Photo from Beckett 16
by Sonya MacDonald
Beckett 26 is an alumni-organized fundraising event supporting the Dr. Errol Durbach, Norman Young, and Dr. Peter Loeffler scholarship funds. Experience selected works by celebrated Irish playwright Samuel Beckett at the Frederic Wood Theatre, September 17–19.
On three special nights in September, UBC Theatre and Film alumni will return to the Frederic Wood Theatre. They’ll step back into a place that feels a lot like home, drawn by an alumni-led Beckett production. The much-loved event reconnects past students, faculty and audiences while raising funds for student scholarships. For alum Deb Pickman (BA’91), it’s a chance to catch up with the people and the UBC program that helped shape her career. “To get together with friends from those formative years is special,” she says. “It’s a reunion night.”
Fittingly taking place during UBC Homecoming, Beckett 26 continues a tradition that began as a theatrical experiment in 1998. One night, Professor Peter Loeffler gave five $100 bills to Gerald Vanderwoude (MFA’91), a graduate student running the box office at the Frederic Wood Theatre. Vanderwoude recalls that the money came with a simple challenge to put on a show. “Direct a little Beckett perhaps,” Loeffler told him. His only requirements? A good cake and a little toast to theatre at the end.
As it turned out, the performance and party that followed proved unforgettable. Returning in one form or another nearly every year since, the celebration of creativity and mentorship continues to draw alumni back to the beloved Frederic Wood Theatre, where they built so many memories. Many bring their children and proudly show off the stage where they trod the boards, or the wall where they signed their names as students. “Everybody who went through the program feels a sense of ownership of that stage,” says alum Cam Cronin (BA’94). “It’s literally for the joy of theatre. You get to work on something fun. Sometimes it’s weird and absurd—and doesn’t get done in Vancouver.”
Cameron Cronin and Deb Pickman in Beckett 23
Beyond a reunion, Beckett 26 promises three engaging nights of performance. Five alumni and long-time contributors develop the productions each year. Pickman, Vanderwoude and Cronin, along with Beverly Bardal (BFA’91) and Joe Procyk (BFA’99), experiment with Beckett’s work and pieces conceived by Bardal and Vanderwoude.
The entire ensemble enjoys the luxury of nine months to rehearse and explore, a rarity in contemporary theatre. “Things drop in after three months and you think, what if I played this differently?” says Bardal. “Because Beckett is poetic and a bit kooky, it takes time to breathe life into it.”
That experimentation reflects Loeffler’s legendary influence. Known as much for championing students as for his unconventional teaching methods (showing up to teach in a clown nose on occasion), he regularly inspired students to look at classic works in entirely new ways through challenges like reducing King Lear to four words and four gestures.
Over time, the annual production has become a way to hand down cherished Theatre and Film Department stories. Alumni see themselves as stewards, connecting current students with the people who helped build the program, from founding figures such as Dorothy Somerset to distinguished faculty members, including Peter Loeffler, Norman Young and Errol Durbach.
“It’s a continuum. We’re all connected through our time together,” says Vanderwoude, recalling his work with Young, a student of Somerset, and witnessing theatrical traditions pass from one generation to the next. “The way he held his face,” explains Vanderwoude, “he knew how the light was striking it.” Today, he sees traces of Durbach in fellow alum Procyk’s performances. “What a gift to see that progress of style over the years.”
The sense of connection extends beyond stories. Students who participate have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience and build portfolios while learning from alumni in all aspects of theatre.
Norman Young in Beckett 12
This year, each performance night supports one of three different student awards—September 17 for the Errol Durbach Graduate Scholarship in Theatre, September 18 for the Norman Young Scholarship in Theatre, and September 19 for the Peter Loeffler Memorial Prize.
Vanderwoude and his fellow Beckett collaborators invite alumni and the wider community to enjoy a night of theatre while investing in student success.
As they look toward the future of the Beckett productions, the five say they feel fortunate to have been able to give back for so long. “To have this constant in the productions,” says Procyk, “we’re fortunate.”
All agree that the Frederic Wood Theatre doors are open to all interested alumni, and Vanderwoude points out that it’s still fun. “And there’s cake,” adds Pickman, by way of enticement. “Every night.”
The impact of giving
Past recipients share how these awards have helped shape their education and creative practice.
“Receiving the Peter Loeffler Memorial Prize in my final year of studies was a gift from the Theatre Department. It took immense pressure off of me working external jobs and allowed me to focus much more deeply on generating a wonderful body of work in my final year to prepare me for graduation and my career to follow.”
“Receiving support from the Department in the form of the Errol Durbach Graduate Scholarship not only eased some of the financial burden of graduate work, but it also allied my research with one of the Department's important early scholars and teachers. I am humbled to be a part of this lineage of theatre thinkers and writers.”
The experience
Collaborators share what it means to work on the project.
“This small fundraiser show each year punches above its weight and reminds people about the chaos, fun, despair, and togetherness of live theatre.”
“It seems only fitting that we honour Dr. Loeffler by continuing to create, and by continuing to show others just how strange and magical our world of theatre can be.”
