January 17–26, 2008 TELUS Studio Theatre, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts

Adapted and Directed by James Fagan Tait Music Composed and Directed by Joelysa Pankanea Associate Director: Sarah Rodgers

Presented in association with the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, Western Gold Theatre and Theatre at UBC

Honoré de Balzac’s

January 16–February 3, 2008Vancouver • Canada

www.pushfestival.caFull program available November 22

VENUES ALL OVER THE CITY. ARTISTS FROMALL OVER THE WORLD.LET YOUR HAIRDOWN WITH LIVEPERFORMANCE.

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PUSH AD 7.5X10 11/13/07 1:03 PM Page 1

Adapted and Directed by

James Fagan Tait

Music Composed and Directed by

Joelysa Pankanea

Associate Director: Sarah Rodgers

Costume Design: Mara Gottler

Scenography: Robert Gardiner

Stage Manager: Robin Richardson

Stephen Aberle

Patti Allan

Mary Black

Anna Hagan

Starring:

Sarah Afful

Spencer Atkinson

Wil Carlos

Jocelyn Gauthier

David Mackay

Richard Newman

Gina Stockdale

Alec Willows

Max Gilbert

Kevin Kraussler

Jameson Parker

Cecile Roslin

Becky Shrimpton

Kevin Stark

Honoré de Balzac’s

olD goriot

January 17 to 26, 2008

TELUS Studio Theatre

Western Gold Theatre Society wishes to thank the following for their generous donations:

TELUS Vancouver Community Board

Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) is called the Shakespeare of the novel and his Le Père Goriot is both a landmark in world literature and his most universally loved work. The novel was written 1834-1835 when Balzac was 35 years old. It first appeared in serialized form in Revue de Paris in the Fall of 1834 and in completed book form in 1835.

A key entry in his Comédie Humaine, a 95-volume collection of linked stories about French society, Old Goriot paints the lives of a group of lodgers in a Parisian boarding house and their world with an electrifying vitality. As a stand-alone novel it represents Balzac’s talents at their height. Many of his novels were not always complete unto themselves, requiring other works to tie them together. Thus, Le Pére Goriot has been one of his most widely read works, achieving such fame that the novel’s protagonist Rastignac is synonymous for the French with a bright young man determined to succeed—perhaps at any cost.

Oscar Wilde once said, “The Nineteenth Century, as we know it, is largely an invention of Balzac’s.” One of the reasons for this is Balzac’s representation of the modern city. Paris from the start of the novel is a living, breathing self-contained entity into which persons enter, live and die in lives that few know or care about. The city was an environment from which one rose or fell in the “mud of the street.” Balzac was writing at a time of explosive growth between 1800 and 1830, when the population of Paris doubled. No previous author had written like this and Balzac is credited with initiating the new realistic school of French literature which succeeded romanticism. Future authors such as Charles Dickens with London and Dostoevsky with St. Petersburg would follow in this tradition.

More at www.theatre.ubc.ca

Honoré de Balzac’s

olD goriot

Museum Official

Comte de Restaud

Vicomte de Beauséant

Gondureau

Madame Vauquer

Mademoiselle Michonneau

Comtesse de l'Ambermesnil

Vicomtesse de Beauséant

Eugène's mother

Vautrin

Old Goriot

Sylvie

Duchesse de Langeais

Poiret

Stephen Aberle*

Patti Allan*

Mary Black

Anna Hagan*

David Mackay*

richard Newman*

gina Stockdale*

Alec Willows*

Michael Dowler

Mark Haney

Joelysa Pankanea

Clarinet and Bass Clarinet

Double Bass

Marimba

Musicians

Cast

*Appears courtesy of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association

Sarah Afful

Spencer Atkinson

Wil Carlos

Jocelyn gauthier

Max gilbert

Kevin Kraussler

Jameson Parker

Cecile roslin

Becky Shrimpton

Kevin Stark

Madame Couture

Eugène de Rastignac

Christophe

Anastasie de Restaud

Agathe

Sewerman

Agent

Baron de Nucingen

Policeman One

Police Clerk

Maxime de Trailles

Jacques

Tailor

Sewerman’s Assistant

Maurice

D’Ajuda-Pinto

Policeman Two

Messenger from Taillefer

Footman

Delphine de Nucingen

Laure

Victorine

Horace Bianchon

Cast

Production

James Fagan Tait*

Joelysa Pankanea

Sarah Rodgers*

Mara Gottler

Sydney Cavanagh

Robert Gardiner

James Foy

Robin Richardson*

Pamela Hawthorn,

Allyson McGrane

Adapted and Directed by

Music Composed and Directed by

Associate Director

Costume Designer

Assistant to the Costume Designer

Scenography

Projection & lighting Design Associate

Stage Manager

Producers for Western gold theatre

AcknowledgementsBard on the Beach, Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company,

