Red Deer College acting students will slip on directing and playwriting hats for the launch of Solo Flight.
The series of original, solo works that will be performed on Thursday and Friday at the college are all written by students. Their assignment was to produce a one-person show that’s 10-minutes long and has a minimum of three characters.
Audiences will see diverse and surprising performances as theatre studies actors depict werewolves, salon appliances, superheroes, zombies, penguins, octogenarians, dragon slayers and scheming accountants.
The students were inspired to write on themes of confinement, self-image, revenge, memory, denial and true love.
Learning to produce original theatre “is a challenging and stretching experience,” said theatre studies instructor Tanya Riga, who believes the young actors have to be “very grounded” to pull off multiple roles.
Student Chris le Vann sees it as a chance to grow and put his own creativity to the test; “This project encourages us to sustain ourselves as artists by being proactive in our approach.”
By stepping into the part of actor, playwright, director and production co-ordinator, “it means we’re more developed as artists and we’re learning to do more than one job,” added student Kelly Kozakevich.
Solo Flight will be performed at 7:30 p.m. in Studio A of the Red Deer College Arts Centre. Admission is by donation at the door. Some performances may contain strong language, and a different set of shows will be performed each night.