Lunchbox Talent Garners Two 2012 Betty Mitchell Awards

2011-2012 Season,Articles and Reviews,Jake's Gift,Peril in Paris — Kathryn Blair @ August 28th, 2012

Lunchbox Artistic Director, Pamela Halstead, accepts the Betty Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Drama on behalf of Julia Mackey (for Jake's Gift)

Lunchbox Theatre would like to congratulate Julia Mackey, Ethan Cole and Eric Rose for their 2012 Betty Mitchell Awards wins in the following categories:

Outstanding Performance By An Actress in a Drama: Julia Mackey in Jake’s Gift

Outstanding New Play: Peril in Paris by Ethan Cole & Eric Rose

We are so proud of the artists we get to work with here at Lunchbox Theatre and these three are very well-deserved in this recognition!

We would also like to congratulate all the nominees and winners from this year’s Betty Awards. Well done Calgary!

Lunchbox Theatre was honoured to receive a total of 11 Betty nominations this year for three different shows.

Read more on the 2012 Betty Award Winners:

The Calgary Herald

CBC News

The Calgary Sun

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Beatroute Magazine’s Betty Nomination Feature

2011-2012 Season,Articles and Reviews,Peril in Paris — Kathryn Blair @ July 31st, 2012

PLACES PLEASE: AUGUST 2012

Posted by Brianna Turner, July 30, 2012

As the 2012/2013 theatre season draws near, the Calgary theatrical community pauses to recognize excellence from the past season with the Betty Mitchell awards. Named for Calgary theatre heroine Betty Mitchell (1896-1976), a pioneer in the establishment of amateur theatre in the city, the awards have been commending outstanding contributions to the Calgary theatre community since 1998. This is a noble purpose: Calgary’s inarguably vibrant community of theatrical artists just doesn’t get the acclaim it deserves, both as a collective and in terms of the individuals of which it is composed.

Nominees were announced on July 3rd, and tough decisions lie in wait for eligible voters. Some of the categories and their nominees include:

Outstanding New Play
Ethan Cole and Eric Rose: Peril in Paris
The Downstage Creation Ensemble: Good Fences
Karen Hines: Drama: Pilot Episode
Kirstie McLellan Day: Playing with Fire: The Theo Fleury Story
Joe Slabe: Jeremy de Bergerac

Outstanding Production Of A Play
Big Shot: Surreal SoReal Theatre/Ghost River Theatre Jake’s Gift – Lunchbox Theatre
Mary’s Wedding: Alberta Theatre Projects
Penny Plain: Alberta Theatre Projects
Playing with Fire: The Theo Fleury Story – Alberta Theatre Projects

Outstanding Direction
Mark Bellamy: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Vertigo Theatre
Ron Jenkins: Playing with Fire: The Theo Fleury Story – Alberta Theatre Projects
Kevin McKendrick: Race – Ground Zero and Hit and Myth Productions
Vanessa Sabourin: Hunger Striking – Urban Curvz
Bob White: Mary’s Wedding – Alberta Theatre Projects

You can catch the gala ceremony and join Calgary in celebrating an amazing season of theatre on August 27th at Stage West Theatre, complete with dinner, awards, and entrance to the official Bettys After Party! Get ready, theatre fans — another amazing season of Calgary theatre awaits.

Tickets to the Betty Mitchell Awards are available through the Stage West Box Office.

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Calgary Sun Notes Peril in Paris’ Betty Nominations

2011-2012 Season,Articles and Reviews,Peril in Paris — Kathryn Blair @ July 10th, 2012

Musicals top Bettys noms

BY LOUIS HOBSON ,CALGARY JULY 07, 2012

A pair of musicals hit the high notes in the nominations for the 2012 Betty Mitchell Awards, which recognize excellence in professional theatre in Calgary.

Vertigo Theatre’s Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Lunchbox Theatre’s Peril in Pariseach received eight Betty nominations including best production of a musical.

