In Conversation With ... New Vintage Theatre founder Bonnie Gratz
Pop culture, in all its kaleidoscopic glory, will be showcased next week in the fifth annual Kelowna Fan Experience.
Television stars — such as Nathalie Boltt, the actress who plays Penelope Blossom on the Archie Comics-based show Riverdale — will be in town, along with cosplay performers, voice actors and a constellation of others connected with the entertainment industry. About 3,000 people paid to attend the event last year.
KFX is presented by New Vintage Theatre, under the direction of company founder and creative director Bonnie Gratz. Among many original productions, the company has presented As the Sun Burns, a live-action soap opera with a Kelowna setting, and a modern retelling of Scrooge with Kelowna characters and references.
As part of The Daily Courier’s ongoing In Conversation series, reporter Ron Seymour asked Gratz about KFX and the ambitions she has for New Vintage Theatre.
Courier: Who are you most excited to have as a special guest at this year’s Kelowna Fan Experience?
Gratz: I am very thrilled to have The Debaters — Live! and to have the cast and crew of Minds Eye Entertainment’s film The Humanity Bureau here for a premiere showing. Both events make me proud to see how far we have come with our festival. I can’t pick one favourite celebrity because each of our guests is a creative genius in their field.
Courier: Last year, your producer jokingly described KFX as a chance for nerds to party with other nerds. Why would nonnerds want to attend?
Gratz: What I love about our event is it is a huge party of all things cool, fun and artistic and it is in the middle of spring break. If you love anything in the fields of performance, films, animation, art, gaming, vintage, music and costume design, you will find something at our unique event. We really are not a standard trade show comic con; we are a lot more and have people of all ages attend from all over North America.
Courier: This will be the fifth year for the event. How has it grown from the inaugural edition in terms of attendance and ability to attract some big-name guests?
Gratz: Our first year, we held an afternoon event with two panels, and this year we run all weekend with over 200 performers, artists and vendors. The great thing about our event is that it has grown based on word of mouth, hard work and artist karma. We have been good to our performers, guests and patrons, and then in return they recommend others attend.
Courier: Do you have a personal favourite memory from any of the previous events?
Gratz: A huge highlight was to have The Irrelevant Show tape for CBC from our event in 2016. It was a big thrill to have a national broadcast taping happen here in Kelowna. We are thrilled to have The Debaters — Live! this year. We have Ivan Decker, who was just featured on Conan O’Brien and is nominated the same weekend for a Juno award for best comedy album, debate Evany Rosen, a hit actress and writer.
Courier: How does putting on KFX compare with overseeing one of New Vintage Theatre’s traditional plays?
Gratz: KFX is a massive festival that pulls in all of our company’s skill sets and talents and allows us to work with many others in the business and arts communities that we wouldn’t normally have the chance to collaborate with. When I was a kid, I always imagined creating a gigantic backyard carnival. This is my carnival.
Courier: Which play presented by New Vintage Theatre has been most popular?
Gratz: By numbers alone it would be Rock of Ages, the musical we did in the spring of 2017 and remounted in January. For me, though, it is not always about numbers. We have had so many successful plays over the past five years that I am very proud of and some of them were in tiny locations. The small plays are every bit as cool the large ones for me. I am still a huge fan of our first play, Super 8.
Courier: Is there some topic or theme you’re interested in developing into a future play?
Gratz: We are trying something very innovative this year called Secret Theatre. Our production teams are creating and producing plays in unexpected locations around Kelowna. The play I am writing is about two former lovers who get stuck together for one night and revisit their past and a secret. What makes it exciting for me is that I will be writing for a couple in their 20s, middle years and then senior years. It is called In One Night and explores the theme of love, choice and change.
Courier: Unlike some other theatre groups, everyone associated with a New Vintage production gets paid. How sure were you that Kelowna could support a notfor-profit charity like New Vintage Theatre before you launched it?
Gratz: Kelowna is a very different place than when I first moved here eight years ago. I had worked as a professional actor/director/playwright for over 10 years, and when I moved here there were very few paying opportunities for local people to perform. There were lots of people who told me that paying everyone couldn’t be done and it wouldn’t be successful, but I started small, worked ridiculously hard with like-minded artists and here we are. There are other theatre companies in Kelowna that do things differently, work just as hard, and I am excited for their popularity as well. I want us all to succeed. It is a good time for theatre in Kelowna, and we are lucky to have such loyal and adventurous audiences.
For a full list of events, attractions and special guests at KFX, March 23-25, see Kelownafx.com.