B4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, April 30, 2003 ‘TERRACE STANDARD JENNIFER LANG Around Town Authors’ open house LOCAL LITERARY stars gathered at a local bookstore Saturday to mark B.C, Book and Magazine Week and National Magazine Week. Anna Beddie, owner of Misty River Books, which turns 15 this year, said the April 26 open house featured a who's who list of Ter- race authors. Established local writers were on hand, in- cluding children’s author Brenda Silsbe (The Bears I Know, A Tree is Just A Tree), Kermode bear buff Tess Tessier (Spirit Bear), and Yvonne Moen (columnist and co-author of This Old House), and members of the Terrace Regional Historical Society (Terrace Anecdotes). - They were expected to be joined by Robert Stanley, author of Northwest Native Arts: Basic Forms, 2002’s bestselling textbook on north- west coast artistic design elements, and pro- specting enthusiast Abe Borden, who’s penned a series of “rock hounding” books featuring places in and around B.C. Invitations also went out to the Terrace Writers’ Guild and Joe Pel- letier, author of The World Cup of Hockey: a’ Histary af Hockey's Greatest Tournament, Beddie says she hopes to organize another authors’ open house during Riverboat Days. CNC SCHOLAR Sharon Andersen Scholarship is handy for CNC student A COLLEGE student from Terrace with a 4.0 grade point average was surprised to leam she is the recipient of a $2,000 scholarship. Sharon Andersen, an early childhood edv- . cation student at the College of New Caledo- nia in Prince George, earned the largest scho- larship granted during this year’s spring awards ceremony. She knew she was in good academic stand- ing but realized competition for scholarship money would be stiff because so many stu- dents applied. There were more than 5,000 scholarship applicants this year. “| was really happy,” Anderson said, recal- ling the moment she learned she’d earned the Canfor Corporation scholarship. “I thought, ‘I can put it toward my student loans to help pay them back.’” She plans to pursue her chosen field at an infant and toddler centre after completing the 10-month-long program. She hopes to eventu- .” ally open her own day care in the Prince George area, Take flight Saturday IF YOU'RE heading over to Hawkair's Hangar Party on Saturday afternoon, you might want to pack your bags first. You could win a free overnight trip te Van- couver in a suitcase draw at the party, sche- duled from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday May 3. The hangar party is the home grown avia- tion company’s way of celebrating Terrace’s 75th and Kitimat’s 50th birthday celebrations. And what better place to hold it than inside the Hawkair hangar at the Northwest Regional Airport? The festivities include a barbecue presented by Terrace firefighters, a women’s soccer de- monstration and live music by Terrace’s own Kingfish, a rousing local rock band. Comic book giveaway THERE MAY BE no such thing as o free lunch, but there is something called Free Comic Book Day. Sco pay attention to that tingling sensation in your forehead. It's your Spidey Sense telling you that on Saturday, May 3, shops across North America will be giving away free comic books to new customers. Here in Terrace, head on down to Comic Encounters at 4722 Lazeile. It’s the second year in a row the comic book industry has joined forces for the event. The aim is to encourage more people to read comic books, a vibrant but often trivia- lized artform. Fans say they're not just for kids anymore, and haven't been for a long time. Comic book super heroes, meanwhile, are enjoying a huge surge in popularity, thanks to Hollywood blockbusters like Spider-Man or the Batman series, It’s no coincidence that this year's Free Comic Book Day takes place the day after the X-Men sequel opens on movie screens. Many different comic publishers - from mainstream powerhouses like Marvel to alter- native publishing houses — are sponsoring the giveaway. The freebies are special. Comic Book Day editions, Tit:. range from Archie Comics to the new Robocop s series and every- thing in between. . the show is comprised of 638-7283 Reality check Mike Weeber’s portraits communicate both naive whimsy and profound insight. By JENNIFER LANG PREPARE to be dis- turbed and amazed by the honest and revealing portraits captured by Mike Weeber’s camera lens. The New Hazelton photographer is emer- ging as a talented addi- tion to the northern B.C. artistic scene, His latest exhibit, on view at the Terrace Art Gallery to May 2, demon- strates a maturing artistic sensibility that’s filled with compassion for the human condition. There are some still life shots, but for the most part white images. known Hazelton fiercely smoking etie. grandfather portraits, Weeber, a freelance photographer for the Znter- jor ‘News in Smithers, brings a rare truthfulness to his work; even his more pedestrian semi-nude por- traits have recorded some- thing more meaningful and money, illuminating and heart- breaking as technically proficient the black and We meet Elvis, a well- who was an aboriginal car- ver until his promise was destroyed by alcohol. Or consider the portrait of Nathan Windle, an in- tense-looking young man The caption describes