Review: The Visitor
VIU’s Theatre department put on a fantastically creepy adaptation of Friedrich Durrenmatt’s The Visit from March 2–5—and they may have outdone themselves this time. Adapted and written by professor Leon Potter and retitled The Visitor, the university’s theatre students tackled the age-old question of “how far would you go for money?” The play centres around … Continued
All Together Now
VIU’s Malaspina Theatre joined thousands of other theatres around the world to put on a showing of Music Theatre International’s “All Together Now.” “All Together Now” is a musical celebration of theatre coming back after COVID-19, featuring numbers from musicals such as Les Misérables and Mamma Mia! The North American editions of the show were … Continued
Review of A Drama Class’s Dream
VIU’s Malaspina Theatre recently put on its first play with a live audience since March 2020 with A Drama Class’s Dream. The performance, which ran from October 13-16, is Theatre professor Ross Desprez’s adaption of the play-within-a-play from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The play was a fun, fantastic, and whimsy return to live theatre—for both … Continued
The Show Must Go On
While all departments suffered from online and distanced learning during the academic year of 2020-21, VIU’s Theatre Department was struck a unique blow when the university was closed in March 2020. Students performing to live audiences from Malaspina Theatre’s stage could not be easily replicated over a Zoom call. Despite the circumstances, the department rose … Continued
The Rocky Horror Picture Show Must Go On
It will be astounding. Time will fly by. Madness will take its toll. The VIU Satyr Players will bring back The Rocky Horror Picture Show for their 25th run of the cult classic. The student cast will perform their annual production on March 12 at 7 pm through the live stream platform Twitch. The VIU … Continued
Malaspina Theatre gets a facelift
The sound of construction is now a common background noise to anyone on the Nanaimo campus of Vancouver Island University. With the new Health and Science building a construction staple on the Nanaimo campus, the automotive building’s new facelift, and the construction on the Fisheries and Aquaculture Building (380), work is happening all over. And … Continued
Satyr Players to host One Acts Festival at Malaspina Theatre
By Sports and Lifestyle Editor Cole Schisler On January 26 and January 27, the VIU Satyr Players acting club is hosting their annual One Acts play festival at Malaspina Theatre. Tickets are $5, and the proceeds will go towards supporting VIU student theatre. The festival will feature five plays that are written, directed, performed, and … Continued
A costume piece, a prop, a quote and a sound bite
By Managing Editor Molly Barrieau This year for the first time, Malaspina Theatre inspired competitors to put their creative minds together for one short weekend to put on a live show by Sunday. The rules were simple: each group was given a box containing a random assortment of items, anything from a mink stole to … Continued
VIU Theatre Department looking for participants for 24-hour playwriting competition
By News Editor Aislinn Cottell The VIU Theatre Department is hosting their inaugural 24-Hour Playwriting Competition this month, and looking for budding playwrights to compete. Participation is free, but teams must be confirmed by November 4, and space is limited to the first eight teams who confirm–so hurry and get your friends together if you … Continued
Malaspina Theatre gets a new look
By Managing Editor Molly Barrieau Building 310, forever known as Malaspina Theatre on campus, finally received its much needed facelift on Friday, September 2. After news broke about beloved professor Mike Taugher’s passing in August 2015, the Theatre Department has tirelessly spent the last year gathering donations and support for the overhaul. “I am very proud to have … Continued
VIU theatre deserves an encore
Anyone who has seen a theatrical or musical performance, performance art, or anything else that happens live on a stage, knows the magic that can come from that experience. Sitting down and watching one of the most vulnerable forms a person be in, something that cannot be recreated in any other medium. VIU has been … Continued
Arts and Humanities Colloquium Presents the VIU@Cowichan Innovation Lab
By contributor Gordon Hak On March 18, members of the Arts and Humanities faculty at the Cowichan campus, as well as a contingent of staff and students, will travel to the Malaspina Theatre to strut their stuff. The presentation is part of the Arts and Humanities Colloquium, the popular lecture series that for the past … Continued
Arts and Humanities Colloquium presents “Meridian”
By contributor Gordon Hak In its six-year history, the Arts and Humanities Colloquium Lecture Series has pushed limits, encouraging us to think about new things as well as old things in new ways. The upcoming presentation promises again to stretch boundaries. The talk and show, entitled “Meridian.is: Collaborative Performance Research,” brings together four faculty members … Continued
VIU loses a beloved theatre professor
As students prepare for another sunny year on campus, a sudden dark cloud has cast a shadow over the university’s Malaspina Theatre. Mike Taugher, VIU’s Theatre Manager, passed away on Tuesday, August 18 at the age of 59, leaving his dog Thor and partner Ros Davies, a VIU administrator. Former students of Taugher remember him … Continued