Emerging theatre group takes risks with play, Safehouse
Found-space theatre takes an unusual location and converts it into a performance venue for a specific show. It’s been done in churches and community halls but there’s a good bet it’s never been tried in a three-car garage.
But Seven Starving Artists Theatre Collective found the unique locale in Kensington to house Safehouse, a new play by Lethbridge playwright Samuel Jurisic. It runs July 23-27 at 7:30 p.m. at 213 11th Street N.W.
John Tasker, who is co-directing Safehouse with Shea Heatherington, says their designer Brayden Haidenger had to make the garage look like the inside of an abandoned party house.
“The house is set to be demolished the next day so this group of high school friends decide to meet there one last time. It was a place they partied at often during their high school years. It’s the last night for the house, but it’s also the last night for the group because they’ve graduated and some are leaving to attend university in another city. Others have not quite figured out their next step yet.
“This transition represents the grey area between high school and the real world. The conflict in the play arises when these friends start being brutally honest with each other. It’s symbolic of the house being torn down because they are tearing down the facades they created to get them through high school.”
The six friends are played by Zoe Arthur, Taylor Uibel, Connor Fedoroshyn, Andrew Burniston, Brent Clark and Robert Morrison. The seventh character, played by Danielle Martens, is known as Party Girl.
“Party Girl lives in the house. She is the bridge between the audience and the other characters,” said Tasker. “Sam’s play is magic realism, which means Party Girl can speak directly to the audience. She observes and explains and comments.”
Instead of putting the audience against one wall of the garage, designer Haidenger has squeezed them into one corner.
“Brayden’s logic is that since we’re not in a traditional theatre it gives him licence to make bold and weird decisions.”
Seating for Safehouse is limited to 25 persons each night so it is advisable to reserve seats ($15 in advance) at eventbrite.com/e/ safehouse-tickets-64909876187.
Just like the characters in the play, all seven actors in Safehouse are between 19 and 22 years of age as is playwright Jurisic.
“They are all drawing on their own experiences and it has helped make the play all the more authentic,” says Tasker, adding he thinks anyone who comes to the show should see themselves in at least one character. “As a playwright, Sam has a very distinct voice and he’s really quick-witted. He has great insights. This is a really honest portrait of youth on the verge of adulthood.”
Seven Starving Artists was created by Laura Couch and Chelsea Niekamp, the producers of Safehouse, and by Megan Couch, who is the stage manager. Like Jurisic, they are graduates of the University of Lethbridge.