Story is widely recognized as fundamental to the way human beings understand the world. From the fairy tales we hear as children to the epic tales of great literature, the underlying structures of story (hero, villain, conflict, resolution - to name just a few) are deeply ingrained, and we constantly use them to make sense of our experiences in life. 

Our 32nd season of theatre at UFV celebrates the power of story and storytelling from compelling perspectives. Mary Zimmerman's renowned stage adaptation Arabian Nights captures one of the most powerful testaments to the vitality of storytelling, as the brilliant Scheherezade spins a new tale every night to save her very life. In Dead Man's Cell Phone, the award-winning comedy by Sarah Ruhl, the central character Jean answers, literally, a dead man's cell phone, and suddenly finds herself drawn into inventing stories about the phone's owner with sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking results. In Shakespeare's ever popular comedy As You Like It, the heroine Rosalind is the consummate storyteller, disguising herself as a young man, and thus creating her own living fiction, both to save her life and to teach her lover Orlando the secrets of wooing successfully. In Droning of Bombers, local playwright Hennie Regoczi relates her experiences growing up as a child in occupied Holland during the Second World War, weaving together a vivid tapestry of stories that affirms the inextinguishable power of family and friendship. And of course, during our 17th Annual Directors' Festival, students from UFV and around the province will take to the stage to present an always eclectic range of plays embodying the stories that give expression to the emerging creativity of the next generation of theatre artists.

Please join us for another exciting season of theatre as we celebrate stories that are sure to surprise, entertain and inspire.

Performance Dates

Dead Man's Cell Phone

The second production of the season is Dead Man’s Cell Phone, by Pulitzer Prize finalist Sarah Ruhl. An incessantly ringing cell phone in a quiet café, a stranger at the next table who has had enough, and a dead man – with a lot of loose ends. So begins this quirky black comedy. Dead Man’s Cell Phone is a work that examines how we memorialize the dead, and how that remembering changes us. It is the odyssey of a woman forced to confront her own assumptions about morality, redemption and the need to connect in a technologically obsessed world.

“A beguiling comedy … a hallucinatory, poetic fantasy that blends the mundane and the metaphysical, the blunt and the obscure, the patently bizarre and the bizarrely moving. Characters in Ruhl’s plays negotiate the no man’s land between the everyday and the mystical, talking like goofs one minute and philosophers the next.”  Charles Isherwood, The New York Times. 

Performance Dates

Performance Dates

Liars 2011

The Annual Directors’ Theatre Festival has grown by leaps and bounds during its sixteen year history. Once again talented young performers from all over BC will congregate in the Chilliwack campus theatre complex to present their work. An eclectic menu of one act plays will be on offer, ranging through the tried and true to original works created by UFV and visiting students. Pick and choose from a varied smorgasbord of fare that offers the full meal deal: A Festival Pass for all the shows, or just graze with a four pack snack or individual show tickets. Whatever you choose, you can’t lose!

Call 604-795-2814 for details
or email: theatre@ufv.ca

Droning of Bombers

The fascinating story of a Dutch child’s view of German occupied Holland, during the second world war. Droning of Bombers is a true slice of life that was one of the hits of the 2011 Directors’ Theatre Festival selling out every performance. Don’t miss it this time around. Proceeds from this production will be donated to UFV Theatre scholarships.

Visiting UFV Theatre:

Call 604-795-2814 for tickets
or email theatre@ufv.ca

Additional Free Events:

The Rez Sisters: A staged reading and discussion with Tomson Highway

Come to the theatre on the Chilliwack campus Sun, Oct. 23 at 2.30 pm for a staged reading of selected scenes from First Nations playwright Tomson Highway’s The Rez Sisters, by members of the 2000 UCFV production, as well as a group discussion and personal reflexions on the play by Highway himself. Stay for a catered reception and recital by Highway, who is also an accomplished pianist. 

There is no charge for this event but reservations must be made by calling 604-795-2814 or emailing: theatre@ufv.ca

Talk-back Sessions 

This year, after Thursday evening and Sunday matinee performances, we invite you to take a chance to ask cast members, directors designers and backstage crew any questions you might have regarding our productions and program.

Call 604-795-2814 for details
or email: theatre@ufv.ca

2010-2011 Season Production Sponsors:

2010-2011 Media Sponsors:

For information on sponsoring the UFV Theatre Season
please call 604-795-2814
or email: theatre@ufv.ca

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