Live Soap Opera comes To Kelowna

What do a bordello owner, crooked politician, gossip columnist, eccentric vintner, wealthy hotelier, a "fixer", a femme fatale, a soccer Mom with a gambling problem, gypsy drug dealer and snack bar worker all have in common? Trouble in K-Town. There is a little black book, blackmail, shady pasts, luxurious hotels, wineries and mysterious strangers and there is the high profile campaign for office that is marred by innuendo. And just what is going on down by the lake late at night?

If all of the above sounds like a soap opera - it is. The company I work with, New Vintage Theatre, has launched Kelowna’s first live soap opera this summer, with all of the big hair and characters you might find on Dallas or Dynasty, however unlike those classics the script is pulled away. Audiences will be introduced to characters and locales that are both hilariously familiar and ridiculously over the top and will feel the excitement of seeing actors deal with the twists and turns of improvised theatre before their very eyes.

Actor Frank Takacs and I met four years ago while working on an improvised play I wrote and we performed.  While waiting backstage we talked about other improvised shows we had worked on and we both discovered we had done improvised soap operas before in Calgary and Edmonton and thought it would be a fantastic fit for Kelowna.  Since then Frank has continued to be uber-busy with Bumbershoot and the UBCO Standardized Patient Program and I started New Vintage Theatre.  This summer I decided it was finally time to get the party started and see where it takes us.  Our offering will be on a monthly basis - one Sunday evening each month and we hope audiences will follow the trials, tribulations and seedy twists and turns of our characters, but if they want to just walk up and see a show on its own they will find it equally as enjoyable.  Each show will bring its own surprises and intrigue.

Photo: Contributed - (Photo: Bonnie Gratz)

I encourage you to check out our first two episodes, aptly named Summer & Soaps-As The Sun Burns. Shows include all of the drama of Knots Landing with a smidgen of Twin Peaks & Saturday Night Live, its all set right here in Kelowna. In addition to Frank Takacs and I you will see a talented line up of actors including: Ashley Plomp, Joe Welton, Cory Armour, Graham Daley, Elana Marie Bizovie, Dana Murphy, Brock Gratz, Celeste Cameron, Joelle Neufeld and featuring up and coming improv students Vicki Den Ouden, Gloria Poulette-Helfrick, Laura Slauson and Ethan Hussey and Special Guest star jazz sensation Anna Jacyszyn, There will be a licensed bar, door prizes for spa services and other surprises, too. New Vintage promises that audiences will never know what or who will turn up in the Summer & Soaps.

Don't miss the first episode on July 27 and our follow up episode with even more intrigue on August 10. It is a fun show every night! Tickets, $10 (+ service fees), at www.selectyourtickets.com or $15 at the door (cash only). It all happens at the beautiful air conditioned Black Box Theatre, complete with a licensed bar. For more information about these and upcoming shows, check out www.newvintage.ca or call New Vintage Theatre at 778-214-1456.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.