Theatre Education

There are now a number of institutions that purport to prepare students for a career in professional theatre.  Two of the best-known are Studio 58 at Langara College and the program offered by Capilano University.  Last week provided the opportunity to see showcase offerings of these two on successive evenings and reflect on their relative success.

     Studio 58

The offering of Studio 58 was “Kosmic Mambo” – an original piece carried out as a piece of “physical theatre”.  All movement with music and almost no spoken content.  I endorse the review by Mark robins at:

http://vancouverpresents.com/theatre/theatre-review-kosmic-mambo-innovative-visually-stunning/

Mapping the “lost in space” concept on to “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” generally worked well although in places the map was not always helpful.  But the physical action and the stunning sets and costuming kept the audience fully engaged.

Kosmic Mambo was a success and shows why Studio 58, now in its 49 year, is the leader of the pack when it comes to preparing its students for a career in theatre.  One need only look at the cast information in the program of virtually any production in the Vancouver area to see the large numbers of performers who credit their training to Studio 58.

     Capilano University

The production by Capilano was “The Government Inspector” – Nikolai Gogol’s well-known play.

Briefly stated, the play turns on a case of mistaken identity – the visit to a Russian village of a neer-do-well who is taken to be an officer sent by the Tsar to uncover corruption in various arms of the civic administration.  The efforts of the corrupt civic officials to cover up their misdeeds and bribe the visitor are what moves the action forward.

The Director’s notes suggest that the earlier tradition of Russian Theatre “leaned toward vaudeville performances and melodramas” and that this play marked a move toward a more naturalistic approach.  What appeared on stage appeared to be very much an approach closer to vaudeville and clowning.  Exactly what did the director have in mind?

A production done in the earlier tradition might have been acceptable but the problem is that it was badly done.  Performances ranged from merely competent to the alternatively tedious and irritating (as to the latter I am thinking of the two fat boys).

If this were a contest the clear winner would be Studio 58.