Sturgis On Stage is a new community theatre group led by Angèle Poirier of Sturgis.
“The vision is to perform a short, one-hour program consisting of two one-act plays,” said Poirier. “A one-act play is shorter than a full-length play and is not split by an intermission. By showing two short plays, audiences will enjoy two different stories created by two different playwrights. This double bill format allows for more variety and contrast in a single show.”
Poirier’s involvement in community theatre began in her early 20s when she landed a tiny role in Fiddler On The Roof with Yorkton Community Theatre, directed by Gloria Herauf (originally Gloria Carlson of Preeceville). Gloria taught her that there are no small roles, only small actors!
Since then, Poirier has appeared in plays with Yorkton’s Paperbag Players, the local United Church Players and Regina Little Theatre. She also appeared on stage at five years old in a small church skit, where she was the rooster and was the loudest animal on stage with her small but mighty “cock-a-doodle-doo”!
In 2014, Poirier thought she might like to pursue acting as a career, and was hired as a singer/dancer for the Regina’s Saskatchewan Express, a touring musical revue. She also took fine art classes in the evenings at the University of Regina. However, she discovered that she enjoys theatre more as a hobby rather than a full-time career. So after the Christmas show, she left her job at Saskatchewan Express and went to university full-time, pursuing a combined major in economics and geography. Now that she’s back in Sturgis, she’s farming and working on her degree part time, although she’s also considering a degree in agriculture.
“The idea for performing one-act plays through Sturgis On Stage was modeled after Regina Little Theatre’s spring and fall one-act cabarets, where four plays are performed in one evening. However, four plays would make the program fairly long (two hours or more); two plays will fit nicely into a one-hour program, with a time for snacks and socializing afterwards,” she said.
The two plays that Sturgis On Stage plans to perform this season are Anton Chekhov’s The Proposal and Mark Twain’s The Diaries of Adam and Eve.
The Proposal is a farce about a young man who is trying to ask a woman to marry him, but her temper and principles constantly get in the way. Audiences will laugh at the young man’s blundering attempts for a marriage proposal, the woman’s hysterics, and the heated arguments which ensue.
The Diaries of Adam and Eve is a comedy based on two separate works by Mark Twain. The play features Adam’s and Eve’s individual diary entries as they interact/avoid each other in the Garden of Eden. Men will be able to relate to Adam’s sentiments that the “new creature talks a lot and is a good deal in the way”; women will chuckle at Eve’s constant desire to take over Adam’s job of naming the animals. The play is a testimony to how men and women have been battling and embracing their differences since the beginning of time.
“This season’s performances are planned for January 2016. Auditions will be held at 212 Railway Avenue in Sturgis (Poirier’s house) on October 29 and 3. In total, five roles are available: three males, two females. No preparation or musical ability needed!
Just show up at auditions ready to play silly acting games, act out short scenes, and have fun in a relaxed atmosphere! All attendees will be considered for roles, regardless of age or experience.
Poirier’s favourite play is the Les Misérables and her favourite play that she’s done is Fiddler On The Roof. She likes to watch musicals and her favourite director she’s worked with was Gloria Herauf. Her long-term goal is to compete in Theatre.
