For this month's remount of John & Jen, a quirky musical presented by Undiscovered Theatre, founder Kim Bunka will be heading back to school.
Specifically, to Port Moody's Heritage Woods secondary where drama teacher Shanda Walters has invited the cast and musicians to show a scene and to talk with her acting students.
"I think it'll be different from anything that they've seen before," Bunka, a Gleneagle graduate, said of the production. "It's not like a touring production of Wicked or other big musicals; it's very pared down with just the two actors and a small setting. I think it's cool to expose them to something like this."
Bunka said she plans to bring the format to the Inlet Theatre in Port Moody where on Thursday, Jan. 19, she's inviting School District 43 high school students to see the show - at a reduced rate of $15 - and have a talk-back session afterwards.
Her aim "is to inspire them to, if not, go into acting after graduation, at least try out for different styles of theatre, more smaller and intimate," she said.
Bunka was drawn to John & Jen after meeting with playwright and composer Andrew Lippa in 2004 (the musical also penned by Tom Greenwald). She staged it last August at Inlet Theatre but "we felt that when we were doing the show, we were just getting into it and then it was over really fast," she said. "It's kind of like Christmas: You build up to so much work then that's it.
"We felt like we wanted to bring it back again."
John & Jen is the story of a brother and sister and, later, a mother and son, in the United States between 1950 and 1990, and touches on heavy topics like the Vietnam War, single parenting and domestic abuse.
Bunka is in the lead role with Joel Ballard, a Riverside secondary graduate; however, two band members have changed since last summer's production: James Deady, a Grade 12 Dr. Charles Best secondary student, is replacing Andrew Persoon on percussion while Minjee Yoon will take over the cellist spot from Sarah Him.
John & Jen runs Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m., Jan. 20 and 21 at 8 p.m., and Jan. 22 at 2 p.m. at Inlet Theatre (100 Newport Dr., Port Moody). Tickets are available through www.undiscoveredtheatre.com or at the door on the night of the show.
jwarren@tricitynews.com
