>>PREVIEW
Calgary Region One-Act Festival
Runs until March 11
Victor Mitchell Theatre
(Pumphouse Theatre)
From prisoners to Jesus – this year’s Calgary Region One-Act Festival brings together theatre groups from nine different regions of the province, giving them a chance to be adjudicated and possibly compete in the Provincial One-Act Festival.
Among this year’s contenders is Calgary’s Hidden Insanity Theatre. "Our piece is called Prisoner’s Dilemma, an original script by two Albertan writers, Sterling Lynch and Sam Varteniuk," says director Amanda Chapman.
Seeming to play on classic game theory, two prisoners are given a choice to either betray each other or stay true, with their consequences depending on the other’s choice. The two prisoners – both women – are put to the test by their kidnappers.
Hidden Insanity Theatre has a few experiences with the local one-act festival under its belt, and Chapman has seen the young company grow because of that exposure.
It’s the sixth year that the company has entered the festival. Past years have seen Eugene Stickland and Ryan Luhning adjudicate; this year it’s Alberta Theatre Project’s Bob White. "For a writer to have Bob White watch your play and talk about it is invaluable," says Chapman.
Calgary’s Scorpio Theatre is another company showing its muscle, participating for the third time in the festival. "We’re doing a short piece called Jesus vs. Superman. And it’s exactly what the title suggests," says Scorpio Theatre’s Dan Gibbins.
The premise is a television-inspired battle over an argument between the two larger-than-life characters. "The argument, encouraged by a fight promoter, is over who is more iconographic," says Gibbins.
Meant 2 Be Productions is entering Fuel, a gritty tale of addiction and alcoholism. "It’s hard to get into the professional side of things, and this is a great way to do it," says producer and co-artistic director Deanne Matley. "It’s great for companies to have another vehicle to showcase their talent, experiment. You do a lot of work for one show, but you have an opportunity to produce it as if it were going for a full run."
Among other companies, the University of Calgary department of drama’s student-run Nickle and Dime productions will be participating, along with 8-0-8 Productions, Broken Leg Players, Fire Exit Theatre, Live & Kicking Productions, Swamp Dweller Dames and Morpheus Theatre. |
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