Local playwrights and performers hope Friday the thirteenth will be their lucky day during the annual One Act Play Festival, taking place in the Sterndale Bennett Theatre for one night only, March 13.
In addition to hopefully being a lucky day, being part of the festival is a unique creative outlet for performers, writers and directors— sometimes all three.
There are a variety of familiar 
faces from all of the local theatre companies and the University of Lethbridge in this year’s festival, which includes three original scripts and two from Playgoers of Lethbridge’s collection. While Playgoers of Lethbridge have been organizing this festival for more than 20 years, the One Act Play festival itself has been running much longer.
The productions will be adjudicated by University of Lethbridge drama professor Doug MacArthur and awards given for best original script, best male actor and best female actor. The winning play will represent the Chinook Region in the provincial one act play competition featuring the best one act plays from the 10 regions in Alberta. This year the provincial competition takes place in Red Deer over the May long weekend.
The festival is held in conjunction with the Alberta Drama Festival Association which will sponsor travel costs for the winning play.
Entries are welcomed from throughout the Chinook region which runs from the United States border to the B.C. and Saskatchewan borders up north to east of Coaldale.
“We used to get submissions from Medicine Hat and Taber,” said coordinator Kate Connolly ideally they'd like to receive enough submissions for a two day event. This year the five productions will make for a compact, not to mention affordable and entertaining night of theatre.
Recent University of Lethbridge graduate Aimée McGurk, who has performed with Shakespeare In the Park, Hatrix Theatre and several University of Lethbridge productions, wrote her own script for the festival— “Work in Progress: Pancow.”
“I never thought I’d write a play, but it’s my release. I don’t play guitar and I don’t have room to do movement pieces. So if I’m in an angry mood, I write an angry play. Writing plays has become kind of my diary,” she said adding “Work In Progress: Pancow” shows off her more absurd and humourous side. So she recruited fellow recent grad Meredith Pritchard who recently moved back to Lethbridge and Ben Goodwin to put Pancow to the stage.
“I was talking with Meredith and we’re not in school anymore. We were stagnating and we asked each other ‘why aren’t we doing art,’” she explained, noting she also has a bit part in Hatrix Theatre Avenue Q in May.
“ It’s a little absurd. Originally I was going to write five pages and send it to a friend of mine who would write another five pages, but it didn’t turn out that way,” she said noting creating the play was a collaborative effort between all three performers. The story is about two girls who play dress up as old men.
“Which is weird because little girls usually say ‘let’s dress up as princesses,” McGurk said.
“ It really was a challenging collaborative process,” Pritchard said.
“It’s a really fun script,” Pritchard continued.
“ As soon as we decided to enter, we started rehearsing in Ben’s basement,” she said.
She noted Ben Goodwin, also a Shakespeare in the Park veteran, suggested they enter the festival and took on directorial duties. He also performs in Pancow as well as in another original work— Jay Northcott’s “Feed Me Diamonds” which also stars Becca McDonald, Danielle Martens and Jenna Schwartz.
“It’s about four people who are not able to escape their past,” described director Van Weiren of “Feed Me Diamonds”
“They’re trapped because they have lost the ability to love themselves,” she continued adding she was immediately drawn to the themes in the script.
“It’s a very interesting piece with a lot of possibilities. There is a lot to explore,” she said.
Goodwin is enjoying his role in that production, playing a character known only as “B.”
“He’s quite messed up,” he said.
“He’s lost the ability to love and takes it out on other people and takes away their happiness,” Van Wieren described. She has never been part of the One Act Play Festival before. Goodwin was part of the festival a year ago and was eager to repeat the experience.
“It gives me an outlet not related to school,” said Goodwin.
“I enjoy directing. I like the creativity. As an actor you are part of the picture, but as a director, you get to build the picture, and sculpt what other people see,” he said.
“It’s quite a different role as director,” she said.
“It’s really quite an experiment. It’s a great way to workshop the play and see how an audience audience reacts. It will be fun to watch,” she said.
The other productions this year are another original script called “Out of the West,” which is about three intriguing characters who create a hideaway. It stars Brandon Eyck, Alex May and Ethan Sears and is directed by Shelby Thevenot.
Playgoers of Lethbridge members have two submissions as well.
Monique Prusky and Garrett Bishoff will be performing Jason Katim’s “The Man Who Couldn’t Dance.”
Both of the actors were in Playgoers of Lethbridge’s recent production of “Leading ladies” and Prusky was in Hatrix’s production of “Lend Me A Tenor.” Bishoff has also performed with Shakespeare in the park as well as was one of the stars of Hatrix’s production of Spamalot
“It is about a pair of ex lovers who meet at a dinner party and reminisce about their past,” Connolly described.
The final production features Jeff Graham and Insidis Theatre who has performed with all of the local theatre groups.
The two person play is David Gillis”s “Fade To Black.”
“It is about what happens when an actor doesn’t listen to your director,” Connolly summarized adding she is hoping for a good sized audience.
“It’s a bargain at $4.95 for five provocative plays and amazing refreshments provided by Mary-Lynn Muhly,” Connolly said.
The Regional One Act Play Competition begins at 7 p.m., March 13 in the Sterndale Bennett Theatre. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
