The Martlet

Mention the words “summer school” and most students will rattle off hundreds of things they’d rather be doing than sitting in a classroom while the sun shines outside.

Offer up an entire course on public speaking and your conversation may be cut short. But add a charismatic and knowledgeable instructor to the equation and suddenly reactions become vastly different.

A student favourite at the University of Victoria, Leslie Bland has taught classes in the theatre department for the past 12 years.

Subjects such as public speaking and the acting experience are some of his most popular classes with students lining up to learn from the experienced sessional instructor. The enthusiasm is mutual, as Bland notices more optimism and willingness to take creative risks among his students in the condensed summer class format.

“I find the students are a little more laid back in the summer and they’re in a lot of ways more focused,” said Bland, who is also the artistic director of the Kaleidoscope Theatre Company. “Its got a summer camp feel to it, so it’s a lot more buoyant. I teach during the year as well, and I really enjoy that, but the summer session in particular, I just really love.”

Bland draws upon the relationships he’s developed with industry veterans developed during his 25 years in the business, bringing in guest lectures and taking students on field trips to enhance the learning experience. His comprehensive involvement in Victoria’s arts community is evident, as many of his students have gone on to work for prestigious theatre companies and television shows. One of the most notable is Erin Karpluk, an alumni of both Kaleidoscope Theatre and the UVic theatre department, who now stars in the CBC series Being Erica.

Bland’s personal accomplishments in the arts range from actor to director to executive producer, to playwright. Now he is poised to add television producer to his resumé.

In an effort to bolster the local film and television industry, Bland and his business partners will launch a Victoria-based production company utilizing Island talent as a refreshing change to the numerous American network productions taking advantage of Vancouver Island’s diverse locations.

In collaboration with CHEK Media Group for broadcasting and licensing purposes, Less Bland Productions stands to benefit from higher tax incentives unique to producing media out of Victoria rather than Vancouver, where the majority of West Coast television is produced.

“We have a strong belief that there’s a lot of local talent. Whether it’s on the production and technical side, or the performance side there’s a great pool of untapped talent here just in Victoria itself,” Bland said. “So that’s going to be our main focus.”

Less Bland Productions currently has four projects in the works, including two lead shows. One is a sitcom called Designer Living. The other is a mockumentary called Drama Camp, which Bland describes as “The Office meets Glee.” Both shows evolved from real-life experiences in Victoria.

“They’ll have great levels of authenticity,” Bland said. “Designer Living is based in part on my wife’s experiences in retail, and Drama Camp is based on my experiences working with young people getting dramatic training.”

Bland is confident that his foray into the world of television will be a success.

“We’ve got a really solid business plan and we’re very confident we’re going to be able to get these four projects rolling,” he said. “It’s going to give us an opportunity to go down and market our shows both in Toronto and Los Angeles. I think the sky’s really the limit.”