Image Credit: CFJC Today / Adam Donnelly

By Adam Donnelly

CHIMERA THEATRE

Second annual Hydra Festival kicks off in Kamloops tonight

May 23, 2019 | 4:20 PM

KAMLOOPS — Final rehearsals have wrapped up, and it’s opening night for Chimera Theatre’s second annual Hydra Performing Arts Festival.

For Bonnie McLean, it’s her first year producing a show for the eclectic event.

“I saw it last year, and the plays I saw… were just — some of them blew me away with their creativity and their innovation,” McLean explained. “This year I thought it would great to be a part of it.”

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McLean’s production is called Backstage Bargain, but the work she and the other performers have put into the show is anything but cut rate.

Image Credit: Chimera Theatre

“It’s musical theatre-ish, so there’s lots of singing and dancing,” McLean described to CFJC Today. “It’s very high energy and a lot of fun.”

Taylor McCallum is the Artistic Producer for Chimera Theatre Company and is also producing Hydra Fest.

“Chimera Theatre, one of our big mandates is to work with local and emerging artists who are producing new works of theatre,” McCallum explained. “The Hydra Festival is a great way to do that.”

Now in its second year, the plan is to continue to grow the Hydra Festival to include more local acts and a wider variety of venues throughout the city.

“We feel like the City of Kamloops has been wanting sort of a fringe festival, sort of like the type of fringe festivals that happen in Vancouver and Victoria,” McCallum said. “We’re not quite there yet, but that is a goal we one day hope to achieve.”

For McLean and her troupe, this is a fabulous opportunity to showcase their talents alongside other community arts groups, especially considering the punch the theatre community is feeling as a result of the Sagebrush closure.

“It’s hard to find a venue that’s affordable, that’s small enough but has all the amenities like the TRU Actor’s Workshop theatre has, with it’s lights and good sound and technicians,” McLean said. “To be able to get in and to take advantage of that… it’s just wonderful.”

The Hydra Performing Arts Festival kicks off tonight at 6:00 pm with a festival preview and a pair of shows and runs two weekends — May 24 to 26 and May 30 to June 1. Tickets and festival buttons are available at the door.