Teens perform daring musical at Actors Studio

I enjoy an early morning dose of Facebook with a cup of coffee.

It amuses me how some of us have the confidence to get on that proverbial soap-box and rant with profanities; some asking for answers to questions that you clearly don’t want to hear and some who just enjoy the ride of seeing what others are up to.

I mostly go through admiring the amazing people who get out and create these marvelous days for themselves with photos to prove it.

Those deserve smiley faces, thumbs up or a comment of sorts — no more than 10 words are really necessary to make the point clear.

A barrage of banter only bores me, especially negative bashing, so I move on.

I say all this because of a supposedly glib comment I made on someone’s page the other day, which they felt deserved a conversation. Yet this was not a conversation; this was a “hear ye” bombardment of words prodding me into a reaction I was not going pander to.

I won’t confront a bully to feed my ego, but I do understand some people’s passions lie in different places. Knowledge is power and I learned something — don’t poke the bear.

————— This week, controversy continues in the form of a rock musical by the Teen Performance Troupe at Kelowna Actors Studio.

Spring Awakening is about the trials and tribulations of growing up while painting vivid pictures of what teens are feeling and thinking without filters or glossing over any questions or topics.

Director Randy Leslie said he felt giving young students such a challenging play would open up conversations for future topics.

Each actor signed agreement from their parents allowing them to be in such an honest musical — one that is full of scary stuff kids are thinking about.

Questions like: does having a baby mean a woman must love her husbands with all her heart? Is it a sign of insanity to have erotic dreams?

The show openly shows boys and girls expressing their desires for physical intimacy and raises questions about physical abuse by a parent as well as teen death.

Hard topics to enjoy, but sometimes theatre is about hard realities of life, and if we shy away from theatre such as this, we might never find out what questions we should be asking.

The success of the show on Broadway and the West End has seen it win four Laurence Olivier Awards, including Best Musical.

Spring Awakening has only three performances at the Actors Studio on Ellis Street, Thursday, Friday and Saturday with curtain up at 7:30 p.m.

I have tickets for Saturday night. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased through Kelowna Tickets or call 250-862-2867.

Tickets will also be available at the door. There will be no dinner theatre at these productions.

————— Another hard-to-fathom topic on the memory palate is that of the Japanese internment camps of B.C.

“Lest we forget,” so we must be reminded, and Vancouver artist Cindy Mochizuki’s exhibit Dawn to Dusk does just that.

Her opening reception will be at the Alternator Centre for Contemporary Art in the Rotary Centre for the Arts, Friday from 6 to 8 p.m.

The installation includes audio, animations, video and sculpture that examine the effects of war and the unreliability of memory.

It is based on Mochizuki’s father’s experiences in Japan following the release of Japanese Canadians.

————— Saturday night also brings Ron Sexsmith to our neck of the woods.

Sexsmith has released his 13th studio album. Having worked with some of the best producers in the country, including Daniel Lanois, Mitchell Froom, Tchad Blake and Ray Kennedy, he has taken the reins to produce his latest album, The Last Rider, himself.

He is labelled as the greatest songwriter of his generation and I have to believe the hype on this one, as I, too, am a fan.

Kudos to Ryan Donn for this booking. The concert is held at Winfield Memorial Hall, 10130 Bottom Wood Lake Rd. Tickets are $39 through Kelowna Tickets (250-862-2867) and I would not be surprised if the show was already sold out.

————— More great music will be presented by the hard-working, talented Spectrum Singers who will be in concert on Friday and Saturday with their spring-inspired show, As Time Goes By.

The title refers to great songs written over time — songs from the 1700s to 2016 that the choir will perform.

Tickets are available at Mosaic Books, UPS in West Kelowna or any choir member. Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for students and children. Location: St. Michael and All Saints Cathedral, 608 Sutherland. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m.

————— If you are looking to get involved in your community, even for just a few hours, may I bring to your attention a program called Living Salads?

This portable community garden service brings assembled planter boxes, chock-full of plants to include: tomato, parsley, chives, leaf lettuce, swiss-chard and a marigold to homes of adults and children who are not receiving enough nutritious food.

The planters contain all they need to grow their own salads from May to October.

On Wednesday, May 17, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., volunteers will assemble the Living Salads planters then the next day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., volunteer drivers will deliver them.

Meet at Bethel Church, 2663 Curtis St. Volunteers can fill out registration forms through the website or the Facebook event page. You can also support Living Salads by donating $25 which is the approximately the cost of each assembly.

Anna Jacyszyn is an award-winning jazz singer Email her at artafactevent@gmail.com.