The Holy Redeemer Drama Department is proud to announce the triumphant return of the Dessert Theatre.
“This is the first Dessert Theatre we have held in four years,” says Drama Teacher Peter Taylor referring to the fact that the pandemic put a halt on indoor theatre for a few years. “We were only a few weeks away from performing in 2020 when the pandemic forced the closure of the schools. Since that time, we have performed in different ways such as a virtual show or outside. But I’m happy to say the Desert Theatre is returning and we can’t wait for our audience to see what we’ve been working on.”
Many people may be unfamiliar with the Dessert Theatre concept so here is the basic rundown. The Drama Department is producing two senior high plays and one junior high play. The plays perform on the nights of April 14th and 15th at Holy Redeemer. On top of the shows, audience members will have some delicious desserts to enjoy during the intermission. “Trust me when I say, these desserts will be the biggest desserts you’ve ever seen,” says Taylor. “And they will only cost $2 per slice. We like to give you bang for your buck.”
The three plays have been rehearsing for the past month. The first senior high play entitled It’s Not You, It’s Time tells the story of a young couple’s relationship that is challenged when something unexpected happens. As per tradition at HRH, the senior high plays are directed by grade 12 students and for the first time ever, this play has co-directors with Shaelynn Dozorec and Vada Erickson taking charge of the play. “We are really excited to be putting this together,” says Dozorec. “Being the first student-directors in the last few years is really nerve racking as we’ve never seen how it has been done before, but we have a great cast and crew and things are going really well.”
The second senior high play is called Corrections and is being directed by Cassie Pilon. This play tells the story of a husband visiting his wife in prison, and having some difficult conversations about their past and their future. “This play offers some great opportunities for the actors, and it’s got some really difficult moments for the audience to watch,” says Pilon. “But I’m really excited for the audience to see this play and it’s a great way to end my years of drama at HRH.”
The junior high play is entitled One Hundred Lies and has a unique concept where the lead-character of Liz (Christina Belcourt) invents a game where her lies and those closest to her are counted up. “This play is very challenging,” says Taylor. “It depends so much on timing, but if things go well, I think the audience is in for a real treat. Luckily, we have a great cast and crew that is going to do a fantastic job.”
Over 40 grade 7 to 12 students will be participating in the plays, and only five of them have ever performed at the Dessert Theatre before. “This creates a whole new level of excitement as we have so many first-timers. But they all know about the expectations of our shows and they want to put together a great two nights of theatre.”
Tickets for the Dessert Theatre are $10 and are available by calling the school at 780-723-7437.
On top of the Dessert Theatre, the three plays will compete in the Zone Drama Festival. Last year, there was a Festival with a minimum number of plays, but this year the Festival will be returning to its full capacity. “Our plays have an excellent track record and we hope to continue that,” says Taylor.