Scott Shpeley and Jamie Konchak perform in Peril in Paris. Photo by Benjamin Laird Arts and Photo

Sweeney is a big international hit from Stephen Sondheim, whereas Peril in Paris is a small, homegrown musical melodrama by Ethan Cole and Eric Rose proving when it comes to the Betty’s size doesn’t matter.

In addition to best production of a musical, Sweeney nabbed nominations for Mark Bellamy for best direction, Stephen Woodjetts for best musical direction, Elizabeth Stepkowsky Tarhran for best performance by a female in a musical or comedy, Kevin Aichele for best performance by a male in a musical, Narda McCarroll nominations for best lighting and set designs and Deitra Kalyn for costume design.

To its best production of a musical nod, Peril in Paris added nominations for Ethan Cole for best musical direction, Cole and Rose for best new script, Scott Shpeley for best male in a musical or comedy, Jamie Konchak for best female in a musical or comedy, Daniel Mallett for best male performance in a supporting role, Cole for best sound design and Tyler Sainsbury for best costume design.

Joining Peril in Paris and Sweeney Todd in the best production of a musical category are Forte Musical Theatre’s Jeremy de Bergerac and Alberta Theatre Projects productions of Ash Rizin and The Wizard of Oz.

ATP’s Playing With Fire leads the nominations in the drama category with nominations for best production of a play, best male actor in a drama (Shawn Smyth), best new script (Kirstie McLellan Day), best direction (Ron Jenkins), best set design (David Fraser) and best sound design (Matthew Skopyk).

Joining Playing With Fire in the best production of a play category are Ghost River/Surreal SoReal’s Big Shot, Lunchbox Theatre’s Jake’s Gift and ATP’s productions of Penny Plain and Mary’s Wedding.

Downstage Creation Ensemble’s Good Fences, Karen Hines’ Drama: Pilot Episode and Joe Slabe’s Jeremy de Bergerac are also up for best new script, which mean all four nominees were written and created right here in Calgary.

In addition to Smyth in the best male performance in a drama category are Haysam Kadri for Verb Theatre’s Jim Forgetting, Braden Griffiths for Downstage’s Good Fences, Jon Lachlan Stewart for Big Shot and R.H. Thompson for Theatre Calgary’s To Kill a Mockingbird.

In the best female performance in a drama category are Shawna Lori Burnett for Jim Forgetting, Jamie Konchak for Hunger Striking and for Sage Theatre’s Fool for Love, Julia Mackey for Lunchbox Theatre’s Jake’s Gift and Meg Roe for ATP’s Mary’s Wedding.

In addition to Aichele and Shpeley nominations for outstanding male performance in a musical or comedy went to Tory Doctor for Jeremy de Bergerac, Bruce Horak for Wizard of Oz, Christopher Hunt Dad’s Piano.

In the outstanding female performance in a musical or comedy there’s also Nicola Cavendish for Shirley Valentine, Karen Johnson Diamond in When Girls Collide and Cheryl Hutton in SHE.

The winners of the 2012 Betty Mitchell Awards will be announced at a gala reception at Stage West on August 27.

FFWD Weekly talks Betty Award Nominations

2011-2012 Season,Articles and Reviews,Jake's Gift,Peril in Paris — Kathryn Blair @ July 5th, 2012

Drum roll please…

Calgary theatre celebrates Betty Mitchell nominees
Published July 5, 2012 by Kathleen Renne in Theatre

Scott Shpeley and Daniel Mallet perform in Peril in Paris. (Photo by Benjamin Laird Arts & Photo)

The nominations have been revealed for the 15th annual Betty Mitchell Awards, the Calgary theatre community’s version of the Tony Awards. Commonly known as the “Bettys,” the awards are named after the former drama teacher, director and founder of Workshop 14, one of the forerunners to Theatre Calgary.

