Starting on Wednesday May 8, the Studio at Alumnae Theatre will be a hotbed of activity. If you are interested in seeing a play from its first reading, and giving feedback to the writers, this is for you. Admission is FREE!
Big Ideas is a series of staged reading: works-in-progress from the award-winning writers of Alumnae Theatre’s New Play Development group. There will be short plays as well as full-length plays; check the lineup for schedule & synopses.
The scripts will be read by actors who have had only a few rehearsals with a director. For many writers, this will be the first time they’ve heard the script aloud.
The Lineup:
(Wed May 8 @ 8pm) I AM MARGUERITE by Shirley Barrie, directed by Molly Thom.
1542: Marguerite de Roberval is abandoned by her brother on a deserted island in the Strait of Belle Isle for daring to choose love over duty. Two and a half years later, haunted by the phantoms of those who have abandoned her, half-starved and half-mad, she sees a ship anchoring off the island. Rescue is possible, but…. is the prospect of returning to France more terrifying than another cold winter alone in the New World?
CAST: Paul Babiak, Dorothy Kelleher, Carys Lewis, Wendy Springate, Laura Vincent, Mike Vitorovich.
(Thu May 9 @ 8pm) FORGIVENESS by Mairy Beam, directed by Victoria Shepherd.
Lara struggles with a deep-seated anger towards her mother who suffers from schizophrenia. When she returns home, armed with a PhD in Biomedical Science, she disrupts the carefully orchestrated life her sister Chelsea and her mother have built together. The sisters have very different ideas of how best to help their mother, and each other. Their mother has her own ideas. Forgiveness and anger strive for the upper hand.
CAST: Lionel Boodlal, Andrea Brown, Tina McCulloch, Cathy McKim, Carol McLennan, Jeff Orchard.
(Fri May 10 @ 8pm) YOU HAVE TO EARN IT by Ramona Baillie, directed by Jane Carnwath.
Will Betty ever earn her long overdue promotion? Her reach for the top is frustrated by a philandering boss, a scheming new employee, a wacky mail room clerk and a friend with a hidden agenda—a madcap roller-coaster of a play paying homage to the screwball comedies of the 1930s.
CAST: Matt Brioux, Andrea Brown, Chantale Groulx, Seema Lakhani, Joshua Mott, Lara Mrkoci, Derek Perks, Laura Vincent, Mike Vitorovich.
(Sat May 11 @ 2pm) IN A TIME OF WAR by Anne MacMillan, directed by Marianne Fedunkiw.
World War II. The bombing raids up the Clyde have begun. A Glasgow family manages to live their lives after a near hit with a bomb and dreadful loss of life nearby. Amidst the darkness of war, two young girls find much to occupy them, making secret spy plans with Grandpa. The realities of war intrude.
CAST: Scott Dermody, Karina Rammell, Olivia Reid, Frank Robinow, Marisa Ship,Tara Wosik.
(Sat May 11 @ 2pm) WAITING FOR KATRINA by Donna Langevin, directed by Pat McCarthy.
New Orleans August 2005. Hurricane Katrina is gathering strength and threatens to engulf the city. To stay or to go? Charlotte is determined to remain in her home at all costs while Dora, her estranged daughter from Toronto, has a crucial agenda of her own. Time is running out as the battle of wills escalates.
CAST: Kwaku Adu-Poku, Elisabeth Feltaous, Kerri Henman, Aileen Taylor-Smith.
(Sat May 11 @ 2pm) BROCKFEST by Joan Burrows, directed by Maria Popoff.
All Kitty wants to do is not be an American anymore! But her July 4th celebration is hampered by a sword- wielding husband dressed as Isaac Brock, her annoying younger brother and his partner who just happen to drop by, and the arrival of her sister, a cloistered nun who has taken a vow of silence. Who knew patriotism could cause such havoc?
CAST: Liz Best, Daryn Dewalt, Chris Irving, Mary Joseph, Brandon Moore.
(Sun May 12 @ 2pm) THE YEAR MY FATHER BECAME A SAINT by Linda McCready, directed by Brenda Darling.
Bernie is an alcoholic who has embarked on a journey to become a better man. When he opens a butcher shop in the mid-1970s at a time of high inflation, he hires his two teenage children to work in the store. Customers come and sometimes go, as Bernie struggles to connect with his children, make a go of the shop, and slay his own particular demons.
CAST: Paul Babiak, Jamieson Child, Scott Clarkson, Marianne Fedunkiw, Roselyn Kelada-Sedra, Lisa Polivka, Michael Sherman, David Suszek.
May 8 – 12, 2013 • Alumnae Theatre, 3rd floor Studio • FREE admission
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