Provincial Tours and National Tour to celebrate 28th Season!

Concrete Theatre welcomes you to its 28th season of diverse, dynamic and entertaining theatre for young audiences. Artistic Director Mieko Ouchi and General Manager Mary-Ellen Perley are excited to announce a season of plays that will delight, challenge and move young people of all ages.

This fall, we are proud to present the return of The Bully Project, a participatory show written by Mieko Ouchi. This year, after an astoundingly three years touring to both Junior Highs and Elementary schools and a week of shows in Saskatoon, the show returns to both age groups. Bullying behavior is something that schools, families, communities and young people grapple with every day. In a bold, interactive and engaging style, The Bully Project explores the complex reasons why this behavior happens, and what young people and the adults who care about them can do about it. Featuring a diverse cast of artists, the show is touring to Elementary & Junior High Schools, October 16 – November 17, 2017.

Also for this fall we have a special announcement to make! Bello, our bilingual co-production with L’Unithéâtre by Governor General Award winning playwright Vern Thiessen, which we premiered last season, has been picked up for a national tour. This new play for children, translated by Brian Dooley and directed by Mieko Ouchi, will be presented for a two week main-stage engagement at Young People’s Theatre in Toronto, October 10 – 20, 2017.

In January, we will be heading into rehearsals on two fantastic projects. First up, the return of Paper Song, Jared Matsunaga-Turnbull’s beautiful and moving story weaves a traditional Japanese folktale about a crane (the Tsuru) with the story of a young mouse and her grandfather, as they struggle against an oppressive overlord, the goblin Tengu. This magical performance integrates large-scale origami and shadow puppetry as it celebrates artistic creativity, ingenuity and the power of love. This show premiered in 2013 and has since toured to Saskatoon’s Persephone Theatre and Toronto’s Young People’s Theatre, receiving critical acclaim and both Sterling and Dora Award nominations!

Next up we will be premiering Consent, written by Mieko Ouchi. After a confusing sexual encounter, a young couple must grapple with the emotional aftermath. Was there consent? The passionate discussion that follows opens up an exploration of sexual consent and what it means for both parties involved. Generously supported by the Edmonton Community Foundation’s Vital Signs Program, the Wuchien Michael Than Foundation and the Alberta Status of Women, Consent will help students learn about their individual rights, gender equality, personal conduct and respect. Community Partners, the Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton and Compass Sexual Wellness will also be working with us to build the educator materials and provide follow up workshops. Thanks to the assistance of the Alberta Status of Women, we are able to offer the show at a substantially subsidized rate to schools across the Province.

These two plays will be touring together across Alberta for 9 weeks from February 12 – April 13, 2018 with public & school performances of both shows at La Cité Francophone, February 15 – 17, 2018.

Wrapping up the season will be the 17th Sprouts New Play Festival for Kids on June 2 & 3, 2018! Local playwrights from diverse cultural backgrounds will share a fresh crop of three brand new short plays for kids and their families. Presented by FTA’s Arts At The Barns Presentation Series in the Westbury Theatre at the ATB Financial Arts Barns.

Finally, at the top of the 2017-2018 Season, Concrete Theatre is pleased to announce we will be offering a summer arts camp for Syrian Refugee children ages 6-12 called Laeib! Play! July 10 – 14, 2017. Supported by the Telus Community Fund, the camp will be run by Syrian theatre artist Amena Shehab and veteran actor Lora Brovold in the Playhouse!

For more information about our season, please contact Concrete Theatre at 780.439.3905 or visit www.concretetheatre.ca.