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Cast of Blast Off! A Musical About Going to the Future and Back displays the innovative costumes as Pluto pleads his case to be a planet again.
Photo by Wendy Tsui
Gateway Theatre Academy Blasts Off
It was the culmination of over three full time weeks of hard work on the part of student actors. Thursday, July 26 The Gateway Academy presented their first of two performances of Blast Off!: A musical about going to the future and back.
After braving the cloud of cigarette smoke
outside the theatre as a mom, with her daughter at her side, had a quick
nicotine fix on the bone-dry grass near Gateway, the cool, clear air of the
theatre was welcome on a hot summer’s evening.
The night began with a word from Ruth
McIntosh, the academy’s education manager. She pointed out that all activities
and performances at Gateway are subsidized. She thanked numerous supporters and
donors.
Demonstrating that theatre is not only the
realm of the wealthy elite, McIntosh offered special thanks to Daiso, Tangerine
Bank, and the Richmond Gateway Theatre Society for providing funds to allow
scholarships for those students who would not otherwise have been able to
attend.
Then McIntosh said, “It’s been a whole lot of
fun. They’ve worked so hard. And to the parents sit back, relax, have a great
time, enjoy, Blast Off!”
With that, the show began with the entrance
of a pianist who started the opening number. The peppy music heralded the
enthusiastic entrance by a large number of student actors dressed as scientists
with lab coats and round, black glasses.
The dance number showcased the kids’ dancing
skills. While there were no words, occasionally, thunder and lightening burst
through.
The young scientists talk of their proposed
research projects. One says, “Cloning
and ice cream cone,” while another proposes, “Making un-meltable ice cream,”
and yet another wants to research how to, “Change flavour by just thinking
about it.”
Then, out of nowhere comes, a voice. The
group reacts.
There was also another voice, in the
audience. As theatre schools teach children and families to love theatre, they
also teach what is appropriate. Educating parents that a small child talking or
crying loudly, in the audience during a performance, should be taken into the
lobby until they quieten down.
The plot of Blast Off! was sometimes a little too intriguing to follow. What, “Boss, boss, boss,” meant and why it prompted a reaction in the actors on stage was a little unclear, but it was all in such good fun.The cast comprised the students from The Gateway Theatre Summer Academy. They were: Aaden Chew, Jack Christofferson, Ruby Farrell, Kaylee Gou, Shelley Ji, Parker Linzmeier, Emily Liu, Sophie Liu, Cici Qin, Brynn Radu, Arianna Saffari, Luke Shi, Felix Song, Morgan ter Stege, Asha Townsend, Aimee Wang, Cindy Wu, Johnny Wu, and Claire Yang.Blast Off’s playwright is Julie Casselman.
The costumes were tremendously effective and
tremendously inventive showing that it doesn’t cost a fortune for kids, or
actors of any age, to encourage an audience to suspend their disbelief.
The lighting was subtle but really set the
mood in each scene. The sound was usually clear, even though the only
microphones were at the edge of the stage.
One of the most remarkable things was the
clarity of the diction in the group songs. It takes special work to make sure
the audience can make out the words. The larger the group, the greater the
chance for mumbles to seep in. This ensemble was crystal clear.
Having sat through my share of Grade 6 band
performances, what we refer to in our family as “tuning optional” events I was
so impressed with the pitch perfect performances from this group. Even though
many were younger than Grade 6, their sense of pitch was admirable.
The musical numbers borrowed from a number of
sources, some musicals and other popular songs, were woven together throughout
the plot.
One particularly moving piece was hearing the
children sing John Lennon’s Imagine. It offers a jaded heart hope for the
future. It seemed to bring the evening to a natural conclusion but then, a
peppy number ensued which offered a more rousing ending with the kids saving
earth for generations to come.
The actors’ wide age range was well dealt
with. Some of the younger performers did ensemble numbers with brief solos
while the more-experienced members of the cast each had a solo number to
showcase their skill as a performer.
Without photos in the program, it was hard to
know whom to mention. There were definitely stand-outs in the performance. The
oldest students showed their experience while a few younger members of the
ensemble offered strong performances that belied their age. One younger fellow
in particular sang with strength and projection near the end of the show.
The one name I was able to discover to
mention her outstanding performance is Asha Townsend. She really connected with
the audience, shining in her acting, singing and dancing as she husbanded the
younger actors through their performances. Her skill level was such that she
would not be out of place in a Langara Studio 58 performance.
The main message of the evening was that everyone was given a chance to shine. And everyone did.
Closing performance Friday, July 27 at 7 p.m.
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