Past Projects
To Perfection, by Meghan Gardiner, directed by Renee Iaci and proudly presented by Delta Stageworks in association with shameless hussy productions in 2024.
Wholesome and hearty. Fresh and frosty…Is it cake? Or is it To Perfection? Gloria, a former celebrity TV chef, played by the inimitable Patti Allan, is reuniting with her estranged grandchild, Alex. The temperature rises when Alex, (Faye C. Ludwar), comes out as non-binary and opens a ‘genderational’ divide between them. Can Gloria and Alex find the perfect mix for their family recipe? Or will it all bubble over and explode? To Perfection tackles issues of modern life without the sugar coating, showing us family conflict in a relatable and hilarious way and ensuring audiences discover all the right ingredients for the perfect food-for-thought theatre outing.
This production was presented at the Genesis Theatre in Ladner, BC on October 2-6, 2024. To Perfection gets high praise from audiences and critics for its humour and awareness of the ‘genderational’ divide that families can experience when a young person comes out. Delta Stageworks company member Renee Iaci directed the play, which was developed by shameless hussy productions and premiered at the Surrey Arts Centre.
THE RESET Weekend
THE RESET WEEKEND – A COMMUNITY ARTS EVENT IN SUPPORT OF RESILIENCE, CONNECTION, AND MENTAL HEALTH WELLNESS
On June 17 & 18, 2022 Delta Stageworks co-organized THE RESET Weekend, a community arts event in support of resilience, connection and mental health wellness. Together with local arts leaders and counselling professionals at Alongside You, a Ladner, BC mental health counselling provider, we put together a series of workshop events in visual arts, dance, music and theatre designed to support a mental health ‘reset’ for participants.
A very happening music jam for local musicians kicked off the weekend and workshop participants enjoyed getting in touch with their creative side:
“Thanks Delta Stageworks for the Musical Theatre workshop…It was really enlightening! Love the idea of The Reset Weekend, and hope it happens again”
Thanks to community organizers: Emile and Mike Greene, Peg and Eric Keenleyside & Meg and Andrew Neufeld.
Check out this article in The Delta Optimist.
THE EVENTS THAT TOOK PLACE!
FRIDAY JUNE 17th
- THE RESET JAM at Tsawwassen Legion
SATURDAY JUNE 18th
- Therapeutic Dance/Movement with Stefanie Tong
- Exploring Watercolours for Relaxation and Health with Meg Neufeld
- Theatre Games and Movement with Delta Stageworks’ Cory Haas
- Your Musical Theatre Moment with Tracy Neff and Tony Barton
Delta Stageworks Presents
My Mother’s Story for Diverse Voices (Phase 2)
Writing and Storytelling Workshops
with Marilyn Norry
October 2021-May 2022
ONLINE OR IN-PERSON
“The challenge: Write the 2,000 word story of your mother’s life, from beginning to end, just the facts, where you are just one of the facts.” My Mother’s Story, by Marilyn Norry
After two sold-out workshops in May 2021, Delta Stageworks is pleased to be offering Phase 2 of a series of personal narrative writing and storytelling workshops with Marilyn Norry, Vancouver actor, writer, editor, educator and creator of the marvellously successful My Mother’s Story project. Since 2004, Marilyn’s workshops have been the catalyst for women – and men – in communities around the world to connect with their mother’s life story.
WHAT IS IT?
In the My Mother’s Story for Diverse Voices program, we invite participants – both women and men living in Delta – to explore the process of writing their mother’s life story and to also experience sharing their family history within a supportive community context. What we know from past workshops is that the more the diversity of voices in the group, the more we all come away with a better understanding of the commonalities in our mother’s – and our own – life journeys.
“In writing this story you will discover things about yourself, your mother, and your family that perhaps you never knew before. This simple act will shine a light on a life that might otherwise be forgotten…you’ll also be declaring that women have an indelible space in our collective history.” Marilyn Norry
My Mother’s Story workshops are all about spending some quality time with the memories you have about your mother and exploring the times she lived in. It’s open to you whether your mother is still living or not. It’s accessible to everyone; even if you don’t consider yourself a writer! We also especially welcome participants who identify as culturally diverse and/or BIPOC.
Through a number of writing exercises you will build a chronology of your mother’s life, sift through important events, separate facts from emotion and arrive at a discovery draft.
At Delta Stageworks, we have a commitment to foster diversity and inclusivity in our community through public arts activities and performances. Creating space for diverse community voices also a way in which we can all contribute to the larger history of women’s lived experiences in BC. “Greater Vancouver is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world, and yet it’s surprisingly rare that we hear or see the life stories of women who come from this incredible cultural mosaic that’s all around us,” says Marilyn.
In Phase 2 of this project that continues in early 2022, interested participants can participate in storytelling (performance based) workshops with Marilyn Norry and artist associate Cory Haas. You will also have the opportunity to work with other professional theatre artists in the company. Our vision leads to a community-focused storytelling event in 2022.
