Sales began this week for a new season of plays, concerts and performances at the Arts Centre Theatre in Maple Ridge.
This year’s lineup includes 28 performances by 25 artists or companies, plus eight films at the downtown theatre.
“We’re building on programs that are already resonating with people,” said Lindy Sisson, executive and artistic director for the ACT. “The idea is that there’s something for everyone.”
The first performance in the ACT season begins Oct. 2 with three-time Juno Award winner Alpha Yaya Diallo – West African Summit. There will also be a pre-show performance in the lobby by Coastal Sound’s Children’s Choir. The music incorporates the sounds and spirit of Senegal, Mali and Guinea.
Oct. 18 brings an acrobatic group out of Quebec. Attrape Moi, by Montreal’s Flip FabriQue, “takes athleticism and astonishing circus acts to new heights in literally a high-flying spectacle with aerial hoop, aerial straps, banquina, juggling and a trampowall you have to see to believe,” according to promoters.
“We’re starting the year really strongly,” Sisson said.
On B.C. Family Day, Feb. 8, Motus O dance company performs Alice in Wonderland, an adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s whimsical stories Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, that takes audiences off on an adventure in innovative dance.
The popular Arts Club On Tour series returns, and on Jan. 23 brings an additional theatre presentation of SEEDS, a compelling drama of the four-year legal battle with the biotech corporation Monsanto.
Daytime Classical Coffee Concerts with Sarah Hagen and special guests are on Oct. 21, Nov. 18, March 2, and on April 6, for the first time, six hands play one piano in a dynamic and energetic performance featuring piano duo Elizabeth Bergmann and Marcel Bergmann.
GEMS, the Golden Ears Movie Series, has been expanded with a new addition on Sunday, Nov. 8 of a sing-a-long to A Sound of Music, celebrating 50 years of one of the world’s most beloved films. Audience members are invited to come in fancy dress and sing their hearts out to the classic Julie Andrews musical with subtitles.
In its second year, the three-day Alt Fest offers theatre-goers an opportunity to satisfy their hunger for something new, beginning with two blockbuster fringe hits. Nov. 20 brings Til Death: The Six Wives of Henry VIII and No Tweed Too Tight: A Grant Canyon Mystery. Nov. 21 brings Chris Padgett’s one-man performance of Nashville Hurricane.
“For more adventurous theatre-goers,” is how Sisson describes Alt Fest.
Rounding out the festival on Nov. 22 is a night with jazz impresario Jeff Hamilton Trio, joined by tenor saxophonist, Vancouver Jazz Cellar’s Corey Weeds.
All three evenings begin with pre-show entertainment and the opportunity to support the Friends in Need Food Bank.
Nov. 28 will offer the iconic Canadian Brass. With an international reputation as one of the most popular brass ensembles today, Canadian Brass has truly earned the distinction of the world’s most famous brass group.
On April 25, the ACT presents Kinnie Starr and Leela Gilday. Both women have toured internationally, are Juno Award winners, and have earned an important place in the Aboriginal music scene.
Sisson said tickets for the ACT Presents performances are all $15 for youth tickets, which are for anyone 24-and under.
“We want young people to be able to come to the theatre,” she said. “The programming is meant to capture everyone’s attention.
• For the entire 2015-2016 ACT Presents Season visit www.theactmapleridge.org.
The season brochures are available at the ACT and at various locations throughout the community. Tickets are on sale in person at the ACT Arts Centre at 11944 Haney Pl., over the phone at 604-476-2787 or online at www.theactmapleridge.org.