CANMORE— Crafting tiny morsels of creative delight, the Theatre Canmore's 10-Minute Play Festivus is once again returning to the Bow Valley.
Toomas Meema, the producer of this year's festival, described it as a fun event that provides an opportunity to easily access learning about directing, playwriting and acting during the process of creating a short play.
“It’s very little commitment,” Meema said. “It can be just a one-person play directing and acting.”
The Festivus is an unintimidating opportunity to try something new, he said, and the plays span across a multitude of genres.
“It’s pretty much anything,” Meema said.
Participants are encouraged to submit original work he said, so often the plays serve as the premier of many acts. He added that participants can also submit established plays such as work from William Shakespeare.
It is a great stage for those that premier original works he said because they can adjust and fine-tune their work based on the reaction from audiences.
This year will feature eight plays from local creators along with guests from Edmonton and Airdrie.
This is his first year producing Festivus, Meema said and is excited to help the plays take the stage.
He added that he is grateful that Festivus has had three years to establish itself.
“We can feel that it’s actually starting to pick up steam,” Meema said. “It’s known now.”
The event grows in popularity each year and Meema said he would be happy to keep the tradition going.
It is exciting to be a part of Festivus he said because of the amazing people who create the plays and the engaging audiences that attend the main event.
“I think it’s a fun event,” Meema said. “Canmore it’s a pretty hardcore mountain town, so I find that it’s good to have more art and show a little bit more of a different side.”
There is a plethora of great talent in the community and it awesome to offer another platform for them to showcase their talent, Meema added.
Bow Valley local and Festivus stage veteran playwright Nikki Tate will be putting the spotlight on her play At Sea during the festival.
The play follows the tale of a mother and a teenage daughter who set off to traverse the ocean on a sailing trip to heal some relationship wounds.
“All goes terribly wrong and the play opens as they are adrift at sea in a dingy,” Tate said.
The playwright participated in the inaugural festival and said she is excited to be bringing her work back to the Festivus stage.
“I love the format,” Tate exclaimed. “It is a wonderful way to experiment, play and try out ideas and see what's going to work.”
The festival serves as the perfect occasion to find out what connects with audiences and springboard into a longer piece, she added.
Tate said enforcing a ten-minute cap on the plays helps keep the process manageable because of the short length. As well, she said it is a great length for audiences because they are exposed to a slate of plays each evening spanning a diverse range of genres.
“Even if something is really not your cup of tea it doesn’t really matter because in eight to ten minutes you move on and you get something different,” Tate said. "It’s such a fun, fun format.”
The biggest challenge creators face is being economical with storytelling, she said with a laugh.
“You have to get to the point pretty quickly,” Tate said. “It’s a little bit like writing poetry you don’t have a lot of time to muck around— you get right in there and get at it.”
She added that creators relish in the chance to give their playwriting muscles a workout.
For audiences, the best way to have a good time is to come in with an open mind and willingness to just roll with what happens on stage.
“You can’t arrive with any expectations because you never know what you’re going to get,” Tate said. “The evening is a blast whether you’re in it or whether you’re watching.”
Tate added that she appreciates that this opportunity is available for Bow Valley locals because it gives people a chance to experiment and celebrate a love of theatre using a simple production with a low-barrier to entry.
“The valley attracts people with talent and it is so cool to see them up on stage doing the most amazing range of productions,” Tate said. “You really do get a range of productions.”
The Theatre Canmore 10-Minute Play Festivus runs from March 13 to the 15 at Canmore Miners’ Union Hall. Tickets are available for $15 from eventbrite.com or at the door.
