United Players Of Vancouver
by Peter Church
directed by Sarah Rodgers with Christopher Lam
The feel-good story of It’s a Wonderful Life follows George Bailey, a small town Building and Loan clerk who, on a cold Christmas Eve in 1946, believes the world would have been better if he had never been born. Salvation comes in the form of a dotty angel-in-waiting. The play is given an exciting twist by being told in the evocative setting of a radio studio with songs, charming old-fashioned radio commercials and period jingles.
Dates: November 29 – December 22, 2024
Times: Thurs-Fri at 8:00 pm, first & third Saturdays at 8 pm, second and fourth Saturdays at 2 pm, Sundays at 2:00 pm, closing on December 22
Preview: November 28 ($15.00)
Opening: November 29
Talkbacks: Thursday, December 5 and Sunday, December 8 with playwright Peter Church and director/actors
Matinées: All Sundays (Dec 1, 8, 15, 22), two Saturdays (Dec 7, 21)
Many thanks to our paint sponsor:
Many thanks to our hospitality sponsor:
by Peter Church
DIRECTED BY:
Sarah Rodgers*
with Christopher Lamǂ
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CAST
George Bailey /Ensemble – Nick Prestonǂ
Mary Bailey / Ensemble – Rachel Angco
Harry Bailey / Ensemble– Tristen Bonwick-Foy
Clarence Oddbody / Ensemble – Bernard Cuffling
Joseph / Ensemble– Gordon Law
Uncle Billy / Ensemble – Samuel Walmsley-Byrne
Old Man Potter / Ensemble – Kazz Leskard
Ma Bailey / Ensemble – Jennie Grenelle
Mrs. Hatch / Ensemble – Kelsey Ranshaw
Pianist / Foley – Kelsi James
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PRODUCTION TEAM
Producer – Linda Begg
Technical Director – Phil Miguel
Set Design – Sheila White
Head Carpenter – Bruce Suttie
Set Crew – Bill Bone, Ken Scott, David Shewell, Douw Steyn
Paint Captain – Hina Asada
Paint Crew – Linda Begg, Nancy Caldwell, Linda Gray, Gena Kolson, Anastasia MacKinnon, Chris Magnusson, Poppy Rodgersmith, Donna Webb, Cindy Verchere, Georga Wong
Musical Director – Christopher Lamǂ
Sound Consultant – Rick Colhoun
Lighting Design – Kougar Basi
Costume Design – Mara Gottler
Choreographer – Shelley Stewart Hunt*
Stage Manager – Maddy Woodley
Assistant Stage Manager – Hailey Gil
Dramaturgy – Sarah Rodgers*
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* The participation of Sarah Rodgers and Shelley Stewart Hunt is arranged by permission of
Canadian Actors’ Equity Association under the provisions of the Dance Opera Theatre Policy (DOT).
ǂAppearing by permission of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association.
COVID-19 SAFETY MEASURES: United Players has a strict Communicable Diseases Plan in place, which you can find here. Updates will be made throughout the season as needed. We rely on everyone to help us protect community health and safety – some principle points include:
• Please stay home if you are ill.
• United Players acknowledges that mask-wearing is a personal choice.
We continue to work to make your visit a safe and enjoyable one. If you have any questions or suggestions for improvement, please reach out at safety@unitedplayers.com.
Peter Church is an actor, dramaturge, script-writer and radio-drama specialist.
Hailing from the Canadian Prairies, Peter spent eight years in repertory, performing the plays of Shakespeare with Toronto’s, Classical Theatre Project. Favourite credits on stage include The Bells of Larkspur by Dan Needles (Theatre Collingwood), The Ghosts of Mariposa by S.C. Pinney (The Arts Engine), and The Rainmaker by N. Richard Nash (Pacific Theatre).
As a playwright, Peter stumbled into writing radio scripts on a dare from a cast-mate. What was supposed to be a one-off pastiche of the old time radio plays of the 1930s, 40s, and 50s has since become a long line of new audio dramas and stage plays. He co-founded both Radio’s Revenge (a podcast dedicated to resurrecting stories in the style of the old time radio plays), and Radio Project X (a monthly live radio cabaret show). His works include a full-length radio adaptation of Theodore Sturgeon’s sci-fi thriller, The Other Celia; an original serial parody called I Smell a Mystery!; and full-length audio adaptations of new Canadian stories like Black Ice and Hockey, The Ghosts of Mariposa, and The Wooden Angel. His full-length stage adaptations of It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol premiered in Vancouver (Pacific Theatre), and have since been produced in Chicago, Detroit and the Yukon.
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