Stage Note: Arina’s world premiere from the front lines of Ukraine to the studio theater

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The new play Arina enjoys a world premiere at the Studio Theater from May 24th to June 5th. Written by Edmonton playwright Liana Macch, the one-act 80th story tells the story of a volunteer doctor at the forefront of the Ukrainian invasion. According to the Russian army.

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“What I really want from Arina is to tell a human story about war, create a perfect human being, and make people feel that they know who is at war.” Makuch, who produces shows at Pyretic Productions and Punctuate, says. theater.

Makuch traveled to Kyiv in 2017 for an artistic stay at the IZOLYATSIA Institute and to study another play, Barvinok. While there, McF met a 19-year-old woman named Alina. Inspired by Russia’s invasion of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, she wanted to help protect her country.

“She tried to join the volunteer battalion, but no one would have taken her, so she took the train to the front line,” says Makuch.

There, Arina encountered a “massive bombardment” and jumped out of the window of a three-story building. She was suspected of being a spy and she was arrested. Eventually, she joined the combat battalion as a medic.

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“She is the one who doesn’t take” no “as an answer,” says Makuch.

This play is the first person to talk about Arina’s life before, during, and after the wartime experience. Her story is just one of many who have many volunteers like Arina now that the war has escalated in a shocking way. Ordinary people plunge into horrific conflicts.

“I have a lot of concerns about what trauma exists in Ukraine, not just those who fight,” says Makuch. “The scale of trauma given to civilians for all. What will happen to the subsequent fallout when Ukraine wins?”

Christina Nguyen will appear as Alina in Patrick Lundeen’s show. Laura Brobol has a special appearance as Arina’s mother. The play was workshoped at the 2021 and 2022 Collider Festivals, and Makuch applied for a grant from the Canadian Council. She wants to provide seed money for future presentations elsewhere in Canada.

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“Given the current situation, the story is more important than ever, and I want to continue to share it with a wider and larger audience,” says Makuch.

The studio theater is located at 1033084 Ave. For more information and tickets, please visit pyreticproductions.ca.

A new season is born from the shadow

Shadow Theater has announced the 2022/23 season, which we call the All-Canada season. There are four plays in the series, starting in October with “The Wrong People Have Money” by local playwright Reed McColm. Next up is Edmonton’s own Conni Massing with Fresh Hell, launched in January 2023. Calgary actor, director and writer Karen Hines, her work on CBC TV’s 1990s hit The Newsroom, is still one of my favorites, wrote the third show of the season. , All the small animals I ate, arrived in March. The season ends in May with the long-awaited 10 funerals of Darinhagen.

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Subscription packages start at $ 99 and are available at shadowtheatre.org.

Fresh strange eyes get a fresh direction

For Shannon Blanche, Evelyn Strange is the perfect show for those just out of the pandemic cocoon.

Stewart Lemoine’s comedy, performed in Verscona from May 26th to June 12th, is the story of a beautiful amnesiac who wandered into the world of publishing and higher society in New York in the 1950s. There she encounters deception, betrayal, and of course murder.

“When we met Evelyn, she didn’t remember, so she saw everything for the first time,” says Blanchett. “Two years later (in a pandemic), we all know what it’s like to see someone’s face for the first time or something for the first time. Evelyn has experienced it very much. We are trying to connect what is important and what is not. “

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This play was last seen in Edmonton in 2006. With amazing circulation, Blanchett was also part of the show, playing the title role (this time going to Jannavasaka) under the supervision of Remoin. After graduating from the University of Alberta’s drama program, it was Blanche’s first acting gig. This iteration of the show marks her first outing as a director.

“So there are great similarities,” says Blanchett, who recently moved to Saskatoon to occupy a position as an assistant professor in the Department of Drama at the University of Saskatchewan.

The play begins with Wagner’s Siegfried performance at the Metropolitan Opera. As is often the case with Lemoine, music plays a central role in the story. Blanchett began his rehearsals by letting the cast (including Oscar Darks, Jesse Garweiss, and Belinda Cornish) listen to opera music.

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She did it as a way to find the tempo of the play. But she also hoped that this exercise would help the actor establish a “shared response so that everything fires synchronously.”

Synchronizing everyone is one of the director’s most important tasks, says Blanchet. It’s the key to creating a world on stage — a world that the audience can step into and believe in.

“If I immerse myself in the story, I’m in awe of what the director did,” she says. “If everything makes sense together … If you can accept the logic and the world that is being created, that’s a good direction for me.”

Visit Teatreola Quindacina online for tickets starting at $ 25. The Valskona Theater is located on 1032983 Avenue.

The art of giving and receiving Northern Lights

The Northern Light Theater online fundraiser is just a few days away. The Epcol-sponsored Art and Soul campaign takes the form of a digital auction in which art lovers bid on works by 10 Alberta talents, including Karen Bishop and Jeri Phillips. Of course it doesn’t matter, but there are some incredible deals available. No, it’s different. It’s all about supporting the work of Northern Lights. Visit northernlighttheatre.com to see what’s available.

yegarts@postmedia.com