Stage Door News
Stage Door News
“What defines us as Canadians? What does the game of hockey mean to us as Canadians?” Kim Blackwell, director of Lost & Found Theatre’s upcoming Pocket Rocket, believes these are subtle questions
brought forth by this Canadian comedy about five street hockey buddies.
“The play begins in 1967 during the Centennial year for our country and then it covers the next 28 years in our history,” Blackwell continues. “It’s an important play that strives to look at Canada.”
Blackwell, Managing Artistic Director of 4th Line Theatre, is pleased to be directing for Lost & Found Theatre for the first time.
“I was attracted to Pocket Rocket primarily because of the [five] wonderful characters which [Lea Daniel and Gary Kirkham] have created. I care about them, their lives and their struggles. And I love the friendship that exists between them,” she says.
Pocket Rocket is divided into three acts – periods, if you will – which take the audience to 1967, 1981, and 1995. It’s a comedy about friendship and growing up. And the fourteen-year jumps aren’t random, says Lea Daniel, but are inspired by the 7-Up documentary series that followed children every seven years of their lives. The other inspiration was, of course, hockey itself.
“There was a road hockey game that went on in front of our house for many years. Kids would come and go, off to university or summer jobs or whatever, but often they returned and slipped right back into the game. It seemed to me there was a play waiting to happen in all that hockey. When I shared my thoughts with Gary he had lots of ideas and a collaboration was born,” says Daniel.
This is Daniel and Kirkham’s first collaboration, but they are both successful independent writers. Kirkham’s play Falling: A Wake has been produced all over the world and translated into three languages. Other works include Queen Milli of Galt and Pearl Gidley. Kirkham was the playwright in residence at the Blyth Festival in 2008.
Daniel and her husband Alan have had successful careers writing and illustrating children’s literature. Highlights include Robert Munsch’s Aaron’s Hair and Get Out of Bed among many others. Daniel has had success as a playwright since 1999. The Waterloo Region Record called her 2013 play Naked a “comic battle of wits!”
Daniel and Kirkham Pocket Rocket journey began four years ago. The show has been workshopped with Theatre Calgary and Lost & Found Theatre. In 2014 it was shortlisted for a Tom Hendry family comedy award.
The show’s cast features Lost & Found Theatre ensemble member Hannah Ziss, former Necessary Angel General Manager and Artistic Director of Green Light Arts Matt White, and Toronto actors Mark Kreder, Andrei Preda, and Suchiththa Desilva.
SHOW DETAILS:
Pocket Rocket
Registry Theatre, 122 Frederick St., Kitchener
Preview: April 20. Opening: April 21. Closing: April 30. Runs Tues.-Sat. 8pm; Sat.-Sun. 2pm. Tickets $18-$29 and are on sale now at www.lostandfoundtheatre.ca or 519-896-2253.
‘Road Hockey Stories’ partner project striking a chord with the community
Community-based media artist Dwight Storring was keen to jump on board to create his short ‘Hockey Stories’ videos as a partner project because “being out in the community and working with people and their stories is what I’ve been doing most of my working life. The stories people are sharing for the Road Hockey Series are simple, yet they carry with them a deep connection to neighbourhood, friends and life.”
The stories are about a minute in length and feature Waterloo Region residents of all ages playing road hockey as well as a featured interview with one of the players. A highlight for playwright Lea Daniel is Ivy’s story: she’s a feisty 8 year old who tells the camera that being small in hockey isn’t so bad – she sneaks around the big guys and they don’t even notice. Four episodes have aired so far with more to come.
Storring is a former photojournalist for the Waterloo Region Record who has worked as an information architect, designer, developer, website editor, creative director and playwright. He was Artist in Residence for the City of Kitchener in 2014 and now manages his own digital media practice.
Storring latched onto the project because he loves Pocket Rocket and the power of theatre.
“The stories of ordinary people in Kitchener will meld with the stories of the characters in Pocket Rocket, drawing a connection between everyday life and the stage. It reminds us that examining our life through art is essential to understand how we live together.”
Lea Daniel had this to say about the video series: “I love them! I appreciated the player who said [road hockey] is really all about friendships. There’s our play in a nutshell.”
The videos can be seen on the Lost & Found Theatre website (www.lostandfoundtheatre.ca) and will be featured in the pre-show of all Pocket Rocket performances. Check out lostandfoundies.blogspot.ca to read insightful blog posts by Kathy Storring about the Canadian road hockey experience.
Photo: Cast of Pocket Rocket. ©2016 Tom Vogel.
2016-03-29
Kitchener: Lost & Found Theatre presents the world premiere of "Pocket Rocket" April 21-30