Play review: Intimate Apparel

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February 20, 2012

Timeless themes and relationships transcend the early 20th century setting

Despite taking place in 1905, Intimate Apparel portrays modern truths. The play tells the story of Esther (Marci T. House), a single black woman who sews intimate apparel for wealthy “Fifth Avenue” women.

Through Esther’s relationships with her landlord Mrs. Dickson, her sex worker friend Mayme, her wealthy white client Mrs. VanBuren, her Jewish fabric supplier Mr. Marks, and her Caribbean pen pal George, Intimate Apparel depicts the tensions occurring in early 20th century New York City between wealth and poverty, black and white, and love and practicality.

Modern audiences will relate to Esther’s character as she faces timeless problems such as money trouble, too-distant aspirations, and mixed feelings about the nature of love. House’s nuanced and human portrayal of Esther — balancing the character’s sensibility and pragmatism with her hope and giddiness — also help audiences identify with her character.

The depictions of Mr. Marks and George were similarly enjoyable and revealed insights still relevant today regarding the troubles facing immigrants in North America. Young managed to avoid making a caricature out of the theatrical and mildly neurotic character of Mr. Marks, the Jewish fabric salesman, while Herbert carefully manipulated his controlled line delivery and voice — which was sweet, thick, and dangerously sticky as molasses — in his portrayal of George, a labourer from Panama.

However, not all of the characters are portrayed so delicately. Esther’s friend Mayme, as played by Regis, was altogether too contemporary for a play set over a century ago. Her modern African-American accent, along with phrases such as “I’m just playin’ with you” put Regis’ scenes out of sync with the rest of the play. Similarly, in what seems like a weak effort to throw extra social commentary into the story that would be relevant to a modern viewer, the romantic subplot involving Mrs. VanBuren, Esther’s white client, was neither well-developed nor believable and distracted from the main story. Esther, who the story is centred around, is provided with endless options for action through her relationships and interactions with the other characters. Intimate Apparel leaves audiences with more questions than answers about what the ‘right’ decision would have been — which is perhaps how it manages to be relevant. to its modern audiences.

This Week on Petter Watch: Feb 20th

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February 20, 2012

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By Colin Sharp

‘Rock art’ orchestra

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February 20, 2012

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By Daryn Wright

Conductor-turned-gliding instructor-turned-cellist of anti-orchestra tells his story to The Peak

Dress Led Zeppelin up in a crisp white shirt and tie and you get Bryan Deans of Plastic Acid Orchestra. Sipping espresso in JJ Bean, Deans revealed the mechanics behind the 45-piece orchestra that blends Soundgarden with Shostakovich.

“It’s rock-art fusion. A full symphony sound but with an edge,” said Deans as he described Plastic Acid, accurately named after the collaborative, wacky mixture of elements the group employs. The orchestra is an evolving amoeba of sound, and will soon be fused with the folksy artistry of Maria in the Shower.

Deans began conducting for the graduate students of the University of Victoria’s music program after he was asked if he could switch up his style to accompany some new songs that were weirder than their usual repertoire. “I was like, what does it require, a chainsaw and a little bit of rock and a weird thing here, a weird thing there? So I said yeah, what the hell.” After conducting for three years with UVic, Deans was able to meet tons of student musicians and eventually figured he could do his own show. This spawned the beginnings of Plastic Acid, and the upcoming collaboration with Maria in the Shower.

Martin Reisle, frontman of Maria in the Shower, came to Deans with the idea of collaborating in an unusual place.

“I’m actually a glider pilot. I teach gliding in the Columbia Valley. I was flying gliders up there and this guy came out, this really skinny, little human comes out and said he heard that I played the cello,” Deans relayed. Reisle was looking for someone who was innovative with the cello. After singing the song he had in mind out loud to Deans (one can only imagine this scene occurring on the edge of a cliff somewhere, gliders in the background, two quirky musician cartoon characters humming to each other), Deans agreed. The song, “Train of Pounding Hours” is now done with the full symphony, tying up the end of the show.

