The 2011 McGill Drama Festival (MDF), an annual event put on by Players’ Theatre, features seven student plays that highlight the impeccable acting, writing, and directing exhibited by McGill students.
“MDF is the only theatre festival at McGill which is entirely student-run, and it also acts as a unique opportunity for student writers to have their works realized on stage,” says Dane Stewart, coordinator of the festival. “Furthermore, it acts like a stepping block for students to get involved with theatre.”
The stepping stone analogy can be applied to many aspects of the festival. Not only does the MDF showcase first-time playwrights, but it also features first-time directors. Daniel Beresh, a U2 honours cultural studies major, a world cinemas minor, and a novice play director for Eugene et Etienne, has an intensive background in directing film, but he says this is quite different from directing plays.
Despite the difference, Beresh finds the MDF a rewarding experience. “MDF is great because it says, ‘We’re in a school that tends to be analytical, but we’re also gonna be creative. We’re just gonna do this!'”
The 2011 festival will feature seven plays, as opposed to the usual five: Cool Love Story, Bro written by Julian Silverman, Soft Shoes by Tabia Lau, Flicker by Isaac Robinson, The Taxman’s Visit by Sean Phipps, Luc and Ryan Bake a Pie by Kyle Martins, A Tragic Imagination Story by Dara Murphy, and finally Eugene et Etienne by Sean Phipps.
Maya Gunnarsson, director of A Tragic Imagination Story, says she appreciates the ability to be flexible in her interpretation of the play. Set in the present day, the play tells the story of a 15-year-old girl with a host of insecurities who escapes into a make-believe perfect world where her parents aren’t serial killers and where her non-existent boyfriend waits on her hand and foot. Her imagined reality begins to gradually deconstruct when a mysterious masked villain starts to reappear in her fantasies.
“I tried to play up the spectacular aspect of it,” Gunnarsson says. “It was already over the top, and I tried to even further exaggerate the actions. The idea was universal but with the twist of how bloody it was.”
Gunnarsson is not the only one whose hard work has come to fruition. Rebecca Pearl, director of The Taxman’s Visit, points to the importance of timing in her play. “All of the actors need to be on their toes,” she says. This is expressed in Pearl’s favourite line of the play: “But now you have come. You’re the perfect man for her. Not a man in the sense of a manly man, but a man of maths, her man, her dashing math man. You will drive her mad, I say.”
With flawless performances from the actors and original renditions of each of the plays, this year’s MDF promises to stand out from the rest due to the sheer enthusiasm and overabundant talent of everyone involved.
The festival runs from March 29-April 9. $5 students, $8 general.
