Out of Africa presents a one night return of the highly acclaimed Fringe plays nngrfg and Titania. Actors Berend McKenzie and Frances Kitson each generously donate thier original plays and talents to support a local single mother in defraying the considerable cost of bringing her adopted son home from Ethiopia. Tickets are 25.00 and can be purchased at: Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium on Davie Street, Vancouver, Sophie's... Pets, Commercial Drive, Vancouver or by emailing outofafrica2bc@gmail.com. Thank you for your continued support of this worthy cause.
Berend McKenzie lives in Vancouver British Columbia and he is an award winning actor, writer and producer. He won the Best Actress Award (yes you read that correctly) at the 2001 Vancouver International Fringe Festival for his portrayal of Charlotte in Christopher Durang’s Beyond Therapy. His first full-length play Get Off the Cross Mary! Won the Xtra West Hero Award for Best Live Performance. nggrfg has recently been nominated for a Vancouver Jessie Award for Outstanding Original Script. In 2010 he completed a 14 school tour of nggrfg. In 2011 he will be touring the show to British Columbia secondary schools. He will be work-shopping the script with the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young Adults. Berend’s film and television credits include Andromeda, Cold Squad, Catwoman with Halle Berry and Life or Something Like It with Angelina Jolie.
Berend McKenzie bares his soul, digging so deeply that he uncovers a sparkling autobiographical gem. – Vancouver Sun
In his playful, touching solo, author and actor Berend McKenzie tells us what it was like for him growing up mixed-race and gay. nggrfg is for anybody who’s ever felt like an outsider. – The Georgia Straight
Berend McKenzie turns ugliness into a thing of heart-wrenching beauty. – Jo Ledingham – The Vancouver Courier
nggrfg made me laugh, but also made me cry, and I've never cried while watching a Fringe play before- Vue Weekly
A native Vancouverite, Frances Kitson recently graduated from the acting program at SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts – but just missed the move to Woodward’s. (Nuts.) She kickstarted a 2009 summer tour of Titania at the SHIFT 1-Act Festival in Port Moody, and went on to perform at the Chautauqua Festival in Swift Current, in a 129-year-old former church in Wawanesa, Manitoba (pop. 560), and at the Best Western Lakeside Inn in Kenora, Ontario (she rented a conference room so that her grandmother could see the show). She wound up the tour by performing at the Victoria and Vancouver Fringe Festivals. Frances’s experience also includes leading voice workshops through Canadian Memorial United Church, volunteering as an Assistant Stage Manager in the athletes’ village during the 2010 Olympics, teaching extracurricular drama classes in Montreal elementary schools, working in the office of Montreal’s Infinitheatre, and earning a BA Honors in Drama from the University of Alberta. Up next: The Dining Room at the Metro Theatre. www.franceskitson.com