Readers Theatre on the Horizon???

 

I haven’t been active in my Casey persona in recent years (as a writer, 

that is!) for two reasons:

 

I have been focussing on my Brigit writings, as Mael Brigde, and this 

has taken a lot of time and energy. (You can find a link to my book, 

blogs, etc. here.)

 

VCon, our annual SF convention here in Vancouver, Canada, has been 

absent for several years. Over the last year or two, volunteers have been 

hosting events in order to rebuild toward VCon, and I’ve enjoyed these 

very much, but as a regular attendee, not as a panelist. In November, 

they are presenting a one day convention called CONnections, and I 

have decided to pitch a readers theatre, as we have done in previous 

years as the Pallahaxi Players Readers Theatre. 

 

I hope this happens. I haven’t volunteered this time around to be on 

panels, and with the very sad and sudden death of Fran Skene, there is 

not likely to be a Turkey Reading (one of the greatest delights of VCons 

past, for me, at least), but I would love to sit down with fellow writers and 

read out something delightful for the audience.

 

We may have something in the can already, but if you have a short, 

stirring or humorous, play that would suit readers theatre*, we would be 

happy to see if your writing would be a fit for us. Or if you know of 

something in the public domain that would work well for an audience of 

SF and fantasy fans, we'd be interested in knowing about that, too.

If you are interested in participating at CONnections, you can pitch your 

idea here:

 

 

https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/connections-program-guest-inquiry

 

* Unlike actors memorising lines and acting with a set, we sit at a table 

together and read out our parts.

 

Image: “Alien Amor” by Laura Molina (Laura Molina/National Museum of Mexican Art) 

[CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

 

 

Who are the Pallahaxi Players? What is Readers Theatre?

Who are the Pallahaxi Players? What is Readers Theatre?

“Reader's theatre or Reader's theater is a style of theater in which the actors do not memorize their lines. Actors use only vocal expression to help the audience understand the story … This style of performance of literature was initially lauded because it emphasized hearing a written text as a new way to understand literature.” Wikipedia

The Pallahaxi Players is a group of fans and authors who like to perform (scripts in hand) short plays for the audiences of VCon—Vancouver’s premier science fiction, fantasy, and gaming convention. We are following in the tradition of Lonely Cry Theatre, founded by Michael G. Coney, who with fellow writers and hangers on entertained VCon audiences for years. Our name is an homage to the world found in his novels Hello, Summer, Goodbye (alternately published as Rax and Pallahaxi Tide) and I Remember Pallahaxi.

Recipient of the British Science Fiction Association Award, one Nebula, and five Aurora Awards, Michael G. Coney was a well loved man and an influential writer in the 1970s British Invasion, writing a variety of works that often lulled the reader into thinking she was reading fantasy only to discover it was finely wrought science fiction. Humour, character, place, and plot all played a large part in Mike’s works. He is greatly missed by those who knew him.

This year at VCon, as part of our celebration of the British Invasion, the Pallahaxi Players will be performing Mike’s first Lonely Cry offering, “Sex and Perversion in Gnomedom.”

VCON 42/Canvention 38: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Games: 5-7 October 2018. Hosted by WCSFA - West Coast Science Fiction Association and VCON.

Visit our Facebook page!

Mike Coney, External References:

“I think that [writing] has taught me always to be completely honest with the reader and never allow myself to take the easy way out for the sake of glib plot device.”

Casey June Wolf’s first contact with Mike Coney’s books (“though I’d known Mike and his Lonely Cry Readers Theatre for some years”): “Pallahaxi Mike,” Den Page of Casey June Wolf, Friday, September 16, 2005.

“Michael Coney: Science-fiction writer whose readability hid inner depths” by Christopher Priest. The Guardian, Thu 1 Dec 2005 09.31 GMT.

Michael's Spyglass: an Interview with Mike Coney by C. June Wolf. Strange Horizons, Issue: 6 february 2006.

Review of “Hello Summer, Goodbye and I Remember Pallahaxi by Michael G. Coney” by Colin Harvey. Strange Horizons, Issue: 28 July 2008.

Excerpt from Pallahaxi Tide by Michael G. Coney, read by Casey June Wolf. FintanSparky, 22 Oct 2011.