Arts Club Theatre, Sal Ferreras (VCC School of Music),

Martin Kinch (Playwright’s Theatre Centre), Shane Birley

*Appears courtesy of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association

Please turn off all pagers and cellular telephones.

The use of cameras or any other recording device is prohibited during the performance.

Production

Jay Henrickson

Jim Fergusson, Don Griffiths

Odessa Cadieux-Rey, Jenny Margueratt

Janet Bickford, Lynn Burton

Sydney Cavanagh

Line Richard, Patricia Smith

Amira Jawad, Christine Pampel

Patrice Yapp

Christine Hackman

Nina Prelog

Jamie Desjardins, Megan Gilron,

Jui Kang, Arthur Krumins

Maya Mohammadali

James Foy

Jay Baker-French

Liz Baca, Jim Fergusson, Don Griffiths,

Jay Taylor

Yulia Shtern

Linda Fenton Malloy

Ian Patton

Jennifer Chin

Production Manager

technical Direction

Assistant Stage Managers

Props Supervisors

Wardrobe Mistress

Costume Cutters

Costume First Hands

Costume Sewer

Wig and Facials Stylist

Milliner

Dressers

lighting operator

Projections operator

lighting Crew

Set Construction

Scenic Artist

Production Web Site

Production Poster & Program Design

Administrative Assistant for Western gold

Stephen AberleA graduate of Studio 58, Stephen is a quirkily prolific Vancouver actor, singer, songwriter and activist. He played in Victoria’s Men and Poems To Love for Western Gold. Selected other credits include the title role in J.B. for the Cathedral Guild for the Arts, Gayev in The Cherry Orchard for The Chekhov Project, and many roles for The Shakespeare Project and September With Sondheim, all at Christ Church Cathedral. He co-joked Palestine, Israel & Me: A Power Play at the World Peace Forum. He was a founding member of No Bells & Whistles Theatre, playing Torvald in A Doll’s House and directing The Lady’s Not For Burning for them. Future projects include recording The Monster Child, his ballad of jealousy, betrayal, love and global devastation.

Sarah AffulSarah Afful is thrilled to be working in Jimmy Tait’s Old Goriot.Graduating this April from the UBC BFA Acting program, other memorable UBC theatre credits include: Mrs. Antrobus in The Skin of Our Teeth, Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Emily Dictionary in Thomson Highway’s The Rez Sisters. Sarah looks forward to working as an

actor in Vancouver and doing projects she is proud of.

Patti AllanPatti is a graduate of the SFU Contemporary School for the Arts. A four-time Jessie Award recipient, Patti has appeared in Film, TV and Theatre Productions throught the country. Favourite productions include: Cabaret, Waiting for the Parade (Showcase Theatre), 42nd Street (Royal City), The Soldier’s Tale (Turning Point Ensemble/SFU), Crime and Punishment, Asylum of the Universe (NeWorld Theatre), Funny Girl, Arsenic and Old Lace, Hamlet, Imaginary Invalid (Arts Club), A Christmas Carol, The Music Man, 3 Tall Women (Vancouver Playhouse), Film and TV Credits include: Love Money, Godiva’s, The L Word, Reefer Madness, The 4400, Huff, Dead Like Me, Good Boy, and numerous movies of the week. Patti teaches at SFU, directs for The Vancouver Youth Theatre, Is an Artist In Residence for the Vancouver School Board and is a board member for the “Turning Point Ensemble” Chamber Orchestra. She also loves singing with The Swing Sister’s Trio.

Spencer AtkinsonSpencer Atkinson is thrilled to be apart of such a vibrant and dynamic cast and show. Spencer made his professional acting debut last spring with Blackbird Theatre in Peer Gynt and has appeared at UBC in The Skin of Our Teeth, Big Love, Mother Courage and Her Children and A Misummer Night’s Dream. A former member of the national cycling team and national medallist, Spencer is now in his Final Year of the BFA Acting Program.

