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Young actors have big shoes to fill Cinderella panto cast ready for parade by Dennis Smith Special to the Beaver Artscene 25 | Friday, November 15, 2013 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com "Connected to your Community" Cinderella with a twist will be staged by the Burl-Oak Theatre Group over the Christmas holiday season. The group, which has a float in Oakville's Santa Claus Parade tomorrow (Saturday), will open Cinderella ­ A Holiday Pantomime on Dec. 28. As a pantomime, the show will be geared to children, with music, comedy and spectator participation. "Connecting with the audience and asking questions will be part of the production, it's a lot of fun," said Avery Mason, an ensemble performer. "It will be interesting to hear how many people reply." The youngster knows the classic tale from reading the book and seeing the Disney movie. Although she's just 11, this will be Avery's third show with Burl-Oak. "I really like it, the people are really nice," she said. "There's a lot of children in the show and they're really good and friendly." Avery will play a few roles in Cinderella, including Astral the cat, a lady in the ball, a villager and a minion (follower) of the Hairy Godmother. "There's lots of costume changes and dances to remember," said Avery. "There are no lines, but a lot of dancing and singing." The Grade 6 student at Pinegrove Public School was previously in Burl-Oak's Hide and Seek. Avery played the twin sister of a dead girl in that thriller. She also performed in Schoolhouse for Burl-Oak. Every child is a star in Glenburnie School's Performing Arts Challenge Talent Contest. The 10th annual event will take place on Saturday (Nov. 16), from 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. "For the past 10 years, this event has helped young talent discover and express their artistic voices," said event chair Paul Carr in a press release. It includes a vocal division from 9-11 a.m. and instrumental, dance and variety divisions from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Judges score each performance on technical merit and artistic impression, to recognize the unique personality and spirit of each child. Each performer will receive personal feedback from the judges. Kids aged 5-13 can participate in this event, which will be held at the 2035 Upper Middle Rd. school. A four-hour recording session will be awarded to the overall winner at River 16 Recording Studio in Oakville. The recording studio, the Oakville Beaver and City Parent are sponsoring the event. For more details, visit www.glenburnieschool. com or call Judie Roy at 905-338-6236. Don't miss Performing Arts Challenge Avery started in plays at Walton Memorial United Church in Bronte. Her first time on stage was at age five. "I asked her if she had stage fright," said her father Derek. "She said, `No dad, I have stage joy.'" Avery will also be rehearsing with the Oakville Children's Choir for its performance in Hansel and Gretel, the Opera. It takes place on Dec. 8 at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre. She was in the intermediate choir that won the Peel Music Festival, plus provincial and national competitions last year. In the upcoming Burl-Oak show, Meghan Greaves will play Cinderella, while Brady Morrison portrays Prince Charming and Rikki Wright is the Hairy Godmother. Chantal Forde directs the large cast, which includes numerous other characters, plus an The cast of Cinderella ­ A Holiday Pantomime hams it up for the camera. The Burl-Oak Theatre Group production runs Dec. 28-30 and will be a featured on a float in this weekend's Santa Claus Parade. | submitted photo ensemble. Cinderella shows will be staged from Dec. 28-30, starting at 2 p.m. There will also be an evening performance on Sunday, Dec. 29 at 7 p.m. The show takes place at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts, 130 Navy St. For tickets, visit www.oakvillecentre.ca or call 905-815-2021. Burl-Oak is also promoting the show with a float in Oakville's Santa Claus Parade tomorrow. The float will include two Cinderellas with their Prince Charmings. One couple will be celebrating their 60th anniversary and the other will be celebrating their first. The parade starts at 9 a.m. at Lakeshore Road and Reynolds Street. Visit www.oakvillesantaclausparade.ca. Masterworks tuning up for Koerner Hall show The Masterworks of Oakville Chorus and Orchestra is set to perform at Toronto's renowned Koerner Hall on Dec. 3. "Koerner Hall is known as one of the most beautiful and acoustically perfect halls in North America. Famous musicians from all over the world are eager to play this Royal Conservatory venue because of its uncompromising quality of sound," stated a news release. "Masterworks is honoured to be included with such legendary musicians, and we are extremely proud of this tremendous achievement for a community music group. It is a testament to our outstanding quality and professionalism." For the Dec. 3 concert, starting at 8 p.m., Masterworks will be performing with a choir of 85 singers and an orchestra of 58 musicians. Special performances It will also feature soloists Charlene Pauls (soprano), Erica Iris Huang (alto), Bud Roach (tenor) and James Baldwin (bass), and a special performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's and John Rutter's Magnificat. Ticket costs start at $35 and can be purchased online at www.koernerhall. com. Masterworks will also be putting on a local performance at St. Matthew Catholic Church, 1150 Monks Passage, on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $30 for adults, $25 for seniors, and $20 for students or children and can be purchased online at www. masterworksofoakville.ca, or in person -- visit the website for a list of locations. Nearly 400 Halton District School Board students will stage dance and drama performances during the upcoming Creating A Scene event on Thursday, Nov. 28, at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre. Starting at 7 p.m., the event features Grade 5-12 students, from 15 schools in all parts of the Halton District School Board. The emphasis will be on original creative compositions the students have choreographed, scripted or directed themselves. Critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and knowledge of skills are demonstrated in each of the performances. The demonstrations will also consist of creative movement, interpretive dance and drama, improvisational comedy, and short dramatic scenes. Tickets cost $10 each and can be purchased in person or online at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre box office located at 440 Locust St., Burlington. Halton students take the stage at BAP Musikay (formerly the Oakville Ensemble) will start the march to the holidays with a couple of concerts featuring Advent and Christmas music and benefitting local community organizations. A concert on Saturday, Nov. 30 will benefit the Grace Lutheran Church. It starts at 7:30 p.m. and will be held at the 304 Spruce St. church. Another concert will be held at Mary Mother of God Church, 2745 North Ridge Trail, on Sunday, Dec. 1. It begins at 3 p.m., and will benefit Home Suite Hope. Tickets to both concerts cost $35 for adults, $30 for seniors, $15 for students, and $70 for family -- early bird pricing is available until tomorrow (Nov. 16). For more information or to purchase tickets, email info@musikay.ca or call 905-825-9740. Musikay holiday concerts