Active and Interactive Workshop and Family Matinee Will Open Kids’ Eyes to New Possibilities

Horizon Stage Brings Dianna David’s School Of Moves to Spruce Grove on Sunday, October 15

From Filipino dancing to physical theatre, hip hop to props, mechanical engineering to miming, street performer to speaker, Dianna David enjoys playing in all worlds. In 2015 Dianna founded her School of Moves when she realized how important it is to share the possibilities of movement storytelling with children. Dianna and her Faculty of Freshness now tour stage shows and playshops to schools, theatres, communities, and festivals, transforming young lives by opening their eyes to a world of new possibilities. Horizon Stage is super-excited to be bringing Dianna David’s School of Moves to the capital region on Sunday, October 15.

Dianna and Faculty of Freshness member Char Loco will teach a Make Moves Playshop: Prop and Object Play from 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Energetic 5 to 12 year olds will learn basic musical expression, dance footwork, body isolation techniques, and contact juggling skills. Dianna and Char will also share helpful tips from their real-life experiences on how to master the art of self-discovery. Their students will gain a better understanding of physicality, strength, thoughts, words, creativity and passions, and be encouraged to develop into their own strong and confident selves. Cost for the Make Moves Playshop is $15 per child and registrations will be accepted until October 10.

Then, at 2 p.m. everyone is welcome to attend Dianna David’s School of Moves stage show; the first Family Matinee of Horizon Stage’s 2017-18 Season. Using her many skills and talents Dianna will mesmerize you with her musicality and dance moves. She will playfully pull at your heart stings, inspire you to take a closer look at the world around you, and help you to see that everything you have ever wanted is right at your fingertips. Dianna infuses 13 years-worth of artistic experiences into her movement mastery and manipulation of objects and props to take her audiences into a world where stories of triumphs and transformations are both spoken and shown. And she might even ask you to do a little bit of moving too. Free preshow crafts and games in the lobby start at 1 p.m. Tickets are just $12 for all audience members - parents, grandparents, and kids alike. 

Fill a Sunday in the fall with lots of fun - let your children experience the excitement and wonder that is Dianna David School of Moves. Register them to participate in her Playshop, bring them to see her show, or why not do both!  Register and/or buy tickets at the City Hall Ticket Centre (315 Jespersen Ave), call 780-962-8995, or do everything online through www.horizonstage.com.

Edmonton Band Puts a Modern Twist on the Classic Country Sound

Horizon Stage Presents the Dungarees, with Opening Act Steve Newsome, on October 14

Five-piece country/roots-rockers The Dungarees take the undeniable lyrical styling, twangy telecaster, and steel guitar they love from classic country and inject it with harmony, modern intensity, and pop sensibility.

The Dungarees are an Edmonton super group.  All five members have had successful music careers in other well-known local bands before they joined forces and became The Dungarees. Bassist/vocalist James Murdoch was the lead singer for The James Murdoch Band, guitarist/vocalist Robb Angus was in The Wheat Pool from 2005 - 2012, guitarist/vocalist Kiron Jhass was a member of The Uncas, steel player Darrek Anderson performed with Old Reliable, and drummer Ben Shillabeer worked with Social Code and the Boom Chucka Boys. Together they are one of Canada’s fastest rising Country music groups and on Saturday, October 14 they will take a step just 20-minutes west of the city to perform at Horizon Stage in Spruce Grove.

No strangers to award nominations and wins - the Dungarees’ 2015 single "Ain't Through Being Happy Yet" won an Edmonton Music Award and the band was nominated for Group of The Year at the 2016 Alberta Country Music Awards. The Dungarees won $100,953 in prize money from Alberta Music’s 2016 Project Wild artist development program and were honored to be shortlisted for multiple 2017 Canadian Country Music Awards - including a Bass Player of the Year nomination for James Murdoch.

Produced by legendary multi-Grammy Award winning producer Paul Worley, the Dungarees’ most-recent upbeat summer single “Anywhere With You” was a follow-up to “I’m Down” which was played in heavy rotation from coast to coast on commercial country radio. The Dungarees have performed at marquee festivals including Boots and Hearts Music Festival, the Calgary Stampede, Big Valley Jamboree, Country Thunder, Dauphin CountryFest and SunFest. They have proudly
opened for Blake Shelton, Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert, and Dwight Yoakam. In October 2016 they helped raise more than $10,000 for the Alberta Cancer Foundation by performing for 24 hours at the Yellowhead Brewery.

Opening for the Dungarees at Horizon Stage will be local country singer/songwriter Steve Newsome. Born and raised in southern Alberta Steve now hangs his hat west of Stony Plain. Steve’s proud farm, ranch, and rural past, have given him plenty of inspiration for his songwriting - from pack horses and back country rodeos to making big rig wheels and equipment tracks turn. He has played a number of songwriter showcases throughout Alberta and has shared the stage with Jason McCoy, Jake Mathews, and Adam Gregory.

