The much-loved Moose Jaw Community Players have entertained us over the years with their delightful live theatre but have decided to forgo this year’s production.
Usually, Saskatchewan holds festivals in the spring and fall but those were cancelled this year due to COVID-19. “We felt that it wasn’t a good time to bring everyone together as we are unsure of what direction COVID-19 is heading,” says writer Debbie Burgher.
Burgher reminisces on the spring of 2019, when they presented “The Last Five Years,” which turned out to be a huge success. The Community Players ended up taking the full-length play to the Theatre Fest where they were nominated for ten of the twelve awards.
Currently, the Moose Jaw Community Players have an upcoming acting workshop on the agenda that will run once every two weeks. There will be four classes in total to help those that are interested in developing their skill set. Details are yet to come.
Anyone who is interested in theatre or acting is encouraged to come out and join in. Currently, twenty to twenty-five people are part of the group.
“In the last show that we did, we had people on stage ranging from five years of age to seventy,” recalls Burgher. “Sometimes the shows are intense. We have had shows that go to play in festivals in Yorkton, Kindersley, Regina, and all over the province.”
The Community Players have written a unique play that they hope to present after the pandemic settles down called, “Notoriously Moose Jaw.”
Burgher, a retired high school drama teacher currently sits on the Board of Theatres Saskatchewan and has been instrumental in writing the play. She says that theatre is her passion and loves the community aspect of theatre “…being able to take a story and present it on stage while educating, talking, causing the audience to think.
“The collaborate art of it all has to do with every person’s job,” Burgher believes. “It was wonderful as a high-school teacher to see people who didn’t believe they had it in them to get up and act.”
The goal for the Moose Jaw Community Players is to put COVID-19 behind them and get back on stage in hopes that theatre life can go on. They would love to see new participants come out and experience their workshops and see the community expand
If you have any questions regarding the upcoming workshops you can visit Moose Jaw Community Players facebook page for more information.
