Taking flight

Emerging artists take flight at student drama festival

By D.J. Kelly

As the school year begins to wind down, Department of Drama students are doing the exact opposite.

Student directors, actors, designers and technicians are all busy working on final rehearsals in anticipation of Taking Flight: A Festival of Student Work.

The festival is an opportunity for students to get out of the classroom and put to use their newly learned practical knowledge of their craft. For many, this will be their last chance to work on a fully realized production before graduating and testing their skills professionally.

Calgary is home to many theatre festivals, but the Department of Drama’s annual festival of student work—now in its third year—is unique for its diversity and range of performances.

Selections this year extend from two staged readings by playwriting students to three performance-creation pieces. The festival also includes seven one-act plays by some of the world’s most respected playwrights, including Edward Albee and Bertolt Brecht.

In addition, making its debut at the festival this year is a staged reading of the winning play in the University of Calgary’s Peace Studies Consortium playwriting contest—Corpus by Montreal playwright Darrah Teitel. The “peace play” will be read on Tuesday, April 3 at 7:30 p.m. in the Boris Roubakine Recital Hall (CH C105) by members of Calgary’s Downstage Performance Society.

The two-week festival is a matchless opportunity for student performers, designers and technicians to be celebrated.

Taking Flight takes place March 26 to April 7 at the Reeve Theatre and in various venues in Craigie Hall.

For a full list of events, see www.finearts.ucalgary.ca/events. Get a festival pass at the Campus Ticket Centre for just $15. Individual tickets are only available at the door before each show and range from free to $5.