Upcoming ​Performances

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Sweeping Meditations
with Erin Scott

Sweeping Meditations is a feat in storytelling comedy about uncovering personal truths and the power in meditative action. Award-winning spoken word poet Erin Scott finds herself sweeping her life away, hiding the truth of her personal desires below the tattered rug of their first marriage, before deciding to flip the broom right-side round and start fresh.
The show is a participatory, gentle, humourous, and meditative experience.

Buy tickets

Past Performances

MALLEUS MALEFICARUM:
​Hammer of Witches
a new play by Kate Twa

Joan of Arc, The Wyrd Sisters from MacBeth, Abigail Williams from The Crucible, and an outspoken 15th century housewife, face off against persecution in this deadly time of “othering”. A charismatic witch hunter defends the Malleus Maleficarum, a violent and sadistic instruction manual describing how to detect, prosecute, torture, and often execute people accused of witchcraft. Based on historical fact, the play Malleus Maleficarum: Hammer of Witches will look at the how the stories we tell can often perpetuate the historical and ongoing persecution of people who are simply different.

Nevermore: The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allen Poe

Cat's Paw Productions Society is back with another musical theatre spectacle.  

"Passion Fruits"
with Peach Gravy Improv

Local improv troupe, Peach Gravy, teams up with Tempest to fill the stage with spontaneity and creativity. 

Be a part of the twist, plots, and story arcs of Passion Fruits!
​An improv show framed around sitcoms and soap operas.

Half Life of Marie Curie:
a Performance & Talkback

performed by Kate Twa and Denise Kenney

Weakened and demoralized by a scandal inflamed by ruthless reporters, Marie Curie joins Hertha Ayrton, an electromechanical engineer and suffragette, at a seaside retreat on the British coast. The two brilliant women discuss Einstein’s oddities, the wonders of a curious mind, and the patriarchy that couldn’t stop them.
Tempest celebrates the brilliance of women and their contributions. After each performance,  Denise Kenney and Kate Twa will be joined for a talkback discussion by a panel of special guests (different each night).

10 Minute Plays

As a special treat, the Tempest Ensemble is presenting 4 Ten Minute Plays that will present after the One Minute Play Festival as part of Penticton’s Ignite the Arts Fest. These bite sized plays are packed with laughs, curiosities and bizarre twists.

Tempest Ensemble: Amy Dickinson, Mia Harris, Fereidoon Kavosian, Dan Freeman, Colter McLean, Moon Makepeace, Kyler Sahlmark, Sarah Senecal, Kate Torgerson.

The event with begin with Spoken Word performances from Cain Critchlow and Melissa Boulianne. 

One Minute Play Festival

RULES:
- Discriminatory themes or language will not be tolerated.
- Please don't make a mess on our stage, and use common safety sense when developing your concept.
- Be ready to perform it twice in the same night. If you make it to the final round, you get to do it all over again!
- There will be no dress rehearsal Tempest - you can do all that elsewhere and turn up at Tempest on the night!
​
BACKGROUND:
The One Minute Play Festival is the brainchild of Paul Crawford who has been hosting this annual event for over 20 years as a core element of the Arts Wells Festival. Drawing inspiration from 'skit-night at summer camp' Paul brought to life a raucous, often off-the-cuff, many times brilliant collection of performers and ideas. Tempest is honoured to host it again at this year's Ignite the Arts Festival in Penticton.

WHO CAN ENTER:
Anyone! Just submit your script in advance and once approved, cast your show & start rehearsing.Hosts: Paul Crawford & Nikos Theodosakis
Judges: Kate Twa & Roark Critchlow
We're accepting original works which can be performed in under 60 seconds to be performed (by you or your people) on the Tempest Stage on Saturday, April 1st as part of the 'Ignite The Arts Festival'. Your live audience and a select panel of judges will decide who will make it to the final round and then who will walk away with 1st, 2nd & 3rd place.

Ignite the Arts Festival

A ten-day extravaganza celebrating the vibrant arts and culture of our community. From March 24th to April 2nd, 2023, check out a jam-packed schedule of events for you to enjoy.

Buy your wristband for the Festival Weekend (March 31-April 2) and take in over 50 artists and performances at 5 different venues in Downtown Penticton. Use FESTFRIENDTEMPEST as a code to get a discounted price at checkout!

