Trinity Western University presents the second installment of New Generations, SAMC Theatre’s annual emerging artist festival running Feb. 1 to 5. With five plays presented back-to-back, each is like a course in a meal of theatre.
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 award-winning director Angela Konrad, and two are world premieres penned by playwriting students of Abbotsford’s Dr. Lloyd Arnett.
MEI graduate Clare Arney directs Still Stands the House, a chilling suspense thriller that is one of the most acclaimed and performed works in Canadian theatre.
“As soon as I read this play in my Canadian drama class, I knew I had to direct it one day,” recalled Clare, who cut her teeth on The Skin of Our Teeth as an assistant director earlier this season.
Set in the isolation of Canada’s prairies during the Great Depression, Still Stands the House portrays the icy power struggle within one family desperate to survive.
On the lighter side, Jordan Schuurman directs the fast-paced New York comedy Sure Thing, which follows the ups and downs of a blind date like no other.
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.
Director Becky MacDormand presents August in the Spring written by TWU’s Cara Lowdermilk – a quirky romantic comedy about a brilliant girl with Asperger’s Syndrome.
And Closing Up, written and directed by Gwendolen Groen, portrays a far-from-ordinary closing shift at a middle-of-nowhere Yukon café.
Performances are Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m., Feb. 1–5, with a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. For information and tickets, visit www.twu.ca/theatre or email theatre@twu.ca.