Who’s Got the Power?

Superman, an environmental terrorist, a creepy date and a widow whose husband was eaten by a bear. These are just some of the characters that this year’s celebrities will tackle at So You Think You Can Act. This year’s event is only two short weeks away and rehearsals have begun! It’s been a pleasure introducing the celebrities to their acting partners and hearing these hilarious scripts come off the page. Under this year’s theme of Power Play, we have found writing by a mix of work by emerging Winnipeg writers and some of Canada’s most established playwrights. Although each get only 2 hours to rehearse under the direction of Cairn Moore, they have great material to work with. Keep reading to see what scenes and which actors each celebrity is working with!

Rana Bokhari will be playing Maria in Michael Healey’s political dark comedy Generous with Kevin Gabel. This play was produced a couple years ago by Theatre by the River and of course Healey’s play Proud was produced by Theatre Projects this past fall with Kevin Gabel also appearing in it. We are also pleased to announce that Kevin will be in our spring production of Miss N Me!

Chris Cvetkovic gets to play Superman opposite Lyle Morris in Ken Mitchell’s play Heroes. What happens when Superman and the Lone Ranger meet in their Chief’s office waiting room? We are pleased to have Lyle on board after his great performance in Launched at FemFest 2014.

André Lewis with Danielle Savage will be playing the title characters in Harold and Vivian Entertain Guests by Jessy Ardern. This piece won our first Bake-Off at FemFest 2012 and was fully produced at FemFest 2013. Danielle Savage helped take Troy Westwood to victory last year – can she do the same this year?

Kelly Linehan will be tackling the character of Lorrie in George F. Walker’s play Featuring Loretta with Spenser Payne. Lorrie’s husband has been eaten by a bear and she needs to figure out what to do with her life. Kelly should have a blast working with Spenser, who is also part of the Talentless Lumps.

Romi Mayes will be playing the wannabe terrorist Melissa with Cheryl Gensiorek in Terroristas by Ginny Collins. Last year we included Ginny’s piece Good Intentions, which had premiered at Winnipeg Jewish Theatre in 2013. This will be Cheryl’s third time in this event and in 2013 she helped Kerri Salki win the trophy.

Doug Speirs will be playing Man in Eye to Eye by Christopher Graybill with Nan Fewchuk playing Woman in this hilarious ten minute play about a first date gone awry. Nan has appeared in multiple pieces with Sarasvàti Productions, most recently The Naked Woman at FemFest 2014. Hopefully she can stay focused as Doug Speirs lays it on thick.

Taz Stuart gets to try his hand at romantic comedy as Rudy in Norm Foster’s Wrong for Each Other with Liz Whitbread. Liz is about to appear in our International Women’s Week Cabaret of Monologues. She also appeared in a Norm Foster scene at last year’s event, helping Big Daddy Tazz tie for first with Troy Westwood.

Between these hilarious scenes, the comedic talents of the judges, Trish Cooper, Toby Hughes and Gordon Tanner, and witty hosting by Jon Ljungberg this will be one super fun night! And if that wasn’t enough we also have thousands of dollars’ worth of raffle prizes (raffle licence #MGCC5542). Don’t miss out, buy tickets now! Tickets can be purchased online here or by phoning us at 204-586-2236. Rana Bokhari started off strong in our blog polls, but was over taken by Kelly Linehan. Unfortunately Kelly wasn’t ahead for long before Romi Mayes beat her by a nose. And the guys really haven’t been feeling the love. Now that the scenes are revealed will that all change?

SYTYCA Presents: Rana Bokhari

Today we are pleased to present the first of our seven celebrity participants in our 4th annual So You Think You Can Act fundraising event! This year’s theme is Power Play, something Rana Bokhari is used to as the leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party. She is the youngest person to ever lead the provincial party as well as the first of South Asian descent to lead any political party in Manitoba. With her passion and ambition she is sure to give the other competitors a run for their money! Keep reading to learn more about Rana!

RANA BOKHARI – Leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party
Born and raised on a family farm in Anola, Rana Bokhari learned the value of hard work at an early age. After helping out with the family business during her early adult years, Rana decided to take the academic route. She attended the University of Manitoba, where she earned three degrees including a law degree. Having always displayed a passion for public service, she decided to make a more active contribution to public life in Manitoba. After working with the Manitoba Liberal Party for years, Rana declared her intentions to lead the party. Now, as elected leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party, Rana is determined to work tirelessly to reach out to Manitobans across the province and give them a more viable option for a better Manitoba.

While we’re not ready to reveal the whole scene line up that our celebrities will be performing, we do know what scene Rana will be acting in! It should be very familiar to Winnipeggers as Theatre by the River produced it a few years ago and Theatre Projects Manitoba featured this play in their October Salon celebrating the playwright Michael Healey! Can you guess which play of his it is?

Find out for yourself on February 18th! Tickets for So You Think You Can Act can be purchased online here or by calling our office at 204-586-2236. Get tickets now before they sell out!

We’ve Got the Star Power

Politicians, athletes, musicians, media personalities and even an entomologist – we put out the call and Winnipeg celebrities have answered. We are happy to be able to announce the celebrity line up for the fourth annual So You Think You Can Act Fundraiser. This year all of the scenes selected for our brave celebrities will focus around Power Play. Without further ado, here is our celebrity line up:

Power Play is familiar territory for Rana Bokhari, the Leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party. Last year she became the youngest ever to lead the provincial party. We’ll see if her experience as a politician and a lawyer gives her a leg up on her competition.

Chris Cvetkovic is used to a different type of play, professional football to be exact. Chris just retired last year from a 12 year CFL career, 11 of those spent playing with the Blue Bombers. We are excited to see him try his hand at play acting!

With 17 years as the Artistic Director of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet under his belt André Lewis will be stretching his acting muscles with us. . With all that discipline and dedication we’re looking forward to seeing what he brings to the table on February 18^th.

Recently Kelly Linehan has been doing more reporting behind a computer instead of in front of a camera, but we’re sure this social media wiz will still bring her A-game!

Romi Mayes is no stranger to performing having toured the globe throughout her successful music career. We’re glad she’s coming to our stage to do a different type of playing before launching her album!

He’s funny in writing, but we’ll see if he can still make us laugh onstage! Doug Speirs has been writing for the Winnipeg Free Press for many years. We’re happy to have him on the Sarasvàti stage!

And last but not least, we are welcoming Taz Stuart to the stage! He spent nine years working for the city as an entomologist as a part of the insect control branch. Let’s see how he does up against his fellow celebrities instead of mosquitos.

Jon Ljungberg will be hosting SYTYCA, a professional comic he is sure to have us laughing. As for our expert judges, Toby Hughes, Trish Cooper and Gordon Tanner will be scrutinizing the game plans and tactics of our celebrities.

With all of this talent, especially comedic talent it is sure to be a night full of laughs and surprises. Make sure you don’t miss it on February 18^th at 7pm in the Gas Station Theatre. Tickets are only $25 and that includes a wine reception. Pretty great deal for a night of laughs, wine and supporting a local theatre company!