It was a dramatic weekend for Free My Muse Theatre Company. The theatre studio marked the end of its fall semester with a weekend full of performance, with the youth play production of Hercules on Saturday and a day of monologues and duologues with A Toast to the Bride and Groom on Sunday.
The first production, Hercules, came from a desire to do something a bit different, combining Greek mythology with a more contemporary setting explains Carrie Pengilly, artistic director of Free My Muse.
The cast was a major part of writing both productions, something that Pengilly says is a priority for the theatre school. Hercules, for example, was picked as a subject because many of the students in the school are interested in Greek mythology, making it a chance for them to explore the myth while taking a new twist on the old story.
“All of our shows are created with the cast, created right along side them so they are able to use all of their ideas, combine them with our ideas, so they get exactly what they’re looking for combined with something that works on stage too.”
The monologues and duologues are built around a theme, with this year being a wedding, a natural fit given that weddings are, traditionally, a venue for speeches and toasts. The fun of the monologue showcase, Pengilly says, is getting the cast to explore the theme.
“Because a lot of our performers are young actors, many of them have never actually been to a wedding. So for them, getting to think about what it would be like opened up our ideas to a lot more creativity than we would have had otherwise.”
This was a milestone for one of the actors in the play, with Andrew Yeadon celebrating his tenth youth play production. This is something that takes about five years to achieve, explains Pengilly, since they do two youth play productions per year. She’s happy to see actors like Yeadon stick with the company, which is celebrating 12 years in the city.
The end of the semester will be marked by the play Mischief, on January 13 and 14, a comedy about some women who spent the night in prison and decide to better their lives. Performed by the more advanced actors in the company, Pengilly promises a good time.
“It is farcical and melodramatic and very, very funny.”
Registration for the next semester will also soon be open, and Free My Muse is also expanding to offer classes in Melville as well as Yorkton. Pengilly encourages people to visit www.freemymusetheatre.com and keep track of what they’re up to.
