The Calgary based theatre company, Artists’ Collective Theatre is proud to present Spring Awakening: A New Musical from May 21^st to 31^st. ACT was founded in 2012 by Amanda Liz Cutting and Eric Pettifor. The team prides themselves in taking on new stories and crafting modern spins on the classics. ACT helps to showcase and develop emerging artists through mentorship and an ensemble context.

The original play, Spring Awakening is based on Fruhlings Erwachen by Frank Wedekind. It has often been referred to as a symbolist drama, and precursor to expressionism in drama. The story of Spring Awakening is vivid, emotional and at times shocking. It touches on everything from sexuality, suicide to fertility. Deep meaning can be found from even the simplest of lyrics. Similar to the works of Shakespeare, the story of Spring Awakening has held true against the testament of time.

For the Artists’ Collective Theatre production Steven Slater has written a fantastic interpretation of the original story, his book and lyrics pay homage to the original and showcase a modern flare and attitude. Duncan Sheik has taken on the huge role of providing music for the show. These elements are the backbone behind any successful musical, and ACT Theatre is proud to have both Slater and Sheik working on this exciting venture.

Amanda Liz Cutting is thrilled to be directing Spring Awakening - a familiar name, having previously directed The Diary of Anne Frank and The Shape of A Girl.

An abundance of artists have joined together to make this production possible. A few are making their theatrical debuts, while many others have a long line of credits to their names. Videographer Greg Nuspel comments that he is pleased with the chemistry among the cast and how well they feed off of one another’s energy. All promise to shine and, by the sounds of it, deliver quite the memorable show.