Mary BlackMary Black is a Toronto native who moved west to Vancouver over 12 years ago and resumed a career that was interrupted more than 30 years ago to raise her 4 children. She now

has an active career in TV series & movies and supporting roles in many feature films and is currently completing feature film Personal Effects with Michelle Pfeiffer . Her acting career had begun at Toronto’s Crest Theatre in the 1960’s. A few years ago she returned to stagework and has appeared in The Gin Game, The Women, Arthur Kopit’s Chamber Music and David Ives’ Sex, Lies & David Ives. She acted in several plays in The Shakespeare Project at Christ Church Cathedral. She’s delighted to be working with such a great group in Old Goriot. It doesn’t get any better.

Odessa Cadieux-ReyThis is Odessa’s first time donning the black garb and lurking in the wings. She just finished directing The Tempest with UBC Players’ Club and previously acted, most recently in Socrates on Trial at UBC. She has enjoyed every experience she has had in theatre and hopes to explore even more, working primarily towards a career in directing. It has been a pleasure working with this cast and crew and she is incredibly glad to have had the opportunity.

Wil CarlosWil has been acting on stage since he was 8 years old in the far east… Nova Scotia far east, and is extremely happy and fortunate to be working with such an incredible cast and crew on this years production of Old Goriot. Wil has been seen on the UBC stage previously in 2006 in Hot ‘L’ Baltimore and Shadows of Troy as Achilles in 2007. Aside from working with such great professionals

and students, this show has also been as close as Wil has come to working in French theatre, which is one of his theatrical goals. Enjoy the show!

Sydney CavanaghThrilled to be part of this production, her 10th with Jimmy Tait and 16th with Mara Gottler. Sydney started with them on Crime and Punishment and has never looked back. It’s been amazing being able to work with such talent, an endless well of creativeness and support. Glad to be home, after a season with Steppenwolf theatre in Chicago, Sydney is now

preparing to design Volpone, and for her 3rd summer at Bard On The Beach. She is a product of Studio 58.

Mike DowlerA native of Vancouver, Mike is a freelance clarinettist specializing in new music and improvisation. He holds a B.Mus. from U.B.C. and a M.A. from City University of New York where he studied with clarinet virtuoso, Charles Neidich. He has a keen interest in working with dancers, actors and new media, having recently participated in Bob Pritchard’s “Interdisciplinary Projects 469B” and Colleen Lanki’s “Mapping Empire” at UBC, as well as many projects with Vancouver New Music and the behind open doors arts collective. Also, he studies and performs Irish traditional music where clarinet is his rogha gléas. But this story isn’t about him—not yet anyway.

Robert GardinerRobert Gardiner, has designed scenery and/or lighting at numerous theatres, including the Arts Club (Vancouver), Charlotte Martin (Seattle), Organic (Chicago), Belfry (Victoria), Gateway (Richmond), and Centaur (Montreal). He has also worked as a director, technical director, stage carpenter, scenic artist, and actor. His designs have appeared

in a number of exhibitions, including the Canadian National Exhibit at the Prague Quadrennial in 1998, and have received several Jesse Richardson Awards. Robert is Professor of Design for Theatre at UBC Vancouver, and is delighted to have this opportunity to work with such a wonderful artistic team and cast and participate the PuSh festival.

Jocelyn GauthierJocelyn is very excited to be a part of this production of Honore de Balzac’s Old Goriot . This show has been an incredibly rewarding experience, and she feels very privileged that she was given the opportunity to both learn from, and work with, such an amazingly talented group of people. Jocelyn is in her second year of the B.F.A. Acting program and recently,

she has been seen as “Iphigenia” and “Briseis” in The Shadows of Troy, as “The Girl” in Lanford Wilson’s Hot-L-Baltimore, and as “Rose” in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Ruddigore. She would like to thank her family, friends, and all of the people involved in the production for their unending support and encouragement.

Max GilbertMax Gilbert hails from Minneapolis, Minnesota and is currently in his third year pursuing a BA in Theatre. Previously he has appeared on the Freddie Wood stage in Camyar Chai’s production of Mother Courage and Her Children, at the TELUS in Shadows of Troy, as well as several shows in last year’s Brave New Playrites Festival. Max is excited to have been asked to join the enormously talented cast of Old Goriot.

