COVID— 19 has lead to the cancellation of the One Act Play festival, which was originally scheduled at the Sterndale Bennett Theatre, May 5-6 with the provincial finals originally scheduled for May 22-23.

Playgoers of Lethbridge co-artistic director Rita Peterson said it was the right choice.
“We don’t know how things will be in two months,” said Peterson, who was part of a conference call with the other members of the ADFA (Alberta Drama Association) who sponsor the festival, who agreed.

“It was going to be the biggest turnout we had in years. We already had  five or six scripts and it isn’t even April yet. One group was even paying for rehearsal space,” Peterson said, adding a lot of people were looking forward to the event, which is an important event for the long standing local theatre group Playgoers of Lethbridge.

The University of Lethbridge explores  grief and loss in their last main stage production of the season, “In Tongues,” which runs March 17-21 in the University Theatre.
“In Tongues” was written by U of L graduate James Odin Wade who graduated from the U of L in 2011 with a FFA multi-disciplinary degree.
Assistant director Jake Rose noted the  five cast member play75 minute play combines elements of thriller, murder mystery and ghost story.
“ But it’s also quite funny,” said Rose, who enjoyed working with playwright James Odin Wade.
“It’s the world premiere of the lay. We workshopped it here. It was a collaborative process. So it was really exciting to receive notes and scenes, even though I live here and he lives in New York,” said Rose, an award winning playwright himself.
Rose won third place and $25 in this year’s uLethbridge Play Right Prize competition.
“ It’s been an exciting process. We’ve collaborated a lot on it, sending new drafts,” Rose continued.
When true crime author Cara dies alone in her British Columbia cabin while researching an infamous killer, her husband and sister are left searching for answers. What they find in her research exposes new sides of Cara, her investigation and themselves.

New West Theatre brings the music of Canadian alt country/ folk icon Fred Eaglesmith to life at the Yates Theatre, March 4-14.
 Calgary based playwright Ken Cameron got inspired to write Dear Johnny Deere which is the story of a farm family in danger of losing their farm.
“It’s about a farmer  who is  in danger of losing his farm and his wife,” summarized Kathy Zaborsky, who plays the wife Caroline and  is co-musical director of the production with Scott Mezei.

“ I’m from Hamilton originally and Fred Eaglesmith used to play there a lot when I was young. He lives not too far away from there. And my brother has a farm near there too. So we have a connection to the Ontario farmer scene,” said Zaborsky.

“It takes place in Ontario, but we‘ve set it in Southern Alberta,” she said.

She is joined by Douglas MacArthur, who plays her husband, Johnny Deere, Andrew Legg and Justin Michael  Carrier and musicians Scott Mezei and Keenan Pezderic.
“It’s about a farmer  who copes with the loss of his family and his farm, but it is a story of redemption and legacy. But it is also his story of forgiveness, which is so important  in the world today,” she continued.
 She noted the music is pretty close to Eaglesmith’s originals.