Dramatic Illusions

Kelowna, British Columbia

One of my favorite activities when traveling is going to community theaters and seeing how they do things. Kelowna has a magnificent collection of theaters. The Rotary Club built a fine facility that contains artist co-ops, studios, classrooms, public eateries, meeting rooms, and a fine auditorium that seats about 250. The whole of this is set in a splendid botanical context. A Japanese garden is not far away, and a nice lawn spreads out on one side of the building. Kelowna has won a Communities in Bloom award a number of years running and it is easy to see why. There is a 1,000-seat theater a couple of blocks away that serves as a venue for musicals and symphonies. The building looks out over the harbor and yacht club. Behind this find facility is a black box theater that seats 125. I found myself in this venue tonight.

One of the things I have always found fascinating about theater and concert experiences in western Canada is the friendliness of the audiences. I had just taken my seat when the several people around me put out hands and introduced themselves. I was reminded of happy such experiences in Vancouver, Victoria, and even in London. It turns out that tonight I had the happy experience of sitting with the family of one of the lead singers.
Theater going is certainly can be a multi-dimensional experience in other countries.

A happy variety show depicting the railroad history of British Columbia was presented in the first act. This show along with my bike journey on the Kettle Valley rail beds reinforce to me how rich the railroad era was in the province seventy five or a hundred years ago. The second act was a collection of title songs from a number of well-known musicals. Several of these brought back vivid experiences of building these shows in our little South Carolina theater.

It was again one of those days when I felt fully in the stream of life. I didn’t think about the fact that tomorrow I would be in the jet stream eight miles up, returning to reality as I know it. I do have the luxury of having a key to our local theater and can go back in the auditorium and experience new illusions.