It’s going to be a busy week for the small-but-mighty team behind Project Limelight.
On Sunday, they’re presenting two performances of East Side Story, a high-energy, family-friendly musical featuring a cast of 25 between the ages of 8 and 15 about fairy tale characters who sneak into Strathcona at night to play ball with two neighbourhood kids.
It takes a lot of work (almost entirely volunteer) to put on a show like East Side Story, but it’s all just part of the mission that Project Limelight has been diligently pursuing for a few years now: to offer a free performing arts program to kids living in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Strathcona, and Mount Pleasant.
That’s a pretty substantial ongoing mission, and the Project Limelight team – led by sisters Maureen Webb and Donalda Weaver, both of whom work in the local film and TV industry – have regularly reached out to their kin in the Vancouver screen scene for whatever support they can offer.
And that’s where Tuesday Night Live – the second Project Limelight event of the week – comes in.
Tuesday Night Live is an ongoing (likely monthly; they're still ironing out all of the details) storytelling series that brings together actors, producers, directors, agents and writers in an intimate setting to share stories and raise awareness for Project Limelight.
(If that sounds familiar, you’re thinking of the 2013 incarnation of Tuesday Night Live, which ran bi-weekly and on Mondays; it was resurrected this past April).
This next Tuesday Night Live features Sarah Wayne Callies, star of The Walking Dead and Prison Break. Rob LaBelle, executive producer of CTV’s Motive, will host.
East Side Story takes to the stage at SFU Woodward’s Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre for two performances on May 24. Tickets are $12 and are available at ProjectLimelightSociety.org.
As for Tuesday Night Live, it goes down May 26 at the Backstage Lounge. The event is free, but there’s a suggested donation of $5. Announcements and info on Facebook at facebook.com/tnlvancity.
