RESERVOIR JOGS

May 10 - June 11, 2021 | Directed by Karen, Doris & Avery

Auditions are now live for the production of Reservoir Jogs! Choose from a selection of six scenes - everyone is welcome to audition for one or all parts. The plot and script is based on Victoria’s water supply history - full of trials and tribulations, always needing new upgrades to ensure things don’t go terribly wrong. How else could the Empress Hotel do laundry for all those steamship workers?

When you complete your audition, sign out here so we can give you a call-back if we’re impressed by your talent. Casting call closes on June 11th! Don't forget to share your audition tapes on Facebook or Strava!

Please review the scenes below carefully and arrive prepared and dressed appropriately for the part. Some jogging experience needed. Range of 11.5 km to 13.5 km. Next year’s sequel may include a watergun fight...

Job #1 - Mr. Orange and the Spring Ridge Riots

• The Route: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1515862

• The Targets: Smith Hill Reservoir, Spring Ridge and Mount Tolmie Reservoir

• The Briefing: Fresh water springs once emerged from Spring Ridge, a gravel ridge near Fort Victoria. Spring Ridge supplied water to Fort Victoria from 1840s to 1875 from two sources near Vic High known as Spring Hill and Harris Pond. Water was transported to the fort in barrels. The Hudson’s Bay Company owned the springs and quietly sold them to private owners in 1861. The new owners posted a guard and a fence at the springs to prevent water carriers from taking the water without paying a fee. The citizens of Victoria were outraged and burned down the Spring Ridge fence one night. In 1908, the city started building a reservoir on what was then known as Smith Hill. By the late 1940s, the reservoir was only used as backup for firefighting. With district population rising, it became necessary in 1954 to add a main from Humpback to a new balancing reservoir on Mount Tolmie. The Tolmie reservoir is covered by two acres of concrete because planners designed it at the height of the Cold War and wanted to keep the water safe from nuclear fallout.

Job #2 - Mr. White and the Lakeside Heist

• The Route: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1508107

• The Targets: Elk Lake, Beaver Lake, Rithet’s Reservoir

• The Briefing: The growth in population forced the development, beginning in 1873, of a waterworks system from Elk and Beaver Lakes. In 1874, a dam was built at the south end of the lake, and water started flowing into Victoria through steel pipes in the fall of 1875. The quality of this water was problematic from the start. Victorians complained of a slightly peaty taste and that small fish and tadpoles were coming out of their household taps. Victoria boomed in size and strategic importance during World War I, and in 1915 it began switching its water system over to the larger and cleaner supply in Sooke Lake.

Job #3 - Mr. Brown and the Thetis Caper

• The Route: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1521356

• The Targets: Thetis Lake, Bladderwort Pond, Peacock Reservoir (distant view only as it is on private property) , McKenzie Lake, Prior Lake

• The Briefing: In 1885 Thetis Lake was joined to the system as a reserve water supply. The Esquimalt Water Works Company was created to take water from Thetis Lake, Deadman's River (now called Craigflower Creek) and their tributaries. The company built flumes and aqueducts, laid pipes, erected dams and acquired lands. The remains of the surge reservoir built on the south slope of Seymour Hill is now known as Bladderwort Pond. Earthen dams still remain in place on the northern end of Lower Thetis Lake, built in 1887 to raise the level of Thetis and decrease the flow to Prior Lake and McKenzie Lake. By 1915 this water source was replaced by the Sooke Lake system. Since 1932 the lake area has been open to the public for swimming and recreation. The currently used Peacock reservoir is located on private property, just beyond the Western edge of Thetis park.

Job #4 - Mr. Blue on the Lookout

• The Route: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1534331

• The Targets: Walfred Reservoir, Lookout Lake

• The Briefing: Triangle Mountain was originally used as a navigational aid as a point of triangulation for ships that were entering the harbours. During the Second World War, the area was turned into a command post and was part of a coastal defence system. Called the Fire Command Post, Triangle Mountain instructed batteries on where and when to fire at enemy ships. The reservoir was built to provide water to the soldiers stationed at the lookouts. The current dam that holds the Lookout Lake in place was installed in 1958. Walfred Reservoir is a present-day reservoir and is on private property (and may not be visible). (Thanks to David M for the route and back story.)

Job #5 - Mr. Blonde and the Cloake of Secrecy

• The Route: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1534310

• The Target: Cloake Hill Reservoir

• The Briefing: Development of the North Saanich’s water system began in the early 1960’s and the Cloake Hill reservoir was added in 1982 with a 4.5 million litre capacity. Cloake Hill was previously known as Mount Saikum and Horth Hill was known as Saddle Hill and as Mount Arbutus back in 1852.

Job #6 - Mr. Pink Escapes Down the Line

• The Route: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/1534303

• The Targets: Sooke Flow Line, Humpback Reservoir

• The Briefing: By 1904 it was clear that even Elk Lake wasn’t sufficient to supply Victoria’s 30,000 residents. The development of the 44 km concrete flow line from Sooke Lake to Humpback Reservoir from 1913-1915 was one of the greatest engineering accomplishments in BC at that time. Construction of the flow line coincided with the Great War and alien (American and German) workers were removed from the project construction leading up to Canada’s entry into the war. In 1970 the pipe section from Sooke to the Humpback Reservoir was decommissioned with the opening of the Kapoor tunnel that still carries water to supply Victoria today.