Mara GottlerMara’s recent design credits include Richard III (Studio 58), A Doll’s House (Chemainus Festival Theatre) and Revenge (Felix Culpa). As resident costume designer for Bard on the Beach, Mara designed all four main stage and studio stage productions last season: The Taming of the Shrew; Romeo and Juliet; Julius Caesar and Timon of Athens. A

strong supporter of independent companies using original material with a historical perspective, she has designed such premiere projects as the Governor General’s Award-winning play Unity:1918 (Touchstone Theatre); Crime and Punishment: The Musical (Neworld Theatre/ PuSh International Festival); Brilliant: The Blinding Enlightenment of Nikola Tesla (N.A.C./ Electric Compnay) and more recently, Studies in Motion (Electric Company/Theatre at UBC/PuSh International Festival). A recipient of numerous Jesse Richardson Theatre Awards, Mara has been twice nominated for the prestigious Siminovitch Theatre Prize and has had her work showcased at the World Stage Design Exhibition. Her recently launched fashion line has been featured in national magazines and her gowns have graced the Leo Award presentations.

Anna HaganAnna has worked at most of the regional theatres in Canada. Selected and memorable acting experiences include Cyrano de Bergerac, Music Man, Cherry Orchard, A Man for All Seasons, Beggar’s Opera, Citadel Theatre and The Mill on the Floss, at World Stage Festival and Soul Pepper Theatre, all under the direction of Robin Phillips. Anna was last seen in Tempus Theatre’s inaugural production of A Delicate Balance, and the World Premier of Revenge, for Felix Culpa Theatre, and The Stone Face, for Damfino Theatre, both in Vancouver. For the Bardathon, Anna played Mistress Quickly in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Hermione in A Winter’s Tale. Directing credits include: She Stoops to Conquer, Waiting for Godot, The Merry Wives of Windsor, for Arena Theatre, White Rock, Henry IV Part 1, Henry V, JB, and Uncle Vanya at Christ Church Cathedral, and Noel Coward’s Waiting in the Wings, United Players, Vancouver. Film and TV credits include guest appearances in Da Vinci’s Inquest, Cold Squad, The L Word, The 4400, Dead Like Me, She recently completed the film Judicial Indiscretion. Anna is also co-artistic director of Western Gold Theatre.

Mark HaneyRecent theatre highlights include Timon of Athens at Bard on the Beach and A Christmas Carol at the Vancouver Playhouse. Mark is a substitute musician with the Vancouver Symphony, and performs with many bands and songwriters including The Beige and Rodney Decroo. In the spring Mark will be releasing the debut album by “Hot

Ardent Zeal,” his solo electro-acoustic project.

Kevin KrausslerKevin is ecstatic to have the opportunity to work with the creative team of James Fagan Tait and Joelysa Pankanea again. Kevin is a graduate of the UBC B.F.A. Acting Program and a current student at UBC. His Theatre at UBC credits include Mother Courage and Her Children, Life After God (Touchstone), Guliano in Big Love, Jamie Gangel in Beautiful Thing, and Jim O’ Connor in The Glass Menagerie. He most recently appeared onstage in both Timon of Athens and Julius Caesar at Bard on the Beach (2007). Kevin would like to express his gratitude to the cast and crew for their warmth and dedication.

David MackayDavid is excited to be back at his alma mater with such a great group of people working on another Tait/Pankanea project. David has worked extensively in Vancouver as an actor, playwright director. Last year he wrote the highly successful comedy, Thicker than Water for his company, Yorick Theatre. David has worked with many local companies including, the Playhouse, Bard on the Beach, the Arts Club, Axis, and Ruby Slippers. He is one of the original creators/performers of The Number 14. David is excited to have studied at UBC with some of Vancouver’s most prominent theatre and film artists which include, Tom Scholte, Lois Anderson, Michelle Porter, Sue Bertoia, Kerry Davidson, Peter Wilds, Kathy Duborg, and Laara Sadiq to name a few. He predicts this crop of students will contribute significantly to Vancouver’s flourishing theatre community.

