Photo:  Tracey Granger, Penelope Johnson, Linda Lobb, Christine Rothwell and Robin Stille (front) portray twenty-eight characters in SOAP’s production Love Loss and What I Wore, a collection of vignettes about women’s life experiences as told through the clothes they wear.  

What woman, standing in front of her closet, has not said one of the following: “Who did I think I was when I bought this?” “I have nothing to wear.” “Why can’t I find anything in my closet?” “I look .like my mother in this.” Or in a department store dressing room muttered one of these: “This will fit if I lose five pounds.” “But I’ve always been a six!” “Is this mirror distorted?” “Is there something wrong with the lighting in here?”

The South Okanagan Amateur Players’ upcoming production of Love, Loss, and What I Wore taps into that mysterious relationship between women and their clothes: a dress made by mom, mourning the loss of a favourite shirt after breaking up with a boyfriend, high heeled boots that help you exude confidence, buying the first business attire (and then falling in love with the boss), choosing between high heels and comfortable flats. A collection of vignettes and monologues written by sisters Nora and Delia Ephron (When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle), the script is full of quick-witted zingers and hilarious revelations.

The cast of five women portrays more than twenty-eight characters during the course of the play. With different speech patterns, postures, and mannerisms for each, the actors get a real workout. “It’s a little like being Sybil,” explains Christine Rothwell, who alternates between seven roles. “You not only portray a number of people, but the shift between characters often comes very quickly.” While admitting the variety of roles is challenging, actor Robin Stille adds “feeding off the energy of all the women on stage” enlivens the characters. Rothwell enjoys the diversity of experiences: “Any woman will identify with at least one of the characters or scenarios in this play. Love, Loss will be insightful for the men in the audience when they recognize the angst experienced by the women in their lives.”

Actor Tracey Granger delights in the play’s reminiscences, spanning a woman’s lifetime. Granger is enthusiastic about her youthful monologue called “The Gang Sweater” “We all remember what it was like to be young and to think we were so cool.”

Serving as a grandmotherly narrator is the character “Gingy”, portrayed by Linda Lobb. It is Gingy’s life story that knits together all the other vignettes. Lobb admires this feisty, funny character: “Despite some tragedies in her life, Gingy is not embittered or resentful but accepting. She chuckles at the follies of youth and shrugs off the negative physical aspects of getting old. I love how her life story comes full circle at the end.”

“Men are loving this show,” says Penelope Johnson, actor. “It’s like eavesdropping on women’s secrets. All the embarrassing, awkward moments of her teenage years, her fantasies and friendships, losses and loves, her dreams for her senior years – all are played out onstage in such an appealing, funny way. And the cast is having such a great time sharing those intimacies with the audience.”

Love, Loss and What I Wore opens March 1  & 2 at Summerland Centre Stage, continues March 8 & 9 at the Osoyoos Minitheatre, and winds up March 15 & 16 at the Oliver Seniors Centre .

Adults $18 and  Seniors(65+) /Students $15.

Tickets at Sundance Video (Oliver), Your Dollar Store with More (Osoyoos), Dragon’s Den (Penticton) or The Sweet Tooth (Summerland), and at the door. For more information, contact SOAP @ telus.net or the producer at 250-498-3597.

As part of the “Okanagan Reads” program sponsored by the Okanagan Regional Library, George Bowering
will be at the Oliver Branch of the Library on Wednesday February 27th at 2:00 pm  to discuss his book “Shoot” (about the McLean Gang from Kamloops in bygone days) and other relevant topics.

Please come for an entertaining hour or so with one of Oliver’s best known native sons. Admission is free and refreshments will be served.

As part of the “Okanagan Reads” program sponsored by the Okanagan Regional Library, George Bowering
will be at the Oliver Branch of the Library on Wednesday February 27th at 2:00 pm  to discuss his book “Shoot” (about the McLean Gang from Kamloops in bygone days) and other relevant topics.

Please come for an entertaining hour or so with one of Oliver’s best known native sons. Admission is free and refreshments will be served.

SOCS Concert series sponsored in part by the Oliver Community Arts Council. Your donations at work!

The Oliver Community Arts Council holds its

All officer and director positions have standing nominees, including several new candidates. Other nominees welcome. OliverCAC @ gmail.com

The AGM is followed by Arts Jam!, the monthly gathering of arts groups and businesses, individual artists, and Board reps to share local arts events, programmes and other arts information. It’s always fun and newsy!

