Holy Redeemer’s Junior High play off to a great start
Special to the Post
The Holy Redeemer Drama Department has long been recognized as an elite program. It has won numerous awards and their main stage productions are always fast to sell out. The program also showcases an excellent junior high program with many skilled performers who always look forward to the one-act festival in April.
This year, the grade 7 to 9 students will be performing the short one-act play, Cut, at the school’s annual Dessert Theatre on April 13th and 14th and at the Zone Drama Festival.
“This is such a fun show,” says Drama Teacher Peter Taylor. “The students are already prepping how they will perform the show. It offers so many unique challenges that if they go well the audience will love.”
Cut is a one-act play by Ed Monk. It tells the story of a group of teenagers performing a play. The only problem is, no one knows what the play is, what the play is about, and who they are playing
The cast and the crew is made up of a diverse group between Grade 7, 8 and 9 students. “As with any junior show, it’s great to have a number of veterans combined with some newcomers who will end up being our veterans in years to come,” says Taylor. The veterans include students who have represented HRH at the Zone Drama Festival in previous years and include Danielle Bittner, Katie Blue, Hunter Bowman, Jesse Cesario, Jayna Fedorak, Mekha George, Zoe Schwitz, Morgan Steffler, Elias Tobin, and Ethan Toner.
“It feels weird to know that I’m one of the most experienced actors,” says Grade 9 student Fedorak who was also awarded Best Actress at the Festival in 2016. “It feels like it was only yesterday I was joining the Drama Program.”
The rest of the cast and crew are students who may have acted in a production before, but are making their Festival debuts representing HRH. These include Cairis Adams, Ashley Bischke, Tyler Ferguson, Victoria Grant, Levi Kennedy, Kirsten Landry, Lauren Leslie, and Cassie Pilon.
One student in particular will be making their acting-debut and that’s Bischke. “I’ve watched as many HRH shows as I possibly could have,” says the grade 9 student. “It always looked like so much fun, so I decided to give it a go. And low and behold, I got a part. I’m so excited!”
Cut will now prepare for Holy Redeemer’s 15th Annual Dessert Theatre on April 13 and 14.
In addition, the play will also be competing in the Zone 2 West Drama Festival in Edson April 26 and 27. The school has won Best Production eight times in the past 14 years, including the last four years. “We’ve been lucky enough to have our shows very well received,” says Taylor. “I attribute that to the talent that our school has.” But even with all the success, Taylor says they never let it go to their heads. “Our goal is put on a good
show that is entertaining and is enjoyed by as many people as possible. If we win awards, then that’s a bonus. If not, as long as we have fun and the audience has fun too, then we’re happy.”
Tickets for the Dessert Theatre will go on sale in mid-March and will be $10 each. Call the school for more information.