Asparagus Community Theater has seen our share of losses, in quick succession, three ACT thespians have passed. Each have made contributions to Asparagus Community Theatre in their own way, whether it be fairly recent or in the past. These three gentlemen have helped mold our theatre to what it is today. The current board of directors on behalf of ACT would like to acknowledge the following:
Paul Kirkwood Hackett; (1946-2024)
Paul migrated to Asparagus Community Theatre from the Caravan Farm Theatre in 1985 by helping out in special effects for Cinderella. He continued to assist in multiple shows with lighting, sound and direction. “Footprints on the Moon” in 1990 was the first show to go to Main stage in Chilliwack in ACT’s history, which Paul directed. Paul won best director for “18 Wheels” in Ozone 1993. In 1999 Paul directed “Good Night Disgrace”, which starred a budding young actor from the club. The play won Ozone in Salmon Arm and was the club’s first Theatre B.C. Mainstage winner in Nanaimo B.C. Paul directed countless productions i.e.“On Golden Pond”, “Paper Wheat”, “James and the Giant Peach”, “All About The People” Armstrong’s 100 year celebration, are just a few. Paul alsoparticipated on stage by acting in “The Drawer Boy”,“Winnie the Pooh “, and a number of pantomimes. Paul was instrumental in many upgrades of the current theatre with lighting, sound maintenance and purchase, drapes, cyclorama, and the memorandum of understanding with parks and rec. He also served on the ACT board many times through the years, as president or director, and also represented us as the Ozone rep. Paul was the Chair of the Ozone a number of years. We thank and appreciate his contributions.
Chris Gauthier; (1976-2024)
Chris loved to act! He was doing comedy with his friends, in PVSS and already by the time he was 20 was involved in many Asparagus community theatre productions. Chris’s acting talent ranged from, stand up skits, villains in pantomimes, to a character in adark comedy in 1996 called “Criminals in Love.” It went to festival and was chosen to be the work shop play for Theatre B.C. Mainstage, which was hosted in Kamloops that year. In 1999, “Good Night Disgrace” won Ozone Festival, followed by Theatre B.C. Mainstage in Nanaimo. Chris won best supporting actor. Notably the support of Tony Stamboulieh, of the Vernon School of Speech and Drama, and AndrewMcIlroy, adjudicator, helped Chris with his resume and his move to Vancouver to launch his acting career and break into T.V. and Film. The rest is history. Chris was in an impressive list of commercials, miniseries, and movies e.g. Smallville, Eureka, Once Upon a Time, Supernatural, Harpers Island, My New Best Friend, and 40 days and 40 Nights. We truly are saddened by his passing and proud of his connection to our small Theatre.
Geoff Peter; (1963-2024)
Geoff was most active with Asparagus Community Theatre in the 90’s. Geoff acted in “Witness for the Prosecution” that went to festival in Salmon Arm, “Sleeping Beauty”, “Too Much Testosterone” comedy,and his great voice was narrator for “Winnie the Pooh” in 2002. Geoff was the “dad” that got involved alongside his kids on stage. Soon after Geoff moved out of Armstrong, he continued to support the theatre by attending shows when he could.
TICKETS ON SALE NOW for STAFF ROOM!
We are proud to present our spring production, “Staff Room”, written by award winning Canadian playwright, Joan Burrows and directed by Julie Drapala. The two-act comedy takes place, you guessed it, in a staff room in what could be any typical high school on any given school day.
What makes this production unique is that it is comprised of 15 scenes, wherein 16 actors play a total of 55 characters. Each scene stands alone with only one reoccurring character, Stuart, the coffee starved science teacher. Staff Room is both funny and poignant.
ACT is proud to be partnering with Ticket Owl.
Online tickets for our spring production STAFF ROOM are ON SALE NOW!
Cash only sales available at the Spallumcheen Armstrong Chamber of Commerce during business hours.
Performance Dates: May 2-4 & 9-11 @ 7:30 pm and May 4 @ 2:00 pm
And that's a wrap!
Another successful season of acting classes for teens and adults has come to end. We look forward to offering more sessions in the fall. There will be no spring classes this year as drama instructor, Julie Drapala, will be busy directing ACT's upcoming spring production, "Staff Room."
Teen acting class - winter session 2024
SS OVERLANDER SET SAIL
Thank you to all who came aboard the SS Overlander and joined the captains gala for the exciting dinner theatre experience hosted by The Overlander Restaurant with Asparagus Community Theatre.