Urban Conspiracy 2
2013, Summit Charting BC's Economic Future, Economy, Arts + Culture
Faced with an increasingly competitive global economy, apparently British Columbians need to find ways to work together to promote the well-being of the province and its citizens.
CBC Debaters Charlie Demers and Richard Side took on the challenge to bring BC’s traditionally polarized political landscape together for a night of comedic conversation, diabolical dialogue and high-wire hijinks as they unpack wealth creation, social equity and protection of the environment.
Why can’t we have it all? Why can't LNG exports fund all of our retirements?
This second cabaret showcase featured Charlie Demers, Richard Side, Margo Kane, Project Limelight, John Korsrud Quintet, Shay Kuebler, Diana Bang, Bob Robertson, Sunee Dhaliwal, Geoff Berner, and CHERSEA.
Using comedy, music and theatre, The Urban Conspiracy Cabaret promised to leave you a little bit richer, definitely not in your pocketbook, but certainly in your soul.
Buy low, sell high.
The Urban Conspiracy Cabaret was presented as part of the SFU Public Square 2013 Community Summit, Charting BC's Economic Future, a week-long series of programming, September 28 - October 4th, exploring issues regarding BC's economic future.
7:30 p.m. (PT)
Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre
SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts
149 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, B.C.
About Charting BC's Economic Future
Richard Side
One of the early performers with Vancouver Theatresports Richard’s improv inspired creations include Scat in the Hat, a beatnik musical comedy duo that toured across Canada and to Ireland and Australia. Producing credits include The Western Alienation Comedy Hour, two TV specials he created for CBC which starred Will Sasso and Brent Butt. Film acting credits include roles in the Christmas comedy, Elf, and in the Canadian independent feature, The Delicate Art of Parking. Richard is creator and producer of The Debaters now in its 8th season on CBC Radio One.
Charles Demers
Charles Demers was born and raised in Vancouver. He is an activist and come- dian, a regular performer on CBC Radio One’s The Debaters, and former co-host of Citytv’s comedic panel show “The Citynews List” in Vancouver. In 2005, he was the judges’ choice for Vancouver’s funniest new comic; since then he has been featured on national radio, in print, as well as in festivals and live venues across Canada and the Pacific Northwest and with Paul Bae as the sketch duo “Bucket” – the act Robin Williams called “the future of comedy.” His book Vancouver Special was published by Arsenal Pulp Press in 2009, and was shortlisted for the Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize at the BC Book Prizes. His first novel, The Prescription Errors, was published in 2009 by Insomniac Press. He is an SFU grad.
Special Guest – Margo Kane
Cree-Saulteaux performing artist, Margo Kane is the Founder and Artistic Managing Director of Full Circle: First Nations Performance. For 40 years she has been active as a performing artist and community cultural worker. Moonlodge, her acclaimed one-woman show, an Aboriginal Canadian classic, has toured for over 10 years nationally and internationally. The Sydney Press (AU) during The Festival of the Dreaming praised it as being ‘in the top echelon of solo performance.’ She developed and runs the annual Talking Stick Festival and an Aboriginal Ensemble Performing Arts Training Program in Vancouver. She received the Inaugural Lorena Gale Woman of Distinction from UBCP – Union of BC Performers as well as a Jesse Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actress in Where the Blood Mixes, Kevin Loring’s Governor-General’s Award-winning play. Recently she was honoured with the BC Touring Award of Excellence and a BC Community Achievement Award.
The Fabulous Army of Co-Conspirators
Diana Bang
Diana Bang was born and raised in Vancouver, B.C., and performs with the Vancouver-based Asian Canadian sketch comedy group, Assaulted Fish. Film and television credits include Bates Motel, The Killing and Rob Leickner's indie feature, Lost Lagoon. She is excited to partake in the hijinks and diversity of Urban Conspiracy 2.
