Day 1 certainly got off to a great start. I facilitated a Collective Creation workshop with the terrific students from Swift Current Comprehensive, who all clearly know a thing or two about improvisation. They came up with so many creative and funny ideas, so it was great having the chance to work with them for an hour and a half. I wish I could have been with them longer (say, a week or two) because I know they are more than capable of writing a fantastically theatrical play, all on their own. They were awesome!
After a light supper, the evening session began with the first 3 shows of the festival. And it certainly was an interesting night because the plays could not have been more different from one another; we had a parody, a fantasy, and a heavy drama. Talk about variety.
GREEN MAN by Don Nigro - Presented by Carlton Comprehensive School - Festival 2013 got off to a very serious start (no beating around the bush, that's for sure) with this heavy period drama. I saw this production a few weeks ago in Saskatoon, so I knew that the audience was in for some very mature content. I must say that the actors, despite the racy subject matter, really respected the message, the tone, and the language of the play. It could not have been easy to stand up in front of an audience made up of young people and commit so thoroughly to such a serious play. It's this respect that kept the attention of every single person in the audience from start to finish. The ending was particularly well staged, coming to an extremely dramatic conclusion after the long, slow burn that came before it. A special mention to Lukas McConechy for having such a strong stage presence and scaring the hell out of me at times.
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR... by Patrick Rainville Dorn - Presented by Robert Southey School - The cast of this play ranged from juniors to seniors, so the selection of this comedy/fantasy was an appropriate one. It gave several of the older actors a chance to take on the larger roles, with the younger ones offering support in a variety of theatrical ways: as wind, thunder, lightning, etc. The ensemble worked very well together, recreating a variety of fables in ridiculous ways. My favourite idea they came up with was having a live guitarist onstage, who provided music between scenes as well as all of the necessary sound effects. It was a great idea and I know the audience really appreciated his contributions to the script.
HAMLETTE by Allison Williams - Presented by Maple Creek Composite School - What a fantastic way to end the evening! Hamlette is a terrific take-off on Hamlet, with a young lady taking on the title role. Anything goes with this script and the students from Maple Creek sure went for it. The fourth wall be damned, as the actors did everything in their power to include the audience in on every plot twist, physical gag, and dance number. Oh, and did I mention that there was a puppet? Oh yes! And Samantha Tindall, who played both the queen (herself) and the king (the puppet), was a real standout. I know from experience that puppetry is not easy and she nailed her performance. The best part of this production, for me, was that it was clear to see that everyone up on that stage was having a blast. That sort of energy and commitment is infectious, and it certainly had everyone leaving the theatre on a comedy high.
And that was it for the evening! Tomorrow, another workshop in the morning, followed by 2 productions in the afternoon and 3 more in the evening. One of the evening performances is Carrot River Junior/Senior High School's production of my play, Vamp Ire. I am extremely excited to see what they have in store and experience the play with an audience for the very first time! More tomorrow night...
sounds like an awesome start....wish I was there
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