Scripts at Work (SAW) is proud to present a Festival of Plays featuring the new work of talented local playwrights. The festival will take place over two nights and is the culmination of an eighth consecutive year of the playwright development series.
Festival of Plays
Circle One Plays
Friday, April 27
7:30 p.m. | Nickel Theatre, Memorial Centre
Friday’s event will feature six new plays by local playwrights John Birnham, Brooke Dalton, Sharon Lightbown, Elena Rousseau, Tessa Simpson and Alida Thomas.
The playwrights have been working with nationally renowned playwright Gordon Pengilly in Circle One – a playwrighting workshop that is designed for writers new to theatre. Since December, Pengilly has worked alongside the writers to hone their craft and develop stories in preparation for the readings.
Edmonton-based director Taylor Chadwick, a Red Deer native, will direct all six new plays, bringing the new work to life for an exciting night of staged readings by a team of professional actors.
Competition Plays
Saturday, April 28
7:30 p.m. | Nickel Theatre, Memorial Centre
Saturday’s event will feature the winning plays from SAW’s eighth year of playwrighting competition. The plays were selected by a jury of theatre professionals and were workshopped by award-winning writers Conni Massing and Trevor Schmidt throughout the winter. During the workshops, sixteen local actors volunteered their time to read for the writers in a process designed to help the writers hear and develop their new plays.
The winning playwrights whose work will be read are: Leslie Greentree and Blaine Newton, Fran Kimmel, Alexi Pedneault, and Lee Ann Waines. Professional actors will bring the work to life for a second night of electrifying new work. Two successful professional directors, Heather Inglis and Amy DeFelice, will direct the plays.
Tickets for both evenings are $12.50 in advance or $15.00 at the door and are available at Ticket Central, by phone at 403.347.0800 or online at www.ticketcentraloutlet.ca.
Doors for both evenings open at 7:00 p.m. Seats for both evenings are limited so organizers encourage audiences to purchase their tickets in advance.
About Scripts at Work: Scripts at Work is a playwriting series that mentors central Albertan playwrights by providing new play development assistance from professional dramaturges and directors. Through Scripts at Work, playwrights develop new work, build relationships with professionals in the theatre industry, and share their work with audiences through an annual Festival of New Plays in Red Deer. Since 2004, when the series began, Scripts at Work alumni have gone on to work in professional theatre as writers, directors and actors. Scripts at Work is made possible through the support of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the City of Red Deer, Theatre Society, Central Alberta Theatre and Red Deer College.
For more details about Scripts at Work and full submission guidelines visit www.scriptsatwork.com. For additional information contact:
Tanya Ryga, Co-chair
Scripts at Work
403.357.3617
tanya.rgya@rdc.ab.ca
