Tono wows at the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad

After two weeks on the road in Alberta, the Tono cast and crew arrived in Vancouver. We prepared for our performances amidst this very busy landscape, executing each technical and artistic detail with great excitement and achievement.

On February 11, 2010, Red Sky opened Tono at the Vancouver Playhouse to an enthusiastic audience that included Their Excellencies the Right Honourable Michaelle Jean, Governor General of Canada and Mr. Jean Daniel Lafond. It was great to have them there with us because, of course, they could have gone to any number of the Opening Night events as part of the Cultural Olympiad. After the performance, they spoke in glowing terms with artistic director Sandra Laronde and Anne McDougall of the VANOC Cultural Olympiad. Each and every Tono performance at the Olympiad was met by standing ovations and a major buzz ensued.

The cast and crew were thrilled to be a part of the Cultural Olympiad, exploring the city, the excitement, and our best performances yet. The music CD of Tono also caused a stir - lucky audience members (and you, too!) now have the opportunity to own a copy of Tono's stirring and evocative music.

Our next performance on Saturday, February 13 was attended by the Ambassador of the Mongolian Embassy in Ottawa, and the Mongolian National Olympic Committee. They were effusive about the performance and have never seen such a production.

We closed on Sunday, February 14, with a matinee, and proceeded to celebrate- we celebrated a very successful tour, the Chinese New Year (Year of the Tiger) AND the Mongolian New Year, which serendipitously fell on the same date this year. Oh yes, and of course, Valentine's Day.

It was a wonderful experience with an effervescent ending; the crew parted ways the following day, thinking already of our reunion at the World Expo in Shanghai in May 2010.

s. Henderson
Production Tour Manager