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Creative Partners on Stage chase their dreams

June 6, 2019   ·   0 Comments

Written By Constance Scrafield

The Creative Partners On Stage (CPOS) are acquiring a new, additional name: The Dream Chasers. This show opens this evening, (Thursday, June 6) at Theatre Orangeville at 7:00 p.m.

Said writer, lyricist, director, Chandra Pepper, “This is the Dream Chaser’s inaugural show by The Dream Chasers. We all are dream chasers.”

At some point or, maybe, habitually, we all chase our dreams, says this show, and you have to go and see it to confirm that you can, too.

Giving us a headline, she continued, “Do we know what our dreams are? Liam, one of the characters, wants to be an actor but he has lots of self doubt. He’s a dreamer trying to find his dream again: could be an easy-peasy path or a slightly less easy but more pleasy, in the end,” she said, playing with the show’s word game for us.

“This is a cast of lots of fun, colourful characters,” she continued. “What I love about it is these actors have proven you can chase your dreams because they’re memorizing their lines and l have no scripts on stage.”

This is remarkable because this is a cast of adults with special needs and their tremendous enthusiasm and hard work have helped them overcome whatever difficulties they may have had to remember their lines. It will almost be a first time.

The inspiration for the show came, “When I was asked to take over [this company of actors], I wanted to be completely different from Jane [Ohland Cameron] because who could fill those shoes? And I’m always working with the T.O.E.P. [Theatre Orangeville Exceptional Players] guys. 

“This show is always so positive. A character lost his way. We were talking about dreams dancing to music; talking about dreams and people telling you, you can’t follow those dreams.” She admitted, “And I’m still following mine and need to be reminded of that.

“I wanted these guys to be reminded they can follow theirs. This will touch everybody. They’ll be having so much fun. I told them, ‘You just have fun and you just tell the story’. They are great story-tellers.”

So delighted with this show and how well it is going that, “Long term thinking, I would love to take them on a tour, as the Dream Chasers. I would tour this show with these guys. They should be performing it in schools.”

We mentioned the Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) that is currently Theatre Orangeville’s school touring troupe.

Ms. Pepper made the distinction, “This is just bringing awareness. TYA is curriculum based. This is a message – there is a lot of lost souls out there.”

Music and dancing are part of the Dreams Chaser’s show. “They love music and singing. I wrote all the lyrics to familiar songs. I just took songs we know and wrote new lyrics for them. There’s an original song I wrote and Tim composed the music. So, now we have a name and a song that are ours.”

It takes months of rehearsal to put these shows together. In part, they have grown organically with the original script, as the director/writer works with the group who frequently have their own ideas to contribute. The sense of collaboration adds to the power and the joy of the production and comes through in the performances. 

Something different happens on the main stage when these actors bring their talent and energy to the audiences. It is not theatre like any other. There is a blunt honesty, where “acting” is re-defined, as are dancing and even singing. There is everything irresistible about the performances and the message. Whatever story they are telling, they are telling it in a way that no other actors ever can. This is theatre turned on its head. Fantastic. 

This time, it is about our dreams and our ability to chase them and achieve them.

Ms. Pepper was pleased to encourage everyone to come and see this reassuring and happy show. 

She told us, “You should come – this is fun visually and exciting. You’re just going to leave feeling so happy. You’ll be saying to yourself, ‘Now I remember what my dream was!’

“It’s a great story. With these guys telling it, it really hits the heart.”

The Dream Chaser runs from June 6 to Saturday, June 8. Show time Thursday (today) and Friday is 7:00 p.m. and, on Saturday, at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets at the Box Office at 87 Broadway. Or the Information Centre on Buena Vista Dr. at Highway 10; telephone: 519-942-3423 and online www.theatreorangeville.ca

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