Theatre & Storytelling
Beverley Elliott
Theatre & Storytelling
Beverley Elliott’s theatrical career has taken her across Canada to the Centaur Theatre in Montreal, the Blyth Festival in Ontario, PTE in Winnipeg, the Globe Theatre in Regina, Western Canada Theatre Company in Kamloops, Gateway in Richmond, Chemainus Theatre Festival, Shadbolt in Burnaby, Evergreen in Coquitlam and The Arts Club, Firehall, Presentation House, and Touchstone Theatres in Vancouver.
She played the starring role of Florence Foster Jenkins to standing ovations every night in the hilarious romp GLORIOUS, at the Chemainus Theatre Festival. She toured BC and western Canada playing the Canadian icon Lucille Starr in the musical BACK TO YOU, THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF LUCILLE STARR and she has also completed 5 tours with the internationally successful, MOM’S THE WORD. (Full theatre resume below)
Beverley has written two, autobiographical one- woman shows, DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING and SINK OR SWIM, each of which garnered her the prize of Pick of the Vancouver Fringe Festival and DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING also won her best musical at the NYC Solo Festival.
She has graced many stages with her heartfelt and hilarious storytelling including the MOTH in New York City (4 times in NYC), Vancouver Story Slam, the Flame, Vancouver, CBC radio and on Public Radio USA.
“It's a terrific show by an amazingly generous performer. Icing on the cake is her gorgeous voice.” - Jo Ledingham
— Vancouver Courier
SINK or SWIM
Backstory
"In my women’s writing group , the Wet Ink Collective, I had written enough stories two create two shows. Much of my childhood is a blur, but for some reason I have detailed memories of ages 5 and 6, the year we moved off the family farm in rural Ontario to a new rancher on the highway, and my first year of school in a one room school house. This is a coming of age show. A collection of stories and songs about seeing the bigger world through the eyes of a sensitive dreamer. We referred to it as 'childhood stories for adults.’
My team was stellar, Lynna Goldhar Smith as my director and dramaturge, Bill Costin on the helm as musical director and Jordin Watkins on projections. Jordon collected vintage images that told a visual story, creating a rich backdrop for this rural saga.
We won Pick of the Vancouver Fringe in 2016, took the show to the GATEWAY THEATRE, PRESENTATION HOUSE, BLYTH THEATRE, toured BC and Alberta and won BEST MUSICAL at the NYC Solo Festival. It was so special returning to rural Ontario, at the Blyth Festival and performing to an audience, many of whom were in the stories being told on stage. Full circle moment."
SINK or SWIM
Original One Woman Shows
VANCOUVER FRINGE FESTIVAL:
Sink or Swim
Written and performed by Beverley Elliott; directed by Lynna Goldhar Smith
Rio Theatre
Subtitled “childhood stories for adults,” Bev Elliott’s new solo show—with onstage keyboards and vocal harmonies from Bill Costin—celebrates her childhood in rural Perth County, Ontario. Although there’s a grouchy teacher and some bullies in her kindergarten and grade one classes (she’s dubbed “smelly Elliott” after she pees herself in the one-room schoolhouse), this is a pretty idyllic journey and an utterly charming show. Elliott is a lovely actress and a very fine singer—and, it turns out, a damn good songwriter, too. She has co-written six of the show’s seven original songs, all of them melodic, evocative and lyrically clever. Some great projections by Jordan Watkins complete the package. I would have preferred a smaller, more intimate venue. But if you want to be charmed out of your pants by a total pro, see this show.
Jerry Wasserman
““It's Little House on the Prairie meets Lord of the Flies,” says Elliott, as she trades the safety of the family farm for the thugs of a one-room school. In this poignant, playful, and achingly relatable prequel to …didn’t see that coming, Elliott navigates the uncharted waters, big adventures, betrayals and epiphanies that shape us all into the adults we become. It answers life’s big questions like “Why did I eat the fish food?” ”
“Elliott’s voice communicates a reassuring humanity.” - Tom Harrison
— The Province
...didn't see that coming
Backstory
"I joined a women’s writing group THE WET INK COLLECTIVE. I never really felt that I had full a play to write, but I did have stories. Every week I wrote another story about a pivotal moment in my life. Each story was about bumping into a stranger and having my life changed completely. The stories resonated with the other women in the group and they encouraged me to create show. I applied to the Vancouver Fringe Festival, got in, I enlisted a fabulous director/dramaturge, Kerry Sandomirsky, Bill Costin as musical director, we created a show and won Pick of the Fringe 2014. From there my show was picked up by a couple of Vancouver theaters. (Gateway, Presentation House) and I also toured it around BC and Alberta. Unexpected blessings and uncomfortable epiphanies."
DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING
Written and performed by Beverley Elliott directed by Kerry Sandomirsky musical direction by Bill Costin Happy Good Things Production
"…didn’t see that coming", Beverley Elliott’s funny and moving collection of autobiographical stories takes the audience on a comedic romp from small town Ontario to Vancouver’s nightlife and red carpets.
This touchingly personal and satisfyingly irreverent exploration of humanity will take you on a journey, revealing unexpected blessings and uncomfortable epiphanies.
From catching a bouquet, attending a Guess Who concert, growing up with Presbyterian morals, a generous Greek admirer to a hot yoga class.
Reviews
Jo Ledingham
. . . didn’t see that coming
Beverley Elliott disparages her big-boned body but let me tell you, it’s all heart inside. On a cold winter night you could warm your hands on this show. “Aunt Bev” is, undoubtedly, everyone in the family’s favourite aunt but her luck with men, she admits, is “crappy.” With a teenaged daughter but never married, Elliott goes looking online for love but didn’t see what was coming: forty-seven (!) coffee dates looking for “Mr. Right.”
Not all the material is about finding romance, however; one scenario relates falling in love as a teenager with The Guess Who and discovering there’s more to the world than her Presbyterian parents had led her to believe. With a show created from episodes, it’s tough to build an ever-increasing arc and this show feels as if it has several endings. Elliott is at her best when she’s in a rage; she can lift the finish off a laminate floor when she gets going – all that curly red hair ablaze. And although it’s clear she’s trying for some balance, the quieter bits feel somewhat sentimental by comparison. But it’s a terrific show by an amazingly generous performer. Icing on this cake is her gorgeous voice.
Revue Vancouver