Malia Becker admits she has never encountered a production quite like Diamond Girls.
Becker is the star of the one-act, one-woman play that will be performed at the Souris Valley (SV) Theatre’s Frehlick Hall on June 20 and 21. Both shows will start at 7:30 p.m.
Diamond Girls is penned by Lampman’s Maureen Ulrich, who is also the president of the SV Theatre’s board.
Becker, who hails from Regina, has lots of musical theatre experience, and has worked across Canada. But she has never been in a one-woman play.
“Character is a big thing,” said Becker. “Just being able to play the different roles and the different transitions, with props and what not, and having a conversation with yourself, can be a little tricky when you have to switch characters.”
Diamond Girls takes a look at the contributions of Saskatchewan women to the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which was formed in 1943 when many of the top male ball players were serving in the Second World War.
More than 60 women from Saskatchewan played in the league.
Becker is tasked with portraying three Saskatchewan athletes who are the lead characters, along with 21 supporting roles, both male and female.
SV Theatre artistic director Kenn Mcleod will supply the voice-overs for the public address announcer.
Rehearsals are going well, although the schedule is condensed. Typically, she would have three weeks to work on a play, but she only has two to get ready for Diamond Girls.
“But it’s just me, so that’s nice, too,” said Becker. “But there’s also a lot of material to cover. It’s going pretty well. It’s just getting my mind wrapped around the different characters.”
Estevan will be the start of a busy summer for Becker. The show will be in Weyburn on June 26 and 27, and Regina on June 28. Then it will be a fixture at fringe festivals in western Canada and even in Ontario. The Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame is supporting the project.
Becker was supposed to be part of the cast for the Volstead Blues, a musical theatre production about Estevan during the days of Prohibition that will be performed locally in July and August. But she had to drop those plans when she got the opportunity to star in Diamond Girls.
“This is a story that isn’t really well-known,” said Becker. “I didn’t realize there were so many Saskatchewan girls (in the league) until I started doing research for the play.”
Many of them had a starring role in the league, and attracted a lot of fans.
She knew about the league, thanks to the 1992 movie A League of their Own that offered a look at the league. She also learned about the league from a close friend who is an avid softball player.
Diamond Girls will mark Becker’s first appearance at the theatre. She has been impressed with the building, its stage and its location inside Woodlawn Regional Park.
“There just seems to be such a strong community out here for the arts and for this theatre, and so much local support,” said Becker.
Mcleod echoed Becker’s statements on the historical information in Ulrich’s play. He had also watched A League of their Own, but didn’t realize that the league was around for 12 years, or that it featured so many Saskatchewan players.
“Even the women, once they finished the league, didn’t seem to talk about it very much,” said Mcleod.
He expects it should be a great show for Estevan and the other communities where it is performed.
Mcleod said he enjoys working with Ulrich, because her scripts are strong, and she has a good concept of how the play structure works.
“When working on a new script like this, that hasn’t been performed before, she’s really good at taking feedback,” said Mcleod.
Whenever he has a question, he can contact Ulrich and get her thoughts. And with Ulrich and Becker involved, he believes local fans should see a great show.