Plastic Acid has gone on to play in various bars and clubs in Vancouver, including Caprice. A video online shows the smoky, cramped club filled with music stands and Deans, standing in a corner swinging his conducting baton as the crowd shouts along to “Black Hole Sun”.

“I wanted to change it up so people can see it in a bar environment. Really trying to stay away from standard big time. We have a different setup overall, different genres.” The unique experience of Plastic Acid is meant to be as the name implies: semi-akin to doing acid. The aggressive, brassy pieces are not meant to be absorbed passively in a plush theatre seat, with arms crossed and eyelids drooping; but to be rocked out to and engaged with. This time though, they are moving back into the theatre, taking the stage of the Vogue. “We really want people to yell out and scream and participate,” Deans says. Plastic Acid, infused with Maria in the Shower’s cabaret folk, is anything but your standard, classical orchestra. It’s the rejuvenation of a tuxedo -filled theatre, but in this scenario, audience members are more likely to be donning faded Pink Floyd T-shirts.

Now that the group has come full circle, acquiring a large enough fan base for the Vogue, the anti-orchestra has reached out to be a service group for the Junos. “The organizers want to see interest in the group, as well as a concert series lined up before they do anything.” It’s immediately clear that if Plastic Acid is going to make as large an impact as they should, it’s going to be up to the audience’s participation and adoption of the genre-defying symphony.

“Let’s say Plastic Acid has a few pieces, our own songs. Or we play for other artists. I’d pick Arcade Fire, or Mother Mother, and we arrange some pieces together, so when you’re nominated, we can back you up. Or even go with Maria in the Shower. A bit of a Canadian play.”

Plastic Acid belongs in the group of innovative Canadian artists, slowly making their mark on the international market. Arcade Fire is one such colourful mix of musical geniuses, utilizing every instrument under the sun. The beauty of Plastic Acid is its ability to transform; it’s a moveable creature, adopting sounds and genres and vaudeville along the way. “Already, people are coming up to me with ideas, asking how we can arrange it. A heavy metal band approached me for the year after. It’s already developing and we haven’t even gotten to this show yet.”

Plastic Acid Orchestra plays the Vogue Theatre with Maria in the Shower February 25.

Chess colour barrier broken

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February 20, 2012

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By Brad McLeod

Yesterday was a historic day in the world of chess as 25-year-old Ryan Whiteman, became the first player in a professional tournament to start a game with a black piece. Whiteman’s match in the first round of the annual Vancouver International Chess Championship marked an end to a nearly millennium-long oppression of black pieces.

Traditionally the game chess has always contained an archaic and ritualistic opening procedure which gave players an unfair advantage based purely on colour. Whiteman’s opening manoeuvre ended this longstanding intolerance for black pieces and has given new hope to the nearly dozens of young chess fans across the globe.

“It was amazing,” remarked one young chess enthusiast. “For the first time in my life I looked at a chess board and didn’t see the pieces as black or white, I just for what they were . . . plastic game tokens.”Another older and most likely senile attendee declared the event to be “the single most important moment in the history of sports.”

Despite this outpouring of admiration, Whiteman has also felt criticism from chess traditionalists who called the move “illegal”. “It is simply not allowed,” said one such ‘expert’, Irving Reginald Higgins, professor of chess studies at Harvard. “The rules state the player with the white pieces must go first.” Despite these sorts of racist allegations from educated hate-mongers, Whiteman remains unfazed by his detractors as he has had to deal with similar persecution his entire career.

Whiteman, who was born in raised in the upper-class Pennsylvania community of Carlton Estates, has been the target of mistreatment since he began playing chess while attending St. Francis Preparatory Academy. Although he was allowed to be a part of the school’s chess team in his elementary years his insistence on starting with black pieces led him to be frequently singled out by his teachers for not playing the ‘right’ way.

The persecution became more severe during his teen years as Whiteman was unfairly cut by his school’s non-progressive chess team for four straight years. In the face of segregation from his peers, Whiteman was forced to play alone in the school cafeteria where he recalls being ridiculed and verbally abused, being called names like ‘nerd’ and ‘idiot’ by students not even involved in the chess program.

