Today began with a collective creation workshop that went extremely well. The students from McNaughton and Cornerstone had a lot of creative ideas and the short scenes they came up with in just an hour were really quite good. It's always a pleasure to work with talented students and this group of 40 had talent to spare. Their energy started the day off on a good note and I used that adrenaline to keep me going throughout the day. There were five plays today and they were a nice variety of comedy and drama.
DOWN CAME THE RAIN by Burgess Clark - Presented by Clavet Composite School - I had the great fortune of seeing this play a month and a half ago at the Region 11 festival. It's always nice to see a play twice, especially after some time has passed, because you get to see how it continues to develop with each performance. The two actors in the play, Evan Moyer and Adam Tweidt, rendered me completely speechless today. Their mature and thoughtful performances seemed to flow so naturally out of them that I never once caught them "acting." Pair those performances with some truly superlative direction and inspired technical choices, and it's no surprise that there was not a dry eye in the audience when the lights faded to black. Beautifully executed theatre.
COMPETITION PIECE by John S. Wells - Presented by James Hamblin School - This is probably the twentieth time that I've seen this play (at least), in addition to having acted in it when I was in high school. I pretty much know this play inside and out, so the fact that this production managed to come up with a few ways to make the play surprising is a huge accomplishment right there. Rather than having the actors who play the one-act play festival judges appear live, they were pre-taped and projected on a giant scrim. It was a very neat idea and I would like to speak with the director to find out how she thought of it.
THE REGINA MONOLOGUES by Michel Chammartin - Presented by Campbell Collegiate - This original script by the director was very funny and definitely a crowd pleaser. The material was all centered around what it's like to live in Regina, which is where this festival is taking place. Of course a play that hits so close to home is bound to be a big hit with the audience. I loved the brisk pace of the production, with spot lights flashing on and off at a break neck pace to illuminate the ensemble as they rushed on and off to present their monologues. The ensemble worked really well together and avoided all of the pitfalls that often trip up actors when it comes to performing monologues. It was lively, fun, and polished.
SCHOOLYARD GAMES by John Lazarus - Presented by Sacred Heart High School - One of the very first plays that I tried to write when I was 13 or 14 was a complete rip-off of this impeccable script. I loved the play then and I still love it now. While times have changed and 8, 10, and 12 year olds definitely don't act like they do in this play anymore, the basic theme of the play is timeless. The three actresses in the play were very strong and kept the material light without neglecting the darkness that lurks underneath the surface. In addition, the set was definitely something to behold. The action took place on an intricate jungle gym, complete with monkey bars and a slide. When the curtain opened up, there was an audible "wow" from pretty much everyone in the auditorium...and for good reason. It looked really nice and the director (who always does a nice job) took full advantage of its many levels.
A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE DUCKS by Jean Lenox Toddie - Presented by Vanier Collegiate - This script is probably on my list of top 10 favorite one-acts. Something about the interplay between its two characters (an elderly man and woman) speaks to me and tugs at my heart strings. I also love that Ms. Toddie's play focuses entirely on its characters, allowing actors to really sink their teeth into the material. The two actors in this production did a nice job embodying what it's like to be elderly (although when this was written, 70 was clearly a lot older than it is today). In keeping with their simple production values, there was obviously a deliberate choice to rely on movement rather than make-up to convey the age of the characters. There was some controversy around where I was sitting about the lack of old age make-up and gray hair, but I rather liked the decision. Unless it's done perfectly, painted on wrinkles and baby powdered hair can become distracting. For the most part, the two actors were able to use their movements to convey what make-up would have done more easily. It was a nice challenge for two performers who were definitely up to it.
DOWN CAME THE RAIN by Burgess Clark - Presented by Clavet Composite School - I had the great fortune of seeing this play a month and a half ago at the Region 11 festival. It's always nice to see a play twice, especially after some time has passed, because you get to see how it continues to develop with each performance. The two actors in the play, Evan Moyer and Adam Tweidt, rendered me completely speechless today. Their mature and thoughtful performances seemed to flow so naturally out of them that I never once caught them "acting." Pair those performances with some truly superlative direction and inspired technical choices, and it's no surprise that there was not a dry eye in the audience when the lights faded to black. Beautifully executed theatre.
COMPETITION PIECE by John S. Wells - Presented by James Hamblin School - This is probably the twentieth time that I've seen this play (at least), in addition to having acted in it when I was in high school. I pretty much know this play inside and out, so the fact that this production managed to come up with a few ways to make the play surprising is a huge accomplishment right there. Rather than having the actors who play the one-act play festival judges appear live, they were pre-taped and projected on a giant scrim. It was a very neat idea and I would like to speak with the director to find out how she thought of it.
THE REGINA MONOLOGUES by Michel Chammartin - Presented by Campbell Collegiate - This original script by the director was very funny and definitely a crowd pleaser. The material was all centered around what it's like to live in Regina, which is where this festival is taking place. Of course a play that hits so close to home is bound to be a big hit with the audience. I loved the brisk pace of the production, with spot lights flashing on and off at a break neck pace to illuminate the ensemble as they rushed on and off to present their monologues. The ensemble worked really well together and avoided all of the pitfalls that often trip up actors when it comes to performing monologues. It was lively, fun, and polished.
SCHOOLYARD GAMES by John Lazarus - Presented by Sacred Heart High School - One of the very first plays that I tried to write when I was 13 or 14 was a complete rip-off of this impeccable script. I loved the play then and I still love it now. While times have changed and 8, 10, and 12 year olds definitely don't act like they do in this play anymore, the basic theme of the play is timeless. The three actresses in the play were very strong and kept the material light without neglecting the darkness that lurks underneath the surface. In addition, the set was definitely something to behold. The action took place on an intricate jungle gym, complete with monkey bars and a slide. When the curtain opened up, there was an audible "wow" from pretty much everyone in the auditorium...and for good reason. It looked really nice and the director (who always does a nice job) took full advantage of its many levels.
A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE DUCKS by Jean Lenox Toddie - Presented by Vanier Collegiate - This script is probably on my list of top 10 favorite one-acts. Something about the interplay between its two characters (an elderly man and woman) speaks to me and tugs at my heart strings. I also love that Ms. Toddie's play focuses entirely on its characters, allowing actors to really sink their teeth into the material. The two actors in this production did a nice job embodying what it's like to be elderly (although when this was written, 70 was clearly a lot older than it is today). In keeping with their simple production values, there was obviously a deliberate choice to rely on movement rather than make-up to convey the age of the characters. There was some controversy around where I was sitting about the lack of old age make-up and gray hair, but I rather liked the decision. Unless it's done perfectly, painted on wrinkles and baby powdered hair can become distracting. For the most part, the two actors were able to use their movements to convey what make-up would have done more easily. It was a nice challenge for two performers who were definitely up to it.
Cornerstone is chock full of creativity and talent some of the characters in Just Anna are loosely based on now former Cornerstone students and I just so happen to be an alumni!
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