A tale of an old-style radio production that goes horribly awry took two of the major nods at this year’s Foothills Regional One-Act Play Festival in Okotoks earlier this month.
Bragg Arts Theatre Society’s “The Final Case of Deenie Druwes” was selected as Top Production and cast member Karin Atkinson nabbed the prize for Best Actress at the festival held at the Rotary Performing Arts Centre (RPAC) in Okotoks March 18-19.
Also taking home honours were Steve Buoninsegni of Okotoks’ Dewdney Players for Best Actor in the play “Auto De Fe” and Foothills Theatre Company’s Derek Losoncy won Best Director for “Essay”.
Atkinson, a first-time winner at the festival, admitted she was floored by her win.
“I was honestly quite shocked,” she said. “There were so many good plays this year and comedies don’t usually win the acting awards. They usually go to dramatic performances. I wasn’t expecting it so I was very surprised and ecstatic.”
Atkinson played a writer named Bernice in “Deenie Druwes”. It’s a play about a play; in this case a radio drama that turns tragic in a humorous manner. One of the big challenges for the show during the festival was it featured a cast of 12 packed on the modest stage at the Rotary Performing Arts Centre.
Atkinson said the outrageous physical nature of the show was definitely complicated by the restricted confines of RPAC.
“There’s actually a scene where Bernice runs from one end of the stage to the other and has to knock down everything between,” she said. “I was so afraid of something falling off the stage into the audience or of an actor being knocked off stage.”
Somehow the cast managed to get through the 50-minute show without harming anyone or permanently damaging anything.
By winning top play at the Foothills region, “The Final Case of Deenie Druwes” is now off to the Alberta one-act play festival May 20-21 in Lethbridge.
Atkinson admitted she’s pleased by the location of this year’s provincial festival
“I actually studied drama at the U of L (University of Lethbridge),” she said. “All of my friends are still in Lethbridge so I am very happy to be able to get together and celebrate with everybody.”
Atkinson’s sister, Dani, wrote “Deenie Druwes” and she also appears in the play as a flamboyant grand dame of an actress named Evelyn.
The director of the show, Isabel McNab, said much credit for the success of the show should go to the playwright.
“We needed a spring production,” she said. “Poor Dani offered to write a script and we committed to doing it before she realized how difficult it would be to write a murder mystery comedy, not the easiest form to pull off.”
While a talented group of performers in Bragg Creek begin their preparations for hopefully another championship run, this time in Lethbridge, Okotoks performer Buoninsegni is able to kick back and enjoy his Best Actor win in the Foothills one-acts.
He said it comes after two near misses.
“Twice before I received honourable mentions,” he explained. “So I have been close. I’ve been in the pool of contenders but this is the first I’ve won. So it’s nice.
The actor was recognized for his portrayal of Eloi Duvenet in Tennessee Williams’ “Auto-da-fe”. It’s a tragic tale about a son reaching out to his smothering mother who was played by Florence Maione, runner-up for Best Actress.
Buoninsegni said he and his costar took a bit of a calculated risk selecting the show for competition.
“Most festivals will have a few shows from the darker genres but the majority generally, from what I have seen, have been more on the lighter side,” he said.
With a frantic Best Actress comically knocking things all over the place and a Best Actor playing a troubled, suicidal son, the 2011 Foothills Regional One-Act Play Festival was a winner in terms of its range and talent.
