From Canadian Gothic to Schoolhouse
Jennifer Gertz, Madison McArthur, Dayna Thomas, and Cassy Penner take to the stage for the newest UFV theatre production.
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Updated: November 04, 2009 3:02 PM
The University of The Fraser Valley Theatre Department will open its 30th anniversary season this November with a production of acclaimed Canadian playwright Leanna Brodie’s latest work Schoolhouse, which plays November 11 to 29 in the Theatre on the Chilliwack campus. Schoolhouse has also been chosen to highlight the 20th anniversary of the United Nations International Year of the Child, to celebrate the incredible influence teachers and schools have had on the healthy development of Canadian children.
Set in 1938, Schoolhouse takes place in S.S. #1 Jericho School, 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 fresh out of Normal School. 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 will be directed by theatre department faculty member Dr. Bruce Kirkley.
The UFV Theatre department , which offers a BA in theatre plus a two year diploma and an associate of arts degree is, perhaps, one of the most successful and innovative purveyors of the live theatre experience east of Vancouver. Each season includes Canadian plays, plus works from the international repertoire and a Shakespeare production. All this, including 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 thirty years in existence, the department has built an impressive following that each year attracts over ten thousand patrons to its theatre. That’s a long way from the several hundred people who attended Canadian Gothic by Joanna M. Glass, the department’s first production, which toured the Fraser Valley during the fall of 1980. In addition to Schoolhouse, the 2009/10 season includes a production of 25th St Theatre’s Paper Wheat , a musical, following the struggles of the early homesteaders in Western Canada, which runs January 20 to February 7 and William Shakespeare’s wild romantic comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which plays March 10 to 28, followed by The Directors’ Theatre Festival , from April 28 to May 2.
For more information about the department’s season and program call 604-795-2814 or visit www.ufv.ca/theatre
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