Two original plays written by local playwrights will be part of Central Alberta Theatre’s One-Acts Cabaret opening on Thursday, June 25.
The Green Room, a drama written and directed by CAT member Carole Forhan, and Finding Sisters, an exploratory work by Albertus Koett, are among eight plays to be performed for this year’s One-Acts Cabaret, which runs at the Nickle Theatre, upstairs in the Memorial Centre.
Forhan, who has directed and acted in many CAT dinner theatre productions at the Black Knight Inn, has written her first play about a subject she knows well — an actor’s opening night jitters.
Cabaret producer Janette Watson is looking forward to seeing The Green Room, specifically because it’s based on a fellow CAT member’s experiences. She predicts “It’s just going to be brilliant.”
Koett’s Finding Sisters is about siblings who seem to be worlds apart. The play, directed by Kayte Parnell, explores whether the troubled sisters can find enough common ground to help one another heal.
Koett is no stranger to CAT, having acted in several dinner theatre plays and directed the current production of Alice in Wonderland at the Memorial Centre. He has written several one-acts, including one that premiered at last year’s cabaret.
“A very talented young man,” observes Watson, who believes this year’s lineup of one-act plays has a more diversity than last year’s — there are three plays that started as poems — and even a musical.
Philip Glass Buys A Loaf Of Bread, is a musical parody by David Ives. It’s directed by Red Deer College theatre instructor Tanya Ryga and acted by her students. The musical vignette is written in trademark Glass-ian style, with the celebrated composer having a moment of existential crisis in a bakery.
CAT member Judy Moody is directing poetry as theatre. Three works by Robert Frost, Wild Grapes, Home Burial and The Fear, will be adapted for the stage.
The other one acts are:
• Enigma, by Floyd Deli, directed by Florence Stephan-Coates. A man and woman confront an unsolvable enigma — their relationship.
• Jolly Jack Junior The Buccaneer’s Bairn, a comedy by Jeff Goode, directed by Sharon-Eve Lang. A young man declares war on all pirates as he seeks revenge for his buccaneer mother who abandoned him as a wee lad.
When he finally confronts her, he learns that mother really does know best.
• Left To Right, a drama By Steven Dietz, directed by Tara Rorke. Four people play a dangerous game with their hearts.
• Post-Its (Notes On A Marriage), a drama by Paul Dooley and Winnie Holzman, also directed by Rorke. An actor and actress read the Post-It notes between a couple that span the duration of their lives together. The hilarious and moving play explores the ups and downs of a relationship that were unexpectedly captured on scraps of paper.
Watson believes audiences will enjoy the wide variety of theatrical entertainment that’s being packed into one evening, as well as the different viewpoints of the directors, whose ages span six decades — from their early 20s into their 80s.
The cabaret runs nightly from Thursday to Sunday, June 28, starting at 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 7 p.m.). Tickets are $10 each and can be reserved (for pickup at the door) by calling Central Alberta Theatre at 403-347-8111, ext. 3.
Complimentary snacks will be provided and there will be a cash bar.
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com