"Apparition:" The Latest Play From Vancouver's TigerMilk Collective

The Talented TigerMilk Collective Presents "Apparition" by Anne Washburn

April 23-May3 at the Performing Arts Lodge Theater in Coal Harbor Quay

For a peek into the future of the Vancouver theatre scene, take an evening this week to see "Apparition." The play is presented by the independent theater company TigerMilk Collective and runs from April 23rd to May 3rd beginning at 8:00pm. The tickets are $15 and can be purchased by calling 604-684-2728 or www.ticketstonight.ca. The theater is located on the 8th Floor at 581 Cardero Street.

"Apparition" takes a post-modern tour around aspects of Shakespeare's Macbeth.

The TigerMilk women, who both produce and act in "Apparition" are: Olivia Delachanal, Lindsay Drummond, Miranda Huba, Lindsay Reoch, Kirsten Slenning and associate member Stephanie Hayes. After earning Bachelor of Arts degrees from Simon Fraser University's Theatre program they founded the TigerMilk Collective with the goal of telling their "collectively created stories and those of our heroes."

Slenning commented that the language of the script excited the actors, who are interested in challenging conventional notions of theater. In choosing "Apparition" they were also eager to support a young female dramatist in Anne Washburn. According to Slenning, it is difficult to find "interesting, contemporary plays for four or more women (although the genders of the characters are not necessarily identified in the script)."

Government funding is a pertinent issue for Vancouverites with the 2010 Olympics on the horizon, so I asked Kirsten Slenning, speaking for the TigerMilk women, how provincial and federal funding affected their ability to survive as a collective? "The main problem is that there is less and less money for the federal governing body 'Canada Council for the Arts.'" Slenning went on to say that "TigerMilk has been recommended for a federal grant three times but has been denied one due to a lack of funds." We seem more concerned about funneling money away from the future of our art community, in Vancouver, and towards the 2010 Olympics. It's a shame that tax payers will continue to support 2010, at the expense of other aspects of Canadian culture, long after the medals are won.

TigerMilk's financial struggles as an up and coming independent theatre company reflect our values as a city, as a province and as a country. By failing to encourage young artists such as these to sew their imprint into the social fabric of this nation, we jeopardize the future of Canadian art and culture in general.