(Street Life is a regular feature that focuses on what's playing in the stock market.)

* ACT I: The Home Run Crystallex International (TSX:KRY) $6.73 Up 92.3 per cent (one-month gain).

Feverish gold investors turned their attention to Crystallex when the company cleared a hurdle in its plans to develop the rich Las Cristinas gold mine in Venezuela. Crystallex said it had received approval for a feasibility study at the mine. The stock roared on the news with a one-day spike of 21 per cent, although one mining analyst, Barry Allan of Research Capital, said the news wasn't all that significant as the company still hadn't received its final permit from the Venezuelan government to proceed with development. Crystallex has reported that the mine has proven and probable reserves totalling 13.6 million ounces.

* ACT II: The Bomb MAG Silver (TSXV:MAG) $2.56 Down 43 per cent (two-week swoon).

MAG's recent selloff could serve as a timely wakeup call to overzealous speculators in a resource sector that has been showing signs of becoming overheated. This silver play may have required knockout exploration results to sustain its lofty share price, considering the stock had surged 349 per cent to its peak of $4.49 in a three-and-a-half-month span. When MAG released some exploration results that disappointed investors, the stock fell out of bed on massive volume. The Vancouver company is exploring for silver in the Chihuahua State, an historical silver mining area in Mexico.

* ACT III: The Natural Find Energy (TSX:FE) $11.87 Up 295.7 per cent (one-year return).

Find has proven to be a stalwart among natural gas plays, spiking to an all-time high even amid weak natural gas prices that have resulted in some bloodletting in the share prices of many of its peers. As of April 12, Find's production at its Alberta wells had risen to 5,650 barrels of oil equivalent per day and the Calgary company is maintaining its aggressive drilling strategy. Find recently announced a substantial increase in its 2006 capital spending program, to $110 million. When natural gas prices cratered early this year, Find's stock took a 30-per-cent hit that turned out to be a dandy buying opportunity.

* ACT IV: The Dominator Alcoa (NYSE:AA) $33.71 US Up 43.4 per cent (six-month rally).

When you think aluminum, you think Alcoa. At least that's what investors playing a red-hot aluminum market have been thinking. Pittsburgh-based Alcoa, the world's largest aluminum producer, blew the doors off consensus estimates by analysts with earnings of 70 cents US per share in the first quarter. The street's estimate of 51 cents a share missed by a country mile. Strong metals prices and robust demand from manufacturers helped Alcoa record all-time records for quarterly earnings ($615 million US) and quarterly revenue ($7.24 billion US).

* ACT V: The Growth Story Alimentation Couche-Tard (TSX:ATD.SV.B) $27.17 Up 55.3 per cent (one-year move).

The resource-mad Canadian market hasn't had much time for retail stories, but Alimentation Couche-Tard's story has been too compelling to ignore. The Laval, Que.-based company has turned into a phenomenal growth story in the convenience store market and now boasts a network of 4,909 stores in North America. And it's not content to rest on its laurels. The company recently announced it had an agreement to purchase 90 stores in Georgia and Alabama from Spectrum Holdings in a deal that would add $375 million US to its annual sales. Alimentation earned $54.5 million US in its most recent quarter (through Jan. 31).

* ACT VI: The Breakout Astral Media (TSX:ACM.NV.A) $35.76 Up 16.1 per cent (year to date).

When a media company beats the street, it's certainly something to write home about. Astral's stock got a 7.7-per-cent boost in one day on 1.24 million shares when the company reported a 20-per-cent increase in quarterly earnings per share compared to the year-ago period. While the street consensus called for 40 cents a share, Astral earned 42 cents in its second quarter of fiscal 2006, which is generally regarded as a soft quarter for broadcasting and media companies. The Montreal-based company is Canada's largest broadcaster of pay and specialty TV services, owns 29 radio stations and also markets outdoor display advertising services.

* ACT VII: The Trust Bust Spinrite Income Fund (TSX:SNF.UN) $2.56 Down 74.4 per cent (one-year plunge).

Spinrite is in the business of spinning yarn, but unitholders weren't exactly enthralled by the latest yarn-spinning (press release) from the company. However, it's a story that has become all too familiar in the income trust sector, where more and more financially strapped trusts are slashing their monthly distributions to unitholders. Canada's largest marketer of craft yarn said it expects to cut its monthly distribution by 55 per cent, from $0.08833 per unit to $0.04 per unit and unit-holders stampeded to the exits. The Listowel, Ont.-based company is projecting continuing declining fancy yarn sales and rising inventories.

* ACT VIII: The Penny Jackpot ECU Silver Mining Inc. (TSXV:ECU) Up 786.7 per cent (one-year return).

These days, anything with silver in its name is going to get some serious attention from froth-mouthed silver speculators, but ECU seems to have something else going for it. It has been reporting some encouraging exploration results. The stock surged to a 52-week high on assay results that were released from the Quebec-based company's Velardena mine in Mexico. The stock has now quadrupled year to date on the back of a rocketing silver price. Even the surging gold price hasn't been able to match silver's performance - a triple in a three-year span. Silver was recently flirting with the $13 US per ounce mark. Although silver is the major focus of ECU, the company is also exploring for gold, lead and zinc.

(Stock prices are based on results through April 13.)

(Gyle Konotopetz can be reached at gyle@businessedge.ca)