Rotary Centre for the Arts
Salloum Rehearsal Hall
421 Cawston Avenue
Kelowna, BC
August 31, 2022 | 7:30 PM
September 2, 2022 | 11:00 AM & 3:30 PM
September 3, 2022 | 5:30 PM
September 4, 2022 | 1:30 PM
Re: Collection will feature multiple vignettes of dance and theatre inspired by a collection of writings by DeAnna MacArthur and choreography by Kurt Werner. These writings explore the ideas of navigating through the important stages of life and the handling of our mental health in times of need. Intertwining the physicality of dance with the tenderness of wordplay draws audience members into this shared world of experience and greater understanding. All stories are supposed to have definable beginnings, middles and ends. But some stories just have light and dark. Some stories have to keep going before you know what happens. Some stories…don’t feel like stories at all.
Meet Our Kelowna Fringe Creative Team
Elana Bizovie (she/her) is a graduate of the University of Alberta, holding a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in anthropology and drama. She also holds a Fine Arts & Communications Diploma, with distinction, in Arts & Cultural Management from MacEwan University. In 2019, Elana co-founded The Virago Collective, a small theatre company focused on connecting artists from all disciplines with the community through thoughtful creation and dialogue.
With a passion for making the arts visible, accessible, and inclusive, Elana focuses on community-based solutions, through all her work, that can help support a sustainable cultural sector. She believes arts education, collaboration, and quality opportunities for both artists and the general public are essential to a healthy and vibrant community. Most recent acting credits include: Savage in Limbo (tVC, 2019); Dracula: The Bloody Truth & In One Night (New Vintage Theatre, 2019); and XXXX (Downleft Alien Individual, 2019).
Hailing from South Auckland, New Zealand, Vancouver-based singer, songwriter, and musician, Niki Kennedy, is dedicated to making music that feels like a big hug whether you want to dance or cry.
Creating within the self-defined “Nostalgia Pop” landscape, Niki’s varied music taste plays a defining role in the creation of her work. Influenced largely by traditional Pop & R&B, Alternative, Rock, and Soul, her composition elements blur genre lines while delivering universal messages and relatable hooks.
Her recent singles ‘The Last Night (Dancing With You)’, ‘Get Back in the Groove’, and ‘Fall Back Into You’ have landed her multiple appearances on television and radio, and she has performed over 400 virtual shows in recent months. Niki was selected as one of 28 participants in the 2021 SOCAN Foundation’s TD Incubator for Creative Entrepreneurship, a program “designed to identify, celebrate, and support the next generation of music creators that have demonstrated extraordinary potential.”. She was named a semi-finalist in the 2021 International Songwriting Competition and won a Finalist Award in the 2021 John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Her latest single, “The Things I Wish I Said” is available now.
Niki hopes that by sharing honestly and vulnerably, listeners will feel seen, heard, and a little less alone. A reminder that it is okay to not be okay as she tries to give the world a hug, one song at a time.
DeAnna MacArthur is, and always has been wrapped up in the beauty of the arts. She grew up in a tiny town, in a musical family, and has been singing, dancing and playing instruments since age 5. She has written an album as part of a singer/songwriter duo, acted and sang in musicals and plays, choreographed, directed and has been the pioneer of many events, groups and projects in Kelowna. Her writing experience has been mostly in music and poetry, and she is excited to transition some of these ideas over to a script. With the support of her fellow artists, she will be putting her ideas and personal experience on the page, to be translated by this amazing team onto the stage!
Originally from Brampton, Ontario, Kurt Werner has been a professional dancer with Ballet Kelowna since the summer of 2012. Prior to his move, he studied with several of Canada's top professional ballet schools including Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, where he graduated from their Ballet Academic Program. During his time with Ballet Kelowna, Kurt has performed in numerous mixed repertoire programs locally in the Okanagan Region, across Canada as well as working with Kelowna Actors Studio and New Vintage Theatre on their past summer productions of Billy Elliot, Mamma Mia, The Little Mermaid, and most recently, Cabaret.
To spur on his choreographic projects, Kurt founded the Evolve Arts Collective striving to work with freelance artists across the Okanagan to promote works that pushes the boundaries between art disciplines. At the same time, creating authentic and raw content in hopes that we can offer audience members a new perspective on matters and ideas.
Toan started performing in High School and graduated from The School of Toronto Dance Theatre in 2011. After graduation, he trained in Beijing with LDTX/雷动天下. He has performed in Toronto, Beijing, Taipei, and Vancouver. He works as a Special Education Teacher in Kelowna and is grateful to be collaborating with Evolve Arts Collective.
Tate Adrian has worked on several theatre projects in Kelowna since 2016. Over the years he has worn many hats as actor, designer, producer, director. He is really looking forward to his time as Stage Manager for Re: Collection and he hopes you enjoy the production!