The best in local theatre will be recognized in 16 categories covering all creative and technical aspects of theatre production.

Sixty-one shows were eligible for the awards this year, all of which played on Calgary stages between June 15 of last year and June 14 of this year. Hence, Trepan Theatre’sSHE and The Shakespeare Company’s The Queens both received nominations, even though they were on Calgary stages last season.

Each year, a selection committee of just a dozen people are tasked with seeing at least 75 per cent of a season’s eligible offerings. They then present their top picks to the Betty Mitchell Awards Committee so it can come up with a final list of five nominees per category.

This list is then mailed out to “Passport Holders” — theatregoers who have seen at least 25 shows during the season and who are willing to pick their favourites from the list. Touring shows from elsewhere are ineligible, as the Bettys recognize work that has originated, at least in part, in Calgary.

For example, while nominee Surreal SoReal Theatre’s Big Shot was conceived in Edmonton, Ghost River co-produced the show here in Calgary. Thus, Big Shot creator and performer Jon Lachlan Stewart is nominated for his performance and the show is also up for outstanding production.

The chair of the Betty Mitchell steering committee — and a Betty winner himself — Trevor Rueger says the “spread of nominations” is surprising.

“I always find it heartening when the nominations come out and I see how much great work is being done in this city,” he adds, noting that a number of “first-timers” made the final list of nominees.

Some of those include: Monice Peter of Ground Zero/Hit & Myth’s Race for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role; Daniel Mallett and Scott Shpeley of Lunchbox Theatre’s musical comedy Peril in Paris for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role and Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Comedy or Musical, respectively; Tory Doctor of Forte Musical Theatre Guild’s Jeremy de Bergerac forOutstanding Performance by an Actor in a Comedy or Musical; Braden Griffiths in the Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Drama category for his turn in Downstage’sGood Fences, which was part of this year’s Alberta Theatre Project’s Enbridge playRites Festival; and Joe Perry of Downstage’s Sia for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role .

Verb Theatre is also on the list for the first time with Jim Forgetting, receiving a couple of acting nominations — Haysam Kadri and Shawna Lori Burnett for the outstanding dramatic actor/actress categories.

Surprisingly, Downstage’s first show of its season — Drew Hayden Taylor’s In a World Created by a Drunken God — didn’t receive any nominations, despite its highly lauded run.

Also shut out is Ground Zero/Hit & Myth’s hilarious A Behanding in Spokane.

All Theatre Calgary shows this season received at least one nomination a piece includingA Christmas Carol for Outstanding Costume Design, and Cats, Enron and Tosca Café for Outstanding Choreography or Fight Direction. Shirley Valentine’s sole performer, Nicola Cavendish, picked up a nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Comedy or Musical, as did R.H. Thomson — Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Drama — for his portrayal of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Plays presented by Alberta Theatre Projects amassed more than a fourth of the 80 total nominations. Playing With Fire: The Theo Fleury Story accounts for six of those nominations, including Kirstie McLellan Day for Outstanding New Play; Ron Jenkins for Outstanding Direction; and Shaun Smyth, who played Fleury, for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Drama .

Playing With Fire is also in the running for Outstanding Production of a Play, a category it shares with two other ATP offerings — Penny Plain and Mary’s Wedding. Lunchbox Theatre’s Jake’s Gift and Big Shot round out the production nods.

Vertigo Theatre’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street accrued eight nominations. The only other Vertigo show on the list, When Girls Collide, earned Karen Johnson-Diamond a spot for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Comedy or Musical.

Sage Theatre picked up three nominations for two of its three shows this season includingSummer of My Amazing Luck (Myla Southward, Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role) and Fool for Love (Kevin Rothery, Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role and Jamie Konchak, Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Drama.)

The only performer to receive multiple acting nominations is Jamie Konchak for her performances in Hunger Striking, Fool for Love and Peril in Paris.

