30 years and counting

Schoolhouse, the latest play by Canadian author Leanna Brodie, will be the opening production for the University of the Fraser Valley Theatre Department’s 30th season.

Schoolhouse has also been chosen to highlight the 20th anniversary of the United Nations International Year of the Child, celebrating the influence teachers and schools have on the healthy development of Canadian children.

Set in 1938, Schoolhouse takes place in a one-room schoolhouse in a farming area just outside the fictional village of Baker’s Creek. There, a delightful but unmanageable group of children finally meets its match: Melita Linton, an 18-year-old teacher.

Miss Linton soon faces an even bigger challenge, in the form of Ewart, a menacing and mysterious juvenile delinquent in her class. The play chronicles Miss Linton’s struggle to connect with a boy who has shut down from everyone, including himself and to persuade the cautious, close-knit community of Baker’s Creek to open its arms to the troubled young man in their midst.

This production is directed by theatre department faculty member Dr. Bruce Kirkley.

Each season, UFV’s theatre department presents Canadian plays, works from the international repertoire and a Shakespeare production. They also run an annual Director’s Theatre Festival (a fringe-style event featuring some of the best young theatre talent in BC ) and additional visiting productions.

During its 30 year existence, the department has built a following that attracts more than 10,000 patrons to its theatre each year.

That’s a long way from the several hundred people who attended Canadian Gothic, the department’s first production, which toured the Fraser Valley during the fall of 1980.

For more information about the department’s season and program call 604-795-2814, e-mail theatre@ufv.ca, or visit www.ufv.ca/theatre

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