CHASING RAINBOWS Across Canada

For Immediate Release: March 31, 2008

PRODUCER/DIRECTOR FULFILLS HER DAUGHTER’S DREAM

– SCREENS DOCUMENTARY ACROSS CANADA FOR YOUNG ADULTS LIVING WITH CANCER

Vancouver-based actor Sara Taylor Gibson was diagnosed with cancer in 1997 at the age of 23; she spent the next two and a half years “living life while fighting for it,” and working to raise awareness of the particular needs of young adult cancer patients. She dreamed of doing something about the lack of resources targeted at her age group…something to let others like her know that they weren’t alone. She began work on a documentary called Chasing Rainbows: Young Adults Living With Cancer; but sadly, she died in 2000 while the film was still little more than raw footage. Six years later, Sara’s mother, producer/director Pat Taylor, finished the film and screened it at cancer centres throughout BC in the spring of 2007. In April-May 2008, Pat will take another step towards fulfilling Sara’s dream: she’ll take Chasing Rainbows across Canada, presenting screenings in Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax.

Chasing Rainbows: Young Adults Living with Cancer is a dynamic 43-minute documentary built around an honest, intimate living-room conversation between six young adults: four women (Sara being one) and two men. With passion and humour, they discuss hope, fear, faith, sexuality, infertility, family relationships, finances, the future and more. Their stories are an invaluable source of information, inspiration and hope – not only for other young adults facing life-threatening illness, but also for their families, friends, caregivers and medical support teams.

“I couldn’t protect Sara forever,” says Pat. “But I can certainly help her reach one of the goals she had before she died: to make sure Chasing Rainbows reaches young adults throughout BC, Canada, the US and the rest of the world. Our hope – Sara’s and mine – has always been that the film can be used to raise public awareness of the unique challenges facing young adults living with cancer. They need help to address their needs – which are not only medical, but also financial, logistical and emotional – both in the short and long term. I will continue to do what I can to make that happen.”

It seems that Pat and Sara are well on their way: in addition to last year’s screenings in BC and those planned across Canada this spring, the film was shown in Mumbai, India last November – and Pat has received requests for screenings in the UK, Italy, the Netherlands and Australia.

Chasing Rainbows: Young Adults Living with Cancer also features animation by Derek Cummings, evocative original songs by Michael Booth Palmer and underscoring by Edward Henderson. Copies of the DVD are available from the BC Cancer Foundation, online at www.bccancerfoundation.com/chasingrainbows or via www.chasingrainbowsproduction.com.

VICO: Dreams of the Wanderer

Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra & Capilano College present

Dreams of the Wanderer

featuring
Capilano College Singers
Capilano College Festival Chorus
Cecilia Ensemble Women’s Choir
Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra
Amir Haghighi, vocalist
Lars Kaario, conductor

Performing the WORLD PREMIERE of a new work by Moshe Denburg

Saturday April 5, 2008, 8pm & Sunday April 6, 2008, 3pm
Capilano College Performing Arts Theatre
2055 Purcell Way, North Vancouver

A diverse and colourful musical landscape, exciting new work rooted in centuries-old traditions, and the promise of adventure…all this will be on offer as Capilano College School of Music collaborates with the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra (VICO) to present the world premiere of Dreams of the Wanderer, a major new piece by BC composer Moshe Denburg. The composition weaves together the musical traditions of many cultures, incorporating texts sung in Farsi, Mandarin Chinese, Hebrew and English by tenor soloist Amir Haghighi and the combined choirs of the Capilano College Music Program, all under the direction of Lars Kaario.

The concert program will also include a cappella songs from a variety of cultures, performed by the choirs, as well as several instrumental works for smaller forces performed by members of the VICO.

Tickets ($22/$18): 604.990.7810.

“Music that sounds like Vancouver looks.” – The Georgia Straight

Raise the Roof! A Rockin’ Benefit Concert

CANADIAN MEMORIAL UNITED CHURCH & CENTRE FOR PEACE LAUNCHES CAPITAL CAMPAIGN FOR 80th ANNIVERSARY

“Raise The Roof!”

