On a perfectly grey evening, eight boisterous teens suited up in costume to practice scenes from an adaptation of The Inspector General, a 19th century Russian play written by Nikolai Gogol.
The young thespians have been working on the comedy for months - the culmination of a new course for Coquitlam's Place des Arts, called Next Stage Production, that started last fall.
Taught by James O'Shea and Damon Jang, a Capilano University student in Canada's first-ever bachelor of performing arts program, Next Stage focuses on live performance and teaches the elements of movement, improvisation and voice.
"It's been a lot of fun," Jang said during a rehearsal in Studio A at the Evergreen Cultural Centre in Coquitlam last week. "I think the students get a lot out of it. I know, certainly, I do. We learn from each other."
Their year-end performance will be held Saturday, June 23 at 1 p.m. at Place des Arts (1120 Brunette Ave., Coquitlam). There is no charge for admission. Call 604-664-1636. Go to tricitynews.com to see a one-minute video with students Megan Hands and Coooper Cholowski.