If there is a “surprise” in this year’s list, it’s in the number of mentions Peril in Parisreceived. The opening show of Lunchbox’s season accumulated a total of eight nominations, including three in performance categories, as well as in the categories for Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding New Play, Outstanding Musical Direction, Outstanding Sound Design or Composition, and Outstanding Costume Design.

“It was a huge surprise to me that this show did so well. I thought it was very inventive and creative and I loved it, but it was a small show, early on in the season,” says Rueger.

“It’s fantastic. It’s nice to see a project like this succeed,” says Eric Rose, who originally created Peril in Paris — along with Ethan Cole — as a 15-minute musical for playRites.

Rose describes the show as a melodramatic, Vaudeville pastiche inspired by silent film melodramas like The Perils of Pauline.

“I’d say it was Lunchbox’s most ambitious project,” says Rose, pointing to the show’s “complex” design, particular aesthetic and musical requirements. “People recognize innovation and time and care, especially within the limitations of a smaller scale.”

The winners will be announced on Monday, August 27 during a ceremony at Stage West Theatre.

Herald Article Highlights Peril in Paris Betty Nods

2011-2012 Season,Articles and Reviews,Blog Entry,Peril in Paris — Kathryn Blair @ July 4th, 2012

Vertigo’s Demon Barber and Lunchbox’s Peril in Paris lead Betty nominations

Published By Stephen Hunt July 3, 2012

Peril in Paris receives 8 Betty Nominations including Best New Play and nominations for actors Scott Shpeley, Jamie Konchak & Daniel Mallet (shown left to right). Photo by Benjamin Laird Arts & Photo

A murderous baritone barber, a moustache-twirling melodrama set in early 20th-century Paris and a homegrown theatrical puck de resistance were among the big winners Tuesday, when nominations for the 2012 Betty Mitchell Awards were announced.

Vertigo’s Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Lunchbox Theatre’s production of Perils of Paris, by Eric Rose and Ethan Cole, each snagged eight nominations, including nods for Best Musical, Musical Direction, Actress in a Musical (Jamie Konchak for Peril and Elizabeth Stepkowski-Tarhan for Sweeney) and Performance by an Actor in a Musical (Kevin Aichele in Sweeney, Scott Shpeley in Peril).

Outgoing Vertigo artistic director Mark Bellamy received a nomination for his direction of Sweeney Todd, his final show as Vertigo’s artistic director.

“I am thrilled,” Bellamy said, in an e-mail. “Having a play that you’re so passionate about be recognized by your community makes the honour of being nominated even more meaningful. Receiving nominations in eight categories is a testament to the incredible team that we had on this show.”

For Bettys steering committee chair Trevor Rueger, “the thing that stuck out for me was the number of first time nominees. People like Daniel Mallett in Perils of Paris, Cheryl Hutton of SHE, Scott Shpeley (in Perils in Paris).”

For Verb Theatre’s co-artistic director Jamie Dunsdon, who directed double nominees Haysam Kadri (for leading actor) and Shawna Lori Burnett (for leading actress) in Col Cseke’s Jim Forgetting, a drama about the emotional impact of early onset Alzheimer’s, being recognized with multiple Betty nominations means a lot.

“Calgary has a warm and welcoming and inviting theatre community,” she said, “and the Bettys are a way of formalizing that — hey, we noticed you! It’s nice to be noticed. It makes me happy to be from Calgary.”

Playing With Fire: The Theo Fleury Story, was one of seven Alberta Theatre Projects productions to receive nominations. It was nominated for best play, new play, director (Ron Jenkins), actor in a drama (Shaun Smyth), set design (David Fraser) and sound design (Matthew Skopyk).

Other ATP shows receiving nominations were Ash Rizin’ (five), The Wizard of Oz (five), Mary’s Wedding (five), True Love Lies (two), Good Fences (a co-production with Downstage) (two), Drama: Pilot Episode (two) and Penny Plain (one).