Saturday March 15, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Canadian Memorial United Church
(Corner of Burrard & West 15th)

Canadian Memorial United Church and Centre for Peace is proud to launch its 80th anniversary celebrations with a rockin’ benefit concert featuring well-known local performers Corinthian Clark, Rachel Landrecht and Brian Tate, backed by the Peace in the City Band (Dave Danylchuk, Sean Dillon, Jason Nickel and Neil Weisensel), a 40-voice mixed choir and a 10-piece string section.  This explosive line-up is guaranteed to raise the roof with music – fitting, since the concert kicks off a capital fundraising campaign intended to provide the church’s sanctuary with an actual new roof. As organizers put it, “The Old Lady needs a new hat!”

The concert will feature the music of Bob Marley, John Lennon, Brian Tate, Neil Young, the Beatles, Elvis Costello, Neil Weisensel, U2, Arcade Fire, Rachel Landrecht, Marvin Gaye, Corinthian Clark and others, performed by the same fiery, fearless entertainers who played to full houses at such events as John Lennon: A Celebration of Peace I and II (celebrating the 20th and 25th anniversary of Lennon’s death in 2000 and 2005) and the World Peace Forum Concert in 2006.

Canadian Memorial United Church was built by national subscription in the aftermath of World War I, as a memorial to the fallen and a commitment to the cause of peace in the future.  It is home to a series of beautiful stained glass windows representing the provinces and territories, as well as to the only existing replicas of Canada’s Books of Remembrance (the originals are housed in the Peace Tower in Ottawa). The church began holding regular services on November 11, 1928 (ten years to the day after Armistice), and has been an active force in the community ever since.

Tickets $40/$25 at 604-731-3101 or at the door

William Davis Centre Joins Forces with VanArts

NEW PARTNERSHIP ENERGIZES MEDIA ARTS EDUCATION IN VANCOUVER:
William Davis Centre Joins Forces With VanArts

Vancouver, BC – March 4, 2008

The William Davis Centre for Actors’ Study (WDC) and the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts (VanArts) are proud to announce an exciting new partnership that will see the WDC moving into new digs at VanArts, and merging its acclaimed actor training programs with VanArts’ internationally renowned curriculum, which currently includes full- and part-time courses in animation, video game art and design, digital photography and visual effects. The formal alliance of these two career training institutions – both widely recognized in the entertainment industry for the quality of the education they offer – will open up an array of fascinating new opportunities for students, faculty and Vancouver’s thriving media arts industry in general.

“There is so much potential for creative synergy,” says VanArts President Alan Phillips. He quotes the Institute’s founding program director, Academy Award-winning animator Lee Mishkin: “Lee used to say ‘Animators are actors with pencils.’ Animation students need some performance training in order to be able to bring characters to life. We used to bring in acting instructors…now we will have a full acting program and a wonderful faculty right here in house.”

Similarly, students in the Acting for Film & Television diploma program will be able to beef up their demo reels by participating in short films produced by students in the visual effects department, thus gaining additional experience not only in front of the camera, but also in acting against a green screen. They are also already working on various projects with students in the digital photography program. “We’ve only just begun to discover all the possibilities for collaboration between different departments,” says Christine Willes (former co-owner and Artistic Director of the WDC, now Department Head of what will henceforth be known as the William Davis Centre for Actors’ Study at VanArts). “It’s incredibly inspiring for both students and faculty.”

The William Davis Centre for Actors’ Study was founded in 1989 by actor, director and teacher William B. Davis (best known for his role as Cigarette Smoking Man on TV’s The X-Files), while the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts opened its doors in 1995. Both institutions have demonstrated a long-standing commitment to providing students with a nurturing, challenging learning environment and practical, state-of-the-art career training.  Under the VanArts umbrella, this merger allows both to offer a diverse mix of cutting-edge vocational programs in both the visual and performing arts.

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