Even a month later, the Canora Junior Elementary School (CJES) students still talk about some of the characters created by the Canora Composite School (CCS) drama club, said Betty Tomilin, who shared instructor/director duties with Lisa St. Mars.
Tomilin, a teacher at CJES, and St. Mars, an educational assistant at CCS, were recruited when numerous CCS students expressed interest in forming a drama club last fall.
Tomilin said it took some time to find a script that would accommodate the number of students interested in drama and that’s when they came across Comic Book Artist. Major rehearsals started in March and there were two workshops with Chip McDaniel from the Saskatchewan Drama Association (SDA).
The panels for the set were designed by Tomilin but it was Cal Tomilin’s art classes which did all the work and “they looked amazing!” Three of the panels were sold at a silent auction at the school to raise a little money for the SRC.
The main test for the drama club was at the Regional Drama Festival in Regina on April 22. Initially, the intention was to attend the Yorkton festival but because that festival was in March when basketball playoffs were held, the CCS drama club had to look elsewhere. Tomilin noted that she had three basketball players in the cast.
The festival was the main test, but the drama group also performed for the CCS and the CJES student bodies and for the parents.
“This was a fantastic group of young people to work with,” said Tomilin. “They worked hard on character development and were so willing to take direction.”
For festival participation for this type of drama, the participants usually come from grades 10 to 12, but since there was no junior drama, the grades 7 to 9 students were included.
“Our early rehearsal included theatre games and warm ups to encourage big actions, camaraderie and fun,” said Tomilin.
She said Lisa St. Mars was a huge help in rehearsals, especially when asked to work with individual students or small group scenes. Andrew Hoffman, a CCS teacher, assisted with the initial battle scene rehearsal, emphasising safety in stage combat. The big battle scene was between characters called Dr. Shock Clock (Graeme Wilgosh) and Eraser Man (Logan Statchuk) but then the students added their own flare to the action.
Awards
At the Regina festival the group won a number of awards.
As a group, CCS drama won the Most Courteous Cast and Crew Award.
Scott Popoff won the Bob Hinett Technical Award.
Earning acting certificates were: Ben Kuang (Star Guy) and Logan Statchuk (Stanley). Acting certificates of merit for ensemble acting were presented to members of the group who performed as the Minutos: Jacob Danyluk and Grady Wolkowski.
Graeme Wilgosh won the Spirit of Acting Award.
The group won Technical Certificates of Merit for the set panels for the backdrop.
Play summary
The play Comic Book Artist tells the story of Stanley Leonardo Sappovitz (Logan Statchuk) whose dream is to be a comic book artist, said Tomilin. The play opens with the narrator (Brittany Hamilton) setting the scene with a group of kids discussing heroes in the comic books. Stanley is introduced and he attempts to get the owner of Wonder Comics Alive, Miss D.C. Wunderman (Shaelynn Bazarski) to notice his idea for a superhero.
Miss Wunderman isn’t interested in what Stanley, who works as a janitor, has to offer. Miss Wunderman calls a meeting of the artists that work for her and shares her idea to revolutionize comic book art.
Miss Wunderman has ordered Powerful Pens from Peloponnesia which are “guaranteed to bring life to any hero or villain you draw.” Miss Wunderman’s secretary, Viola (Emma Mykytyshyn), is supportive of Stanley in his efforts to get his drawing noticed and offers him one of the pens. The next day Miss Wunderman presents the superhero sketched by one of the artists with a magical pen.
Unfortunately, it is an evil villain, Dr. Shock Clock (Graeme Wilgosh) and his two minions, the Minutos (Jacob Danyluk and Grady Wolkowski) that come to life. Dr. Shock Clock is able to stop time with the snap of his fingers and he proceeds to wreak havoc on the city with various thefts of money and “shiny baubles.” Miss Wunderman and her artists are frozen and placed in the “Time Freezer” which means that it is up to Stanley to save the day with his magical pen.
Stanley creates four superheroes: Star Guy (Ben Kuang) in a tight red superhero costume complete with a cape (His superpower is admiring himself and using his charisma ray on people to have them adore him); Triple Time (Tyler Taylor) in a superhero hood and cape who is so fast that you can’t see him move but also has constant tension with Star Guy; Blossom (Shaelynn Bazarski) looking very much like a 1960’s flower child who is an environmental superhero and uses a magical flower to put enemies to sleep, and Wombat Woman (Megan Tomilin) in a heavy fur coat, hat, cape and mask who has a lot of sass but is good-hearted and is a super-burrower.
Together with Stanley they develop a plan to defeat Shock Clock at a concert being performed by Rotten Penny (Grady Wolkowski) but of course it goes awry and three of the superheroes are frozen. Fortunately, Wombat Woman burrowed into the ground and was safe from Dr. Shock Clock’s snap of his fingers. Wombat Woman and Viola, along with a pep talk from the narrator “...be the superhero you’re meant to be...” convince Stanley that he is a superhero and Eraser Man is born.
Eraser Man and Dr. Shock Clock battle it out in Times Square with Wombat Woman and Viola viewing the excitement through 3D glasses and eating popcorn. Eraser Man successfully erases the Minutos and then Shock Clock – arm by arm, leg by leg (in a scene reminiscent from the Black Knight in Spamalot).
The play ends with the artists and Miss Wunderman back at work developing the newest comic book idea, Eraser Man, and Stanley still working as a janitor (but as a Comic Book superhero in disguise!)
“After the festival, as an excursion we attended the Regina Fan Expo which is similar to Comicon and seemed fitting since the play was about comic book superheroes,” said Tomilin.
For her, she said the best part was “watching these young people gain confidence on the stage and build new friendships along the way.”
