Looking Glass Theatre announces first full season

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This article was published 20/05/2024 (402 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Looking Glass Theatre, a professional theatre company based in Steinbach, has announced their first full season beginning in fall.

The theatre group presented See No Evil as their premiere show a year ago, though co-artistic directors and founders Marc A. Moir and Laura Kathleen Turner have long been involved in the theatre scene.

Three shows were announced to make up their first season, including Treasure Island in November, Mr. and Mrs. Nobody in February 2025 and Pilgrim’s Progress planned for April/May of 2025.

Moir and Turner have both been acting for a long time, more than 20 years for Moir, and Turner since she was three.

They say this is a dream come true.

“I can’t believe it’s finally here,” Turner said.

For both actors and producers, it was a chance to take control of their own destiny.

“If you grow up and decide you want to be an actor you think that your whole life is going to be just based off of who takes a chance on you,” Turner said. “And it was when we decided to take a chance on ourselves and realize that we could do that, really all our dreams started to become a reality.”

The pair are much more than actors, adding writing, the ability to produce, direct, handle finances, book tours, organize sets, plan costumes and host auditions to their resumes.

“We decided we were going to stop waiting around for someone to cast us and we are just going to create this for ourselves,” Turner said.

The idea for Looking Glass Theatre was first vocalized about three years ago, and one year after their first show, Moir said they’re excited about what’s next.

“To be literally set up for our first season, to have everything in place to go, that’s a pretty quick turnaround,” he said. “We’ve got a good lineup of shows and we’ve got a great cast for each show set up.”

Response from the acting community and the audience has been overwhelming for Moir and Turner.

“The response is a huge part of the reason why we feel so confident going into a full season,” Turner said.

They agreed that picking the three shows they’d put on for their inaugural season took on heightened importance. They wanted to offer variety to the community, host shows people would want to attend, while paying attention to other requirements such as budgets.

“Where we are today, we’d love to do Les Mis, but we can’t do Les Mis,” Moir explained, with Turner adding that the rights for schools would already cost $10,000.

“That doesn’t mean we’ll never do it,” Turner quickly added.

The season will include three gems.

It will kick off with Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, adapted by Scot N. Moir. This will tour in October and November.

Described as a swashbuckling musical high-seas adventure for the whole family, this production with a cast of seven will provide entertainment for all generations.

Mr. & Mrs. Nobody, by Keith Waterhouse will take to the stage in January and February and will appeal to those with a love for British humour such as television shows Are You Being Served and Downton Abbey. Described as a “gentle domestic comedy”, this production is based on the satirical Victorian novel, Diary of a Nobody.

This production which is a West End hit has also been on Broadway, but as far as Moir and Turner know, has never been performed in Canada.

The final show takes place in April and May. Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan and adapted by Moir was first published in 1678 and has never been out of print since. Another great show for families, this play follows Christian as he battles giants and dragons to escape the clutches of the wicked prince as he makes his journey to the Celestial City.

Each of the productions will tour across southern Manitoba with stops in Steinbach (Mennonite Heritage Village), Morden (Kenmor Theatre) and Brandon (Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium).

When Looking Glass Theatre was first formed, both Moir and Turner voiced their dream of building a theatre in Steinbach. That dream has not been forgotten.

“If we start hitting 200 people a show, Steinbach will have a theatre,” Moir promised.

This future building would be dedicated to performing arts and would provide a purpose-built space for theatre, choir, band, dance groups and orchestras.

“If you want an actual theatre venue in Steinbach, start buying tickets to Looking Glass and we hope that will become a reality much sooner than later,” Moir added.

While there are already many theatre afficionados in the region, Moir and Turner urged people who have yet to try, to come out and do so.

“The thing about theatre is that it really is so immersive,” Turner said. “If you’re someone who enjoys the surround sound and big screens… you will enjoy theatre.”

“There’s something so much more immersive about being right next to the person who is portraying the character,” she added. “You’re not just watching them on a screen, but you are watching them in person emote and sweat and go through all of these big and heightened emotions because it’s on stage.”

Moir agreed and said because you’re part of an audience you’re taking part in a collective experience.

“It’s one of the only experiences left where people don’t have their phone in their hand and where we’re all forced to live in the moment and have this collective experience and I think there’s something really, really beautiful about that,” he said.

Subscriptions are available now and purchasing a season pass gives you flexibility.

Season passes include three tickets which can be used for each individual show or all for the same show. A VIP season pass removes the concern about rush seating as VIP pass holders are guaranteed seats in the first three rows.

More information on the season passes and shows is available at lookingglasstheatre.ca.