a telling his grandson a story about two wolves — one of anger, one of happiness or hope. “Which one is bigger?” the ald man asks. one you feed the most.” Juniper, a young home- less addict Weeber en- countered on the streets of Vancouver, wrote him a poem in return for Crack resident a cigar- “It's the It’s a bit of a rogues gallery, with schizophre- nics and beggars side by side with weight lifters and It’s a rogues gallery, with schizophre- nics and beggars side by side with weight lifters and dreamy-eyed girls. enduring than surface beauty. Weeber gets the es- sence of a subject’s story in short,. handwritten. cap- image. photds'‘that ‘cOmmunicale both naive whimsy and profound insight. These notes are often as Speaking in Tonques A wild-eyed young the ‘northern darkness, wearing a long, black coat that’s open, revealing a skimpy tube top and hot dreamy-eyed girls but there's an undeniable hu- manity at the core of each INTENSE PORTRAIT: Mike Weeber, right, stands: next to. his photo :of Na- tions tacebinpanying® the “ woman~thumbs a-ride-in” than Windle, one of his featured works, JENNIFER LANG PHOTO: ~ ° sae ote pants. Snow sticks to her velvety high heels, Her defiance is unfor- geltable, considering the stark fact that so many young women have gone missing from Highway 16. The show ends Friday at the Terrace Art Gallery. Getting betrayal out in the a, TLT production takes a risk with story structure By JENNIFER LANG A SLY grin creeps across Patrick McIntyre’s face. The two-time Terrace Little Theatre direc- tor clearly relishes the technical and logistical chalienges that he and his cast and crew have confronted in staging Speaking in Tongues. Due to the unusual storyline, the full cast hadn’t rehearsed together until quite recently. The dramatic mystery, opening tomorrow night at the McColl Playhouse, features a large ensemble cast of nine that boasts eight local stage veterans and one talented newco- mer. But that’s not all, “It’s a challenging play,” McIntyre says, adding the actors have risen to the various demands of the script. “The acting’s top-notch. We've got some real talent. They’re doing some of their best work.” Part murder mystery, part thriller, Speaking in Tongues enters compelling but strange terri- tory. “We want the audience to be on the edge of its seat,” he says. In the same vein as multi-storylined Mag- nolia or Robert Altman’s Short Cuts, Speaking in Tongues follows the stories of different people who don’t know each other but are inti- mately connected. When one of the characters witnesses someone throwing away a woman's shoe, it sets up a murder investigation that frames the play - and the characters’ hidden and open re- lationships to one another. Although staged in two acts, the play moves through three distinct sections that offer the audience different points of view and shifts Nominations DO YOU know a woman whose courage, in- tegrity and hard work has helped advance the cause of women's equality — and enriched her community? Status of Women Canada is calling for no- minations for the 24th annual Governor Gen- eral’s Awards in Commemoration of the Per- sons Case. The deadline is May 16, The awards honour the victory of the Per- sons Case, a landmark victory of five Alberta women - a band of politicians, activists,. and writers - who.won the right for Canadian ACTORS Andy Roth, left, and Brent Carver in a scene from Speaking in Tongues. in perspective. Information revealed later on in the story affects how the viewer should interpret action that took place earlier in the play. “If you break the bonds of fidelity, it has a tipple effect on everyone.” The key to understanding Speaking in Tongues, McIntyre says, is the dream that each character shares. He’s staged the show using a minimalist set, putting a big importance on the role of lighting to differentiate scenes and parts of the story when various storylines seem to be tak- ing place simultaneously. But don’t worry: “It’s only unusual in structure,” McIntyre says. He’s also using music and sound to help dramatize the action. . Speaking in Tongues is Terrace’s entry in the 2003 Skeena Zone Drama Festival, taking place in Prince Rupert later this month. The winner goes on to the provincials, for award marking victory women to serve in the federal senate, paving the way for women to participate in public life, Emily Murphy, the first female magistrate in the British Empire, Nellie McClung, Irene Parlby, Henrietta Muir Edwards and Louise McKinney petitioned the Supreme Court of Canada asking that the term “person” in the British North America, the precursor to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, include women, - Their first petition was rejected, but the Fa- mous Five persisted, launching an appeal. On Oct, 18, 1929, the decision came down. The group had won. In 1979, the year of the 50th anniversary of the historic decision, the fedéral government created awards honouring women who have, made outstanding contributions to the quality of life of women In Canada. Five awards and one youth award will be presented in October. For information contact Status of Women Canada at 613-995-7835. Or point: your web browser to www. awe. cfc.ge. ca/dates/persons/index_ &. html”