The ACT Arts Centre has launched its 2019/2020 ACT Presents Season, its 17th and largest to date. The new season offers 50 must-experience presentations beginning in September, through May 2020, covering a variety of genres, including Theatre, Dance, all styles of Music, Holiday and Family programming, Variety acts and Film. This is the first season programmed by Artistic and Executive Director, Ms. Curtis Pendleton, who began her role leading the Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows Arts Council and The ACT Arts Centre in 2018.
“The direction of the programming came out of some very robust strategic planning sessions during which we listened carefully to feedback from our patrons and stakeholders,” Pendleton explains. “There is something for everyone in our programming. No one should feel compelled to leave the community to experience high-quality live arts - we have it all here to enjoy.”
The season’s Opening Night on September 21, 2019 welcomes three-time JUNO award winners Leahy, one of Canada’s most highlyregarded musical groups, for a celebratory evening of Celtic-inspired music and their signature step dancing. The season continues through May, offering nine live theatre performances, six Classical Coffee Concerts, six Listening Lounge artists and more matinee events than previous seasons, and a host of Mainstage performances. In a continued relationship with Cineplex, the ACT will offer an expanded suite of four National Theatre Live Encore Broadcasts.
Other new offerings include the launch of the Exhibitions on Screen series, screenings that focus on some of the world’s most famous painters and art works, filmed in renowned galleries and museums around the world. Another season highlight is the Canadian Musical Icons performance, welcoming multiple Juno award-winner Shari Ulrich and fellow musical superstar Bill Henderson, who will share the stage with all star-band that includes their respective daughters. The Golden Ears Movie Series (GEMS) makes its debut as a “Summer of Love” series this year – offering an air-conditioned, relaxing space to enjoy the series of love-themed Toronto International Film Festival screenings as the summer heats up. The season also features enhanced holiday presentations, welcoming The ACT’s first professional performance of Ballet Victoria’s The Nutcracker.
In one of only three performance locations in the Lower Mainland, another highlight of the season is a full- fledged professional performance of Handel’s masterpiece, Messiah, in a production by Early Music Vancouver, performed by the Pacific Baroque Orchestra, the Vancouver Cantata Singers and four internationally-known vocal soloists. “Our audiences deserve to hear the ‘Hallelujah Chorus‘ in this beautiful hall. “ adds Pendleton, “With sixty-four professional musicians filling the stage, hearing this magnificent work ’live’ will be sublime experience for any listener.”