MoreonMain...Celebrating Arts, Culture & Community on Main St. 17 snTSfrciin ms Will Shakespeare's Romeo &: Juliet Presented by The Emerging Actor's Mentor Co-op October 30 to November 10 FireHall Arts Centre Below the belt of E. Hastings there lies a great and quaint art house duly dubbed, Firehall Arts Centre, as it resides in a handsomely converted fire hall. It was here that I had the pleasure of seeing acclaimed Canadian director Tom Kerr's interpretation of Shakespeare's classic romantic tragedy. Kerr chose the venue for its ability to convert into an 'alley theatre' configuration, with two seating areas forming a sandwich on both sides of the stage. This layout allowed the audience to get extremely close to the action and was part of Kerr's plan to create a profound sense of intimacy between the audience and the characters. The eighteen-person cast is largely composed of emerging young actors who were mentored by theatre professionals who played the mature roles. This is the method employed by the newly formed Emerging Actor's Mentor Co-op whose goal is to give fledgling actors both training and exposure through the classics of old and of the 20 th century. Judging from their production of Romeo and Juliet, the organization has achieved their noble goal with resounding success. Stephen Spender delivered a strong interpretation of Romeo and shared a memorable chemistry with Juliet, played by the talented Jennifer Mawhinney. The strong title characters were well buttressed by a great supporting cast. Romeo's good friends, Mercutio (Zachary Ansley) and Benvolio (Joshua Drebbit) create a natural rapport with their buddy, Romeo, enlivening their often playful dialogue with a sense of spontaneity and vibrant kinetics. Skillfully delivering comic relief were Juliet's nursemaid (Trish Allen) and her hapless assistant (Ryan Williamson), the former successfully embodying the audience's love of maternity. Friar Laurence, played by veteran player Adam Henderson, spent his brief moments on the stage with a potency that can only be described as 'the stuff of great acting'. Honestly, his portrayal of the goodly character was so strong that it made me want to just hang with the guy and shoot the chips. It was this and other numerous golden moments (including excellent fight choreography by David Bloom) that made this production a great and refreshing experience. Publicist Diane Stapley says the cast was so impressed by the play that many have chosen to get aboard Kerr's next project, which will be 20 th century classic and will be presented in either the March or April of next year. Regardless of the play that is chosen, with Kerr's innovative direction and talented cast, the show's bound to be fa-bu-lous. The location is yet undetermined so stay tooned to this and other publications for further information. Sean McDiamond Yellow Diablo Continued MOREon: I didn't notice any referees at the bout. What would your judgment on the fight be? Diablo: it was a draw until my feet went through his windshield. MOREonrSo, you're the victor? Diablo: Well I'll put it this way. I'm walking home, he's going to scrap yard in a tow truck. MOREon: Any message for your fans? Diablo: Uh. No pain no gain. (Thinking) Eat your vitamins and stay in school. You heard it here first, folks. Stay tuned for The Yellow Diablo's next fierce and no-objects barred fight. Until next time, fight fair and keep it clean. Sean McDiamond The Yellow Diablo 'Maximum Overdrive Wrestling' Access Artist-rim Centre Friday November 2nd Who dares challenge the machines and other inanimate objects that rule our daily lives? Who is the shriek of defiance that will break the silence against these and other tyrants!? It is He, the lone masked figure who will do battle on our behalf, tirelessly beating the enemy back with barehanded attack. Calling himself only ... The Yellow Diablo! Yes, sports and art fans alike were take.n with the epic battle supremacy that played out on a usually sedate?? Carrall Street in Gastown, November 2nd. It was the Yellow Diablo versus an evil stationary Camaro outside the Access Arts Centre, a performance art piece affiliated with the Live: Biennial of Performance Art. A crowd of roughly two hundred spectators surrounded the makeshift arena to witness Senor Diablo wrestle with the car he bought that day for $250. The star wore only a vintage sequined wrestling mask, sneakers and a pair of jeans with three microphones duck taped along each leg. Diablo took control of the match by reefing on the driver side door and then the hood. Perhaps heeding the advice of his fans, "You g o n n a take t h a t ? " " W h o made w h o , Diablo?!", Diablo got down to business with a twenty foot ladder. But it's not what you think. Instead of beating the car, he erected the ladder and began body slamming and elbow dropping the car's roof and windshield from the top rung!. The crowd was stunned by Diablo's apparent disregard for extreme punishment and undying resolve to dominate his metal foe. I was thinking PCP myself but later learned that the wrestler's only pain killer is the natural 'stage drunk' he receives from live performance. The match concluded with Diablo's fifth and final 20 ft aerial attack in which he broke through the cars windshield and slammed the open hood down with deadly force. The crowd went wild and the City's finest moved in. Wading through the throng of confused police who invaded the gallery, 1 spoke with the oil smudged and impressively collected Diablo.