With five plays presented back-to-back, each performance is like a multi-course meal of delicious theatre as Trinity Western University presents the second instalment of New Generations, SAMC Theatre’s annual emerging artist festival, Feb. 1 to 5.
The evening’s entertainment includes edge-of-your-seat suspense, quirky comedy, and everything in between.
Each play is student-directed under the mentorship of Jessie-winning director Angela Konrad, and two are world premieres penned by TWU playwriting students.
Langley Fine Arts School graduate Cara Lowdermilk earned a spot in the festival with her witty romantic comedy August in the Spring, the story of a brilliant but socially isolated girl with Asperger’s Syndrome.
“The only difference between Anne Boleyn and me is she had a father wanting to marry her off to the highest bidder and I have a mother,” laments Lowdermilk’s protagonist as she dodges awkward blind dates with her mother’s hand-selection of the richest young men in Manhattan. Lowdermilk’s play is directed by classmate Becky MacDormand.
The other original work premiering at New Generations is Closing Up, written and directed by Langley’s multi-talented Gwendolen Groen.
What starts out as an ordinary closing shift at a middle-of-nowhere café in the Yukon gets funny, then scary, then touching as two strangers discover more about each other than they bargained for.
From dish pit battle wounds to haunting emotional scars, life happens and it’s no cup of decaf.
“Directing my own play for New Generations is a phenomenal opportunity for me,” says Groen who has already had a busy year of theatre since marrying in the summer and settling with her husband in Fort Langley.
“I am so excited to see my characters go from words on a page to living, breathing human beings.”
Also on the menu is David Ives’ Sure Thing, directed by Jordan Schuurman; a fast-paced New York comedy following the ups and downs of a blind date like no other. Clare Arney directs Gwen Pharis Ringwood’s Still Stands the House, a chilling suspense thriller set in the Canadian prairies during the Great Depression.
And The Role of Della by John Wooten, directed by Jessica Van Elk, is a wildly unpredictable sprint through the world of auditions and fiercely competitive actresses.
Evening performances are Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m., Feb. 1 to 5 with a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. For more information and tickets, visit www.twu.ca/theatre or email theatre@twu.ca.