April 15, 2008 by maureen.ulrich.

This past weekend Lampman School hosted the Region One Drama Festival.

Four schools participated – Lampman, McNaughton High (Moosomin), Oxbow Prairie Heights, and Redvers High.

Moosomin came out on top – as usual. Their immaculate performance of “Two Small Fries to Go” earned them first place in all the major award categories. They will move on to the provincial festival in Regina in early May.

Lampman’s performance of “Excuse Me While I Kiss the Sky” (my play!) was runner-up in most of these categories.

The idea for this play was born on New Years Day. The high school Theatre Arts teacher Chris  and her family came out to our farm for a little “Guitar Hero” and “Monkey Bomb.” Since we had two guitars, we could play some duets, and one of my favourite moments was playing “When You Were Young” with a certain young lady, who also adores The Killers.

The next day I phoned Chris and said, “How about doing a play based on ‘Guitar Hero’ for festival ?” The rest, as they say, is history!

Students in the Theatre Arts program gave their input and helped with the development of characters and plot. They were really sold on the idea of a dream sequence or a play-within-a-play. They also brainstormed names of songs, bands, and game systems.

I think EMWIKTS ranks as my favourite student play – ever! Thanks to the students of Lampman School, it evolved into a spectacular, creative, and highly original production.

During the second half of the play the audience is taken on a trip to Rock ‘n Roll Purgatory, that “little crack in time between F and G, the eternal stage of the warm-up act” (Luc Fender) “where you can end up playing five coloured notes for an eternity” (Callie).

On a deeper level, the play is about the conflict between good and evil. Gabe (representing the archangel Gabriel) battles Luc (Lucifer) Fender – the Reaper. Much of the play also concerns the way that musicians sell their souls. Gabe resists when he is faced with the dilemma of whether or not to compromise his musical talent by learning to play a “Fisher Price toy.”

Christine and the students  stretched their creativity to the limit to recreate elements of the Guitar Hero/Legend game on stage – the synchronized lights on the screen, the audience meter, the rock personas that game players adopt. 

And – truth to tell – we are already thinking about next year’s festival play.

But that’s a topic for another day now, isn’t it?!

Posted in On Student Productions, On Writing | 1 Comment »

April 3, 2008 by maureen.ulrich.

Wave 2008 Walk Like An Egyptian is well underway. This will take the stage on May 15th at Pleasantdale School in Estevan.

Rehearsals have been phenomenal this year, with kids really THINKING about their characters and problem solving and staying in their roles even when they DON’T have lines. And memorizing their scripts! My goodness, I have never seen so many students abandoning their scripts this early in the game.

That means I need to come up with props – and a sarcophagus very soon!
With six weeks left until Wave 2008, there’s still lots of opportunity to do some fine-tuning.

Of course, it really helps to be working with a play that isn’t so word heavy. Previous productions were simply too wordy for kids to memorize quickly. And it’s easier for them to deliver a short line with confidence and volume.

Although I’ve written at least thirty plays, I guess I’m still learning!

Here’s a plot summary:

Dick Carter and his assistant Jane Potts are determined to get funding from the London Historical Society to finance an expedition to Egypt. Dick is certain he knows the location of Cleopatra’s tomb, and nothing will stop him. Canada’s newest popstar Aphrodite plans to shoot a music video in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. Her artistic director Johnny Francois has his own ideas about how to get the most out of Aphrodite’s back-up dancers.
Meanwhile Ms. Montoya and her personal secretary Abigail Ross are busy planning a business trip to Cairo. Abigail soon finds herself saddled with the responsibility of entertaining Ms. Montoya’s annoying niece Sally and nephew Jeremy. What happens when these three groups meet up with tribal Bedouins led by Baboo, Scourge of the Desert – and henpecked by his wife Fatima? Or mysterious mummies that emerge from an equally mysterious sarcophagus?

I guess you’ll have to wait until May 15th to find out!
The Region One Drama Festival, which Lampman is hosting, is one week away. My play “Excuse Me While I Kiss the Sky” will be presented by the Lampman High School. I can’t wait to see it. I am helping out as stage coodinator, making sure tech rehearsals run smoothly for the three other schools competing – Oxbow, Redvers, and Moosomin. The winner will advance to the provincial festival in Regina in early May.
Randy and I were up in Saskatoon last weekend for the Huskie Salute. We were eager to see the girls again – and their parents. It was a different format from other years. Instead of supper, there were appetizers and a jazz trio. Very classy!
Steve Kook and Wayne Grund, the coaches of the female Huskies hockey team, took home the award for Coach of the Year.
Brian Towriss, the football coach, made some thought-provoking remarks at the close of the award ceremony. He pointed out that although 11 out of 15 Huskie teams made the play-offs, this is the first year U of S has not brought home a national title in at least ONE of the sports. He urged the athletes not to be satisfied with the “middle of the road.” Good advice. Complacency should have no place in sports at this level.
The award ceremony took only one hour, and then the athletes headed downtown for a post-award “social event.”
Hmm.
Can’t imagine what the itinerary was there.

Posted in On Sports, On Student Productions, On Writing | 1 Comment »