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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Wednesday, October 16, 2013 | 24 Art Scene "Connected to your Community" Loughrey's star on the rise by Scott Stewart Oakville Beaver Staff West End Studio Theatre's upcoming production of Pool's Paradise opens on Thursday (Oct. 17) at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts. The play focuses on the wacky events in the small village of Merton-cum-Middlewick and specifically on the vicarage of Rev. Lionel Toop. The reverend's wife, Penelope, has been competing in a football pool with her maid Ida and her maid's suitor, Willie, and comedic chaos ensues when the trio think they've won more than £20,000 (approximately $32,278). Here, in a scene from the upcoming play, (on couch) Virginia McEwen (Miss Skillon) and Michael Quast (Lionel Toop ). In the back, looking on, from left to right, Dia Frid (Penelope Toop), Nick Forrow (Bishop of Lax), Bernard Pointet (Willy Biggs), Lorraine Quast (Ida) and Peter Gruner (Mr. Humphrey). | photo by Graham Paine -- Oakville Beaver (follow on Twitter @halton_photog) Laughs all set for Burl-Oak in 2013-14 by Scott Stewart Oakville Beaver Staff Make 'em laugh. That's what the Burl-Oak Theatre Group (BOTG) hopes to do with its three selections for the 2013-14 season, which kicked off recently at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts. The decision to go the comedy route was an easy one, according to Micki Clemens, BOTG president. "Burl-Oak has always been noted for its comedy," she said. "We've done mysteries and sometimes we've done dramatic comedies. Rather than split the slate, we decided to have the cumulative effect of different kinds of comedy." The opening play on the all-comedy schedule this season was an adaptation of Neil Simon's classic The Sunshine Boys, a tale of old Vaudevillians Al Lewis and Willy Clark, who had a falling out but are asked to reunite for a television special. However, thanks to the cantankerous nature of the two performers, things don't quite go according to plan. This year's production of The Sunshine Boys was a hat-tip to the past, according to Clemens. "We wanted to pay tribute to the incredible history that Burl-Oak has in Oakville," she said. December will see Burl-Oak's inaugural pantomime, Cinderella. "We were lucky enough to obtain a copy from the friend of a friend in Britain," Clemens said. This production of Cinderella will follow the classic tale, but will be told from a modern-day perspective and updated with a bit of a twist. "There will be 28 (people) or so in the cast, so it will be a romp," said Clemens. In January 2014, Burl-Oak will bring Ken Ludwig's comedy Leading Ladies to the Oakville Centre. Jack and Leo, two down-on-their-luck, British Shakespearean actors, read a newspaper ad indicating a wealthy heiress will be leaving her fortune to longlost nephews, Max and Steve. Jack and Leo, thinking they can get their hands on the money, step into the roles of Max and Steve. However, they soon discover Max and Steve are really Maxine and Stephanie. Clemens calls Leading Ladies a "madcap comedy." April 2014 sees the debut of Real Estate by Allana Harkin, which tells the tale of a mystery writer dealing with a crumbling marriage, a tax collector, foreclosure and writer's block. Enter his Realtor, who determines both the house, and Joel, are "fixer-uppers." "It's a heartfelt comedy, filled with moments of touching emotion," Clemens said. Tickets for all Burl-Oak Theatre Group shows are available at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts box office, 130 Navy St. or online at www. oakvillecentre.ca. Hearing she had won the Canadian National Exhibition's Rising Star Competition was music to Liz Loughrey's ears. The Oakville native, 18, outlasted 197 competitors to win the $2,500 first prize and title of Rising Star Youth Grand Champion after impressing judges with her original song, Get Up and Leave, during last month's three-round competition. Loughrey said it was important for her to perform her own original song at the competition, rather than someone else's material. "Nothing has more authenticity than a song sung by the person who wrote it," she said. Loughrey accompanied herself on piano during her performances. Sitting at a piano is second nature to her, she says, as she first began playing at age 5 at the Merriam School of Music in Oakville. Her love of singing deLiz Loughrey veloped a few years later. For Loughrey, the competition was a way to gain exposure and introduce her music to a wider audience, as well as a chance to debut some new material. "Competitions are very different than gigging around the city," she said. "I knew I would get some valuable constructive criticism and honest opinion from the judges." Loughrey, who is taking the year off from school at Hillfield Strathallen College in Hamilton, said winning the competition was validation for her. "It confirms that I'm heading in the right direction," she said. However, winning competitions is nothing new for Loughrey, nor is performing in front of large crowds on the CNE grounds. In November 2010, Loughrey joined Josh Ramsay, lead singer of Vancouver-based Marianas Trench, on stage at the Direct Energy Centre. Loughrey was chosen by the band to go on stage and sing Good To You, one of their hits, with Ramsay during their 2010 tour. She earned the chance to perform with Ramsay after submitting an audition video through the band's website earlier that year. Loughrey is now focusing on writing and recording an EP , and will be headlining a school tour upon its completion. The Spread the Love tour promotes self-empowerment, and will take Loughrey to the east coast of the U.S.