Jake’s Gift Jake’s Gift sprang initially from the fertile soil of a character development workshop led by Ron Reed, Artistic Director of Pacific Theatre (Vancouver, BC) in 2002. Mercy Wild, the play that ultimately came out of the process, featured a funny little old guy named Jake, a character that playwright Julia Mackey knew immediately she wanted to develop another piece around. In June 2004, Julia travelled to Normandy, France for the 60th Anniversary of D-Day. She spent eight days attending the ceremonies and interviewing dozens of veterans who had returned for the occasion. The experiences of the veterans and her own discoveries led to the development of the play, which received a workshop performance at the Sunset Theatre’s Exploration Series in Wells, BC in August 2006. In 2007 Julia continued play development with presentations at the Gabriola Theatre Centre, Western Edge Theatre and The Gateway Theatre’s Scene First Play Development Workshop. In the summer of 2007 Jake’s Gift appeared at Intrepid Theatre’s UNO Festival in Victoria BC, The Toronto Fringe and the Victoria Fringe, where the productions received four awards including, Best Drama, Best Solo Show, Best Female Performer and Best New Play. In the 2008/2009 Season - Jake’s Gift will be playing at Theatres throughout British Columbia. http://www.pacifictheatre.org/shapeimage_1_link_0
about the play photo © julia mackey