Allyson McGraneAllyson McGrane is a Vancouver-based business consultant who specializes in the arts, non-profits and small business start-ups. As a partner in Left Right Minds Initiatives, Allyson has over eight years of experience with consulting, mentoring, giving workshops, strategic planning and producing events. Since 2001, she has worked with over 75 non-profit arts groups and helped raise more than $2 million to fund various projects. She is also a lawyer who graduated from the University of Victoria, and now runs her own sole practice as McGrane & Company. Allyson serves as the board president for TTS Theatre Terrific Society—an organization which focuses on providing theatre education and performance opportunities for disabled artists.

Richard NewmanRichard Newman is thrilled to be working once again with Jimmy and Joelysa, having appeared in their production of Crime and Punishment. Recent local appearances include The Diary of Anne Frank (Arts Club); Moonlight and Magnolias (Playhouse); The Fly Fisher’s Companion, Having Hope at Home (Gateway); and The One That Got Away: A Play in a Pool (Electric Company/Only Animal). Younger TV watchers might recognise Richard’s voice as that of Rhinox in Beast Wars, Mayor Knightley in Edgar and Ellen, and Franklin the Turtle’s father. He lives in New Westminster with actress Lisa Bunting and their soon to be 12 year old daughter, Sofia.

Joelysa PankaneaOriginally from Kenya, East Africa, Joelysa has been composing, musical directing and performing original live music for Vancouver’s vibrant theatre scene for the past decade and has worked extensively with award winning director James Fagan Tait. Her work has earned her two Jessie awards and multiple nominations for past productions and she is most noted for her original music for James Fagan Tait’s adaptation of Crime and Punishment (Neworld Theatre). Recent Credits: Timon of Athens (Bard on the Beach), Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol (Playhouse Theatre Company), and Griffin and Sabine (Arts Club). Upcoming: Saint Joan (Chemainus Theatre), The Perfect Detonator (a Jay White animated short) and King Lear (Bard on the Beach).

Jameson ParkerJameson is thrilled to be working with such a talented collective of individuals, on this amazing script and would like to thank James Fagan Tait, Joelysa Pankanea and Theatre

at UBC for giving him the opportunity. His credits include Anything Goes, Guys and Dolls, and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying to name a few on stage; most recently he worked on Lifetime’s made for TV movie The Party Never Stops directed by David Wu. Jameson was also part of Canadian Idol’s Top 100 in 2006.

Robin RichardsonMost recently Robin Stage Managed Touchstone and neworld Theatres’ production of Tideline. Other recent credits include Horseshoes and Handgrenades’ 4:48 Psychosis and the Fringe hit Get off the Cross Mary with Small Brown Paper Bag Productions. Other SM credits are shows with Theatre One, Urban Ink, Little Apples Equity Co-op, Section 8, Megakins Productions, Hoarse Raven Theatre, Quickchange Productions, Carousel Theatre, Arts Club Theatre, Passion Play Productions and Barestage Productions. Robin has also worked in various technical capacities for Up In The Air Theatre, Pacific Theatre, Rumble Theatre, Theatre Under The Stars, Section 8 Theatre, Dance Arts Vancouver, Studio 58 and The Burnaby Arts Council. Some TV and Film credits include roles on Davinci’s Inquest, Stargate sg1, Men in Trees and Psych. Canadian films Eighteen, Still Life with Scissors and Various Positions. Robin is a graduate of Studio 58.

Sarah RodgersSarah is a director and an actor; she graduated in 2003 with her MFA in directing from UBC. Highlights: Cat and Mouse (Sheep) Sea Theatre, Jessie Richardson recipient for Outstanding direction; Under Milk Wood (UBC); The Elephant Man (Pacific Theatre); The Impromptu of Outremont (United Players); A Syringa Tree Outreach (Vancouver Playhouse); A Christmas in Wales (Chemainus Theatre); Driving Miss Daisy (Pacific Theatre) and most recently My Fair Lady for The Gateway Theatre. Upcoming: Island of Bliss (Western Canada Theatre) and St. Joan (Chemainus Theatre). Sarah has been thrilled and honoured to work on this beautiful show. Thank you Jimmie for bringing me into the HOUSE OF LOVE.

Cecile RoslinIn her last show before graduating from UBC with a BFA in theatre, Cecile can’t help but feel tremendous gratitude towards the teachers, classmates and directors that

have guided her through this process. Thank you, with every fiber of my being, thank you all. Past UBC credits include Veronique St. Pierre in The Rez Sisters, Snout in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Olympia in Big Love and Gladys in Skin of Our Teeth. A special thanks to James Fagan Tait and Sarah Rogers for this astounding opportunity. You are both amazing.