Tempest is proud to be hosting the One Minute Play Festival & 10 Minute Play Presentations during the Festival Weekend.

Unicorns Reawakened | Penticton

What would you do if your entire ability to earn your livelihood was taken away in mere moments? For many artists, the pandemic was the case. The Unicorn Reawakened tells that story. A story of adaptability, struggle and creative triumph. Penned and created by Dustyn Baulkham and performed by Dustyn, Matthew Presidente and Ella Lamoureux, this show will take you through the mindset of how these artists adapted and conquered. 

Tickets are free (registration is required), thanks to the generous support of Heritage Canada. While tickets are free, we strongly encourage you to tip the performers if you enjoy the performance.​

The C.R. Avery Orchestra  
& VICTORY ON EAST HASTINGS: 
a cinematic opera ​with Mia Harris and Cain Critchlow

After the ghostly ushers from ancient Galway have led you to your seat and the time-machine-lights of the Theatre have dimmed, you’ll know that you’re about to witness something special going down.

VICTORY ON EAST HASTINGS is a feature film that transcends the ordinary ‘night out on the town’, with C.R. Avery narrating the entire tale with two dancers in toe while performing sections of the score live and direct. This is showbiz baby with C.R. and his crew pulling out all the stops to bring the circus to town, like a traveling opera, or the vaudeville cabarets of yesteryears. 
​
All bets are off, good people, as cinema is about to have an affair with a rock and roll revival show. Boom to the zoom Mo’fo’s, here comes the ultimate love letter to East Van, that's also a ghost story that must be witnessed live. 

Romance at the Table

This table is for Valentine's Day. You know, that day in the year where love bubbles like champagne and the whispers of amoré are everywhere…what could possibly go wrong? I mean, do we know the origins of the day? It couldn’t possibly be a manipulation controlled by corporate greedy guts, right?
It’s ALL about …love!

The actors and audience will create stories together in this improv theatre night. The evening starts with short form improvisation with the Tempest Players, led by Isaac Gilbert and, after intermission (and libations in Tempest’s cozy lounge), Isaac is joined by Cain Critchlow and Sean Wood who accept prompts from the audience to build a full length play before your eyes. Like we said, what can go wrong?

Madeline Terbasket

Madeline Terbasket (they/them) is a two-spirit performing artist. They do traditional storytelling, filmmaking, burlesque and drag. Madeline is syilx, Ho-chunk and Anishinaabe. They grew up in the beautiful Similkameen Valley and they now reside in Penticton. Madeline Terbasket is reimagining traditional stories with their physical comedy, queerness and vulnerability.

In their show, The Two-spirit Tease, they will take you on a bold, playful, raw medicine walk through their life. Weaving together memories, songs, poetry, and traditional syilx stories they will cover a variety of topics. Madeline will share about their mental health journey, body image, queer identity and joy. They will meet you in your laughter and your tears. 

At the Holiday Table

The table is a place for family and friends to gather. Stories bubble to the surface and memories are re-lived. At this table the stories and memories are from the audience. The actors and audience will create stories together in this improv theatre night! Start the night off with short form improvisation and come back after intermission to see a full length play be built before your eyes. What characters will be sitting at the table? The grumpy uncle? The wise grandmother? Or friends bent on saving the world?
Featuring actors from Tempest Theatre and Peach Gravy Improv: Cain Critchlow, Dan Freeman, Isaac Gilbert, Lynn Green, Fereidoon Kavosian, Bob McAtamney, Colter McLean, Kim Russell, Kate Torgerson, Sean Wood
Presented in partnership with the Peach Gravy Theatre Coop

I and You
by Lauren Gunderson

Working together on a Walt Whitman project, two wildly different teenagers let down their guard and share of themselves in this ode to youth, life, love and the strange beauty of human connectedness.

​Directed by Kate Twa
​With Kaitlyn Bernard and Andy Kalirai

At The Table
The place for family and friends to gather

The table is a place for family and friends to gather. Stories can bubble to the surface, secrets can be revealed, memories are relived.
Stories from the audiences’ experiences and imaginations will fuel the improvisers to create a play on the spot. Working together, who will the actors and spectators conjure? Will it be the grumpy outdated Uncle? Wise grandmother? Troubled teen? Visiting extra-terrestrials?
Find out July 22 and 23 as Tempest partners with Peach Gravy for two completely original performances.

