PREVIEW
Slight of Mind
Citadel Theatre and Theatre Yes co-production
March 27 to April 14
Citadel Theatre
9828 – 101 Ave.
Tickets: Start at $30 plus fees and GST. Call 780-425-1820 or at www.citadeltheatre.com
Although experimental theatre has a revolutionary history, it’s lately become quite mainstream.
Take the Citadel Theatre. Under former artistic director Bob Baker, the Citadel produced relatively popular, safe productions guaranteed to break even or make a profit.
Now that Daryl Cloran (2016 to present) helms the big red brick edifice, audiences are given a shot in the arm with new projects. Theatre Yes, in collaboration with the Citadel, test-pilots Slight of Mind. The world premiere runs March 27 to April 14.
Edmonton avant-garde playwright Beth Graham takes the audience on a flight of fancy during which she brings to life three legendary aviation figures through Icarus Air.
These mythic individuals are Amelia Earhart (Melissa Thingelstad), a daring American pilot who disappeared while trying to circumnavigate the Earth; Valentina Tereshkova (Lora Brovold), a Russian cosmonaut who was the first woman in space; and Icarus (Philip Gellar), the reckless boy who flew too close to the sun.
There’s a fourth story that ties the three legends together, noted St. Albert actress Hayley Moorhouse who plays one of the flight attendants on Icarus Air.
“There’s (Agnes) a nine-year-old girl (Ivy Degagné) whose father works at the airport,” said Moorhouse, a 2018 University of Alberta BFA graduate.
“It explores the ideas of flying high and having the courage to follow your dreams. And realizing that what goes up must come down.”
Theatre Yes, known for its experimental site-specific work, places this production in every area of the Citadel except traditional spaces.
The roving flight attendants will guide audiences through the lobby, a set of bathrooms, the boardroom, a storage room, a staircase and rehearsal space, explained assistant director Megan Verbeek, originally from Morinville.
Moorhouse’s initial reaction to the script was instinctual.
“What really drew me was the idea of exploring the theatre behind the scenes. It was about using space in a different way and seeing things in a different way.”
As a longtime actor with Citadel Theatre, Graham has come to know the back spaces intimately and was perfectly poised to create this fantasy.
“She realized the Citadel is reminiscent of an airport. Everything is far away. Not everything is placed in a logical order. And she does a very good job of placing certain stories in site-specific locations.”
For instance, Amelia Earhart’s story is told on the theatre’s loading dock, an area decked out to resemble an airport hangar. Likewise every locale is chosen to heighten a certain aspect of the story.
However, the effervescence of new concepts can falter without a strong script.
“Beth’s script is beautiful. It makes you connect and feel for the characters and it makes you look at your own life in a different way.”
Verbeek adds her own sentiments in closing by saying, “As you get older, things become more predictable. But I was brought to tears in some scenes because of the emotions I’d never felt before.”
The world premiere of Slight of Mind is part of Collider, the Citadel’s new program that celebrates new works every spring.