Becky ShrimptonBecky Shrimpton is in her second year of the UBC BFA program and is pleased as spiked punch to be working with such a delightful ensemble on a wonderful adaptation of a heart breaking novel. She has had an exciting time this year first with her role as Electra in Shadows of Troy and now as Victorine Taillfer. She conferred with her mother to inquire as to what it is about her that reads as, “Emotionally Troubled Youth”. Her mother has denied responsibility but suggests you attend Dybbuk on the Fredric Wood stage from March 28-April 6 to see Becky play a rather jolly elderly lady. She would like to thank the audience for supporting local theatre and hopes that you have a grand evening out. And gentlemen, perhaps you should buy her dinner afterwards.

Kevin StarkKevin is thrilled to get the chance to be a part of such a talented company of artists. Getting to work with seasoned professionals while still in the midst of his university education has been a tremendous opportunity. Kevin is a graduate of Capilano College’s Theatre Diploma program as well as their Directing practicum program. Playing

Horace Bianchon, the medical student, in Balzac’s Old Goriot has fulfilled one of Kevin’s lifelong dreams. He can now actually use the phrase, “I’m not a doctor, but I played one on stage.” You can catch Kevin playing Chonen next in UBC’s production of A Dybbuk that goes up in March. Finally, Kevin would like to thank James Fagan Tait and Joelysa Pankanea for the amazing opportunity and all the support. Enjoy the play...............orama.

Gina StockdaleMost recent credit is a 2007 Leo for best female in a short film for her work in Regarding Sarah, written and directed by UBC film alumni Michelle Porter. Enormous thanks to Anna and Pam at Western Gold, Jimmy, Joelysa, Sarah and the whole Old Goriot ensemble for this creative experience, not to mention the brain gymnastics of learning lines for the stage again.

James Fagan TaitDirected: Timon of Athens (Bard on the Beach), Revenge (Felix culpa), Thicker Than Water (Yorick Productions), Griffin and Sabine (Arts Club Theatre), The Bloody Clean Up (Les Saints/neworld) and How I Learned to Drive (Overdrive Productions).Adapted and directed: A Christmas Carol (Vancouver Playhouse) and Crime

and Punishment (neworld/PuSh/Vancouver Moving Theatre). Adapted: Vasily, the Luckless (Boca del Lupo), The Shoes That Were danced to Pieces (Boca del Lupo). Upcoming: Directing The Tiny Apocalypse (Rumble’s Tremors Festival) and adapting and directing King Lear (Bard on the Beach).

Alec WillowsAlec started his career in the early 70’s at the Shaw Festival and has since worked in theatres across Canada and America. In the 80’s he worked with the “Flying Karamazov Bros.” and appeared on Broadway in their productions of Comedy of Errors and Juggle or Die. He also originated the role of Manny in John Gray’s Rock and Roll and toured Canada

in several productions. Alec has starred in the Canadian comedy films Toyko Cowboy and Harmony Cats and was a regular on the CBC sitcoms Airwaves and Max Glick. He recently appeared at the Stanley Theatre in David King’s Up Island and will appear this year in his new play Cover. He has just returned from Calgary’s Alberta Theatre Projects where he performed in Paul Ledoux’s world premiere of Still Desire You.

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) was born at Tours on May 20, 1799. His father, Bernard François Balssa, who adopted the form of the family name made familiar by the novelist, came of peasant stock from the south of France. Honoré went to school at Vendôme, Tours, and Paris, later proceeding to study law, and spent three years in a solicitor’s office. But when his father wished him to devote himself definitely to the practice of law he revolted, and at the age of twenty-one took up with determination the profession of letters.

For five years he lived in very straitened circumstances, producing unsuccessful dramas and a large number of equally unsuccessful novels, chiefly after the pattern of the English Gothic novel. Half- starving in a Paris garret, Balzac wrote sensational novels to order, publishing them under a pseudonym. The prospect of making a living by his pen remaining dark, he went into business in 1825 as a publisher, printer, and type-founder; but all he seems to have gained from this enterprise was a large debt which burdened him ever after, some experience of life, and a knowledge of the details of business, of which he availed himself in his later writings.

In 1829 he again began to publish his own work, and his historical novel, Les Chouans, marks the real beginning of his literary career. This work is of a distinctly romantic type. The Physiologie du mariage, published in the same year, is as distinctly realistic.

