SDA Middle Years Festival: Day 3

Well, that's curtains for the Middle Years Festival...until next year. I can't believe that it's over already. I guess the old saying is true: "time flies when you're having fun." This morning I had the great pleasure of holding workshops with the students from Pilot Butte, Vibank, and Canora. What an amazing group of talented people. They were all excited to be there, ready to learn, and eager to participate. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

Then the final session of plays took place in the afternoon...and they certainly didn't disappoint.

BAD AUDITIONS BY BAD ACTORS is a tremendously funny comedy written by Ian McWethy. I was totally blown away by the energy and polish of Turtleford Community School's production. The script allows for many actors to shine...and shine they did. So brightly at times that I felt like I needed sunglasses. What impressed me even more was discovering that this play was directed by a student, Kennedy Lundberg. I remember seeing Ms. Lundberg on stage at provincials a couple of years ago and thinking she was super talented as an actor. It's wonderful to see that her talent has grown to include directing. It was the sort of production that made me a little bit jealous that they had not chosen one of my plays. I know they would knock my words right out of the park.

The second play was one that I had been looking forward to seeing all week. ONE WEIRD DAY by Tanisha Bear, presented by Hector Thiboutot Community School, was written by one of the students in the cast. It's always exciting to see anyone take a risk and write their own play, but when the playwright is in middle school it's even more exciting. I hope Ms. Bear will continue to write plays because I had the chance to speak with her for a while and it sounds like she has many interesting stories to tell. Being her very first play, she certainly did an admirable job.

The final play of the festival was another student directed piece, NOT-SO-GRIMM TALES by Kevin Bean. As presented by Vibank Regional School, the show had a very nice flow from start to finish. The play is made up of short vignettes, which can sometimes be jolting if there are blackouts between scenes. However, the director kept the pace moving along nicely by wisely avoiding blackouts (thank you!) and each scene transitioned very smoothly to the next. I also have to point out the awesome costumes. This was probably the most elaborate of all the shows this week and all of the elements were clearly thought out.

I think it was very fitting to end the festival with three shows that were heavily influenced by students. The fact that there were two student directors and a student playwright at a Middle Years festival is pretty amazing. I hope the teachers in Saskatchewan will continue to encourage their students to take more control of their productions. I think a person learns far more by doing than watching, so why not get them while they are young and see what choices they come up with on their own, with a little guidance.

Thank you to all the schools who participated for your awesome productions. It was great to get the chance to meet all of you and I hope that I will see you onstage again in the future. I'm sure I will. And a special thanks to everyone with the Saskatchewan Drama Association for having me out to do workshops. It was great fun.

Now it's time to see how the big boys and gals do it. Provincial Festival starts tomorrow and I've seen the line-up...it looks like an entertaining few days are ahead!