The intolerance continued even after graduation from high school and Whiteman was barred by the MLC (Major League Chess) from entering any of their professional chess tournaments despite having a flawless record (0 losses in 0 games). This prompted a civil action lawsuit against the league in which Whiteman threatened to sue for $20 million. Although his case against the league was very weak, in order to avoid the complication of a law suit the MLC decided to allow Whiteman to participate in the local tournament.

Whiteman lost yesterday’s opening round match in less than two minutes to three-time defending world champion Karif Abdul-Rahim of Nigeria.

BoG election results announced

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February 20, 2012

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By Graham Cook

In last week’s election, Arry Dhillon and Andreas Pilarnos were elected to represent the student body on the SFU Board of Governors for a 12-month term beginning June 1. In his campaign, Pilarnos emphasized his past experience with the SFU Senate, the Research Ethics Board, and EnvisionSFU. Former two-time board representative Dhillon referred to a plethora of SFU-related experience including his time as university relations officer for the SFSS and as a board member for the SFU Community Trust to gain voter approval.

The Board of Governors is the senior governing body of the university and is constituted under the University Act. The overall responsibility for the property, revenue, and policies is vested in the board. In addition, its members do not receive any financial compensation for their services.

In addition to this election, 13 students, including Andreas Pilarnos, were elected to the Senate by acclamation, as the required 16 nominations to facilitate an election were not reached by the deadline.

This Valentine’s day, practice full frontal giving.

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February 20, 2012

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By Davey Kaspersky

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably got some Valentine’s Day hang-ups that really grind your gears. For some, it’s finding a date in the first place. Tell me about it! For others, it’s spending too much or too little. Geez, we’re supposed to be economists now?! I even know one couple that gave each other the same gift one year! Talk about “Gift of the Magi”—or is that miffed of the Magi?

For me, though, it’s predictability. Flowers? Chocolate? Please! A lady being treated by me will get no such clichéd offerings. No, she will truly be surprised when I give her my Valentine’s Day gift. She won’t even expect a gift at all. She doesn’t even know who I am. But with a quick doffing of my overcoat to reveal my naked form and a jolly waggle of the ol’ pecker before she runs away in horror, I’ve just given her a gift she’ll never forget.

I know she’s screaming in horror, but what she really means is, “You shouldn’t have!”

Yes, when you’re a flasher with all the convictions of myself, every day, Valentine’s or otherwise, is an opportunity for surprise and merriment. It doesn’t matter where you go, when you do it, or whom you do it to; the expression on someone’s face as you expose your genitalia is its own reward.

But just because you can whip out your member and gratify yourself publicly, doesn’t mean you should. It’s not because you’ll have to give the RCMP a DNA sample if those narcs catch you; it’s because gift giving, even giving the gift of yourself, has rules.

Rule number one: set the mood. You can’t just pull your skin flute out of its case and start the recital willy-nilly; how uncouth! Choose a time and place that will really add to the meaning of the moment. For me, the best time is the dead of night, and the place is a public park — great views, and plenty of unsuspecting joggers. Though personally I am unable to be within 100 metres of a public park as a condition of my parole, that shouldn’t stop you.

Rule number two: expect nothing in return. This is one I always keep in mind. Really! Mostly, it’s because when someone does decide to return the favour, it’s with a dousing of pepper spray to the face, or a generous kick to the dangle-berries, and I’ve already got one of those. Several times this week, in fact.

And finally: dress to impress. This isn’t 1998 anymore, so put away those tear-away track pants. Invest in a proper, but somewhat filthy and menacing trench coat that will hide your junk until just the right moment. And make sure it’s a thick coat, too, because it can get cold at night — if you catch my drift. Oh, and if you are wearing a radio-tracking ankle bracelet that some asshole judge ‘court-mandated’, be sure to shine it up with good silver polish. No sense looking like a bum when you’re trying to look like a creep!

I hope this has been helpful. Good luck on your indecent Valentine’s Day gift giving! Now, if you’ll excuse me, Ithink I hear sirens, and I’ve got priors.

Unfortunately, The Peak does not publish an issue over reading break, so this article comes after the fact. We hope you can use its advice for another gift giving holiday like Christmas or Mother’s Day. —ED