About 1842 he set about planning his books as part of a vast

Comédie humaine, into which scheme he fitted, as far as possible, the works he had already issued. Eventually becoming a 95 volume collection La Comédie Humaine is a collection of interlinked novels and stories depicting French society in the period of the Restoration and the July Monarchy (1815-1848). The collection was subdivided into scenes from private life, provincial life, political life, military life, and country life; and outside of these groups were philosophical and analytical studies. Among the most important titles are La Peau de chagrin, Le Curé de Tours, Eugénie Grandet, L’Illustre Gaudissart, La Recherche de l’absolu, La Femme de trente ans, Le Père Goriot, Séraphita, Histoire de la grandeur et de la décadence de César Birotteau, Ursule Mironet, and La Cousine Bette. Balzac’s two great gifts were a colossal imagination and a capacity for minute observation. From the first came a romantic tendency which crops out here and there throughout his work; from the second the realism which makes his Comédie so wonderful a picture of France in the second quarter of the nineteenth century.

Certainly Balzac ranks among the great masters of the novel and is credited with helping to initiate the new realistic school of French literature which succeeded romanticism. Instead of seeking exceptional heroes, Balzac aimed at the close and painstaking study of the men and women of his time. His plan of composition illustrates his careful method. This was the method of the photograph or of the daguerreotype, the close reproduction of details of life and manners. Consequently, the novels of Balzac are most valuable documents for the study of the period they chiefly describe, the reign of Louis Philippe, when the moneyed bourgeoisie or middle-class was in control, and when material interests were much more prevalent than one would infer from reading the romanticists alone. Balzac’s stories are apt to deal with the selfish and sordid side of life, but that results rather from the social conditions of the time or from the bias of his mind than from the inherent demands of his method.

In spite of the amount and popularity of his work, Balzac was continually in financial straits, partly because of his bad business management, partly because his habit of rewriting his books after they were in proof increased enormously the cost of production. Balzac corrected and recorrected his work in proof until the original text was unrecognizable in its final form. No man ever labored more persistently in his profession. He would write sixteen hours a day, and keep it up for weeks; and it is little wonder that ultimately his constitution broke down.

For the last eighteen years of his life he was devoted to a Madame Hanska, a wealthy Polish countess, with whom he corresponded and whom he occasionally visited. They were finally married in March, 1850; but scarcely had Balzac settled down to enjoy the long-deferred fulfillment of his desires than he was seized with heart disease, and died on the 17th of August of that year.

“Body to body he seizes modern society; from all he wrests something, from these an illusion, from those a hope; from one a catch-word, from another a mask. He ransacked vice, he dissected passion. He searched out and sounded man, soul, heart, entrails, brain,—the abyss that each one has within himself.

- From the eulogy for Honoré de Balzac delivered at his grave side by Victor Hugo

2007 - 2008JANUARY 24 - FEBRUARY 23

A MAN FOR ALL SEASONSAnd when the last law was cut down

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A MIDNIGHT THEATRE COLLECTIVE PRODUCTION FEATURING RON REED, DAMON CALDERWOOD, TRISH PATTENDEN, DIRK VAN STRALEN, WILLIAM SAMPLES, ADAM BERGQUIST, JULIUS CHAPPLE, EVANGELA DUECK DIRECTED BY JEREMY TOW COSTUME DESIGN BY TRACY WRIGHT SOUND DESIGN BY DAN AMOS STAGE MANAGEMENT BY LOIS DAWSON

by Robert Bolt

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In association with:

Western Gold Theatre is a professional theatre company founded by Joy Coghill in 1994, in order to utilize and showcase the talents of mature Canadian performers. The company aims to expand and enrich the lives of both senior performers and their diverse audiences and at the same time serve as a creative role model for our expanding senior population. Currently, the company is under the direction of three Co-Artistic Directors: Pamela Hawthorn, Anna Hagan and Don Mowatt.

Robert Watts, President Joseph Shaw Thor Arngrim Frank Lindsay Nuala Woodham Severin Morin

We invite you to become a member of the Western Gold Theatre Society and join the many people who enjoy our performances throughout the year. You can purchase a two-year membership for the Society for $10.00. All our members receive information about the Society’s events and a tax-receipt for dues and donations.

