Playing March 9 – 12, 2023

Graphic Design by Gabi Sakita

From Cradle to Stage

Festival Co-Ordinator: dale Wilson
Stage Manager: Justine Woodfall
Co-Directors of Production: Louise Mallory and John Anderson
Production Assistant: Ethan Stevens

From Cradle To Stage, Walterdale’s annual festival of new work, hasn’t had public performances since 2019. In order to give more playwrights the chance to share their work, this year’s festival will include 13 scripts by 12 writing teams, each getting one staged reading. The call for scripts invited submissions between 10 and 60 minutes long, and we have the whole range. Cast sizes range from solo to 10 or more actors. One of the scripts is a musical. We estimate that up to 70 artists will be contributing to this festival as writers, directors, readers, or leadership support.

FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

THURSDAY MARCH 9th, 8 pm

Automaton of the Opera
Written and Directed by Shawn E. Pallier
35 minutes

Come hear about Master Douling and what he did to Mrs. Dratt, and how his servant, Melton, having been the only witness to the inventors’ dastardly deed, is sent on a journey to do what’s right. This story tells the tale. [READ MORE….]

15-minute intermission

and they all fall down
Written and Directed by Bridgette Boyko
25 minutes

Chronicles the lives of Laura and Beatrice who manage the trials and tribulations of living in a 21st century world, digitally. [READ MORE…]

Come Again Another Day
Written by Logan Sundquist
Directed by Lucas Anders
20 minutes

Come Again Another Day is a peculiar look into the daily routine of a door-to-door salesperson. As their day wears on, prospect encounters progress from the ordinary to the existential, even absurd.[READ MORE…]

FRIDAY MARCH 10th, 8 pm

1-91
Written by Galen Hite
Directed by Jazlynn Steinbach
60 minutes

‘I’m interested in everything’. 1-91 is about friendship, compassion, time, space, and trying to figure out where your next class is. [READ MORE…]

15-minute intermission

Of the Meadow
Written and directed by Kayla Turnbull
20 minutes

Two women face impending reality. As their secrets unravel, so does their sanctuary. [READ MORE…]

Shakespeare’s Court
Written and directed by Donna Call
20 minutes

Even his ladies get their day. [READ MORE…]

SATURDAY MARCH 11th, 8 pm

Conjuring Women, the Musical
By Ariel Mitchell Williams (book and lyrics), John Trent Wallace (music), and Ariann Black (concept)
Directed by Jenn Robinson
60 minutes

Magicians never reveal their secrets, but to save her magic, Carmen White must return home and disclose her secrets to her estranged twin sister. Will she manage to pull off a great vanishing act or will she disappear into history like all those female Magicians who came before her? [READ MORE…]

15-minute intermission

Book Club 2021
Written by Louise Mallory
Directed by Anglia Redding
20 minutes

A group of friends meets for the first time since before the pandemic. Can the friendships return to where they were? [READ MORE…]

Battle Armour
Written and directed by Bridgette Boyko
20 minutes

A story of war and resilience, told through dance and monologue. [READ MORE…]

SUNDAY MARCH 12th, 2 pm

Last Planet Standing
Written by Hebert Poll Gutiérrez
Directed by Ursula Pattloch
40 minutes

Racism? Be ourselves even if we are rejected? Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. [READ MORE…]

Neon – A Play in Verse
Written and directed by Sara Campos-Silvius
15 minutes

A wannabe rock star from the wrong side of the track’s heads to the big city to chase her dream of music… but the demons haunting her won’t loosen their grip. [READ MORE…]

15-minute intermission

Forgive Me
By Jacqueline Lamb
Directed by Mary-Ellen Perley
20 minutes

Young woman trapped in purgatory seeks forgiveness. [READ MORE…]

Writer’s Block
Written and directed by Tracy Wyman
15 minutes

A novelist who has written nothing but sappy romances has been given a deadline by her agent and publisher to write something different, something fresh. She’s struggling to come up with… anything! [READ MORE…]

PRODUCTION TEAM

Festival CoordinatorDale Wilson
Lighting DesignerWinona Meech
Sound DesignerJohn Anderson
Lighting Designer MentorRebecca Cave
Co-Production ManagerLouise Mallory
Co-Production ManagerJohn Anderson
Stage ManagerJustine Woodfall
PainterBrooke Emberly & Joan Heys Hawkins
Assistant Stage ManagerAdorra Sergios
Lighting OperatorLaura Eschak
Sound OperatorAndrew Selwood
Poster DesignGabi Sakita
Technical AdvisorRichard Hatfield

Words from the Festival Coordinator

Hello and welcome to the Walterdale Theatre 2023 edition of From Cradle to Stage. We at Walterdale have made a mission of presenting the works and voices of new and aspiring playwrights.  Through many years we have attempted numerous iterations of our tiny festival and 2023 is no exception. 

While our focus has always been the encouragement of local writers, we have this year been sought out by playwrights from farther afield. For the first time we are presenting a diverse collection of thirteen scripts in a staged reading format. 

Our sincere wish for now is the enjoyment of our audience and the ultimate success of both fledgling and burgeoning playwrights. 

Live long, live loud, live.

dale Wilson, Festival Coordinator

Walterdale Theatre acknowledges that our theatre is located on Treaty 6, a traditional territory of the Cree and has been an important trading place of the Saulteaux, Blackfoot, Nakota Sioux, Dene, Saulteau, and Métis peoples of western Canada for many thousands of years. We also recognize and honour that we are Treaty people and therefore seek to uphold the spirit and intent of this Treaty of Peace and Friendship.