Chester, You Owe My Bird An Apology .. Thomas Halkes & Laura Hoffman
Surrey One Act Play Festival 2012
“The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all” – African Proverb Lots More Photo’s Can Be Found Here!
On January 12, teenagers from across Surrey came together with their simple props, grease paint, heart, talent and enthusiasm to share an evening of exhilarating theatre. Funny, poignant and brave the Surrey One Act Play Festival went for 5 full hours. During this program, high school students, from Clayton Heights, Enver Creek, North Surrey, Semiahmoo and the host school, Kwantlen Park, shared seven plays – a marathon of creativity from which the participants finished, tired, but full of appreciation for each other’s work and an increased passion for the challenging craft of theatre.
Singleton, The Medal Winner .. Photo Of Erik Egan
The Surrey One Act Play Festival was created back in the 1970’s by the Surrey Drama Teachers’ Association, and has existed in many forms since that time. Each year, a school within the district is selected to host the event and, in order to have the festival run smoothly as well as to provide mentorship and an opportunity for students improve their understanding of the craft, the association hires three professionals: a festival stage manager, a technical coordinator and an adjudicator who offers observations about each show at the end of the evening and then selects one production to represent the district at the B.C. provincial level later in the year. This year’s professionals were: Festival Stage Manager, Rob Dugan; Michael Zizek, Technical Coordinator; and Scott Swan, Adjudicator.
Lots More Photo’s Can Be Found Here!
This year, the play chosen to represent the district is “Chester, You Owe My Bird and Apology” written by Canadian playwright, John Lazarus, directed by Laurie Brazzill and performed by Kwantlen Park students: Thomas Halkes, Laura Hoffman, Patricia Mendes and Anita Keokangvane. The runner up, and play that will go through if for any reason the Kwantlen Park cast and crew cannot is North Surrey’s “It’s Not You, It’s Me,” written by Don Zolidis, directed by Craig Wrotniak and featuring a cast of over 20 talented young actors.
All in all though, the Surrey One Act Festival is not about a competition, it is a celebration of camaraderie and of the courage it takes to produce joy, laughter and the provocation of deeper thought needed to understand better our human condition.
It's Not You, It's Me .. North Surrey
