CANMORE – As the weather gets warmer, the theatre participants in the Valley are just getting warmed up.
Pine Tree Players, the community theatre group that encourages everyone and anyone to take the stage, has started prepping for their summer and fall shows as well as a new six-week workshop.
Jen Tweddell, the president of Pine Tree Players, said this year they’d be hosting a new workshop that will be instructed by local playwright Deimon Slagg.
“He’s going to do a six session playwriting workshop and at the end of that workshop the aim is that each person will have a script of 25 pages,” she said.
The sessions will run every Tuesday evening which the goal of writing five pages between sessions.
“The hope is that we have some plays we can produce at the one-act play festival, which happens at the end of February every year, because last year was one of the first years in a while that we didn’t have a locally written work and that makes me sad,” she said.
“This course isn’t just for people who’ve never written before, it can be for people who’ve started something, or who’ve done other types of writing, and want to turn their hand to playwriting.”
Tweddell said though typically they offer workshops for free, its normally one-day workshops, and to ensure commitment for all six sessions, this one will be a cost of $50.Meanwhile, coming up on June 6 to 8, the theatre group will be hosting auditions for its next production in partnership with artsPlace.
“It’s a two-man show, it’s called 52 Pick Up. [There’s] 52 scenes, the title of each scene is written on a card on a deck of playing cards and at the beginning they throw all the cards up in the air and actors pick them up and they do the scenes in the order that they pick up the cards,” she said.
It was first performed at Vancouver Fringe Festival and made it to Calgary last year. Twedell said she’s excited to see it at artsPlace this fall, but finding the right two people with good chemistry will be the hard part.
“The chemistry between the two actors is really important so that’s the focus, so whether that ends up being a hetero couple or same sex couple, it’ll depend on who comes to auditions so we’re leaving that aspect open as well,” she said.
“That’s going to be a really awesome show, we’re really excited for it, so I hope people come and audition.”
Though auditions are soon, 52 Pick Up wont run until later in the year. Coming up a little sooner is the Canmore Summer Theatre Festival, which will play host to two main plays, Robin Hood: Prince of Outlaws and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
“We have some people who are cast in both and some that are separate, but the overall cast is almost 40 people between both shows. The cast is all ages so our youngest cast member is, I think she’s six, she’s Peaseblossom – she’s awesome. We also have people who are eligible for their seniors discount, so it’s a big age range,” she said with a laugh.
The festival runs from July 10 to 21. For more information on upcoming shows, tickets, or the workshop, visit www.pinetreeplayers.com.
