Although Estevan is still thoroughly within the grip of winter, the Souris Valley Theatre board of directors is looking forward to when things start warming up for another season. The board already has plans in the works for the upcoming theatre season, this summer.
Board chair Lynn Chipley stated that audiences this year are in for plenty of laughs, since both productions that the theatre will be putting on are going to be musical comedies. The first of the two will be a production called Fitz Happens. Although its certain what the first of the two productions will be, the board has yet to determine what the second one will be, and is still in the planning stages, so there aren鈥檛 many more details available at this time.
鈥淜enn McLeod, our artistic director, has sent us a script to read, and we are diligently reading that, so we can make a decision,鈥� said Chipley. 鈥淭here will definitely be two main stage shows this year, though. They鈥檒l be running in July and into early August.鈥�
In addition to the main productions, Chipley said the board hopes to arrange for another ladies鈥� night event, ahead of the upcoming plays, sometime in June.聽
The Souris Valley Theatre Camp program will also be returning this year. Camps will be held over the course of the summer, helping children aged six to 18 cultivate their acting skills.
This year, students attending the camps will be involved in a new, original production, courtesy of a familiar artist whose talent has been onstage in Estevan before, Maureen Ulrich.
鈥淭he Saskatchewan Cultural Exchange has taken me on as a writer in residence in Estevan, in the months of June and July, and it鈥檚 part of an initiative to serve the community,鈥� said Ulrich. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to do some workshops and write a play for the theatre camp.鈥�
Ulrich said she already has a tentative idea of what the play will be about, noting that this year鈥檚 performance will likely be related to her play from last year, Game of Phones.聽
鈥淭hat involved time travel, and what was nice about that was that we could tailor its script to fit what kids were going to the camp,鈥� said Ulrich. 鈥淣ormally, there are quite a few girls at the camps, but last year there were seven boys. We didn鈥檛 anticipate that, so we actually had to alter the script for more male roles.鈥�
The process of adaptation may continue this year, as Ulrich has tentatively planned a sequel to the previous year鈥檚 play, with the theme of Canada鈥檚 150th anniversary.
鈥淲e鈥檙e planning to do a Game of Phones 2: Canadian History Edition. There鈥檒l be various historical points throughout the play, which are significant,鈥� said Ulrich. 鈥淭he kids can learn with it, and have some fun with it.鈥�
The plot of the play will generally follow the adventures of a family on vacation, celebrating Canada鈥檚 150th聽anniversary, said Ulrich. The children-characters in the play, who will likely be reluctant to learn at first, will use a phone as a time-travelling device, to go back and learn about key Canadian historical moments.
聽鈥淲e might bring back a couple of characters from last year鈥檚 production, with a new set of characters,鈥� said Ulrich.
Ulrich has a plan for choosing which historical references are to be incorporated into the upcoming play. She plans to consult local high school students, asking them what they think the most significant moments in Canadian history were.
鈥淚鈥檓 not sure when the play will take place; it will depend on what we come up with,鈥� said Ulrich. 鈥淚t鈥檒l hinge on the schedule for the main stage plays and then, probably, the camps. I鈥檓 not sure, but I鈥檓 going to say it will probably be in early August.鈥�
