Download The Bomb-itty of Errors - Arts Club Theatre Company

The Bomb-itty of Errors
By Jordan Allen-Dutton, Jason Catalano, Gregory J. Qaiyum, Erik Weiner, and
Jeffrey Qaiyum
Originally produced in Vancouver by Twenty Something Theatre and
Temporary Thing
REVUE STAGE: April 10–May 10
A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR
Iambic pentameter is rap—it’s the structure – Tupac Shakur
For as long as I have been a fan of Shakespeare, I have also been a great lover of hip hop. Growing up in
the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, my stereo often cranked upbeat, bass-filled hits. As a teenage girl who loved
to rap along DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, LL Cool J, Salt ‘n’ Pepa, I thought I was pretty fly jumping
around in my suburban crib while the rest of my family bustled along downstairs, unaware of my
budding hip hop career and adoring fans (an audience of one hamster and dozens of images of teen
idols.)
Fast forward to adulthood, after having spent a fair number years expanding my musical tastes to
include more hardcore, controversial, and international artists while at the same time, spending much of
my theatre career working on Shakespeare and Bard-inspired adaptations, I was tickled pink when asked
to direct The Bomb-itty of Errors. This play has everything I love in the theatre: Love triangles! Revenge!
Mistaken identity! Mischief! Dancing! Crossdressing! Music! And, of course, Shakespeare.
Today it is common for rap lyrics and Shakespearean verses to be mistaken for one another, so it can be
argued that MC Willy Shakes was perhaps the original gangsta’ rapper, paving the way for rhythm and
rhyme artists for ages to come. It seems only fitting that hip hop be an avenue to shed some new light
on this classic tale of twins separated at birth, in a way that employs a great deal more of Will.i.am
Shakespeare’s original words than one might think. The playwrights have created a script that honours
MC Willy Shakes’ original story, while setting it in the relentlessly fast-paced world of modern day
Ephesus—a city where streets are mean and rhymes are currency. In this play, Shakespeare’s language is
the springboard for a script that pays homage to the evolution of hip hop in a way that would make the
Bard proud. This production draws from hip hop trends through the ages—from Queen Elizabeth to
Grand Master Flash to Nicki Minaj—we attempt to bring to these rich rhymes and this delightful story as
much vibrancy as the theatre can hold. It has been a delight to work on this colourful show and I hope
you enjoy the experience as much as I have.
~ Catriona Leger
A NOTE FROM TWENTY SOMETHING THEATRE
When Jameson Parker and Brian Cochrane, co-producers for Temporary Thing, pitched me The Bombitty of Errors in 2011—in hopes of it being included in Twenty Something Theatre’s 2012 season as our
Spotlight on Emerging Artists production—I could not have predicted that two years later we would find
ourselves at the Arts Club Revue Stage.
Twenty Something Theatre was founded in 2006 with a mandate to create opportunities for emerging
artists and young professionals, and to create productions that get young people going to theatre. The
Bomb-itty of Errors is a production that perfectly exemplifies this mandate and the journey from 2012 to
today has been incredible. From sold-out houses, to receiving four nominations and two awards at the
Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards, we are honoured that The Bomb-itty of Errors has been so well
received. Now it is 2014, Bomb-itty is back, and we are so excited and grateful to have the incredible
support of the entire Arts Club family and to be given this opportunity to share our production with
Vancouver audiences once more.
~Sabrina Evertt, Artistic Producer
Twenty Something Theatre
A NOTE FROM THE COSTUME DESIGNER
After meeting with director Catriona Leger, we decided that the show needed to be more
contemporary. Not that I don’t love the look of 80s hip-hop, but that’s been done—its written right in
the script that characters look like Tupak and RUN DMC! I didn’t want to recreate that genre but rather
build on it and morph it with current hip-hop fashion as well as Elizabethan style. I started researching
what inspired the playwrights to create The Bomb-itty of Errors, so with Shakespeare on one shoulder
and RUN DMC on the other, I started mashing these elements with the iconic styles of Nicki Minaj and
LMFAO. From there it became a neon explosion of animal print and ruffles complete with pipe cleaner
wigs and hightops!
~Vanessa Imeson
THE COMPANY
Brian Cochrane
Brian has stayed busy since doing this show in 2012. He wrote rap lyrics for and performed in the many
incarnations of Stationary: a recession-era musical with Delinquent Theatre (coming to the 14/15 season
at The Cultch!) He won a Saskatoon and Area Theatre Award for directing The December Man as part of
the Live Five series. He directed The Cripple of Inishmaan for the Guild Theatre in Whitehorse and
Speech & Debate for Twenty Something. He got married. Brian has an MFA in directing from UBC and a
BFA in acting from the University of Saskatchewan.
