The two main stage shows that will be performed at the Souris Valley Theatre’s Frehlick Hall this summer are both written by southeast Saskatchewan playwrights.
Homecoming, written by Griffin’s Leeann Minogue, will be performed from July 10 to 14 and July 17 to 21. Set in the fictitious community of Stony Valley, Saskatchewan, it’s a family comedy that tells the story of a retiring farming couple whose son returns from the city to run the family farm.
Pirate Heart by Lampman’s Maureen Ulrich will be on stage from Aug. 8 to 11 and Aug. 14 to 18. It will be the first time the show has been performed. It is described as a musical comedy set on the high seas with pirates, damsels, skeletons and more.
“We’re going back to July and August this year,” said general manager Lyn Vilcu. “We’re not doing anything in June.”
The theatre tried having its first main stage show in June last year, but attendance was low, thanks in part to the amount of activity in the city that month.
“June is just a bad time,” said Vilcu. “There’s so many things going on with graduations, windups, sports and the fair, and I think that was a tough thing. We had to try it last year, and we did it, and it didn’t go so well, so we learned from it. We’re going back to what we know, and what people expect.
“And that’s the other thing. People are used to our shows being in July and August.”
Vilcu is pleased the theatre will have two shows written by playwrights from the southeast.
“A lot of people like to see the local talent,” said Vilcu. “People don’t always realize that we’re live professional theatre, so we can’t just drop anyone into the acting roles, but we always try to have Saskatchewan talent.”
The casts for the two productions have yet to be determined.
It’s also excited that one of the main stage shows will be performed at the theatre for the first time, she said.
Ulrich has had a number of productions performed at the theatre in the past, while Minogue wrote Dry Streak, which was performed at the theatre in 2015.
A couple of other short-term productions will be at the theatre this year. Those shows have yet to be announced.
The summer theatre camps will also be back this year, with Act 1 for children ages six to eight running from July 9 to 13, Act 2 for those ages nine to 12 from July 16 to 20, and Act 3 for young people ages 10 and up from Aug. 7 to 17. There will be brief performances at the end of the Act 1 and 2 camps, and a longer show will be performed at the end of Act 3.
A couple of fundraisers are planned for the theatre camps. The first will be through Gratitude Tuesdays at Mr. Mikes Restaurant on March 13.
The other will be a dinner and a show at the Estevan Elks Lodge on April 14, with dinner at 7 p.m., and the show at 8 p.m. The show is a musical named I’ll be Here. Amanda Trapp, who has been part of a number of productions at the theatre, will be part of the cast, along with a couple of other Saskatchewan performers.
Vilcu said Kenn McLeod will be back as the theatre’s artistic director this year, but due to a couple of other projects, he will be sharing the role with Mark Claxton, who was part of the cast of Volstead Blues in 2016.
McLeod has been working on auditions for the shows, and taking care of other tasks so that they’re ready to go.
Catherine Bridge will be back as the technical director, and Torie Yuzik will return as the stage manager.