It all added up to 29 nominations for ATP, or more than double the next highest company, Lunchbox, which had 11.

Vertigo received the third most nominations with nine, with Forte Musical Guild (five), Theatre Calgary (six), Urban Curvz (four), Downstage (three), Sage (three), Calgary Opera (three), Ghost River (two), Verb (two) and Ground Zero (two) all receiving multiple nominations.

Y Stage, Trepan, Stage West and the Shakespeare Company received single nominations.

Kevin Rothery received a best supporting actor nomination for playing the part of Martin in Sage Theatre’s production of Fool for Love, a role he first played almost two decades ago, in a Theatre Junction production of the same show.

“It was fun to revisit (the part of Martin) as a more mature man,” he said. “He’s not a man of action, but he tries his best.”

For Karen Johnson-Diamond, who earned her fifth Betty nomination for her role in Edmonton playwright Stewart Lemoine’s When Girls Collide, the thrill lay in performing a play by one of her favourite writers.

“I feel indebted to (director) Trevor Rueger, who is an excellent leader of Lemoine,” she said, “and to Lemoine himself.”

Johnson-Diamond also was thrilled that Lunchbox Theatre received the second-most nominations, and also by the quality of the new work this city produced this year, pointing to the best new play nominations, which were all written by Calgary playwrights, including Karen Hines (Drama: Pilot Episode), Rose and Cole (Peril in Paris), The Downstage Creation Ensemble (Good Fences), Kirstie McLellan Day (Playing With Fire) and Joe Slabe (Jeremy de Bergerac).

“Isn’t it phenomenal?” she asked.

The Bettys will be presented Aug. 27 at Stage West.

CBC News Buzz On Lunchbox Betty Nominations

2011-2012 Season,Articles and Reviews,Jake's Gift,Peril in Paris — Kathryn Blair @ July 3rd, 2012

Theo Fleury Story scores theatre award nominations. Sweeney Todd, Peril in Paris lead musical theatre category for Betty Mitchell Awards

Read the Full Story at CBC News

Posted: Jul 3, 2012 6:30 PM ET

…Nominations for the awards for the best in Calgary theatre were announced Tuesday by the chair of the Betty Mitchell Awards steering committee Trevor Rueger. Sixty-one shows produced in the city between June 15, 2011 and June 14, 2012 were eligible for awards.

Betty Mitchell Awards selected nominees

Best production:

Big Shot
Jake’s Gift
Mary’s Wedding
Penny Plain
Playing with Fire: The Theo Fleury Story

Best musical production:

Ash Rizin
Jeremy de Bergerac
Peril in Paris
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
The Wizard of Oz

Best new play:

Ethan Cole and Eric Rose, Peril in Paris
The Downstage Creation Ensemble,Good Fences
Karen Hines, Drama: Pilot Episode
Kirstie McLellan Day,Playing with Fire: The Theo Fleury Story
Joe Slabe, Jeremy de Bergerac

Playing with Fire is vying for best production with another APT work Mary’s Wedding, a love story set against the backdrop of the First World War…

The other contenders for best production are marionette artist Ronnie Burkett’s Penny Plain, Big Shot by Surreal SoReal Theatre and Ghost River Theatre and Jake’s Gift by Lunchbox Theatre.

In the musical theatre category, the leading plays are Peril in Paris by Lunchbox Theatre and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Vertigo Theatre, each of which have eight nominations.

Peril in Paris, the story of a young woman lured to Paris by a shyster and a prairie boy who sets out to save her, earned accolades for its musical direction by Ethan Cole and performances by Daniel Mallett, Scott Shpeley and Jamie Konchak.

Jamie Konchak as Trish in Peril in Paris by Lunchbox Theatre. (Photo by Benjamin Laird Arts & Photo)

Writers Ethan Cole and Eric Rose are nominated for best new play.

