Community is like performance on stage “It is my passion, it is my life.” – Angel Drummond By Joyce Tam Photos by Noriko Nasu-Tidball What is better than doing something that you are passionate, as well as giving happiness to others? What are you passionate about? Do you enjoy watching comedy shows and theatre performances? From Angel Drummond’s story, her life experiences could give us a very positive encouragement. Already a successful theatre producer, she started her own show business after high school, and her goal to use comedy shows to relieve the audiences from their stressful lives. “We don’t laugh enough, we don’t laugh loud and long enough,” Angel said. From planning to the actual performance, Angel focuses on writing plays and choosing characters for acting. Her plays will show on stage twice a year in the seniors center, where over a 100 seniors would go to the Kerrisdale Community Center that becomes extremely popular. Although actors are mainly seniors and guests are targeted for seniors, they would bring their sons and daughters, grandkids and all their friends to join that enlarge the group of attendance. These family-oriented comedy are not only showing within the Kerrisdale community, but rather it is also branching out to more Vancouverites including nearby secondary schools, retirement homes like Crofton Manor and West Vancouver’s neighborhood house. Since it is now a great hit of these comedy shows, Angel would like to try something big and to take those shows as far as Calgary and Vancouver Island. “One of the person said it is the best entertainment she has ever seen,” Angel said. There are two main qualities that lead her to being a successful theatre producer. Firstly, Angel elaborated where a successful show has to be responsive and...

An interview with Melody Ma, chair of artsScene Vancouver   Canvas painting at the artsScene relaunch party, Photo courtesy of Edith Hung By Lauren MacFarland In the city of Vancouver, there is never a shortage of things to do. From our beautiful mountains to the shops on Robson Street, Vancouver offers a myriad of activities for all types to choose from. What can sometimes be overlooked though, is Vancouver’s thriving arts scene, showcasing talent from every type of media, all catering to the various tastes of the city’s diverse population. Sadly, these Arts programs aren’t often recognized by the young professionals of the city who may not know the wealth of options available to them, and that’s where ‘artsScene Vancouver’ comes in, an organization designed to bridge the gap between the business world and the art world, giving the young professionals of the business world a chance to help foster the growth of arts in the city though patronage and volunteerism. Melody Ma is the Chair of artsScene, channeling her business skills and love of classical art to raise the level of awareness of some of the world class options Vancouverites have to experience art in their city.   Melody has been ingrained the classical art world from the age of four, when she started Chinese dancing, along with piano lessons. Growing up close to the Downtown core in Strathcona, she counts herself lucky to have had so many opportunities to cultivate her knowledge of art while in school. “I had unbelievable access to the arts because I was just so close to it, meaning we always went to art galleries, (more times than I would like to say!), we would go to the symphony all the time, the opera, the ballet would come to us…all...