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Lively City: Burnaby actor onstage in Spring Awakening

Nancy von Euw is back in the spotlight. The Burnaby actor, recently seen onstage in the Pipedream Theatre production of Cabaret, is back onstage at the Jericho Arts Centre.

Nancy von Euw is back in the spotlight.

The Burnaby actor, recently seen onstage in the Pipedream Theatre production of Cabaret, is back onstage at the Jericho Arts Centre.

She's part of the cast for Fighting Chance Productions' Spring Awakening, which is on until May 17.

The Tony Award-winning musical, described as "intimate" and "sensual," is being staged in the round.

"We hope to create a truly sensory experience for the audience," explains director Ryan Mooney. "Having the audience so close as these characters grow, learn and blossom will allow us to truly show the excitement of young love and the despair and destruction that can ensue."

Von Euw appears as the "Female Authority Figure."

Tickets are $20 to $30, available through ticketstonight.ca.

Spring Awakening plays Wednesday through Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. until May 17 at the Jericho Arts Centre, 1675 Discovery St. in Vancouver.

 

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A young Burnaby pianist has been selected to take part in a prestigious classical music competition later this month.

Richard He is one of 30 young musicians who have been selected to take part in the Stepping Stone Classical Music Competition. The competition brings together elite-level Canadian performers - top competition winners and early career professionals - chosen by a jury.

They will compete in Toronto from May 21 through 29, with their eyes on a grand prize of $10,000.

He is no stranger to competition, having earned a slew of wins in a piano career that began at the age of five - he started training with his grandmother, Xie Bin Lan, a distinguished music teacher in China.

He came to Canada in 2006 and continued his studies with Dr. Anna Levy. He has also studied with concert pianist Ian Parker.

The young pianist - who's now a junior at the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester - already has an exhaustingly impressive resumé.

Over the years he has won numerous festival prizes, including the Burnaby Clef Society competition and Vancouver Kiwanis Festival, and he came third in the national finals of the Canadian Music Competition in 2008.

He was a finalist in the Seatlle International Young Artist Music Festival in 2009 had the chance to participate in the Toronto Symphony National Piano Competition and the Stepping Stone competition in Sherbrooke.

That same year he performed Liszt's Piano Concert No. 1 in E-flat major with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

He also took part in the Gijon International Piano Festival in Spain in 2013.

All the best to Richard - and I'm sure we'll hear more about him in future days.

 

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A Burnaby photographer is among the best in the nation.

Anna Beaudry, a professional photographer from Burnaby, had four images accepted and exhibited in the Professional Photographers of Canada National Image Salon.

The salon includes images judged by a panel of master photographers from across Canada, selected in a competition in 21 different classes, including press, portrait, architecture and fashion.

Beaudry notes that one of her selected images, Winter Oasis Destinations, was created with the help of the team at Nita Lake Lodge in Whistler.

"Before I could make the image, guests were requested to leave their lights on before they went skiing, and we had someone directing traffic while I was up on a ladder in the middle of the road," she said in a press release. "Needless to say, my client was thrilled to learn that image scored a merit."

Check out www.ppoc.ca/blog/2014-national-image-salon-gallery to see more of the selected photos.

 

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A reminder for all you writers out there: Don't forget about the Burnaby Writers' Society's 2014 writing contest.

The contest closes May 31, so you still have time to get your entries in.

This year's contest, which is open to all B.C. residents, is on the theme of wood.

You can interpret the theme in any way you wish, and you can submit work in any form or genre, prose or poetry, as long as it is complete on one page.

Prizes of $200, $100 and $50, as well as honourable mentions, will be awarded.

Winners will be invited to participate in a public reading in the fall.

The fee is $5 per entry, or $10 for three entires.

Check out burnabywritersnews.blogspot.com for all the details.

 

 

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Want to lend a hand to a good artistic cause?

The Burnaby Arts Council has launched an online crowd-source funding campaign to help out its Burnaby Summer Theatre program.

The program has been going on for more than 30 years.

Each summer, the arts council employs four or five students from Simon Fraser University, who create, produce, perform and tour with a piece of contemporary theatre - to venues that include seniors' centres, community centres, public parks, Burnaby Village Museum, B.C. Children's Hospital and Canuck Place.

The arts council pays the performers' wages, but the board is looking for some additional funding to cover the expense of a van rental and fuel to transport the performers and their props to various venues.

"With a small financial donation toward this innovative community arts program, together we can ensure that this fabulous event is on the road and headed towards a successful performance season," a write-up says.

You can become a gold, silver or bronze supporter with donations of $100, $50 or $25 respectively. You can find the program and all the details at www.gofundme.com/Summer-Theatre-Transport.

 

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Do you have an item for Lively City? Send arts and entertainment ideas to Julie, [email protected], or find her on Twitter, @juliemaclellan.