Sweeney Todd, a musical based on the story of the London serial killer, earned a best direction nod for Mark Bellamy and best lead performance nods for Kevin Aichele and Elizabeth Stepkowski Tarhran.

The other musical theatre contenders are Ash Rizin andThe Wizard of Oz by APT and Jeremy de Bergerac by Forte Musical Theatre Guild, each production with five nominations.

The Betty Mitchell Award winners will be named Aug. 27 at Stage West Theatre in Calgary.

Eleven 2012 Betty Mitchell Award Nominations for Lunchbox

2011-2012 Season,Articles and Reviews,Blog Entry,Dad's Piano,Jake's Gift,Peril in Paris — Kathryn Blair @ July 3rd, 2012

15th Annual Betty Mitchell Awards August 27th, 2012. (Image courtesy Betty Mitchell Awards)

2012 Betty Nominations were announced Tuesday, July 4, 2012 at The Auburn by 2012 Bettys host Russel Bowers. The Bettys will be presented August 27 at Stage West. The event is open to the public. For more information about the awards and purchasing tickets visit www.bettymitchellawards.com

For a complete list of nominees, click here

The following are categories for which Lunchbox Theatre and artists in collaboration with Lunchbox received nominations for:

Outstanding Performance By An Actor In a Supporting Role

Kyle Jespersen – Ash Rizin — Alberta Theatre Projects

Daniel Mallett – Peril in Paris – Lunchbox Theatre

Joe Perry – Sia – Downstage

Alexander Plouffe – True Love Lies – Alberta Theatre Projects

Kevin Rothery – Fool for Love – Sage Theatre/Shadow Theatre

Outstanding Costume Design

Patrick Clark– A Christmas Carol – Theatre Calgary

Brian Craik – Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – Stage West

Deitra Kalyn – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street– Vertigo Theatre

John Pennoyer – The Wizard of Oz- Alberta Theatre Projects

Tyler Sainsbury – Peril In Paris- Lunchbox Theatre

Outstanding Sound Design Or Composition

Ethan Cole- Peril in Paris – Lunchbox Theatre

Kyprios – Ash Rizin – Alberta Theatre Projects

Matthew Skopyk – Playing with Fire: The Theo Fleury Story – Alberta Theatre Projects

Joe Slabe – Jeremy de Bergerac – Forte Musical Theatre Guild

Matthew Waddell — Mary’s Wedding –Alberta Theatre Projects

Outstanding Musical Direction

Ethan Cole – Peril in Paris – Lunchbox Theatre

Kyprios — Ash Rizin –Alberta Theatre Projects

Joe Slabe – Jeremy de Bergerac – Forte Musical Theatre Guild

Joe Slabe – The Wizard of Oz – Alberta Theatre Projects

Stephen Woodjetts – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Vertigo Theatre

Outstanding Performance By An Actor In A Comedy Or Musical

Kevin Aichele – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Vertigo Theatre

Tory Doctor – Jeremy de Bergerac – Forte Musical Theatre Guild

Bruce Horak – The Wizard of Oz – Alberta Theatre Projects

Christopher Hunt – Dad’s Piano –Lunchbox Theatre

Scott Shpeley – Peril in Paris – Lunchbox Theatre

Outstanding Performance By An Actress In A Comedy Or Musical

Nicola Cavendish – Shirley Valentine – Theatre Calgary

Cheryl Hutton – SHE – Trepan Theatre

Karen Johnson-Diamond – When Girls Collide – Vertigo Theatre

Jamie Konchak – Peril in Paris – Lunchbox Theatre

Elizabeth Stepkowski Tarhan – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street –Vertigo Theatre

Outstanding New Play

Ethan Cole and Eric Rose — Peril in Paris

The Downstage Creation Ensemble (Ellen Close, Ethan Cole, Col Cseke, Anton de Groot, Nicola Elson, Braden Griffiths and Simon Mallett) — Good Fences

