“The Boardmore Theatre One-Act Play Festival continues to be a spark that ignites the local theatre community with energy and excitement,” says Todd Hiscock, Artistic Director. “The festival offers a diverse selection original and previously produced plays by new and experienced directors. Every year the festival provides surprising results.”
The festival will feature six one-act plays in three days with Festival Achievement Awards and a closing reception following the adjudication on March 24. The festival adjudicator is Gary Walsh who has taught Drama and Theatre Arts for over thirty years in Cape Breton. He has appeared in or directed many productions at both The Lyceum and The Boardmore Theatre.
The festival opens Thursday, March 22 with I know I Love Him and Scab Avenue. Written and directed by Jonathan Lewis, I know I love Him is an exploration in the human need for physical and emotional relationships in a world that allows less time to form meaningful bonds with partners as well makes in person social interactions increasingly foreign through the constant use of social media. Set in the not too distant future this play attempts to shine light on the lengths people go to meet romantic needs as well avoid personal emotional harm that stems from failing relationships. Scab Avenue, devised by Todd Hiscock as a piece of verbatim theatre, with the text being transcribed directly from a series of interviews with residents of a Whitney Pier neighborhood. Scab Avenue tells the story of one family’s struggle to understand the polluted and toxic effects of a father’s chemical imbalance.
Friday, March 23rd’s offerings are Tell Me Where It Hurts, written and directed by Brittany Fagan-Steele, and The Time of the Lone Wolf, written by Ronald Labelle and directed by Ken Chisholm.
In Tell Me Where It Hurts, Sawyer Dodick finds comfort in isolation, with books as his only companions. Blending into the background has been his routine all throughout high school and he figured it would be the rest of his life. When he is forced into interacting with a group of the schools misfits he is perplexed at their boisterous and outgoing attitudes. Never before has he experienced this type of interaction so different yet so alike to those of his beloved book characters. Will he be able to handle the complications and disputes that come with trying to belong? Or will he retreat back to the security and contentment of solitude?
The Time of the Lone Wolf sees a man arriving in Ottawa for a meeting regarding a translation contract, and staying at a bed and breakfast run by a woman engaged in social struggles. As they learn more of each other’s lives, a connection is made. Can defences come down on both sides for a more lasting relationship?
The three-day, One Act Festival wraps up on Saturday, March 24, with Solstice, written by Paul MacDougall and directed by Mike McPhee, and Ferris Wheel, written by Mary Miller and directed by Jule Ann Hardy.
In MacDougall’s play, an aging cabbie tries to protect a young runaway, who seeks haven in a downtown pizza shop; but on the longest night of the year trouble just keeps on piling up. Miller’s Ferris Wheel introduces us to Dorie and John. Dorie is afraid of heights. John is afraid to give up smoking. Both are lonely and meet when they must share a seat on a Ferris wheel. When they become stuck at the top, the two must confront their fears together and an unlikely love and bond forms between the two.
The festival offers the community an opportunity to celebrate live theatre. It also allows audiences to see several quality productions from numerous theatrical styles while showcasing new and experienced writers, directors and actors. Public discussions, led by festival adjudicator Gary Walsh, will be held nightly in the Pit Lounge, following each of the evening of plays with the Festival Achievement Awards and Closing Reception following the adjudication on March 24.
Tickets are $20 for general admission and $10 for students and seniors. A One Act Festival Pass is $40 for general, $20 for student and seniors. The box office is open 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday.