Western gold theatre Society Kerrisdale PO PO Box 18071 Vancouver, BC v6m 4l3

www.westerngoldtheatre.com

Western Gold Theatre

Members & Donors List

Joy Coghill, Honorary Member

Diane AbbottStephen AberleThor ArngrimSusan AstleyHerb & Mary AuerbachRoberta BeiserSherry BieAnn CameronMarnie Carter

Jennifer ChinCarolyn RobertsAnna HaganPamela HawthornSandra HeadJane HeymanLois Horan Terrence Kelly Ken KramerMartin LandmannElizabeth A. LaneF.A. LindsayBarbara Lowy

Allyson McGraneSeverin MorinDon MowattJoseph ShawKathryn ShawTom ShorthouseBarbara & Judah ShumiatcherJohn A. StottMary SzigetyLee & Sonya Taylor Jack ThorneRay WallisRobert Watts J.B. & Nuala WoodhamMarion & William WoodsonMax Wyman

Board of Directors

Become a member of Western Gold Theatre:

Co-Artistic Directors

Administrative Director

Anna Hagan, Pamela Hawthorn and Don Mowatt

Allyson McGrane

Theatre at UBC offers a comprehensive range of degrees in the study of Theatre and includes the option to study in an interdisciplinary environment with Film, Creative Writing and other university disciplines. Our objective is to develop students’ imaginative, technical, and intellectual skills equally as they prepare to embark on a career in theatre and related arts.

Jerry Wasserman Stephen Heatley

Gerald Vanderwoude Jay Henrickson Ian Patton Deb Pickman Linda Fenton Malloy

Theatre at UBC

Faculty

Professors: Robert Gardiner Jerry Wasserman

Associate Professors: Cathy Burnett Bob Eberle Ronald Fedoruk Alison Green Stephen Heatley Stephen Malloy Gayle Murphy

Assistant Professors: Kirsty Johnston Tom Scholte

Emeritus Professors: Errol Durbach Neil Freeman Ian Pratt Charles Seigel Klaus StraussmanStanley Weese John WrightNorman Young

Acting Head Theatre Program Chair

Business Manager Manager, Technical Production

Communications & Audience Services Marketing & Communications

Theatre at UBC Website

Administration

Staff

Janet Bickford Lynn Burton Jean Driscoll-BellJim Fergusson Don GriffithsTony KoelwynCarol LaiKaren Tong

Properties

CostumesStage Carpenters

Box OfficeFinancial Clerk

Program & Graduate Secretary

Adjunct Professors:Norman ArmourSusan BertoiaJohn CooperRachel DitorSkai FowlerPam JohnsonColleen LankiGlynis LeyshonDavid MackayJayson McLeanBill Millerd, CMAdrian MuirMalcolm PagePatrick PennefatherMelissa PollSarah Rodgers Gerri SinclairJohn Webber

Sessional lecturers:Jean Driscoll-BellSandra FerensNeil FreemanElia KirbyMichelle La FlammeHallie MarshallJill Wyness

greenthumb.bc.calinxprint.com

TICKETS:ticketstonight.ca 604 231-7535

At the Door: Students Pay What You Can

STEEL KISSBy Robin FulfordDirected by Patrick McDonald

February 14 - 24Waterfront Theatre

Granville Island

David Cooper Photography

June 4 - 14 | 2008

PRODUCED BY THE CANADIAN THEATRE FESTIVAL SOCIETY AND CO-PRESENTED BY THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE ENGLISH THEATRE

CO-PRESENTED BY

www.magneticnorthfestival.ca

CANADA’S NATIONAL FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY CANADIAN THEATRE IN ENGLISH

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MNTF-UBC Ad.ai 02/11/2007 6:07:43 PM

January 23–26, 2008, 7:30pmFREDERIC WOOD THEATRE AT UBC

Tickets $36/$30 | Theatre at UBC Box Office 604.822.2678

Student rush tickets available only at the door on the night of the performance: $20This show is eligible for PuSh Pass access with a $7.50 surcharge

www.pushfestival.ca www.theatre.ubc.ca

Hey Girl!By Romeo CastellucciSocìetas Raffaello Sanzio“Romeo Castellucci confirmed his rep as contemporary theatre's most audacious

and inventive image-maker with his meditation on women and femininity…

Why is Castellucci's brilliant work not seen Stateside more frequently?”—Variety

The PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, in association with Theatre at UBC

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