Karen Hines — Drama: Pilot Episode

Kirstie McLellan Day — Playing with Fire: The Theo Fleury Story

Joe Slabe — Jeremy de Bergerac

Outstanding Production Of A Musical

Ash Rizin – Alberta Theatre Projects

Jeremy de Bergerac – Forte Musical Theatre Guild

Peril in Paris –Lunchbox Theatre

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street – Vertigo Theatre

The Wizard of Oz – Alberta Theatre Projects

Outstanding Performance By An Actress In A Drama

Shawna Lori Burnett – Jim Forgetting- Verb Theatre

Jamie Konchak – Hunger Striking – Urban Curvz

Jamie Konchak – Fool for Love – Sage Theatre / Shadow Theatre

Julia Mackey – Jake’s Gift –Lunchbox Theatre

Meg Roe – Mary’s Wedding – Alberta Theatre Projects

Outstanding Production Of A Play

Big Shot – Surreal SoReal Theatre /Ghost River Theatre

Jake’s Gift – Lunchbox Theatre

Mary’s Wedding — Alberta Theatre Projects

Penny Plain – Alberta Theatre Projects

Playing with Fire: The Theo Fleury Story – Alberta Theatre Projects

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Media Release: Peril in Paris

Media Release,Peril in Paris — Kathryn Blair @ August 25th, 2011

Press Release/Media Call
For Immediate Release – August 25^th 2011

Lunchbox Takes a Musical, Whirlwind Trip to Paris

Peril in Paris by Ethan Cole and Eric Rose

Calgary, AB – To kick off our 2011/2012 Season, Lunchbox Theatre is proud to present the world premiere of Peril in Paris by Calgary’s Ethan Cole and Eric Rose. This quirky, madcap musical sees our heroine songbird lured into a Parisian trap – can her farm-boy boyfriend save her from a life of songstress servitude? Directed by Rose with musical direction by Cole, see their musical vision come to life!

“Ethan Cole’s Awesome Girl and Radical Boy was a big hit for Lunchbox in 2008, winning Cole a Betty Mitchell award for Original Composition” says Artistic Director, Pamela Halstead. “The combination of Ethan’s musical talent and Eric Rose’s brilliant direction promises a dynamic start to the season.”

Peril in Paris is the story of a talented singer with stars in her eyes, a shyster who lures her to gay “Paree” and a young prairie boy determined to rescue her no matter the danger. This is a madcap musical, with all the glamour and charm of its 1930’s Parisian setting and a large does of zany to spice things up. It’s sure to leave audiences smiling and humming tunes for the rest of the day.

Peril in Paris features Jamie Konchak as Trish, Scott Shpeley as Tony and P’tit Richard and Daniel Mallett as Chuck. The production team features director Eric Rose and musical director Ethan Cole, set and costume designer Tyler Sainsbury, lighting designer Anoton de Groot and stage manager Kelsey ter Kuile. Peril in Paris runs September 19^th to October 15^th, Monday to Saturday at 12:10 pm, Fridays at 6:10pm and Saturdays at 7:30 pm.

The world’s longest running lunchtime theatre, Lunchbox Theatre is a professional company that caters to downtown office workers over the noon-hour by producing seven plays per season, as well as the Suncor Energy Stage One Festival and the Emerging Director Program. Lunchbox Theatre is located at the base of the Calgary Tower.

Media are invited to a Media Call on Monday, September 19 at 1:15 pm.

1:15 pm – B-Roll of Peril in Paris (2 minute scene)
1:30 pm – Interviews as requested with actors Jamie Konchak, Scott Shpeley and Daniel Mallett, playwrights Ethan Cole and Eric Rose, or Lunchbox Theatre’s Artistic Director Pamela Halstead.

www.lunchboxtheatre.com

For more information, to RSVP, or to request an interview:
Kathryn Blair
Marketing and Communications
Lunchbox Theatre
403 265 4292 x 229
kathryn.blair@lunchboxtheatre.com