The ECHO Players of Qualicum Beach would like to extend a thank-you to the businesses and audience members that made their past productions possible as they look forward to their 2019-20 season.
Sue Murguly is a longtime member of ECHO Players and currently works as the head of publicity and promotions. She says 2018-19 was a great season, and she’s looking forward to the four productions planned for the fall and winter.
“It went really well. It was a very well-received season,” said Murguly.
2019 celebrates two milestones for the Qualicum Beach theatre community.
ECHO Players celebrate their 45th anniversary, and the Village Theatre turns 70.
Two scholarships were awarded in 2019 as part of the ECHO Players Joy Mackay Memorial Scholarship. They went to Katie Redenbach and Lachlan Craven. The scholarships are given to young performing artists and go towards either a workshop, festival or a post-secondary course in the performing arts.
Murguly says that the sense of community provided by Qualicum Beach’s commitment to theatre is strong. She even credits it as a strong motivating factor for her to move to the area.
“The Village Theatre is a real gem. It provides entertainment… basically there are a lot of members who are retired, and are looking for ways to get involved in the community, and this is a wonderful creative way to get involved with the community,” said Murguly.
ECHO players will perform Grace & Glorie, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, musical The Secret Garden, and Yesteryear.
Yesteryear is written by Canadian playwright Joanna McClelland Glass and takes place in the post-WWII era. It will be the ECHO Players’ entry in the North Island Zone Drama Festival in May of 2020.