The One Act Play festival returns to the newly renovated Sterndale Bennett Theatre, March 29 and 30.
To date five plays have been submitted including  submissions from Shakespeare in the Park, Two from University of Lethbridge Student’s and a couple from other community groups.

“So we’ll be going both Friday and Saturday as we currently have three long plays and a shorter one.  Could possibly do them in one night if we start early enough,” observed organizer Rita Peterson, in an e-mail.
 The festival was at Casa last year and was so popular that they had to turn people away at the door. This year, they are excited to be back in the newly renovated Sterndale Bennett Theatre for at least one day.

 The One Act Play Festival has been an important part of long standing theatre troupe Playgoers of Lethbridge’s mandate to develop actors and up and coming directors since the early ’70s
 All entries will be adjudicated by  adjudicator Richard O”Brien, who among his many accomplishments founded Red Deer college’s drama program.
“He’s been working in drama for most of his adult life,” Peterson said. There will be awards for best original script, best play, best actor and best actress. The winner can go to High River to compete in the provincial One Act Play festival May 3 and 4.

“Playgoers  of Lethbridge has been involved with the One Act Play Festival for at least 40 years,” summarized Peterson, who has participated in the festival as an actor in director many times.
 ADFA (Alberta Drama Festival Association) covers some mileage and accommodations expenses for the winner to participate in the provincial festival.
University student Tracy Wyman who has submitted an original script  called “Falling Through Time” which she will perform with Jocelyn Steinborn and Halley Gray.

“It is a series of three monologues by three women  talking about their memories and their lives,” Peterson described.
Shakespeare in the Park’s production of Edward Albee’s Zoo Story features Josh Hammerstedt and Cole Fetting, and several familiar faces from backstage including first time director Mary-Lynne  Muhly.

“They needed a director and I’ve been involved backstage with enough plays, so I volunteered,” chuckled Muhly, holding a rehearsal at her home.
 Fetting and Hammerstedt planned to perform Zoo story for last year’s  One Act Play Festival, but weren’t able to get it ready in time.

“Zoo Story is about a guy sitting on a park bench who encounters this interesting character and they have an interesting conversation,” said Fetting, a familiar face with Shakespeare in the Park and with several University of Lethbridge productions, who plays Jerry, who encounters Peter, played by Josh Hammerstedt.

 University of Lethbridge students go through the looking glass a little on their last main-stage production of the season, DADA Does Not Mean Anything: An Avant-garde Cabaret happening March 12-16 in the David Spinks Theatre.

“There are 11 different pieces. They began in my class in October,” said faculty administrator Justin Blum, he said, adding the pieces were inspired by the  DADA art movement of the early twentieth century.

“A lot of it was a reaction to World War 1,” he said.

“ We have a sound poem by Hugo  Ball,” he continued, adding  other pieces push the boundaries of space, lighting and  the theatre itself, so the production takes the audience into a dream state.
“ There are 14 people in the cast including six students who were in the class,” he said adding some of them are in multiple pieces.

Theatre Outré begin Pretty, Witty and Gay with a gripping new  original play, “Like Orpheus” at Club Didi, Feb. 25-March 1.
Like Orpheus is loosely based on the Greek myth of Orpheus, and is the first play written by Calgary based actor and playwright Brett Dahl.

“It’s a dark play about sexual assault,” summarized Theatre Outré artistic director Jay Whitehead , who directs this play.
 It is about a young man who is sexually assaulted at an underground club and how he survives the trauma.

“ But it’s also hopeful,” Whitehead continued, adding “Like Orpheus,” is the second production of the season as theatre Outré sold out a run of “Sapientia” in the fall.

The myth of Orpheus is about the musician and poet Orpheus who journeyed to the underworld to save his wife Eurydice on the condition that he not look back to see she is following him home.

“Brett has been with Theatre Outré for the five out of the past six seasons, so we’re excited to have him back,” Whitehead said.

“ We want to support  Brett’s work. It’s a really great script. And we hope people will come away with a different view of sexual assault. This play is a really visceral experience about how people grapple with these experiences. So maybe it will be easier to talk about,,” Whitehead said.

Dahl is excited to return to Theatre Outré, having performed in Thought in 3 Parts and Tab and Landon, to name just a couple shows.
“It’s my first play,” he enthused.
“ When I was growing up, I was always inspired by Greek mythology and wanted to write  something inspired by them,” Dahl said.