When Avery uncovers a plot by his father to cut down his favourite tree, he enrols his best friend to live with him in the yard (No TV! No video games! Nothing!) to protest. But when a heated debate over soccer and global warming turns sour, Avery questions if he has the guts to be an Enviro-Man or is he merely, as his sister calls him, a “Tree Boy”. Avery must stick to his beliefs if he wants to save the tree and convince his father, who is always preoccupied with work.
Through his protest he tries to teach his family about energy conservation, much to the chagrin of his sister whose hair dryer he confiscates. Avery also enlists the help of his friend Sam with whom he learns a valuable lesson about friendship. In the end, Avery has to face his fears by spending a night alone in the tree fort next door to a scary teenager.
Tree Boy features three young actors – Connor Schaller (Avery, the Tree Boy), Olivia Schaller (Avery’s Sister), and Jameson Duggan (Avery’s best friend).
“I was thrilled when these three actors showed up for our auditions last September,” says Todd Hiscock, director of the Boardmore Theatre. “Each of them brings so much talent, energy, and joy to our rehearsals; they are perfectly cast for these roles. It is fantastic that we can cast young actors in roles written for young characters and have them perform at a very high level.”
Another highlight of this production is the massive tree with its built-in tree house.
“Cheryl Bray, our set designer, has done an incredible job with designing and constructing a tree that takes on a character of its own. Audiences will be awed by its size and detail.”
Written by Michele Riml and directed by Hiscock, Tree Boy will be staged April 24, 25, and 26 at 10am for visiting elementary and middle schools, and April 27 at 7pm and April 28 at 2pm for the public. This play for young audiences wraps up CBU’s Boardmore Theatre 52nd Season of Plays.
“Overall, the 52nd Season of Plays has been a big hit with our main stage productions,” says Hiscock. “Photograph 51 was seen by 1500 middle and senior high school students in November of 2023; Yellowface was a production initiated by a group of international students from China and featured a mostly Asian cast; and then there was the large-scale production of Murder in the Cathedral, done in period costume and set post-industrial Cape Breton—audience response for all the plays this year has been extremely positive and patrons were often heard to comment that it is so great to have serious dramas and rarely seen plays at the Boardmore.”
In addition to the three main stage productions was a week-long Youth Theatre Festival, and the ever-popular Elizabeth Boardmore One Act Play Festival which saw nine plays staged over four nights, with adjudication by renowned Canadian theatre director, Ron Jenkins
“We are very proud of the work done at the Boardmore, promoting theatre to young people around Cape Breton,” says Hiscock, noting that the Theatre has been staging plays for young audiences since 1972 and has produced more than 50 in that time. “Our productions provide the opportunity to introduce many youth to the theatre. Often, seeing a play for the first time, youngsters are amazed at the way stories can be told in a live experience.”
