Canadian Plays, New Works, Classics, Comedies, and Musicals… Something for Everyone!
This time of year is exciting for high school drama students, especially those in their final year. May always marks the Alberta High School Drama Festival Association’s Provincial One Act Play Festival. After participating in regional ZONE Festivals around Alberta, select productions are chosen to perform at Red Deer College. Theatre Alberta staff were in attendance, as usual.
The Festival showcases the extraordinary theatre being developed by high school students throughout the province. This year was no exception. The 46th Annual AHSDFA’s Provincial One Act Festival kicked off on Thursday, May 5 and was filled with anticipation, talent, and passion.
Seventeen plays* were performed in total. Five of the productions were written by Canadian playwrights – Daniel MacIvor, Betty Quan, and Bradley Hayward. New Blood, an Albertan work from Strathmore High School, used poetry, music, contemporary and traditional dance to highlight Blackfoot histories and traditions. Both Ardrossan Drama and Winston Churchill High School performed original works.
Did you see something at the Provincial Festival that you are dying to read? We looked through our Library collection and currently have 9 of the 18 plays chosen to perform.
- Commencement by Clay MacLeod Chapman
- The Art of Dating by Jeffery Scott Elwell
- Mother Tongue by Betty Quan
- This is a Play by Daniel MacIvor
- This Property is Condemned by Tennessee Williams
- The 39 Steps adapted by Patrick Barlow
- The Serpent by Jean-Claude van Itallie
- Monster by Daniel MacIvor
- I Never Saw Another Butterfly by Celeste Raspanti
Would you like to get a head start on picking your one-act for next year? Be sure to peruse our Library Indexes, which are divided into a variety of categories from one-act comedies to young adults to Canadian content.
Maybe our Library Collection is missing something. Do you have any favourite plays that you’d like to see on our shelves? Suggest A Script through our website or tweet @TheatreAlberta with the hashtag #suggestAscript stating the play and playwright. Who knows – you may see it in the library soon!
Written by Becca Barrington.
