The Page Theatre & Standing Room Only Presents
The Show
Wiser is a one-man show starring...well, just call him Wiser; we'd like to be able to tell you his first name but he doesn't let slip. He will however tell you many other things, such as his like for good food, his distaste for puppies, his extended drinking habits and his penchant for approaching women in bars when it's raining outside.
Wiser is a brief, humorous and occasionally tragic look at an ordinary man torn between embracing or escaping that one moment that could lead him on two very different journeys.
Wiser's world is a spare world, an intimate space of bright lights, the crowd, uncertainty...and umbrellas. It is an innately theatrical and dynamic journey full of ups, downs and the aching search for new land.
Written by Standing Room Only's own Joe Hinks, Wiser would receive its theatrical debut at a part of These Three Things.
The Talent
Joe Hinks - Wiser & Author
A film and theatre all-rounder. He's dabbled in acting, directing, writing, producing and even teaching the subjects, pegging his two years of teaching at University level and acting at the Edinburgh Fringe festival as his crowning achievements thus far.
A British national, coming to Canada has solidified his pride and awareness in his English and Welsh heritage, whilst also finding him embracing his new home. Fairly new to the Vancouver theatre scene, Joe was proud that his Canadian directorial debut, Agatha Christie's The Hollow, made it onto Vancouverscape's top ten list of Vancouver theatre productions of 2013. He was voted onto Metro Theatre's board of directors in the wake of the show, where he is currently producing (and has the lead-part!) A. R. Gurney's What I did Last Summer. He is very much looking forward to pushing theatrical boundaries and exploring new avenues with his Standing Room Only troupe.
In his spare time, Joe thinks about embarking on a PhD adventure and about finishing that all important first novel.
Tracy-Lynn Chernaske - Director & Designer
Tracy-Lynn has had a ten year love affair with the visual aspects of theatre, one which started in high school, continued through Capilano University (2007) and which she personally hopes will never end. Though technically a free lance Scenic Artist, she has had a few credits as director and is thrilled to be putting that hat back on. Tracy-Lynn has been the resident Scenic Painter and Set Decorator at Metro Theatre for the last four years, creating wonderfully rich and realistic looking sets for classic plays such as Brighton Beach Memoirs, Relatively Speaking and The Hollow. Outside of Metro, Tracy-Lynn has worked for theatres and theatre groups all over the Lower Mainland, including Fighting Chance Productions (Rent) and most recently the Kay Meek (Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune), in which she was required to paint a 32' realistic moon across the stage.
Her true passion however lies in theatre, tea and Scottie dogs, and she dreams of the day when she has a job which marries the three together. Until then she very much looks forward to her extended stay with Metro Theatre and her latest venture with Standing Room Only.
The Story
Standing Room Only made it part of their mandate from the start to produce new, original work as well as previously established plays in an original manner.
Throughout the early part of this year, having put on their first event, they had a profound desire to apply for several theatre festivals, knowing they wanted to produce an exciting one-act that would fit perfectly in a festival environment.
They faced problems however, what with gaining the rights to published plays and the uncertainty of their place in any festivals, and it was out of these difficult circumstances that Wiser was created. Born from two concepts; namely the visual idea of umbrellas and a titular character who can never quite figure out the right thing to say, Wiser is the brainchild of Standing Room Only's own Joe Hinks. He says in his own words:
“I was intrigued by the idea of a man stuck somewhere in the time-space continuum, stuck between choices, stuck between the right words to say, stuck between several realities, all of which could have a severe affect on his life. What does he choose to say? What does he ultimately do? Who exactly is he speaking to? The result is that with Wiser, you never know quite where you stand, but hopefully because of his earnestness and his humour, you won't be able to help but like him”.
Standing Room Only are extremely proud and excited to be able to bring the world premier of their original play to the Waterfront Theatre in collaboration with The Page Theatre.
The Company
Standing Room Only Theatre may only just be an infant (we had our very first event in February 2014) but that hasn't stopped us from jumping into the Vancouver theatre scene with both feet (and an umbrella!). With three founding members, SRO was created to try new things, tell luxurious stories and exercise Vancouver's vivid -and sometimes wild- imaginations. We want to take on a variety of works from charming classics to challenging new writing with passion, enthusiasm and our own brand of originality to entice our audiences stop and think - after all, is it art if people don't talk about it? We want to facilitate a conversation here in Canada - in fact many conversations - and we want to hear what you have to say about art, life, love and war.
To find out more about Standing Room Only Theatre and it's founding members click here
Standing Room Only Theatre is currently working towards it's Non-profit status.