Michael G. Coney Wikipedia page.

Summary Bibliography: Michael G. Coney, The Internet Speculative Fiction Database.

Image: "Alien Amor" by Laura_Molina (Laura Molina/National Museum of Mexican Art) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Coming Up Fast! VCon 41: Readings, Readings, & (OMG) More Readings!!!

It's that time again, folks--the time when you look at my blog and think, oh! She's not dead!

No, she's not. And this year I will be as active as ever at VCon. I am gathering my forces (two nieces, a nephew, a friend, and an honorary nephew) and storming the Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel in Surrey for the weekend.

I've agitated until a panel I want to see (not be in) was organized:

Friday, September 30 • 18:00 - 18:50

Women Veterans of Vancouver Fanzine Fandom

This is special to my heart as I was once a reader of, and occasional producer of, fanzines (I still read faithfully a couple of zines, such as Bruce Gillespie's Science Fiction Commentary.) For years I had a beautiful Gestetner machine in my kitchen--indeed, as a young pup my main job at my place of employ was tending to the Gestetner room. Now I get to sit back and listen to tales of yore from them that was there. Yippee!

The following morning we are staging another Pallahaxi Players event:

Saturday, October 1 • 11:00 - 11:50

Pallahaxi Players Reader Theatre Presents 'Deep North' by Carlos Lozano Gilabert

I'm excited about this one. Carlos Lozano Gilabert has been widely published in Mexico and Spain, but this is his first performance in Canada. His play involves the crash of a rescue plane in the far north of Canada, and things that go AAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! in the night.

Later:

Saturday, October 1 • 14:00 - 14:25

Reading: Casey June Wolf & Eileen Kernaghan

I love reading with Eileen. We have been reading together, critiquing each other's works, and generally getting buzzed on writing for many years now. I will be reading from my latest publication, "Fog". Eileen is being coy about what she will read, but as one of my all time favourite authors (and I really do mean that, I am not just out-gassing because she's my friend) I know I will enjoy whatever it is.

On Saturday morning I get to enjoy the usual In Camera Writers Workshop, which critiques I am almost finished doing now. This is followed by:

Sunday, October 2 • 15:30 - 16:50

Turkey Readings

Always a favourite for me, when we in the front of the room get to go over the top in reading aloud from, shall we say purple? science fiction novels of past glory, while audience members act them out, and others pay good money to make them stop. And start. And stop... A fund raiser for the Canadian Unity Fan Fund. A good last hurrah for me before I get to flake up to the hospitality suite for a cuppa joe.

See you there?

At Last! Mrs Zaberewsky Meets the (little) Screen!

For a taste of "This is for Mrs Zaberewsky", as performed by the Pallahaxi Readers Theatre at VCon 36, click away below or go to YouTube and view it on Steph St Laurent's channel. Unfortunately, the camera boobled half way through, but you get a good dose of our humble homage to the late Michael Coney and his staple of yester-VCons, The Lonely Cry Readers Theatre.

Virginia O'Dine of Bundoran Press as Narrator.
Steph St Laurent as Wikta.
Theo Arnott Campbelll as Mrs Zaberewsky and Droodla the alien.
Rhea Rose as Mrs Jablonski, ramp, and Unglubump the alien.
Casey Wolf as prompter (and of course author).

Popcorn permitted but not supplied. Enjoy.

Play premieres at VCon 36

Theatre! Aliens! Clumsy dancing!

See it all in

"This is For Mrs Zaberewsky"

Saturday October 1st

@ 1pm

Minoru A

Sheraton Vancouver Airport

starring

Pallahaxi Players Readers Theatre

Theo Campbell, Virginia O’Dine, Rhea Rose,

Steph St Laurent, Casey Wolf

VCON 36

– September 30 to October 2, 2011 –

http://www.vcon.ca/

You are invited to the premiere performance of the Pallahaxi Players Readers Theatre. We wish to acknowledge the late Mike Coney, author of Pallahaxi Tide, Fang the Gnome, The Celestial Steam Locomotive and others, for presenting earlier VCon audiences with the Lonely Cry Readers Theatre, of which we are a blatant rip-off – er, homage.

http://www.lonelycry.ca/mconey.html

http://www.lonelycry.ca/index.html