| If you hesitate to attend the Theatah, worried by prices or bored by mainstream content, then you’re probably overlooking one of the best theatre deals in town – the University of Calgary.
"Because we’re part of the university, we can take chances and present things that commercial companies often can’t," points out department head Val Campbell. "We’ve got a few shows this year that you’re probably not going to find elsewhere. For instance, we’re staging a production of Berthold Brecht, whose work you rarely see onstage, and we’re staging Ball, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen staged.
"In addition, we’re very excited about our 40th anniversary alumni production of Eugene Ionesco’s The Chairs, starring Joyce Dolittle."
Campbell is enthusiastic, and driven to expose the Calgary community to the opportunities presented by the U of C’s theatre season.
"I really want to get the wider community thinking about where our increasingly rich theatre community comes from. We have not just one, but two reputable theatre training programs in town," Campbell says. "In the United States, in the area of sports, you find that the community is very excited about going to college sporting events. They understand very clearly that the professional stars of tomorrow are developing their skills in the university arena today.
"As far as the arts go, Calgary audiences have yet to make that connection," Campbell states. "In Edmonton, the community really recognizes that the University of Alberta plants the seeds that result in a vibrant arts community. People come to the university looking for those up-and-coming new artists – they understand that this is an exciting way to discover new talent."
The U of C and Mount Royal College both provide theatre training, but while the college’s program is a classical conservatory program, designed to produce actors by the dozens, the university’s programming is a longer and broader training field.
"It’s great having two theatre programs in town – it means that both approaches are available to students. What we’re aiming to do is develop a broad-based competency in our students, so if they enroll in the acting stream, they also get a chance to explore design and technical skills, performance creation, theatre history and criticism. Many times I’ve seen a skilled acting student discover a passion for, say, design that they hadn’t considered. And at the end of the degree, they have a well-rounded set of skills."
In addition to the unusual staging of Ionesco and Brecht, the department will be producing Twelfth Night. "I think it’s so important for students to have an opportunity to do Shakespeare," Campbell says. "We’ll be doing intensive language workshopping, to help students really get inside the language of the Bard. I’m co-directing this one with a colleague of mine, and we’re really focused on making the production fun and accessible, for students and audience alike."
There’s also the relatively new addition of the student-led Taking Flight festival, now in its third year.
"The first year of this festival exceeded our wildest expectations," says Campbell. "It really engages students, because it really belongs to them. They’re responsible for programming it. Our grad students submit suggestions through their thesis committees, and the department makes final choices based on a variety of concerns, like breadth of accessibility for all students, difficulty of staging, size of production and so on. This is definitely the best value for the money – it costs next to nothing, and is an opportunity to see some really interesting and diverse theatre." |
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