvisation is based on an actor’s willingness to tackle the
unknown at a tic of a parsec, to boldly jump off a starting point
and hope that a fellow cast member will provide a soft landing.
It involves listening to what is unfolding and, in actors’ words,
“staying in the moment.” Audience pleasure is wofold. We
enjoy both the success achieved by actors attempting to think
on their feet as characters in bizarre situations created on the
spot and, perversely, the failure of those same actors.
The thrill lies in watching talented individuals willing to take

a chance of blowing it. There can be suspense in every scene of |

the how-will-they-pull-it-off variety. When iinprov shows move
to scripted. formats, the show may get tighter but the danger
disappears into space. :

See’ Audience Page %

URY

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| Vancouver Cantata Singe

James Fankhauser, director ;
A Fin de Siécle
Christmas

Holst, Reger, Howells, Rachmaninoff, Poulenc,
Shaw Parker, Walton, Rutter, Hultberg & more

Celebrate ten decades of
20th-Century Christmas music with us.
Many of your favourite Christmas songs.

And two new ones. .

| Saturday, December 18
at 3:09 pm and 8:00 pm
First Baptist Chuzsch
Nelson & Burrard
Sunday, December 19 at 3:00 pm
West Vancouver United Church:
2062 Esquimalt :

_ Tickets *18 (students & seniors *14) at
Ticketmaster, tel 280-3311, or www.ticketmaster.ca,
and at the doors

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Value Special ‘ti! Dec. 26 from
January special from $179 Double .

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Located in Whistler Village. 100 yards from both gondola... °

Reservations: 664-5643 Email: ms|@whistlerweb.com