Events
And The Winners are….
CTC Awards 2020
And The Winners Are…

BEST COSTUME DESIGN The FVGSS Dream Team
AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING MAGICAL TRANSFORMATION OF CINDERELLA’S GOWN IN CINDERELLA THE PANTO:
SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD FOR THE CLEVER ENGINEERING OF CINDERELLA’S CARRIAGE IN CINDERELLA THE PANTO
Our First Round Nominations!
BEST PRODUCTION (MUSICAL)
BEST DIRECTOR (MUSICAL) Mike Balser
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL Bryce Paul Mills
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL Rosie Forst, Melanie Mercer
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL Adrian Duncan
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL Erin Mulcahy
BEST SET DESIGN Daniel Pauhl
BEST CHOREOGRAPHY Kailley Roesler
BESTGRAPHIC DESIGN – PROGRAM Paddy Tennant
BEST MUSIC DIRECTOR Timothy Tucker
BEST SOUND DESIGN Timothy Tucker
SURREY NOW LEADER – Radio Play Time for Fairy-Tale Mysteries…
The 2019 CTC Nominations…..
The 2019 CTC Nominations are in…..
BEST PRODUCTION (MUSICAL)
Peter Pan the Panto
Seussical the Musical
BEST DIRECTOR (MUSICAL)
Barbie Warwick Peter Pan the Panto
Brad Dewar Seussical the Musical
BEST MUSIC DIRECTOR
Rebekah MacEwan Peter Pan the Panto
Timothy Tucker Seussical the Musical
BEST CHOREOGRAPHER
Tamara Jaune and Elisabeth Lay Seussical the Musical
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
James Hussen Peter Pan the Panto
Kaden Burgart Seussical the Musical
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Brad Dewar Peter Pan the Panto
Rob Dunne Peter Pan the Panto
Jake Hildebrand Seussical the Musical
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Ahnika Barber Peter Pan the Panto
Samantha Andrews Peter Pan the Panto
Lauren Trotzuk Seussical the Musical
Jessie Chan Seussical the Musical
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MUSICAL
Melanie Mercer Peter Pan the Panto
Jennifer Rose Garcia Seussical the Musical
Emma Watson Seussical the Musical
Sydney Mason Seussical the Musical
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Sarah Barber Seussical the Musical
BEST GRAPHIC DESIGN – POSTER
Tamara Jaune Seussical the Musical
BEST GRAPHIC DESIGN – PROGRAMME
Paddy Tennant Peter Pan the Panto
Paddy Tennant Seussical the Musical
BEST SET DECORATION
Omanie Elias & Mike Balser Seussical the Musical
BEST SOUND DESIGN
Timothy Tucker Seussical the Musical
Peter Pan – The Panto lands in Playboard
Come and check out Peter Pan – The Panto in Playboard Magazine
….or better yet, come see Peter Pan – The Panto at the Surrey Arts Centre
https://www.archwaypublishers.com/our-publications/
MINTY: With ‘Iolanthe’ fairy tale
Surrey Now-Leader by Melanie Minty, arts columnist
MINTY: With ‘Iolanthe’ fairy tale, Surrey’s FVGSS theatre company flies to New West stage
Keeping Gilbert & Sullivan Alive
Incompetence. Snobbery. Witless bureaucracy. Some things never go out of style.
While the obvious hilarity of fairies rubbing elbows with ineffective politicians doesn’t necessarily resonate with contemporary audiences the way it did in Victorian times, Gilbert & Sullivan (G&S) shows carry themes that still resonate today. G&S comedic operas have great fun with the idea of people who rise to power who are untrained and incompetent, and control everyone else. That’s a joke that never dies.
President Barbie Warwick of FVGSS – A Musical Theatre Company (Formerly the Fraser Valley Gilbert and Sullivan Society) believes in preserving the cultural history G&S brought to the world of theatre, despite the challenges: “One of the greatest struggles in mounting a Gilbert and Sullivan show in 2018 is the fact that the popularity has waned over the past few generations.” Warwick explains, “People who recognize the name G&S are either over 70 years old or ‘music geeks’. The majority of the population isn’t familiar with them. This is a shame because Gilbert and Sullivan were so ahead of their time and their shows are very relevant to today’s society. They push against cultural mores and they use their wit to take the establishment and politicians to task.”
FVGSS is a Surrey-based non-profit organization, committed to producing amateur shows to a professional standard, and keeping the Gilbert & Sullivan shows alive and relevant to today’s audiences. They produce Pantomimes each Holiday Season, and bring the topsy turvy world of G&S to the stage in the spring. Since 1982 many members of FVGSS return year-after-year to bring the works of G&S to life. Lyn Verra-Lay was a fairy in the society’s 1996 mount of Iolanthe, and will return behind the scenes as co-producer for the 2018 production.
Verra-Lay started as a musician with FVGSS in 1988, but moved to the stage by the end of that year. “The family atmosphere led to me to recruit my husband and children; they’ve been involved in many of the productions on and off-stage. I’m thrilled to still be involved 29 years later.” Verra-Lay’s daughter Elisabeth co-choreographed her first FVGSS pantomime in 2017, with Verra-Lay as a chorus member.
This season, FVGSS is producing Iolanthe, the fantasy tale that, bizarrely, brings together fairies and the House of Lords. Directed by Jacqollyne Keath, with music direction by John Arsenault and choreography by Tamara Jaune, love, treachery and death lie at the heart of the tale of Iolanthe. It tells the story of a fairy who fell in love with a mortal. Their son has fallen in love with a ward of the Lord Chancellor. Unfortunately, the path of true love rarely runs smoothly and fairy intervention in the House of Lords causes chaos, as it would.
FVGSS’s Iolanthe ran May 16 to 20 2018 at the Anvil Centre (777 Columbia Street) in New Westminster.
The Rockin’ Roots Ceilidh
The fifth annual fund raising Ceilidh supporting FVGSS, A Musical Theatre Company was held at the Rose Room at Valleyview Funeral Home in Surrey, on March 10, 2018. The evening featured a live band comprised of long-time Society favourites including Adrian Duncan, “Dangerous” Mary Brunner, Tim Tucker, Adam “Boomer” LaRusic, Mike Balser and several other surprise guests.
The well attended event was a fun evening of Rock n Roll tributes to some of the great Rock legends. Beer was supplied by Good Company Brewing , a fabulous micro brewery near Gastown.
CTC Awards
Some magic moments from our appearances and performances at the Community Theatre Awards!








Torchlight Parade 2017

The FVGSS made an appearance in the 68th Annual Torchlight Parade, part of the White Rock Sea Festival of 2017. August 6, at nearly 9 pm, the floats moved out as the sky began to darken. Of course, we had been there since 3:45, getting the scenery arranged, setting up the lighting and sound equipment and securing the giant clam so our mermaid and her assistant would be safe and visible the whole time. Adding some very fancy frosting to that cake was Lyn Verra Lay, long time FVGSS participant and 2017 BC Culture Days Ambassador for Surrey. The pictures below tell the story!