Three Central Albertan writers paired with professional theatre artists to develop
plays for the ninth season of Scripts at Work (SAW) will share new work at the end of April in Red
Deer. Lani Ledingham, Tessa Simpson and Keri Halfacre were selected as this year’s winning
playwrights in the annual SAW Playwright Competition.
Brave New Plays
Saturday, April 27
7:30 p.m. | Studio C, RDC Arts Centre
The three playwrights have been working with dramaturg Heather Inglis and local actors to hone
their craft and develop new, original stories for the theatre. The plays will be directed by award-
winning theatre artist Trevor Schmidt at Brave New Plays, public staged readings that will close
another successful SAW season.
“SAW is a gift to Central Alberta writers,” says Heather Inglis. An award winning director,
producer and dramaturg, Inglis has made a career out of helping new work find life in the theatre.
Inglis has experience on over 40 productions, many of which have been new Canadian work.
“I love meeting emerging playwrights and watching their scripts grow through the process,” she
notes. “Scripts at Work is a vital and important force in developing Central Albertan artists.”
Lani Ledingham, who is participating in SAW for the first time describes the opportunity of
working closely with Ms. Inglis as incredibly valuable. “The feedback and theatrical experience
was exactly what I needed, whether I plan to do more playwrighting or use creative writing in
another field.” She is currently developing her play Walk Across the Room, a WWII drama
inspired by a true love story.
Tessa Simpson, is developing her play Man on the Moon. “Working with actors from the
community has broadened my view of what’s here in Red Deer and what we can create with it,”
she says. In her play, a middle-aged man seeks help from the place he knows best: his local bar.
Keri Halfacre was selected to participate in the workshop for her play When Someone Knows
Your ‘Usual’. She chose to participate in SAW to join her two loves: theatre and writing. “The
highlight has been the opportunity to discuss ideas out loud,” says Halfacre. “I’ve gained a better
sense of how important it is to make everything serve the story.”
Tickets are $10 and are available at the door.
