Reflecting all that is good on the Downtown Eastside
Project Limelight’s spunky take on Snow White story set in Whistler and dedicated to memory of Glee actor Monteith
Mirror, Mirror Sunday, Jan. 12, 2 p. m. & 6 p. m. | SFU Woodward’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts Tickets: $ 15 for adults and $ 10 for students.
When people go to see Project Limelight’s production of the fabled fairy tale Snow White, they will certainly recognize the main character, although she comes across as a spunky tough girl.
The requisite evil queen will be there in all her terrible glory, just as the Brothers Grimm would have it.
But in the version staged by kids mostly from the Downtown Eastside through this plucky new theatre venture, the German classic will be set in Whistler.
And that famous line “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?” is revised to become “who is the coolest of them all?”
“That’s just me and my feminist drive,” laughed Maureen Webb, a casting director and film industry veteran who co- founded Project Limelight just over two years ago, with her sister Donalda Weaver, as a free theatre program encouraging kids living primarily in one of the country’s poorest neighbourhoods to get involved in the arts.
Called Mirror, Mirror, the production involves 18 children all under the age of 13 who have been rehearsing at least two or three times a week for the past four months.
When people attending the show open their programs, they might take note of the fact that it is dedicated to the late Cory Monteith, the heartthrob star of the television series Glee whose body was found in a Vancouver hotel room last July after he consumed a lethal cocktail of heroin and alcohol.
The circumstances of his death seem too sad to be mentioned in a story about this bright hopeful spot of new light in one of the city’s darkest of neighbourhoods, yet they belong here. For the 31- year- old actor, who had waged a private struggle with his own demons, was a big supporter of Project Limelight.
Talking about the late actor is a bittersweet experience for Webb, who was a friend of Monteith.
“Cory was involved with Project Limelight from the start,” she said. “We sat down and talked about what kind of program we would like to start. He gave his input and he had an integral part of a lot of what was good about the program.” She said he is still deeply missed. But instead of dwelling on the tragedy, Webb prefers to shine the limelight on the promising young talent in the play, many of whom are forming a deep bond that extends into their schools and in the neighbourhood.
Webb is struck by the way the older kids help the younger ones, some of whom have admitted to being petrified at the prospect of performing on stage for the first time.
“The older ones sat down to talk with them about their fears,” she said.
Unlike sports, which tends to be competitive and stratified according to age, “there is a bond there and sort of a protective factor that comes over with the older kids,” Webb said.
While the kids generally come from a disadvantaged area, Project Limelight draws in kids from a wide swath in east Vancouver. “The only common denominator is enthusiasm, commitment and need,” Webb said. “And we are very clear that need comes in all sorts of different forms, not just financial.”
Project Limelight is not about delivering a social message. “We’re not looking to be political,” she said. “Our goal is to really just give self- confidence, make the kids feel special, a part of something and have high demands on them.”
Through the rehearsals and performance, the kids develop a work ethic, self- confidence and, just sometimes, a passion for the arts.
Although they are for the most part neophyte thespians, the participants are treated like professionals, with costume designers and other professionals from places such as the Arts Club, Vancouver Playhouse and the UBC theatre department pitching in to help.
“The idea is to empower them by making them feel that what they are doing is important. Every role is really special.”
Not only do the kids benefit from the experience. Their friends and families in the audience do, too.
“It changes the dynamic of families to be able to see your child perform or do something special,” said Webb. “We have had families come up and say that they had no idea their child could sing or dance.”
People have walked away from past performances by the fledgling outfit, remarking that they had never seen anything so good.
The script is replete with “really cool surprises,” creative music and jokes with double entendres that appeal to both kids and adults.
To use Blanche DuBois’s famous line from the Tennessee Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire, the Vancouver charity relies on the kindness of strangers, seeking freebies and discounts wherever possible. For the most part, many professionals donate their time or work for very small honorariums.
Also, all the profits from Vancouver’s East of Main café go to Project Limelight. The café is on hiatus for January but will reopen in February.
Although they have busy lives, Webb and her sister are happy to be able to give back through productions like Mirror, Mirror.
“Project Limelight is my soul,” Webb said. “To be able to do something of worth in our lives, it fills us with joy.”