Community Living Helps Out at the Quail’s Nest

Clients of the Southern Okanagan Association of Integrated Community Living (SOAICL) have been contracted this past summer to assist with groundskeeping at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre. Under the direction of SOAICL staff Mike Bell, the group has kept weeds at bay with periodic weed whacking. Arts Council board member Sally Franks and treasurer  Jack Bennest have been instrumental in arranging for SOAICL’s assitance to keep the grounds neat.

The arts council Board recently approved a contract with SOAICL to pay for monthly cleaning inside the Studio Building at the Quail’s Nest. The arts council’s cleaning crew co-ordinator Marion Trimble is stepping down from her post after many years of quiet behind-the-scenes labour. With that in mind, the Board has now divvied up the cleaning duties between Quail’s Nest user groups and SOAICL. Repeat users are responsible for the lighter and more regular housekeeping duties to keep the centre neat, clean,  and tidy, while SOAICL is now contracted to do heavier duty cleaning such as washrooms and floors.

THANK YOU!! to Marion Trimble for keeping us bright and shiny all these years!

THANK YOU!! to Oliver Sagebrushers Art Club for continuing to provide cleaning crews!

THANK YOU!! to the hard working SOAICL team for taking a load off our shoulders!

Community Living Helps Out at the Quail's Nest

Clients of the Southern Okanagan Association of Integrated Community Living (SOAICL) have been contracted this past summer to assist with groundskeeping at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre. Under the direction of SOAICL staff Mike Bell, the group has kept weeds at bay with periodic weed whacking. Arts Council board member Sally Franks and treasurer  Jack Bennest have been instrumental in arranging for SOAICL’s assitance to keep the grounds neat.

The arts council Board recently approved a contract with SOAICL to pay for monthly cleaning inside the Studio Building at the Quail’s Nest. The arts council’s cleaning crew co-ordinator Marion Trimble is stepping down from her post after many years of quiet behind-the-scenes labour. With that in mind, the Board has now divvied up the cleaning duties between Quail’s Nest user groups and SOAICL. Repeat users are responsible for the lighter and more regular housekeeping duties to keep the centre neat, clean,  and tidy, while SOAICL is now contracted to do heavier duty cleaning such as washrooms and floors.

THANK YOU!! to Marion Trimble for keeping us bright and shiny all these years!

THANK YOU!! to Oliver Sagebrushers Art Club for continuing to provide cleaning crews!

THANK YOU!! to the hard working SOAICL team for taking a load off our shoulders!

Audition for Twelve Angry Jurors

The South Okanagan Amateur Players are holding open auditions for their fall production of the gripping crime drama, Twelve Angry Jurors by Reginald Ross. In addition to the twelve main characters, three small roles and several backstage jobs are available.

The classic thriller was first performed as a 1955 teleplay “Twelve Angry Men”, then as the 1957 film featuring Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, and Jack Klugman. Its strong characters, tense plot, and important social themes have led the play to become a popular teaching script in highschool and college. The original screenplay has since been adapted for a combined male and female cast.

When the play opens, a young man has just stood trial for the fatal stabbing of his father. The case appears to be open-and-shut, or is it only the stereotypes of his race, poverty, and youth that stand to convict him? Twelve jurors, locked in a claustrophobic and overheated jury room, must decide his fate. When a single juror raises the question of reasonable doubt, the others are forced to confront their discrimination, fears, and personal histories. Tempers mount to a tense climax as each juror is challenged to look at the facts without prejudice.

Adult actors of any age, gender, and ethnicity are encouraged to audition. The jurors represent a cross-section of society, with diverse personalities, histories, and attributes. Director Ray Turner asks all those who audition to prepare a short dramatic piece (read or memorized) from any source material. The audition will continue with a group reading of the most dramatic portions of the script. Previous stage experience is not required: SOAP has introduced many new actors to the excitement of amateur theatre.

The production dates are tentatively set for the first two weekends in November. Rehearsals will run two or three times per week, beginning the first week of September, on a schedule to be determined once the cast is chosen.

SOAP is also seeking people with construction skills to learn set building techniques and help construct the basic set for the production.

Auditions are on Wednesday August 25 at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre (34274 95th St.) in Oliver, and on Thursday August 26 at the Osoyoos Art Gallery (8713 Main Street, 2nd floor), from 7 – 9 p.m. each evening.

More information and an electronic copy of the play is available by contacting 498-3597, 498-7778 or SOAP@telus.net .

SOAP Auditions for Rumors comedy

After a brief hiatus during the fall, the South Okanagan Amateur Players are back treading the boards this spring with a production of the comedy Rumors by Neil Simon. The prolific and award-winning playwright also penned The Odd Couple and California Suite.

rumors-auditions

Rumors is set at a posh dinner party to which several of New York’s socialites have been invited. When the first couple arrives, they discover that the hostess is missing along with the household staff, and that their host, the deputy mayor of New York City, has shot himself through the earlobe. Neither host nor hostess makes an onstage appearance during the entire play. As the evening progresses and more dinner guests arrive, wild rumours begin to circulate about their hosts’ marital problems. Comic complications arise when, given everyone’s upper class status, the couples decide they need to conceal the evening’s events from law enforcement and the media. As confusion and miscommunication mount, the evening spins off into classic farce culminating in an hilariously befuddled explanation to the police.

Director Ted Osborne, last at the helm of SOAP’s production of The Sound of Music, is looking for a cast of 10 adults. Four men and four women are needed to play the dinner guests, ranging in age from 30s to early 60s. Two smaller parts are available for the police officers arriving on the scene, one middle-age man and one younger woman. No previous theatrical experience is required.

Production dates are tentatively set for April 8-10 in Osoyoos and April 15-17 in Oliver. Actors must be available for a minimum of two rehearsals a week beginning in mid-January, but times and locations will be negotiated according to cast schedules. Closer to production, rehearsals may increase, as required, to three times per week.

Auditions are on Monday January 11 at the Osoyoos Art Gallery (upstairs) on 8713 Main St., and on Tuesday January 12 at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre, Studio Building, 34274 95th St., Oliver, just south of the Fire Hall. Both auditions run from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. No prepared monologue is necessary. Actors will be reading from the script. Drop-in auditions are welcome, but hopeful actors are encouraged to stay for as much of one evening as possible to work through a variety of roles with other actors.

For more information, or to arrange an alternate audition time, please contact director Ted Osborne. Volunteers who would like to assist backstage with construction, set painting, costumes, or crew, are asked to contact producer Jennifer Mapplebeck. Both can be reached by emailing SOAP@telus.net