Member of Patreon? You're invited to attend the Dress Rehearsal free of charge! Give valuable feedback and let your voice be heard!

THEATRE TAPAS
Scenes from seven new plays

Tempest is back with a banquet of scenes from current and topical plays. Tempest's Presentations are the culmination of intensive training by the ensemble and are sure to captivate and generate conversation.

EVERY BRILLIANT THING
A play by Duncan McMillan and Johnny Donohoe

You’re six years old. Mom’s in hospital, and your dad tells you it’s because ”She finds it hard to be happy". You start to make a list of everything that’s brilliant about the world. Everything that’s worth living for. 1. Ice cream. 2. Kung Fu movies. 3. The color yellow. 4. Laughing so hard you shoot milk out your nose. 5. People falling over. 6. Me. You leave it on her pillow. You know she’s read it because she’s corrected your spelling. Soon, the list will take on a life of its own. A play about depression and the lengths we will go to for those we love. Every Brilliant Thing makes a plea for kindness and mutual support that seems particularly timely.
​Directed by Kate Twa
Starring Lucas Penner

One Minute Play Festival

The name says it all: we're accepting original works which can be performed in under 60 seconds to be performed on the Tempest Stage on Thursday March 31st as part of the inaugural 'Ignite The Arts Festival'. Your live audience and a select panel of judges will decide who will make it to the final round and then who will walk away with 1st, 2nd & 3rd place. Scripts must be submitted in advance and there is no fee to participate. Make it snappy, make it fun. If you run overtime, the giant clock will make a nasty sound!
BACKGROUND:The One Minute Play Festival is the brainchild of Paul Crawford who has been hosting this annual event for over 20 years as a core element of the Arts Wells Festival. Drawing inspiration from 'skit-night at summer camp' Paul brought to life a raucous, often off-the-cuff, many times brilliant collection of performers and ideas. We are honoured to take on the mantle of this event and launch it at this year's Ignite the Arts Festival in Penticton.

Okanagan Film Industry 101
A Discussion Panel

The film industry is going through a growth phase in all parts of the Okanagan. Find out more from an esteemed panel of experts.
Guests
Jon Summerland, Okanagan Film Commissioner
Charles Cornell, GM, Community Futures Okanagan -Similkameen
Kate Twa, Independent Filmmaker, Director, Writer
Judy JK Lee, Casting Director
Ronan Reinart, Cinematographer, Editor, Commercial Lawyer
Hosted by Jen Vincent

Our Wicked Problem
Climate Action Plays

Our Wicked Problem was part of an exciting global initiative headquartered out of New York, called the Climate Change Theatre Action. The organization commissioned 50 playwrights from around the world to write five-minute plays for people to produce any way they like in their communities. Performance dates were intended to coincide or be adjacent to the COP26 talks. Proceeds must be donated to local environmental organizations or projects.
Our Wicked Problem consisted of 4 evening performances, 2 in Penticton & 2 in Kelowna. 4 separate organizations came together to make the shows happen: Tempest Theatre in Penticton and Kelowna-based Inner Fish Performance Co, the Inspired Word Café and the Faculty of Creative & Critical Studies at UBCO. Performers, directors, and crew donated their time. FortisBC, Inner Fish Performance Co., and private donations covered some of the expenses.

Fall Presentations

A collection of scenes from award-winning plays featuring local talent and presented live at Tempest Theatre in Penticton.

Directed by Kate Twa
Cast: Sharon Estephan, Sarah Foss, Beth Fotheringham, Mae Glerum, Mia Harris, Maia Mae, Jenny Moon Makepeace, Lucas Penner, Vance Potter, Oli Ware, Braeden Williams

What.A.Mess.
A Post-Plague Greek Catharsis

An ORIGINAL PRODUCTION written by the Company

Directed by Kate Twa, Denise Kenney and Edward Foy
Cast: Miriam Cummings, Chantal Ethier, Edward Foy, Denise, Kenney, Lucas Penner