David Kaye
David Kaye is a 25-year-old actor/producer living in Vancouver. David has been working in film and TV
since he booked his first role in Legends of the Fall at the age of four. At the age of 11, he began working
as a voice actor as well in cartoons and video games. He graduated from UBC with a BFA in acting and
currently produces music videos and commercials with Whiskaye Films and North of Now Films
respectively. David is very excited to be back with the Bomb-itty Crew, working on a fantastically fun
show and would like to thank his family and friends for all their love and support.
www.whiskayefilms.com
Niko Koupantsis
Niko is thrilled to be reprising his role in The Bomb-itty of Errors, and is very grateful to the Arts Club for
hosting this remount. Hailing from the prairies, he graduated from the University of Saskatchewan,
where he performed in The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged), 7 Stories, Elizabeth Rex, and Lion
in the Streets, to name a few. He has also performed in Signe’s Lost Colours, Mirror Game, and Saving
Lonesome George (Persephone Theatre); Crystal Clear (Sask Native Theatre Company); Giving Up (400lbs
of Sunshine); and The Coronation Voyage (Last Exit Theatre). Niko is honoured to be joining his
“partners-in-rhyme” on stage once again to present you with a show that will bring out that
embarrassing laugh that you’ve been repressing for years.
Jameson Parker
For The Arts Club: Ride the Cyclone (Atomic Vaudeville); Blood Brothers. Theatre: Red (Belfry/MTC);
Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) (Belfry); a Jessie Award for The Bomb-itty of
Errors(Temporary Thing/Twenty-Something); Death of a Salesman (Vancouver Playhouse); Prodigals
(Twenty-Something); Singin’ in the Rain (TUTS); and Romeo in Romeo and Juliet (Theatre at UBC).
Film/TV: The Party Never Stops (Lifetime Television). Up next he is producing the feature film Prodigals,
written by Sean Minogue and directed by Michelle Ouellet, with his business partner David Kaye for
their company Whiskaye Films. For the same company he has directed music videos for local and
international artists. He has a BFA in Acting from The University of British Columbia.
www.whiskayefilms.com
DJ Oker Chen
Oker became involved in theatre through mixing music for the UBC Players Club parties during his
undergraduate years. He resides in Halifax creating digital art for a computer game studio, and has
returned to the west coast for the summer. Oker enjoys wearing many hats, having subsisted off of
photography, reforestation, website design, journalism, a DJ residency at Vinyl Lounge, and teaching
music mixing techniques to high school and college students by analyzing the flow of music. Through
this flow, he continues to mix funky feel-good music.
Catriona Leger ~ Director
Catriona's 20 years in theatre have taken her across Canada and abroad to act, direct, and movementdirect. Favourite directing credits: A Midsummer Night's Dream (St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival), The
Merry Wives of Windsor (a Company of Fools), Macbeth (Salamander Theatre), Inclement Weather (Mi
Casa), Romeo and Juliet (Theatre@UBC). She has served as Artistic Associate with GCTC, a Company of
Fools, and Ottawa’s SubDevsion which (was part of the 2013 Magnetic North Theatre Festival). Her work
has garnered attention from the Jessies, the Capital Critics Circle Awards, Prix Rideau Awards, and
Canada Council for the Arts. Catriona is a graduate of École Philippe Gaulier and holds a BFA in acting
and MFA in directing from UBC.
Ian Schimpf ~ Set and Lighting Designer
A graduate from the UBC BFA design program, Ian has designed sets and lighting for numerous shows
around Vancouver including Thoroughly Modern Millie, Billy Bishop Goes to War, You Never Can Tell, The
Spitfire Grill, and The Exquisite Hour. Ian won best in show creative innovation for the International Walt
Disney Imagineering Imagi-Nations Design competition for his roller coaster idea "Mickey's Stunt Pilot
Academy". He is thrilled to be working with such a great cast and creative team on this awesome
project.
Vanessa Imeson ~ Costume Designer
Vanessa is a theatre artist holding a combined BA Honours degree in dramatic art and English from the
University of Windsor, MFA in theatre design from the University of British Columbia, and a diploma in
make-up design for film and television from Vancouver Film School. She is a builder, plain and simple.
Based in Ottawa, Vanessa designs costumes, make-up, wigs, and puppets for theatre across Canada and
the United States. Her hobbies include collecting bits of old lace, odd buttons, and other people’s family
photographs. You can view her work at www.vanessaimeson.com.
Anami Vice ~ Original Music Composer
Anami Vice is hip-hop artist and song writer signed with 604 records. He recently released his fifth
studio album #Helpurself with long time collaborator Curtis Monumental. Also in recent memory, he cowrote and produced the It's Easy EP for the Simpson Brothers Band. With the help of friends and
business partners Jameson Parker and David Kaye, Anami has written and produced music videos for
himself and a number of other artists including Fake Shark Real Zombie and The Zolas. Anami would like
to thank everyone involved with The Bomb-itty of Errors for including him in the creative process—an
experience that he describes as "extremely rewarding and strangely relaxing". www.anamivice.com
April Starr Land ~ Stage Manager
April Starr is so very happy to be a company member in this, the Arts Club Theatre Company’s 50th
season. This is April Starr’s 14th season with the Arts Club. Past Arts Club shows include The Odd Couple,
Venus in Fur, Avenue Q, Master Class, The Altar Boyz, Calendar Girls, The Penelopiad, A Closer Walk with
Patsy Cline, Becky’s New Car, and Les Misérables. April Starr has spent seasons past with Bard on the
Beach, The Stratford Festival of Canada, and studied stage craft at Douglas College. April Starr thanks
her family for their unconditional love and support. “I love you Noah and Elizabeth!”