Saskatoon: Region 11 Festival

Well, I'm back in my old stomping grounds for a couple of weeks! Growing up in Saskatchewan had its perks and its downfalls, but far and away the best thing for me (a drama geek then and still) was the annual Saskatchewan Drama Association one-act play festival. I would look forward to it all year long, and now here I am, back again for another year. Sometimes I'm just a spectator, other times an adjudicator, but this year I'm here as a playwright. Several schools in the province have so graciously chosen my plays to enter in their regional competitions, all hoping to advance to the provincial festival in May.

This weekend I'm in not-so-sunny Saskatoon for the Region 11 festival at Evan Hardy Collegiate. It's still really, really wintery up in these parts, which I must say was not a surprise when I got off the airplane. (I've been hearing about the waist high snowbanks on Facebook for weeks!) But what was a surprise was getting soaked from head to toe by a passing truck on my way to pick up a few groceries. Oh well, it's an interesting way to start what's certain to be an interesting weekend.

The festival kicks off Friday at 2pm with my play I Don't Want to Talk About It, presented by Clavet High School. I'm very excited to see what Clavet has in store for the audience. This play is open to interpretation, so anything is possible. And they kept all of their choices a secret, so I will be just as surprised as the rest of the audience. But what won't come as a surprise (again with the surprises!) is that I know it will be awesome. The students and directors at Clavet are hugely talented and I am ticked right down to my socks that I will have the opportunity to see them bring my words to life.

So long as I can snag internet access throughout the weekend, I'll be live tweeting the festival. So be sure to follow me at @haywardplays. I hope you'll get in on the action by using #sdafest in any of your tweets. I'll also be posting updates here on the blog, so be sure to check back. (A few of my playwright friends also have plays in the festival, so I'll be sending shout outs their way as well.)

Okay, time to pack it in for the night and get well rested for the busy weekend. Let the drama begin...