MANY THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS
THIS Initiative
Georgia Primar, Delta Realtor
TESTIMONIALS
“Thanks for leading the workshop I attended a while back. It gave me the chance to get unstuck and get her story written. More importantly the process allowed me to forgive her for things I had forgotten about and then move into celebrating who she really was. Your workshop helped me uncover the personal attributes that I inherited from her that are valuable and positive. So much gratitude.” Cory Bretz, Campbell River, 2019
Interested in future My Mother’s Story workshops? Email us at deltastageworks@gmail.com
MY MOTHER’S STORY ARCHIVES
Visit the My Mother’s Story online archives – an ongoing project of the My Mother’s Story foundation – to read some amazing women’s life stories mymothersstory.org
Then & Now: Pandemic Life Stories
Delta Stageworks Presents
Then & Now: Pandemic Life Stories
A devised creation with the community
November 13th and 14th, 2021
Back in the spring 2020, as the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic went from something happening ‘’over there” somewhere; to something fearfully immediate and visceral in our lives, at Delta Stageworks we started thinking about creating a storytelling theatre piece around these lived experiences in our local community. We figured that sometime down the road we might all want to reflect back on some of the monumental impacts to our lives the pandemic has wrought.
Taking inspiration from devised theatre practices, in the fall of 2020 we invited Cory Haas, artistic director at no comment. th(é)âtre in Vancouver, to facilitate a series of exploratory workshops about living through these surreal times. Together with the rest of the artist associate team, we invited members of the community to join us in documenting and creatively processing what’s been happening around us.
We’ve worked on Zoom together and in-person under professional theatre safety protocols. We’ve interviewed neighbours, colleagues, front-line workers, family members, business owners and essential workers among others; gathering their stories in oral and video form. We’ve created visual and written texts; adapting news stories and personal anecdotes.
My Mother’s Story for Diverse Voices
Delta Stageworks Presents
My Mother’s Story for Diverse Voices
A 3-week Writing Workshop
with Marilyn Norry
August 8, 15 and 22
ONLINE OR IN-PERSON
“The challenge: Write the 2,000 word story of your mother’s life, from beginning to end, just the facts, where you are just one of the facts.” My Mother’s Story, by Marilyn Norry
Delta Stageworks is excited to be offering a 3-week series of personal narrative writing workshops – held online and in-person– with Marilyn Norry, Vancouver actor, writer, editor, educator and creator of the marvellously successful My Mother’s Story project. Since 2004, Marilyn’s workshops have been the catalyst for women – and men – in communities around the world to connect with their mother’s life story.
WHAT IS IT?
In this My Mother’s Story for Diverse Voices workshop, we welcome women and men in Delta who identify as culturally diverse to explore the process of writing their mother’s life story and also sharing their family history within a supportive context.
“In writing this story you will discover things about yourself, your mother, and your family that perhaps you never knew before. This simple act will shine a light on a life that might otherwise be forgotten…you’ll also be declaring that women have an indelible space in our collective history.” Marilyn Norry
My Mother’s Story workshops are all about spending some quality time with the memories you have about your mother and exploring the times she lived in. It’s open to you whether your mother is still living or not. It’s accessible to everyone; even if you don’t consider yourself a writer! Through a number of writing exercises over the 3 weeks, you will build a chronology of her life, sift through important events, separate facts from emotion and arrive at a discovery draft.
At Delta Stageworks, we have a commitment to foster diversity and inclusivity in our community through public arts activities and performances. Creating space for diverse community voices also a way in which we can all contribute to the larger history of women’s lived experiences in BC. “Greater Vancouver is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world, and yet it’s surprisingly rare that we hear or see the life stories of women who come from this incredible cultural mosaic that’s all around us,” says Marilyn.
In October 2021, interested participants participated in a storytelling (performance based) workshop with Marilyn Norry and artist associate Cory Haas, which will lead to a public storytelling event in 2022.
Delta 1914-1918: A Historical Reenactment
Our inaugural program – supported by the City of Delta – was a historical reenactment inspired by the commemoration of the end of WWI and by names of fallen young men from Delta and who are immortalized on the Delta Cenotaph in Ladner. Some 25 members of the community, including high school students, embarked on an 8 week exploration of local history and a collective creation process of developing characters and scenes based on documents, letters, photographs newspaper accounts and letters found in the Delta Archives and other sources.
The Delta 1914-1918 project was generously hosted by the Kirkland House Foundation and held at the fully restored farm house of one of the earliest farming families in Delta, the Kirklands (pictured below).
Audiences moved through the rooms in the house observing reenactors as they recreated actual events; from a young man’s letters home to his family describing life on the front, to a young nurse’s decision to sign up for the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps.
Audiences were captivated by the stories of the local Delta families whose sons and daughters lives were drawn into a war taking place a continent away; some who would not return. Youth reenactors made connections to Canadian WWI history that was local, authentic and part of a new experiential approach to learning.
The 2018 project received additional support from the Delta Museum and Archives/Delta Heritage Society and local WWI historian, Peter Broznitsky.
Delta 1914-1918: A Historical Reenactment was presented as part of BC Culture Days in September 2018.
Interview with Peg Keenleyside
Experience Life a Century Ago in Ladner Theatrical Experience
Delta Optimist
September 21, 2018
Re-enactment honours of the 100th anniversary of armistice
Delta Actors Bring WWI to Life at Ladner’s Kirkland House
Surrey Now – Leader
October 3, 2018
Sponsors & Donors
