Who Knew the Best Canadian Plays Didn’t Happen on the Ice?

for The New West

Is the cold, dull weather getting you down? Have you been forced to stay home and watch reruns of Sue Thomas, F.B. Eye? Are you looking for something unique and entertaining to fill your time? If so, Alberta Theatre Projects’ Enbridge playRites festival, running February 6th to March 9th, may be the cure for your winter doldrums!

Now in its 22nd year, the playRites festival showcases five new Canadian plays every year.

“It nurtures, develops and produces original material,” says Adam Stephens of Alberta Theatre Projects, or ATP.

“It’s one of the chief reasons that Calgary is becoming known as a Mecca for contemporary performing arts in the nation.

“Basically, it is a showcasing of the greatest works yet to come,” says Stephens.

For playwrights, the festival has become a place to get noticed by representatives from theatre companies from all across Canada. As of 2008, 92 plays have premiered at the festival, 60 of which went on to be produced again elsewhere in Canada.

Among the new plays this year attracting some buzz is The Drowning Girls, by Edmonton-based playwrights Daniela Vlaskalic, Beth Graham and Charlie Tomlinson. Based on the true story of George Joseph Smith, who killed all three of his wives in bathtubs, The Drowning Girls is a dark comedy about trust, relationships, life, love and betrayal.

Vanessa Sabourin who plays Bessie, one of the drenched damsels, describes the play as adventurous, sassy, inquisitive and bold:

“It’s a haunting that comes to a resolution for the hauntees – it will pull you into the deep end.”

For all you men out there: banish the notion that stories told by women are for “chicks only!” These macabre maidens address universal themes to which yes, even a man can relate. And at the very least, hey: there are three naked chicks in a tub, right? Well, you’ll just have to go and find out now, won’t you?

Another play which promises to have tongues wagging is Jean Marc Dalpé’s August, an Afternoon in the Country. Set during a hot, muggy, Quebec afternoon in the summer, a family comes together to celebrate a wedding. With four generations present, the pleasantries melt away to reveal the tension and absurdity of one family “trying to hold it all together.”

While the play is described as well-written and hilarious, August promises to titillate with its finale. I’m sworn to secrecy, but it’s an event so shocking, it forces you to re-evaluate everything you’ve just seen.

The festival also includes favourites such as a 24-hour Playwriting Competition, Platform Plays—which are sneak previews of future Canadian hits that you get to see for FREE—and a myriad of other gems such as Pizza Night, Blitz Weekend and a musical in Calgary’s smallest theatre.

Plays, parties, discussion and schmoozing: doesn’t that beat reruns and appalling reality shows any day of the week?