Here’s a recap of some of our best Biz moments in 2015.

MOVIES

Among the films we supported this year were The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, Project Almanac, Hot Tub Time Machine 2, Miss Julie, The Riot Club, Mr. Holmes, Terminator: Genisys, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, Daddy’s Home, and The Big Short.

Thank you to our loyal customers for dutifully entering contests and attending advance screenings.

INTERVIEWS

2015 brought us more interviews than we’ve ever had before!

We spoke to Nimisha Mukerji, Brendan Taylor, Jonny Weston, Tom Kenny, Crazy8s 2015 filmmakers Caitlyn Byrnes, Jem Garrard, and Mo Soliman, S. Siobhan McCarthy, Evan Frayne, Christina Wells Campbell, Pamela Wise, Jay Brazeau, Rachel Peake, Jeff Seymour, Lochlyn Munro, Michelle Muldoon, Lori Triolo, Peter Skagen, Lisa London, Rebecca Coleman, Peter New, Esther Cohen, Tyler Labine, Julie Casselman, Brandon Bate and Joel R. Butler of Eurydice, Morgan Churla, Riley Qualtieri and Mark Vandenberg of Hunger Games: The Musical, Emilio Salituro, Shauna Johannesen, Katherine Monk, Angie Burns, Kim Larson and Matthew Simmons of Smoke on the Mountain, Christopher Chacon, Rebecca Lee, Sara Bynoe, Martha Ross, Tiarra Sulyk, Jessica McLeod and Athena Russell of Bitchpop Productions, Chris Lam, Anita Adams, Sam Mitchell, Byron Abando, and Jamieson McCormack of Love Musically, Robyn Wiener, David C. Jones, and Christine Quintana.

EVENTS

We were also out and about supporting industry events such as the Crazy8s 2015 Gala, our own May Play Sale and Pop-Up Store and Where There’s Smoke: An Encounter with William B. Davis, the launch of Crazy8s 2016, and theatre productions like Laburnum Grove, Glengarry Glen Ross, The North Plan, and Heathers: The Musical.

All in all, we had a blast sharing all of this with you and we can’t wait to see what 2016 brings!

Happy New Year from all of us at BizBooks.net!

The post The Biz Books 2015 Year in Review appeared first on Biz Books.

Opening June 6th at the Beaumont Stage, it features a new twist in the form of a talented all-female cast, including our own Catherine Lough Haggquist of Biz Books. We spoke with Rachel Peake to find out more about the process of developing and directing such an ambitious production.

What inspired you to take on this production?

I have always thought of Glengarry Glen Ross as a “man’s play” – about men, for men – so I never imagined tackling it. But when I was asked to direct an all-female production I began to wonder about that idea of a “man’s play.” What did my labelling it that mean? What did it say about my own compartmentalization of how men behave versus how women behave, and what men are driven by versus what drives women? That, combined with my interest in separating notions of “feminine” and “masculine” from “female” and “male”, began to get me really excited about what could be unearthed in hearing these words come out of women’s mouths. Not altered. Not made into female scenarios. But presented as-written.

Recommended Reading The Perfect Stage Crew
2nd Edition Click a cover for more details Empire of the Son Ignite: Illuminating Theatre
For Young People Recommended Reading The Perfect Stage Crew
2nd Edition Click a cover for more details Empire of the Son Ignite: Illuminating Theatre
For Young People

Can you briefly walk us through your creative process for this production, from the early stages all the way to opening?

The process was a bit unusual for me because it was an extended rehearsal period and our designers came on after our actors had been cast. However, this scenario allowed me to really focus on the text: the ideas, the language, the arguments, the rhetoric, for a large chunk of the preparatory time, and then to bring design and aesthetic conversations into the discussion. Once in rehearsal we spent a good chunk of time on the dense text, and then got on our feet, pushing relatively quickly to a first run in order to give us all an overview of the story, and then breaking in down into detail to rehearse again. We have been rehearsing half-time for a little over seven weeks, and we will go into full time rehearsals for tech leading up to opening.