Put on your cowboy hat and boots and rock the night away with The Dungarees and Steve Newsome on October 14! Doors open at 7:15 p.m. and Steve will take the stage at 7:30. Tickets are just $35 for Adults and $30 for Students and Seniors and may be purchased at the City Hall Ticket Centre (315 Jespersen Ave), by phone at 780-962-8995 or 1-888-655-9090, and online at ticketpro.ca.

A Toast to Lawrie Seligman.

Lawrie Seligman was with the City of Spruce Grove from 2000-2014, first as Theatre Manager for Horizon Stage, then as Director of Cultural Services. He passed away on August 28, 2017. This is the toast that was given at the gathering we held on September 20 to celebrate Lawrie's life.

"Thanks for coming to celebrate with us, and filling this space with friendship.

Marion, Lawrie's wife, asked me to extend her regrets; she just can't be here yet. It's too hard. She wanted me to express her gratitude for everyone who has helped put this gathering together, and for everyone's kindness and support. She appreciates knowing how loved Lawrie is.

Lawrie had a passion for whatever was in front of him. Radio, television, theatre, music. LIFE. He wanted us to make the most of what we had, always. Don’t rest on your laurels, don’t be satisfied with “good enough”. But when it’s done, look back and be proud.

Lawrie meant something different to each of us. He had a way of making each person feel important, and that's an admirable quality. Lawrie will be missed, loved, and remembered for his contribution not only to our work, but to our lives. We are better people for having known him.

I'm not going to give a eulogy, that's not why we're here. Instead, I'm going to ask you to remember what made Lawrie special in your life, and consider how you can share that with someone else. 

I'm going to ask you to raise your glass, take a deep breath, and send all the love in this room to our beautiful friend. 

To Lawrie"

End of the Rainbow Sheds Light on Judy Garland's Troubled Twilight Years

Horizon Stage Presents ACEproductions: End of the Rainbow on Wednesday, October 11

                                                                                                                                                      

There are moments in the theatre when you lean forward in your seat with shivers down your spine and realize there is nowhere on earth you’d rather be! End of The Rainbow is a true account of Judy Garland’s twilight years; an all-too-mortal goddess on the eve of her destruction revealed in a way seldom found in the tabloids. See that perilous bipolar energy that so often animates great performers. Touch this woman at your own risk - she burns. Every chapter of Judy’s history is alive; she is foul-mouthed, flirtatious, erotic, childlike, unedited, manipulative, and supremely self-conscious as she makes both love and war with her keepers. She has a strong sense of herself as a human tragedy on a world stage, but her sense of humour, and the absurdity of it all, is just as sharp and appallingly funny, and then…she sings! And all those disparate elements coalesce into a coherent riveting whole.

Written by Peter Quilter and directed by Claude Giroux, ACEproductions: End of the Rainbow is the Canadian premier production of a show that was a huge hit on Broadway and in London’s West  End. This Canadian cast is led by award-winning Vancouver singer and actress Janet Gigliotti as Judy Garland, along with Jeffery Hoffman, Gordon Roberts, Matthew Simmons and Robin Clegg. After successful runs at Jericho Arts Centre and the Deep Cove Shaw Theatre in Vancouver the company is excited to bring their show to Alberta where they will make a stop at Horizon Stage in Spruce Grove on Wednesday, October 11, at 7:30 p.m.

ACEproductions was formed in 2003 by Damon Calderwood and Gordon Roberts to present the best small cast plays and musicals with the intention of creating an ongoing touring company using the finest professional talent available. They are a not-for-profit society with a mandate to reach communities and audiences that do not receive regular touring live theatre.

Electrifying, intense, and real, ACEproductions: End of the Rainbow will leave you breathless. It is must-see theatre for Judy Garland fans but due to the adult nature of its content it is not recommended for anyone under the age of 14. Tickets are $35 for Adults and $30 for Students and Seniors and may be purchased at the City Hall Ticket Centre (315 Jespersen Ave), by phone at 780-962-8995 or 1-888-655-9090, and online at ticketpro.ca.

"It is Gigliotti leading the entire production with a voluminous voice and verve."

- Sharon DeMarko Gordon, Downtowner

“Gigliotti is petite, but has big pipes and she delivers more than twenty classics including The Trolley Song, For Me and My Gal, Come Rain or Come Shine, Just In Time, You Made Me Love You and, of course, Over The Rainbow.”

- Jo Ledingham, Theatre Reviews

“What a great voice this Gigliotti has! Gigliotti’s voice is sultry and beautiful. Judy Garland would be proud to know that this lady would play the role of Judy one day.”

Karen Fitzgibbon, Review Vancouver