>>PREVIEW
PETRO-CANADA STAGE ONE PLAYS
Opens April 16
Lunchbox Theatre
Bow Valley Square
As plays go, the one-act is an unassuming character. He’s shorter after all, and the big theatre companies don’t really have much time for him. And if his social problems weren’t bad enough, he’s usually found hanging out with the Fringe crowd, who are pretty sketchy folk at best.
Yes, the one-act play generally keeps a low profile, but beneath that tiny surface whirls a torrent of activity – months of workshopping and the initial stage fright of public readings. No company in Calgary knows the hidden trials of the noble, miniature one-act quite as well as Lunchbox Theatre, and during its upcoming Petro-Canada Stage One series, audiences will be able to peek behind the unassuming facade of the one-act itself.
Selected from 50 submissions, the 19th annual Stage One series features six playwrights from across the country, three of them Calgarians. Given workshop assistance and a staged reading, the series is not only an opportunity for playwrights to hone their works, but also for Lunchbox itself to find prospective works for future seasons. Lunchbox’s current season, for example, included two plays first developed through the Stage One series: Doug Curtis’s Something True and Wonderful and Ken Cameron’s Harvest.
While in previous years applicants were required to submit only an idea, the company’s new artistic director, Rona Waddington, expanded the submission criteria to require a minimum of 15 pages.
"There was always a sense that anyone can have a good idea but not anyone can execute it," she explains.
Though Lunchbox Theatre has traditionally showcased light comedy, this year’s Stage One series includes a pair of scripts more in the dramatic mould: Milky Way by Colleen Curran (Montreal), about the return of a long-lost spouse with a suspect explanation for his absence, and Steffi's Garden by Gordon Pengilly (Calgary), a drama exploring a father and son trying to start again a year after a death in the family.
The program also includes more typical comedic fare, with Tracey Power’s (Vancouver) If Romance Is Dead… Who Killed It?, about a struggling mystery writer coming to grips with her own romantic shortcomings; Amos Altman’s (Calgary) Waiting Time, a late-night waiting-room comedy; Marilyn A. Campbell’s (Mississauga) Safe As Housewares, a "heart-warming" comedy about a hermetic man and a hell-bent bride; and Judith Clark’s (Calgary) Code Burgundy, another waiting-room comedy named after Calgary’s ubiquitous bed shortages. Disparate subjects, at least in some cases, but unified by a single appeal to the selection committee’s members.
"With a one-act, stuff has to happen soon," says Waddington. "So you can generally get a sense if the writer is attacking the concept with some gusto and verve. What (the scripts) all had in common was an assured and unique handling of the concept that they had presented."
To a considerable extent, Lunchbox’s audiences exist because of convenience, its performance space nestled between office buildings in the Bow Valley Square. Given that even devoted theatergoers aren’t always interested in the process of creating work, it’s no surprise that the Stage One series can often be a hard sell for casual patrons.
"What we find is that it’s hard to get people through the door," says Waddington. "It’s not always the obvious choice for a patron."
Despite this reticence, the series has continued to be a staple in Lunchbox’s season, often providing a surprise for these same, skeptical patrons.
"(Audiences) are always amazed at what they can see, the ability of their imagination to work without costumes or a set," says Waddington. "There’s a great interest in talking to the playwright and asking questions, so while it’s a hard sell in getting them in the door, they’re always surprised at their own ability to engage."
Recently, Lunchbox Theatre was struck by tragedy with the loss of that same long-standing, convenient venue by the end of next season. Though Waddington says that there are promising leads for another location, the future of the longstanding company remains uncertain. But despite the imminent loss of its venue, potentially halting full production of any of this year’s Stage One readings, Lunchbox is still committed to a program that has generated successes like Andrew Wreggitt and Rebecca Shaw’s The Wild Guys.
After all, the one-act may be small, but it still needs a home.
"So long as we’re running as a company we’ll find a place to put (Stage One) on," says Waddington. "It’s an integral part of the company for the development of new shows. We’re a development theatre, so it’s not an extra or an aside, it’s half of our life. We wouldn’t be able to abandon it just for the loss of the space." |
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