Armstrong’s Dorian Kohl has always felt alive when she dances, sings or acts, so when she was asked to revive a show she created more than a decade ago, she said “si.”

Woman Alive, a compilation of song, music, story-telling and dance, takes the stage at Armstrong’s Zion United Church Hall Friday, Nov. 13.

The show is a benefit for the Armstrong/Spallumcheen Environmental Trust (ASET). All proceeds from ticket sales will go towards a bursary for an environmentally active student in the coming year.

“I was inspired to write this piece because of the impending development of wetlands in and around Armstrong, and in the larger picture, the abuse and disrespect of the environment throughout the world,” said Kohl, a former international model and actress, who starred in the acclaimed one-woman show Portrait of a Lady – A Tribute to Margaret Laurence. “It was written to bring awareness to the importance of respecting and honouring Mother Earth, our environment and the feminine aspect in our world.”

First performed to sold-out audiences at Spallumcheen’s Hullcar Hall in the summer of 1995, the original Woman Alive featured a cast of 11 females, ranging in age from 11 to 71. It soon toured around the Shuswap-Okanagan, with shows sponsored by the Kingfisher Interpretive Centre and the Penticton Women’s Centre, and was used as the entertainment for the official opening of Vernon’s non-profit centre People Place in 1997.

Kohl was first asked to revitalize the production 12 years later for the B.C. Nurses Union annual banquet, which took place in Kamloops Tuesday.

“After some reflection, and remembering how well it was received, I thought it would be great to do it again,” she said. “This is an abridged version. The initial one had eight teenagers out of a cast of 11 and was a great success. The kids loved it as it was a place for them to channel their creative energy.”

The newly modified production features a cast of seven, and has been written partly by Kohl (including the Four Seasons Dance performed to the Vivaldi score) and also features story-telling sequences penned by Latvian activist and cantadora (storyteller) Clarisa Pinkola Estes, (author of Women Who Run with the Wolves).

“There is an interesting mother/daughter component to this production,” said Kohl, whose own daughter, Rosa Smedley-Kohl, a successful musician, will perform an original Spanish song she composed.

“Rosa arrived from Montreal and wanted to be part of the show. She was in the original Woman Alive when she was 11 years old. She told me she didn’t understand what it was about then, but now does, and says the show is complimentary to everyone’s gifts.”

Another mother/daughter team, Carmen Castanier and Alana Herrerias, 12, are newcomers to Armstrong from Mexico City.

“Alana is still learning English and when she first heard and saw the content of the show, she said she wanted to be part of it,” said Kohl, who will perform some Mexican folk songs with Castanier.

Also part of the ‘97 production, Armstrong actress/singer Kaila Sinclair, last seen in Asparagus Community Theatre’s award-winning production of Spoon River Anthology, will perform the activist song, Woman Am I.

“She usually performs it for International Women’s Day,” said Kohl.

Rounding out the cast are Armstrong residents Jeslyn Simpson, who recently played Daddy Warbucks in the Len Wood Middle School production of Annie, and Claire Macdonald, who is involved in the acclaimed dance performance course at Pleasant Valley Secondary School, and studies at the Susan Paisley School of Dance.

Stage managing the production is Patti Sinclair (Kaila’s mother), while Wayne Ashton, who directed the original Woman Alive, is back to help out.

“It’s got all my creative juices flowing, and we’re now firing on all cylinders. It’s been a lot of work coordinating it all. It’s not just the creative aspect, but the administrative as well, but I’m feeling really good about it,” said Kohl.

Woman Alive comes to life at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students, available at the Brown Derby Café in Armstrong (546-8221) and the Bean Scene in Vernon (558-1817).