Sansa AS AN actor, weiter, director and singer, Morris Panych as “horrible,” he nonetheless ad- knows Vancouver's theatre scene inside and out. “So. “he. spoke from experience during a recent visit with a handful - of Handsworth Secondary’s theatre and creative writing stu-. dents, who had invited him and his colleague Ken MacDonald to an early morning breakfast. at the school. ~. The thespians, who have worked together on and off for over 10 years, are currently involved in the production Of 7 Stories at the Arts Club Seymour Street theatre — a play written and directed by Panych, with a set designed by McDonald. “The central issue of human ex- istence is basically whether. or not to live,’? said Panych in discussing his play, which takes place on a window ledge seven storeys above ground. As the protagonist balances above his death he ‘‘looks for a value to live by.”’ But it’s not easy to find. ‘I! wanted him to bankrupt all those values," says Panych of the char- acter’s search for an answer in various realms, such as materi- alism. ‘I’ve been through all those windows of opportunity and none of them panned out very well.’’ What has. panned out for Panych is his involvement — al- though “involvement? may be a euphemism for a man who has at least 50 plays under his belt —- with the stage. “Writing is the most fulfilling exercise a person can do in their life, I think,’’ he says. But he telieves it ‘‘doesn’t make sense to write something and hand it over to a- director .:.. (Theatre is) a communion of people and things . and ideas.” So Panych is often found acting on stage himself or directing from the wings — but preferably not both at the same time. “It’s. im- possible, it’s horrible. You have to have some objectivity,’’ he says on acting and directing his own play. Speaking to the up-and-coming actors in the group, Panych cau- tioned ‘“‘you’re up against tremen- dous odds as an actor in Van- couver.”” Most directors, he said, have inost, of their cast already ‘picked out when they decide to put on a play. However, he did have some en- couragement for the students. Over the past couple of years, he notes, he has become increasingly willing to hire young actors for a show, ‘“‘They bring to a show a kind of commitment and spirit that older actors don’t have.’* Other advice included staying away from his practice of ‘‘smok- ing to think’’ during writing ses- sions, and trying not to be too depressed by high school routine. “Sometimes it’s hard to realize that the experience you're having at the time will ever have any value,’ he sympathized, Describ- ing his own high school experience From the moment you view the minimalist set for Morris Panych’s 7 Stories — a towering wall painted stark sky-blue with wisps of cloud, inset with seven rectangles — you know you are in for an evening of pared-down commentary on the human condition. As the play opens a man climbs out one.of the windows on to the ledge, standing alone against. the abstract backdrop, contemplating suicide. His self-annihilating act is thwarted, however, by constant in- terruptions by the tenants on the seventh stcrey, who thrust themselves through the windows, affronting the man with details of their petty, materialistic, deceitful lives. Sound heavy? Surprisingly, it is not, for Panych’s talent for the comic element lifts the play out of the purely pathetic into tragi- comedy. Edgemont. Village - . 3071. Woodbine Ave. North \ Vancouver - The shallowness, brutality, self- ishness and materialism are, lucki- ly, confined to the tenants ( and are somehow laughable) and not to the man on the ledge, with whom the audience eventually identifies. Ironically, as the various tenants reveal their quirky lives, and their fatalistic, warped attitudes to life, the suicidal man is aghast. He ends up reasserting his values and embraces the absurdity of his life, rather than struggling against it. The distinction as to which per- son is really ‘‘on the edge’’. * personalized, * low prices ° complete selections ®5% discount on mits he draws on it often in writing his plays. One netable incident he recalls was his self-taught, one-student Acting 12 class. As a class project, he decided to start a band, but 7 - Wednesday, June 7, 1989 - Capilano Chronicle found that none of his schoolmates . could play an instrument. Unstymied, he formed an unor- thodox kazoo band that garnered 120 members in four weeks’ time. *‘We weren’t just a kazoo band — we were a radical element,’’ he ; Playwright Panych pulls no punches asserted, recalling. some of the band’s antics. ‘Don’t despair — high school isn’t a complete waste - of time.”’ : 7. Stories is expected to run through June. Call 687-1644 for tickets and information. PLAYWRIGHT AND actor Morris Panych (right) end his colleague Ken MacDonald recently met with senior students at Handsworth Secondary to discuss the theatre scene in Vancouver. Panych wrote and directed the play 7 Stories, which is currently running at the Arts Club on Seymour Street. MacDonald was the cet designer. See 7 Stories on Seymour becomes blurred. Among the monomaniacs are an actor who has lost his own identity through life-long duplicity, a woman suffering from perverse religiosity who deceives people in order to convert them, a nerd who -does anything as long as it’s tren- dy, a Sadistic couple and a lunatic psychiatrist. The only character who takes time to listen to the man is a 100- year-old woman, delightfully por- trayed by Wendy Gorling. Her words provide the inspiration for + him to make a decision. on his plight — as well as provide for the audience a welcome release from the incessant existentialist chatter- ings of human minds in turmoil. The accompanying lighting change is wonderfully magic. 7 Stories will continue at the Seymour Street Stage Arts Club through June. friendly service case lots Renters’ Quiroelan Insurance, plates and decals. and | replacement cost... - Homeowners’ and Auto ‘House. Marine Travel eLife sBusiness®. Open Qam-5: 30pm Monday —Friday _ Saturdays 9:30am-4: 30pm, a _ 3066 Edgemont Vilage ee Be a Insurance.