The public is welcome at both the Annual General Meeting and Arts Jam!

Well, here it is, the New Year is rolling along and the Oliver Art Gallery is proud to announce new art and a new Feature Artist, Michael Arne Jorden. Mike will be displaying his finest Western Spirit Paintings, from February 12th and into March.

Born in the B. C. Kootenays, Michael spent most of his life living and working on the coast, and now resides on a small ranch near Osoyoos where he enjoys raising and training horses in the vast grasslands of the area.

Michael is a graduate of the University of British Columbia in Biological Sciences and post graduate work in Planning, Agricultural Economics and Resource Science and a Masters degree in Business Administration.

A love of Art and a passion for the West have been a feature of his life since childhood.  The two have come together in his choice of painting subjects which all have a western flair. Mountain landscapes, horses, early transportation or figurative works, all have a depiction of the west.

Recent works include a series of Kettle Valley Railroad scenes from the age of steam, early stage coach scenes from the South Okanagan, and the depiction of packing and guiding through the Rockies, and Southern Interior landscapes.

Michael’s work has recently been hanging in the Federation of Canadian Artist show at the Osoyoos Art Gallery where he had the honour of winning “The Best of Show” award for In the Shutes (pictured above). Good for Mike.

Michael is one of the founders of the South Okanagan artists’ co-op known as our “Oliver Art Gallery”. Come and see Michael’s works at 6046 Main Street and see the splendor of the west for yourself.

Better yet, take some of that “splendour” home with you to grace your walls, and gaze at beautiful Southern Interior scenes year-round from the comfort of your easy chair. (Ed.)  

Well, here it is, the New Year is rolling along and the Oliver Art Gallery is proud to announce new art and a new Feature Artist, Michael Arne Jorden. Mike will be displaying his finest Western Spirit Paintings, from February 12th and into March.

Born in the B. C. Kootenays, Michael spent most of his life living and working on the coast, and now resides on a small ranch near Osoyoos where he enjoys raising and training horses in the vast grasslands of the area.

Michael is a graduate of the University of British Columbia in Biological Sciences and post graduate work in Planning, Agricultural Economics and Resource Science and a Masters degree in Business Administration.

A love of Art and a passion for the West have been a feature of his life since childhood.  The two have come together in his choice of painting subjects which all have a western flair. Mountain landscapes, horses, early transportation or figurative works, all have a depiction of the west.

Recent works include a series of Kettle Valley Railroad scenes from the age of steam, early stage coach scenes from the South Okanagan, and the depiction of packing and guiding through the Rockies, and Southern Interior landscapes.

Michael’s work has recently been hanging in the Federation of Canadian Artist show at the Osoyoos Art Gallery where he had the honour of winning “The Best of Show” award for In the Shutes (pictured above). Good for Mike.

Michael is one of the founders of the South Okanagan artists’ co-op known as our “Oliver Art Gallery”. Come and see Michael’s works at 6046 Main Street and see the splendor of the west for yourself.

Better yet, take some of that “splendour” home with you to grace your walls, and gaze at beautiful Southern Interior scenes year-round from the comfort of your easy chair. (Ed.)  

by Marion Boyd, South Okanagan Concert Society

After an enormously successful series of concerts, the South Okanagan Concert Society is taking a firm step out on a limb to conclude this seasons’ series. Thursday (yes I said Thursday not Friday), March 7 th, Woody Holler and his Orchestra will hit the stage at our temporary venue of the Oliver Alliance Church at 7:30 pm.

When musician, Bob Park, and concert society President, Janet Marcotte, returned from an annual music showcase in Vancouver, they told the rest of us, “We just have to have this one!” Some of us wondered if they had strayed off course but their enthusiasm was catching and they know our audience very well. Quality is imperative and a little musical fun is in order.

Woody Holler and his Orchestra are purveyors of western swing. They love to explore the crossover between jazz and western and produce “gypsy jazz from the saddle”. Raised on the songs of the cowboy, Woody also has extensive voice training in classical and opera repertoire. His rich, well honed voice is a treat to hear. A sense of belonging and nostalgia held him close to the early Western genre as he experimented with other styles.

The orchestra consists of Winnipeg’s finest folk/jazz musicians and from these roots the ‘gypsy jazz from the saddle’ was born. Richard Moody on violin, Greg Lowe on guitar and Daniel Koulack on double bass add clever arrangements resplendant with virtuosity and style. The repertoire is eclectic, fun and fascinating, featuring finger-snapping swing beats, honey-slowed love croons and show stopping “extreme” yodeling. Did I say yodeling? Yup! I told you we were stepping out of the box on this one!

