The theatre at Port Moody’s Heritage Woods secondary will see nine one-act plays roll out next week for the annual MetFest competition.
And the public is invited to watch the high school students perform — and get critiqued — by the adjudicator, Paul Moniz de Sa.
Heritage graduates Braden Callender-McLellan, Kate Wilson and Zach Jordan are directing 10 theatre students in a drama by Jordan Tannahill. “We chose to do Concord Floral because it was a play that inspired not only us as directors but the cast as well as it felt very relatable and true to being a teenager,” the trio said in a release.
Heritage is the last SD43 school to present at MetFest. The line up is:
• Nov. 28: Archbishop Carney (21 Ways to Get Detention, directed by Charles Harris), Pinetree (To Burn a Witch, directed by Zelda Coertze) and Dr. Charles Best (Comedy of Errors, directed by Brad Case);
• Nov. 29: Port Moody (Tuesdays and Sundays, directed by Jesse Meredith), Gleneagle (Sending Down the Sparrows, directed by Justin Mallor) and Terry Fox (God of Carnage, directed by Dan Tilsley);
• and Nov. 30: Riverside (Radium Girls, directed by Nicole Roberge), Centennial (Living on Planet Krypton directed by Howard Schmidt) and Heritage Woods (Concord Floral, directed by Callender-McLellan, Wilson and Jordan).
The shows start at 7 p.m. at Heritage Woods (1300 David Ave., Port Moody) and tickets are $5 per person, per night.
Last year, da Sa selected Terry Fox secondary’s entry, Rabbit Hole, to represent SD43 at the provincials, called the B.C. National Theatre School Festival, held at Douglas College in New Westminster in the spring.
That showcase saw Fox win Outstanding Ensemble Performance while Cassie Drieschner took the Outstanding Performance award for her portrayal of Izzy; Nicole Dziekciowski also was named Outstanding Stage Manager and the stage crew reaped an outstanding title.
Meanwhile, Best Players have their one-act play festival, titled Oops!, on this week until Saturday. Their fest includes The Comedy of Errors while the Acting 12 class presents The Attempted Murder of Peggy Sweetwater by John Rustan and Frank Semerano, and a farce called A Story of Chelm by Linda Gaye Shapiro. Entry is $10/$8 at the school (2525 Como Lake Ave., Coquitlam).
And Riverside secondary (2215 Reeve St., Port Coquitlam) hosts its Festival of Short Shorts in the lead up to MetFest, also until Saturday. Tickets are $10 at the door; a catered show on Friday is $25. Email nroberge@sd43.bc.ca for tickets to the latter event.
