NOTE: Between STF sanctions and Covid-19, performance plans are currently uncertain!
Twenty-one students – 13 onstage and eight offstage – together with teachers, director Crystal Gilbert and assistant director/tech supervisor Jocelyn Clark, are hard at work preparing their latest drama production for local audiences and regional competition. Also assisting are Kelsey Wintonyk with crew, Mathew Poirier with the set and Morag Riddell with costumes.
The play is Shuffling by Ken Preuss and the comedic production will include a wide array of characters, with some students taking on more than one role. Music, monologues, choreography and shadow puppets will all be included in the performance of the play.
Stage veteran Grade 11 student Emma Baker really likes the play, saying “It’s definitely different from lots of the other plays we’ve done.” She likes the way Shuffling showcases individual characters. She also likes the new challenge of delivering a monologue, which she said will require “a next level of energy.”
The title Shuffling comes from the actions of character Lacey, a teenage girl who has finished work at the mall and is waiting for her boyfriend to pick her up. As she waits, she shuffles through the songs on her iPod. Actors portray the various songs she listens to, each with his or her own bit of advice or comment for Lacey.
Emma described the two roles she is playing – Song 3, “a rapper, rough around the edges” and Song 12, “a female empowerment song.” Two obviously very different genres.
Grade 7 student Sadie Risling, in her first UCHS drama production, will portray Song 5, a song she described as “extremely happy, so happy the other songs don’t like me and find me very annoying.”
With the wide variety of different song genres throughout the play, you can expect to hear a little bit of almost everything. The variety also allows for great creativity, not only for the actors but also in costumes and makeup.
Shuffling will be performed locally, at the Unity high school, March 25 and 26, with the March 26 performance being a dessert theatre. The students will be off to Swift Current the following week to compete at the Saskatchewan Regional Drama Festival, so they would appreciate a good send-off from their hometown crowd.
Emma said, “I really like going to competition.” Meeting people, seeing the other plays, taking part in workshops and enjoying a dance are some of the things she looks forward to.
This will be Sadie’s first drama competition but, so far at least, nerves are not a factor. She thinks she will enjoy it more than performing at home where people clap and go home. At the drama festival, “you actually get a mark” and other feedback, she noted.
High school drama draws students from all grades to work together for a common purpose. Emma said that’s one of the benefits of being involved in drama – “the sense of community, like a sports team.” She appreciates the many friendships built on and off the stage. She added being able to speak in front of people is a good skill to have and “personally I have gained a lot of confidence.”