Submitted by Revelstoke Arts Council
Lucas Myers returns to Revelstoke with two shows sure to make you laugh
The Revelstoke Project and Campground will be performed as part of Welcome Week festivities.
The funny and talented Lucas Myers is returning to Revelstoke with two incredible shows that include advice you will probably relate to, characters from around town you will most definitely recognize and a bunch of hilarious songs.
There’s The Revelstoke Project, a sort of survival guide for newbies to the community, and then there’s Campground: A Murder Mystery Comedy in the Woods. You should probably go see both, but on the off chance you only have time to see one here’s a breakdown of each show:
The Revelstoke Project
Commissioned by the Revelstoke Arts Council, The Revelstoke Project premiered during Welcome Week in 2016. The show is essentially a newcomers’ guide to the community. Locals and long-time residents will relate to this satirical spoof. If you’ve already seen the show don’t be so quick to write it off. Myers says he’s planning to creep on the Stoke List to find out what’s current.
“I try and keep my shows current in a way that’s fun,” said Myers.
The show features some sage advice for newcomers including when to avoid shopping at Save-On-Foods; Myers experiencing everything from taking on the weekly Pedal ‘N’ Pint, to interviewing workers at CP Rail and Downie Timber, to getting on a sled for the first time in years, and trying snowboarding for the first time in his life.
Myers spent a total a total of three weeks in Revelstoke and immersed himself in the culture here. He spoke with a cast of Revelstoke locals to create the characters in the play. Among the characters are a Parks Canada warden who has a fascination with picas, and a woman who works at the bank and imparts relationship advice to customers.
“I think every single person I talked to influenced the show in some way,” said Myers. “Everybody had a different insight that was worked into the show in some way. Truly my objective was to represent Revelstoke to Revelstoke and not in a cookie cutter way. There’s such interesting personalities.”
The Revelstoke Project was the first time Myers had been commissioned to do a show of its kind.
Miriam Manley, executive director of the Revelstoke Arts Council says they were confident in Myers’ ability to create a unique Revelstoke-focused show.
“We thought Lucas was funny and original and it would be fun to get him to do something about Revelstoke,” said Manley.
Manley also said she really encouraged Myers to incorporate lots of songs into the performance.
“His songs are brilliant. It’s one of the things I pushed for. I think his songs are very clever and funny,” Manley said.
Campground
In this hilarious multi-media performance, four people find themselves suspects after a young man goes missing from a provincial campground. The police officer assigned to the case has to deal with a lack of evidence — other than posts on Facebook.
Myers even went so far as to create Facebook profiles for two of the characters. There’s Justin Case from Vancouver and Michael Hodgkins, a redneck from Medicine Hat who happens to own a chihuahua. During the performance the detective accesses the online profiles and the audience is able to see that.
“During the period when I was writing the show I would go to a campground here and actually create photos of these people,” said Myers, who is from Nelson. “It was actually a really fun experience figuring out who these people were. What would their title picture be?”
Myers even asked people he knew to friend Justin and Michael and to like and comment on their posts. The Facebook profiles are still active, although Myers hasn’t posted anything new since he created them while writing Campground.
The first half of the show lets the audience meet the characters and see how they interact. The second half of the show includes the police officer interviewing the characters and trying to solve the mystery of the missing camper. Since Myers likes to incorporate lots of songs into his performances there’s also a talent night at the campground.
“I play six characters in the show. The talent night takes place later, after the kid has gone missing. The songs reflect that they each have an interaction with the kid,” said Myers.
Manley said that like The Revelstoke Project, Campground is very relatable for local audiences.
“I think most people in Revelstoke have experiences going camping. If you saw The Revelstoke Project you should see Campground,” she said.
Catch The Revelstoke Project on Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m. and Campground on Dec. 1 at 7:30 p.m. Both shows are being performed at the Revelstoke Performing Arts Centre. For more information or to purchase tickets visit revelstokeartscouncil.com, call 250-814-9325 or email revelstoketheatre@gmail.com. Tickets may also be available at the door prior to the performance.