What were the biggest challenges for you as a director in developing this production and how did you deal with them?

All the glory and all the trials are in the text. It is dense text about a world very few Vancouverites in 2015 know much about, so negotiating the realities of the business and how it works are extremely tricky. Also, of course, there is the added challenge of women taking on male roles and understanding what that means in terms of tactic and intention. When it comes to the second point we have sought outside advice, techniques, and counsel. For the most part, research, analysis, and our detective skills with some imaginative problem-solving thrown in seem to have been our guide.

Are there any books or specific authors that have been influential to you so far in your creative journey?

I have read a lot of David Mamet. His plays, his theories, his rants. It is interesting to see both how his writing and opinions have changed over his career, and how differently I come to it all than I did last time I read it when I was in university! I also read A Practical Handbook for the Actor by Melissa Bruder, Lee Michael Cohn, Madeleine Olnek, Nathaniel Pollack, Robert Previto and Scott Zigler. It was not written by David Mamet, but it was in essence endorsed by him and seems to espouse his directives to actors playing his text. I also read some critical essays that form part of “Gender and Genre” and “David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross: Text and Performance” as well as some articles on sales from the era.

What can you share about any future projects that are in development?

I’m thrilled to be heading to Newfoundland again this summer to work on an interarts project there with Dark by Five at the Liminus Festival in Corner Brook and Gros Morne National Park. I will am developing two new works here in Vancouver: Mata Hari with Single Line Theatre (debuting in February), and Point Counterpoint with the Elbow Theatre (debuting in Montreal in January). I am adapting the main stage opera Stickboy by Shane Koyczan to be toured in high schools by Vancouver Opera in Schools next January. I’ll also be heading out of town to direct Miss Caledonia at Western Canada Theatre in Kamloops and The Snow Queen at the Globe Theatre in Regina.

Where can we find out more about you?

RachelPeake.com

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Glengarry Glen Ross runs from June 6th through June 27th at the Beaumont Stage. For ticket information, please visit TicketsTonight. You can also support the production through its Indiegogo campaign.

The post The Biz Interview: Rachel Peake of “Glengarry Glen Ross” appeared first on Biz Books.

Play Details

This scalding comedy took Broadway and London by storm. Here is David Mamet at his very best, writing about small-time, cutthroat real estate salesmen trying to grind out a living by pushing plots of land on reluctant buyers in a never-ending scramble for their share of the American dream. Revived on Broadway in 2005 and 2012, this masterpiece of American drama also became a celebrated film which starred Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin and Alan Arkin.

The producers of Classic Chic Productions are thrilled to announce their next project, an all-female Glengarry Glen Ross.

Glengarry Glen Ross is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French Inc.

June 6th – 27th, 2015

Preview June 3 & 4 (half price), Opening Night June 6th

Run Tuesday to Saturday, with a 2 for 1 on Tues June 9th

Matinees at 2:00pm on all Saturdays except opening, June 6th.

Tickets $25.00 at the door and $23.00 + service fee on Tickets Tonight.

At the Beaumont Stage (326 West 5th Ave, Vancouver, BC)

You can also get some great perks and help support this production through the Indiegogo campaign for Glengarry Glen Ross and Classic Chic Productions.

Cast:

Catherine Lough Haggquist – Baylen
Marci T House – Williamson
Colleen Winton – Levene
Michelle Martin – Roma
Corina Akeson – Moss
Suzanne Ristic – Aaronow
Christina Wells Campbell – Lingk

Directed by Rachel Peake.

Recommended Reading The Perfect Stage Crew
2nd Edition Click a cover for more details Empire of the Son Ignite: Illuminating Theatre
For Young People Recommended Reading The Perfect Stage Crew
2nd Edition Click a cover for more details Empire of the Son Ignite: Illuminating Theatre
For Young People

The post Glengarry Glen Ross at the Beaumont Stage appeared first on Biz Books.