SHIFT Theatre's 1-ACT FESTIVAL 8 Packs a Punch This Month

SHIFT Theatre presents 1-Act Festival 8 - with four captivating works from a variety of local theatre innovators - today, June 17, through June 20, 2015 at 8pm, in The Cultch's intimate Vancity Culture Lab. Each evening of the festival will see Anthea Morritt's Run, CR Packer's Another Shot, Pippa Mackie's Deer Harper, and Pedro Chamale's Mis Papás engage audiences through unique and fascinating stories themed around two fundamental human experiences: love and loss.

"These four, tightly-told stories were carefully selected by SHIFT's panel for their boldness and originality," says Nicole (Coco) Roberge, newly appointed Artistic Director of SHIFT Theatre. "The festival was founded on forward-thinking, DIY values to provide a bigger platform for smaller shows; over the years, it has helped local, emerging participants grow into prolific professional artists. This year's sophisticated scripts and inherent collaborations range from the profoundly personal to the uproariously political. We can't wait to share these fresh, provocative stories with Vancouver's audiences."

The 1-Act Festival is SHIFT Theatre's annual signature event, which invites local up-and-coming playwrights to submit a one-act work to be reviewed by a jury; this year the panel included Katrina Dunn of Touchstone Theatre, Dani Fecko of Fascinator Management, and Roberge herself.

2015's selections are smart and potent stories written by exuberant theatre minds, the majority of whom honed their talent with a variety of Vancouver's leading theatre and art institutions. The works also notably offer a strong female perspective, with three out of four created by women playwrights.

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Run (Written and Performed by Anthea Morritt)
In a heart-wrenching solo performance, Studio 58 acting grad and two-time Gold winner of the Canadian Improv Games National Competition, Anthea Morritt, explores the desperate ways in which we cling to the fleeting memories of loved ones in the aftermath of their passing on.

Another Shot (Written by CR Packer and Directed by Mika Lauleinen)
In a small town in BC, an audacious, bizarre scheme is hatched between two men as they attempt to escape the clutches of the law. UBC Creative Writing grad CR Packer is an emerging voice in the city whose plays have been presented in staged readings at Staircase Theatre Society's Movin' On Up Festival.

Deer Harper (Written by Pippa Mackie, Directed by Kayvon Kelly, Performed by Mike Gill and Lindsay Winch)
Canada's righteous head of cabinet falls for an unsuspecting wild deer in this hilarious and preposterous tale of love and politics from National Theatre Grad and Jessie Award Nominee Pippa Mackie. The multi-talented artist has received critical acclaim for her writing credits, highlights of which include the multi-award winning and nationally toured Progressive Polygamists and INDUSTRY: the Food Must Go Out, a 2014 Vancouver Fringe Festival audience favourite.

Mis Papás (Written and Directed by Pedro Chamale)
A graduate of the SFU School for Contemporary Arts, Pedro Chamale is also Co-Artistic Director of rice & beans theatre and Artistic Resident at Neworld Theatre. Mis Papás, which unfolds in both Spanish and English, converts the stage into a boxing ring for a 12-round match that culminates in a fairy tale ending for its immigrant protagonists.

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Tickets for SHIFT Theatre's 1-Act Festival can be purchased online at shifttheatre.ca or by calling The Cultch box office: 604-251-1363.

DETAILS:

SHIFT Theatre Presents: 1-Act Festival 8
Dates: June 17 - June 20, 2015 at 8pm
Address: The Vancity Culture Lab @ The Cultch, 1895 Venables Street, Vancouver, BC
Ticket Prices: $20 Adults/Seniors/Students
Box Office: shifttheatre.ca or phone The Cultch: 604-251-1363

SHIFT Theatre is an artistic collective working collaboratively to create contemporary, relevant and stimulating theatre. SHIFT was founded in 2008 to provide emerging theatre artists with opportunities to stage unconventional, risk-taking productions of short theatre. The company produces the celebrated 1-Act Festival, a daring festival of original works and new stagings, which takes place annually at The Cultch. SHIFT believes that performing arts are relevant, nourishing, entertaining and fundamentally valuable to society. The company is dedicated to making evocative, live theatre that encourages compassion, humanity, and honesty.

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