Some of Okotoks’ most elite young actors showed off their talents at a provincial drama festival last week, taking home an honourable mention for ensemble acting.
Eight Alberta High School of Fine Arts (AHSFA) advanced acting class students received the honour while competing in the Alberta High School Drama Festival Association’s annual provincial festival in Red Deer May 9-11.
The one-act play was amongst 18 performed by schools across Alberta.
The AHSFA students were selected to advance to provincials after their 20-minute comedy, This is a Play, won best production and outstanding comedy in the zones competition in April.
“It’s an incredibly smart script,” said drama teacher Bruce MacDonald. “It was student driven and they made some really nice choices with it. Understanding the comedy and the style it’s written in is very difficult. You have to have a good theatrical mind to get some of the jokes and for them to find that humour in it.”
This is a Play tells the story of actors performing in a play, yet reveals their thought processes while acting out their assigned characters.
MacDonald said the eight cast and crew members received a standing ovation after their May 10 performance.
“They nailed it,” he said. “The audience really liked it.”
The director, Grade 12 student Emilie Zauhar, said she and the other students enjoyed playing around with the blocking and aesthetics of the play.
“There isn’t a lot of set or sound pieces,” she said. “It was pretty much open to interpretation for us. I had so much fun doing it that it made it really easy.”
Zauhar, who plans to pursue acting beyond high school, said she and her classmates added to the humour with dancing, strange arm movements and odd choreography.
“It adds to the comedic nature of the play,” she said. “The way the story is written, the viewers are basically watching the actors in a play talk about how they’re feeling as they’re performing this play. The dialogue is very different from the blocking. We were really just given a chance to go crazy with how we wanted the play that the actors in the play are performing to look. It’s kind of trippy when you think about it.”
Zauhar said she and her classmates worked hard and were excited for the opportunity to perform it in front of other schools.
“It’s a bigger audience so it’s a good experience,” she said. “You get to perform on a much bigger stage and you get to talk to a lot of people who are working in theatre. It’s a really good opportunity.”
The honourable mention had all eight teens in shock and feeling a sense of pride, said Zauhar.
“I’m so proud of all the work that we’ve done,” she said.
Also proud is Grade 12 student Bailey Fowler, who served as part of the crew.
“It was really well done,” she said. “Emilie directed it and she did a fabulous job. It was one of the most standout shows. It’s a very strong cast. Emilie is a really good director.”
Fowler originally was signed on to act, but when more technical people were needed and she already had roles in the other plays, she was asked to help backstage.
“It was completely different than what I’m used to,” she admitted. “It was really hard. With acting I’m used to it and comfortable with it. Being on the tech team was way more stressful because the actors are relying on you. It was a good challenge though.”
Fowler’s responsibilities included counting the actors in, giving light change cues and assisting with costume changes.
“There were some really fast costume changes,” she said. “It was only a 15 minute play and there was I don’t know how many costume changes.”
Thirty AHSFA advanced acting students competed in zones in Cochrane with five one-act plays in April.
The play Maleficarum won alternate best production and outstanding choral speech, the play Alice got honourable mention for creative storytelling and students Jasmine White and Connor Smith won acting awards.
This year marked the school’s second consecutive year it advanced to provincials, said MacDonald.
“Participating in zones was our final exam if you will,” he said.
Students selected the plays and began rehearsing in early February. The plays ranged from seven minutes to 35.
MacDonald said competing in zones and provincials is a great experience for the students.
“We saw such a wide variety of things, which is why it’s great to go to festival,” he said. “For me it’s really important for them to watch everybody because that’s where you learn to see what things work and what things don’t work and what other people are doing.”
Residents interested in watching the one-act plays have that opportunity in the Foothills Composite High School theatre May 16 at 7 p.m.
Four of the five plays will be performed, with the AHSFA concert choir performing pop songs between plays.
Tickets cost $10 at the door with proceeds covering the cost of props and costumes.
