With a generous grant awarded by The Calgary Chinook Lesbian and Gay Fund, Calgary’s Third Street Theatre has been given the chance to partner with the Alberta Playwrights’ Network for, what Artistic Director Paul Welch describes as, "dramaturgical support in further developing Third Street Theatre’s Queer Theatre Creation Ensemble projects."
The queer-rooted theatre company launched its first season with This is How I Left, a piece created from scratch by the 2012-13 Queer Theatre Creation Ensemble.
"This is How I Left, which told the story of a murdered transgendered teen, played to sold-out houses and was nominated for two Critter Awards: Best New Script and Best Actress in a Drama for Alyssa Bradac’s work in the show," says Welch.
The grant will aid the company in further developing the script for subsequent and touring productions.
Alberta Playwrights’ Network, a not-for-profit organization, has been providing support to Alberta playwrights for more than 25 years. This includes workshops that aim to improve professional dramaturgy and help to mature scripts.
"These services allow the playwrights to clarify the story, strengthen the character journeys, and sharpen the structure of the piece to ensure that the play is as polished as it can be," says Welch.
"We are thrilled for this partnership. When I shared my idea to apply for this grant to further develop our Creation Ensemble projects, Alberta Playwrights’ Network’s Artistic Director Trevor Ruegor was keen to help us ensure this partnership could happen."
Welch says he was told that few queer playwrights – and even fewer queer scripts – come through the Network each year.
"The opportunity to offer professional support and guidance to Third Street Theatre, and to branch out into the queer community and increase awareness about Alberta Playwrights’ Network’s services, was very exciting to Trevor," Welch says.
A portion of the Chinook grant will also go towards providing dramaturgical services for the 2013-14’s Queer Theatre Creation Ensemble project The Passion of Sergius and Bacchus. This is a story that follows two openly gay Roman soldiers who are also secretly Christian.
"They were wed in secret by church officials in a brother-making ceremony, and were later executed for their religious beliefs," Welch describes.
The Passion of Sergius and Bacchus will play in the Motel venue at the Epcor Centre for the Performing Arts from April 22nd to May 3rd, 2014.
"The Creation Ensemble was a huge experiment for us, and it paid off," says Artistic Producer for Third Street Theatre Jonathan Brower. "We feel we are going into this year’s Ensemble with a lot of lessons learned, but we are thrilled to have the services of professional dramaturgy from start to finish. This will allow us to ensure that The Passion of Sergius and Bacchus has its strongest showing right from the start."
The Calgary Chinook Fund was established to support the funding of gay and lesbian causes in Calgary. Its primary means of supporting the community comes through the Chinook Lesbian and Gay Endowment Fund.
Third Street Theatre has additionally partnered with the Association for German Education to present a free screening of Rosa von Praunheim’s documentary-drama Ich bin meine eigene frau/I Am My Own Woman.
The screening date comes six months after Third Street presented the sold-out run of Doug Wright’s I Am My Own Wife, a one-man show in which Welch portrayed 36 characters in seven dialects and in German. His performance went on to win him the Critter Award for Best Solo Performance, as well as a nomination for the Betty Mitchell Award for Best Actor in a Drama.
"Our audiences were truly moved by our production," says Brower. "Both Paul and I can’t wait to see the film, and we hope our patrons – many of whom come from Calgary’s LGBT community – will join us to revisit the life of this remarkable woman one more time."
The film will play at the Cardel Theatre on November 13th at 7pm. Admission is free with a donation to the Calgary Food Bank.