Come join the fun and give this a try! Four admission Flex pass tickets ($60) are on sale now at Beyond Bliss Esthetics in Oliver, at Imperial Office Pro in Osoyoos, and at the door. For those of you who have an extra admission or two on your Flex Pass, now is the time to bring along a friend. If some of the Snow Birds are back, get 4 people together for one Flex Pass and get the most reasonable price. Single admission is $20. Young people 17 and under are welcome to attend the concert free. Those needing transportation by van can make reservations by calling Maureen at 250-495-7978

This is also the time to bring along your cheque book and get the Early Bird price for next season. The complete flexibility of a pass makes it easy to use and to share.

by Marion Boyd, South Okanagan Concert Society

After an enormously successful series of concerts, the South Okanagan Concert Society is taking a firm step out on a limb to conclude this seasons’ series. Thursday (yes I said Thursday not Friday), March 7 th, Woody Holler and his Orchestra will hit the stage at our temporary venue of the Oliver Alliance Church at 7:30 pm.

When musician, Bob Park, and concert society President, Janet Marcotte, returned from an annual music showcase in Vancouver, they told the rest of us, “We just have to have this one!” Some of us wondered if they had strayed off course but their enthusiasm was catching and they know our audience very well. Quality is imperative and a little musical fun is in order.

Woody Holler and his Orchestra are purveyors of western swing. They love to explore the crossover between jazz and western and produce “gypsy jazz from the saddle”. Raised on the songs of the cowboy, Woody also has extensive voice training in classical and opera repertoire. His rich, well honed voice is a treat to hear. A sense of belonging and nostalgia held him close to the early Western genre as he experimented with other styles.

The orchestra consists of Winnipeg’s finest folk/jazz musicians and from these roots the ‘gypsy jazz from the saddle’ was born. Richard Moody on violin, Greg Lowe on guitar and Daniel Koulack on double bass add clever arrangements resplendant with virtuosity and style. The repertoire is eclectic, fun and fascinating, featuring finger-snapping swing beats, honey-slowed love croons and show stopping “extreme” yodeling. Did I say yodeling? Yup! I told you we were stepping out of the box on this one!

Come join the fun and give this a try! Four admission Flex pass tickets ($60) are on sale now at Beyond Bliss Esthetics in Oliver, at Imperial Office Pro in Osoyoos, and at the door. For those of you who have an extra admission or two on your Flex Pass, now is the time to bring along a friend. If some of the Snow Birds are back, get 4 people together for one Flex Pass and get the most reasonable price. Single admission is $20. Young people 17 and under are welcome to attend the concert free. Those needing transportation by van can make reservations by calling Maureen at 250-495-7978

This is also the time to bring along your cheque book and get the Early Bird price for next season. The complete flexibility of a pass makes it easy to use and to share.

by Bob Park

Review of Duo Rendezvous, brought to Oliver on February 6, by the South Okanagan Concert Society

Some concerts are difficult to review because the performance was disappointing. However, others, such as the concert by Duo Rendezvous–brought to Oliver as the third in its series by the South Okanagan Concert Society–are difficult to review because I just don’t have enough superlatives!

Let me sum it up for you. Amazing musicianship:check! Perfect intonation:check! Passion:check! Gorgeous tone:check! Charming personalities:check! Great selection of music:check! Excellent programming, ie., each piece built on the energy of the previous one: check! Daniel Bolshoy on guitar and Jasper Wood on violin totally in sync: check! Two virtuosi having a super night:check! check!Even more amazing, it turns out that the incredible performance that we heard in SOCS’ temporary venue at Oliver’s always welcoming Alliance church last Friday(feb.6), was only the second time that Duo Rendezvous has played this intensely demanding program!!

The “rendez-vous” scene was set visually on stage with a hint of Parisian Cafe, complete with checkered table cloth, wine glasses, roses and a basket of tasty looking baguettes. Glancing at the program, I could see that we’d be treated off this “menu” to selections from France, Spain, Germany and Argentina, moving chronologically from Baroque to Classical-Romantic, from Impressionist to Modern.

The evening opened with the soothing Sarabande by J.S. Bach, followed by a “Sonata Concertante” by violin legend Paganini and then Ravel’s familiar “Habanera”. It became obvious to us that we were in for a wonderfully varied and most deliciously satisfying “full meal deal”.