Geoff Berner
Signed to Mint Records, Geoff Berner is an international touring singer/songwriter/accordionist who has played in eighteen countries, and on national radio in 7 of them. His first novel, Festival Man, comes out October 12 on Dundurn Press.
CHERSEA
CHERSEA's voice is all soul, with a large range to cover a large variety of influences. Her melodies are haunting and intense to provoke an immovable familiarity or melancholy within the listener. Her layering, looping, and performance will awe you, with technicality and precision metaphorically comparable to that of a motorized vehicle. She aims to inspire all people to dream big dreams by her live performance while managing eight plus instruments and their effects; just to show them that if you can put your mind to it anything is possible.
Sunee Dhaliwal
Sunee Dhaliwal may just be the fastest rising star on the Canadian comedy scene. He has already landed opening spots for top Headliners like Mike McDonald, Jo Koy, Sugar Sammy and Charlie Murphy along with performing in Montreal at the Just For Laughs Festival. Sunee has recoreded for XM Radio and has done his very own Comedy Now special on CTV. His Comedy has been featured on CBC, Comedy Network, CTV, MTV and Global TV. Sunee Dhaliwal is definitely one of those Comedians that you will be saying a few years from now "I saw him when..."
John Korsrud Quintet
John Korsrud is the recipient on The 2012 City of Vancouver Mayors Arts Award for Music. John will be a featured soloist with The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra on Jan. 19 performing "Come to the Dark Side" trumpet concerto originally commissioned by The American Composers Orchestra and performed at Carnegie Hall in New York. John is also the leader and founder of The Hard Rubber Orchestra, a 18-piece jazz/ new music ensemble he formed in 1990.
Project Limelight
Project Limelight is about inspiring children to look inside themselves and discover their inner-strengths, explore their hidden talents, develop confidence and form lasting friendships. Above all, Project Limelight is about having fun! Motivated to give back, sisters Maureen Webb and Donalda Weaver founded Project Limelight to support the East Vancouver community where they were raised. In June 2012, they performed ‘Wonderland’, an adaptation of Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland to two sold out performances in the Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theater. This is their second time appearing at the Urban Conspiracy Cabaret.
Shay Kuebler
Shay began his artistic development at the age of 5 with dramatic arts at Stage Polaris Theatre Academy, and with martial arts in Shito-Ryu Karate. His early artistic growth would lead to dance and a versatile background in Hip Hop, Jazz, Tap, Contemporary and Ballet. He continues to pursue and develop his artistic range and versatility, which has led him travel and study music, dance and martial arts in Tokyo, Japan and Salvador, Brazil as well as throughout North America. The range to his artistic background has seen him perform and create for artists such as Neil Young and Naughty By Nature, and numerous Tap, Hip Hop and Contemporary companies across Canada including Decidedly Jazz, Les Grands Ballet Canadiens, and Citieballet. His unique choreographic ability has seen him commissioned to choreograph for numerous festivals including The Canada Dance Festival, The Fluid Festival, The International Dance Festival of Brazil, and The Baalbek Arts Festival in Beirut, Lebanon. As an artist whose foundation started in martial arts, he is continually aiming to further his abilities and versatility, being able to respond to any requirement asked choreographically and in performance.
Bob Robertson
Bob Robertson is best known for the ten years he spent entertaining Canadians as half of the comedy team, Double Exposure on CBC Radio, CBC Television and then on the CTV and Comedy Networks. He has shared Leo awards for writing and performing in a TV series, was nominated for six Geminis and has received other radio and television awards, too numerous to mention. He is best known for his uncanny voice impersonations of politicians, media celebrities and sports commentators across Canada and beyond. As well as radio and television, Bob has authored two comedy books, one of which became a Canadian best seller. He has also written over two hundred humourous articles for the Globe and Mail and the Ottawa Citizen. In 2004 Bob was inducted into the B.C. Entertainment Hall of Fame.
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Urban Conspiracy 2
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