The season of peace and goodwill is a time for celebrating all that is good. But recognizing the admirable demands the ability to identify the things that don鈥檛 deserve our admiration.
With that in mind, sa国际传媒 reviewers Adrian Chamberlain, Mike Devlin and Amy Smart remind us of the things that hit a sour note in Greater Victoria鈥檚 arts scene in 2012.
The Hey-That's-Our-Money Award
Ida Chong, Sports and Arts Legacy fund
March
Members of the arts community were incensed to learn the province had $3聽million in unallocated culture funding, less than one month before the end of the fiscal year. Without a call for applications or an arm鈥檚-length body to distribute Sports and Arts Legacy funding, NDP arts critic Spencer Chandra-Herbert called it a 鈥減olitical slush fund鈥� for then-cultural development minister Ida Chong.
As recipients were named, it turned out that at least one didn鈥檛 even apply for it: Mission Mayor Ted Adlem said his municipality received $75,000 for its 120th anniversary celebrations without making a request. Chong maintained that the funding supported one-time regional requests, as it was intended.
Here鈥檚 to hoping Bill Bennett, who has replaced Chong, has the wherewithall to make the process more transparent next year.
鈥� Amy Smart
The Snowboarding-Philistines Award
Vancouverites
March
It happened in Vancouver, but has ramifications for theatre artists and audiences in sa国际传媒 and beyond. In March, the Vancouver Playhouse shut its doors after almost half a century of staging theatre.
鈥淚s Vancouver becoming a cultural backwater?鈥� wondered one national newspaper. Victoria鈥檚 Glynis Leyshon, the Playhouse鈥檚 artistic director for a decade, hinted the Big Smoke may not represent the pinnacle of Canadian culture. 鈥淰ancouver is a tough city for the arts,鈥� she said.
Perhaps Vancouverites are too busy kayaking, skiing and jogging to support theatre. We鈥檒l assume this to be the case, and so offer them The Snowboarding-Philistines Award.
鈥� Adrian Chamberlain
The This-Ain鈥檛-Fine-Wine Award
Victoria Operatic Society鈥檚 Brigadoon
May 4
Some things just don鈥檛 age well and Brigadoon is one of them. Can we agree, as a society, that our humour has evolved beyond one-liners like, 鈥淭he way you aim, the birds have got nothing to worry about!鈥� (hyuck hyuck)? Bad script plus 1940s earnestness plus amateur musical theatre equals so much eye-rolling that your optometrist should be concerned (Two can play at this battle of one-liners. I won鈥檛 stop until you do.)
鈥� AS
The Bow-to-Mother-Nature Award
The weather at Rock the Shores
July 13
Sometimes Mother Nature reminds you of her all-powerful might at very inconvenient moments. One such moment was during an outdoor concert attended by 12,500 people. Shoddy cell reception, a cancelled Sam Roberts鈥檚 set and hour-long lineups for food made for frowny-faced concertgoers. Luckily, The Tragically Hip鈥檚 Gord Downie was a gracious headliner, once on stage. By that point, the weather just electified the show with lightning forking across the sky at song climaxes.
鈥� AS
The No-Fun-Victoria Award
June
Last summer, archaic provincial liquor laws bit Trinda Reed (a.k.a. Miss Rosie Bitts) in her rosy nether regions. The Victoria burlesque dancer was all set to perform Shimmy Town at a Langford bar. However, a sa国际传媒 liquor inspector nixed her show (advertised as 鈥渏aw dropping burlesque and swinging live music鈥�) saying such shimmying would contravene provincial regulations.
The sticking point: Miss Bitts had planned to mingle with the audience, something that鈥檚 off limits to exotic dancers.
Reed, who is not an exotic dancer, insisted her show was harmless. There was no nudity. She鈥檇 planned to wear pasties and a G-string with 鈥渟o much fringe you can鈥檛 really see my bottom at all.鈥�
鈥� AC
The DJ-is-Spinning-But-Nobody-is-Home Award
Kaskade, Club 9ONE9
Aug. 12
Hours earlier 鈥� across town at the Upstairs Cabaret 鈥� rock legend Alejandro Escovedo was putting on a clinic full of audience interaction and artisanal excellence. Shortly thereafter, before 600 fans packed into a sold-out Douglas Street club, superstar DJ Ryan Raddon, a.k.a. Kaskade, was busy doing top-flight creators of electronic dance music no favours whatsoever. Maybe it works in arenas, but it was hard to follow Kas-kade鈥檚 lead on this night.
鈥� Mike Devlin
The Too-Much-Confetti-Too-Little-Rock-n-Roll Award
The Flaming Lips, Royal Athletic Park
Sept. 13
While it is unfair to label the headlining act of this year鈥檚 Rifflandia festival, The Flaming Lips, a disappointment, the group鈥檚 Victoria debut was something of a letdown. The main thing missing amid the confetti cannons, bouncing beach balls, psychedelic imagery and frontman Wayne Coyne鈥檚 human hamster wheel? A set of solid songs. The never-ending rendition (all 20 minutes of it) of the group鈥檚 lone hit, Do You Realize? was unnecessary. Surely there was more in the band鈥檚 26-year history to draw from.
鈥� MD
The Eric-Blair-Would-Shudder Award
1.9.8.4., Intrepid Theatre Club
Nov. 12 to Dec 2.
Giggling Iguana Productions has staged memorable theatre in this city. However, a production of David Elendune鈥檚 1.9.8.4. wasn鈥檛 the company鈥檚 most stellar effort. The stage adaptation of George Orwell鈥檚 Nineteen Eighty-Four was a terrible mishmash. The infamous sequence in which Winston is terrorized by having his head shoved inside a cage of rats was represented in this show by a little box with blinking lights. Scary 鈥� but not the way the company intended.
鈥� AC