The six-movement “Suite Populaire Espanole” by de Falla entranced us with strong melodic lines, as Wood and Bolshoy captured beautifully its contrasting moods and dance rhythms. To end the first half, the duo chose a great show-off work, “Introduction and Tarantelle”, by Spanish composer-violinist, Pablo Sarasate.This particular piece of music is not often performed, and I soon found out why. It is absolutely fiendish! Full of flying staccatos, very high and extremely fast passage work, harmonics and sautille bowing, I doubt that there are many violinists in the world with the technical skills to pull it off. This brilliant performance by Jasper and Daniel left our Oliver concert goers–among them quite a number of accomplished musicians from Penticton, Summerland and Naramata who specifically came to be inspired by this duo– suitably “wowed”.

As we all took a collective breather during intermission, with the coffee, cookies and juice, I could think about the instruments themselves. Not only were we in the presence of two great performers, we were also being treated to the sounds of two exceptional acoustic instruments.Jasper now performs on a one hundred year old violin by the outstanding Italian luthier Stefano Scarampella. A “come-down”– but not by a lot–from the Stradivari violin of which Jasper had won the temporary use a few years back. The guitar Daniel performs on was recently built by the expert German builder, Mathias Damann. This modern variation on a traditional Spanish instrument uses space-age materials to create an exceptionally light and responsive soundboard. This particular guitar has a rich, deep bass response, a mellow mid-range, and outstanding projection. It is hard to believe that most of the accompaniment that we heard on this guitar had originally been composed for piano. Playing them on the guitar makes extreme demands on the guitarist that often are not obvious to audiences. Daniel, with his fabulous guitar, and his fabulous musicianship, did an outstanding job in his supporting role of backing the more “out front” sound of Jasper’s magical violin.

The hauntingly beautiful “Beau Soir” by Claude Debussy openened the second half, Jasper having first read us the poem that had inspired the work. Gentle images of twilight on the water. Next, Piazzoll’s four movement “Histoire du Tango” transported us to Argentina, delighting us with differing tango styles from 1900 to the present. The program’s “feast of music” ended with “Csardas”, by Monti. With its contrasting “birdsong” slow section and zippy “oompah-oompah” fast section, this grand old toe-tapper brought everyone to their feet, for a spontaneous “standing-O”, so richly deserved! Then we received the parting gift of a gorgeous encore. How not to be filled with deep appreciation for every single person and organization that contributes to making such an evening possible? An exceptional concert evening such as this leaves one with a new-found delight in music, —and a shortage of superlatives to describe it!

Here’s a small excerpt from the upcoming comedy, Love Loss and What I Wore, presented by the South Okanagan Amateur Players this March.

Imagine four women standing in front of their clothes closets, wondering what to wear. What goes through their minds?

I have nothing to wear.

Nothing.

Nothing fits me.

Why did I buy this?

Why can’t I find anything in my closet?

I hate my clothes.

I have to clean out my closet.

I should throw this away. After all I haven’t worn it in two years —

— three years.

— five years.

My mother gave me this. Who does she think I am?

Why didn’t I hang this up? Now I have to iron it!

Who did I think I was when I bought this?

Do men ever go through this — choosing the sweater, unchoosing the sweater, choosing the sweater….?

Of course they don’t.

What’s wrong with me?

I have nothing to wear.

I have nothing to wear.

I have nothing to wear.

Nothing.

Love Loss and What I Wore traces Gingy’s  life story, as she uses her clothing as a metaphor for the triumphs and tragedies in her life. Interspersed with her memories are several vignettes  about twenty-eight other women (portrayed by the four other cast members) and their relationships with boyfriends, sisters, mothers, fathers,  spouses,  each other, and their clothes.

Love Loss and What I Wore by Nora and Delia Ephron will be performed March 1 -2 at Summerland Centre Stage, March 8 -9 at Osoyoos (OSS) Minitheatre , and March 15 – 16 at Oliver Seniors Centre. Tickets are $18 Adults, and $15 Seniors and Students. On sale now at Sundance Video in Oliver, Your Dollar Store with More in Osoyoos, Dragon’s Den in Penticton, and The Sweet Tooth Cafe in Summerland. Also available at the door, seats permitting.

More info available at SOAP @ telus.net or 250-498-3597.

Photo: Christine Rothwell, Robin Stille, Linda Lobb, Penelope Johnson, and Tracey Granger “hang” out on stage. (Credit: Jen Jensen)