The Moose Jaw Community Players theatre group will hold open casting calls for its new play Notoriously Moose Jaw on Sunday, Jan. 8 and Monday, Jan. 9 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Cosmo Senior Citizens Centre at 235 3rd Avenue North-East.
The Community Players (MJCP) are reminding any interested Moose Javians that they have multiple roles open — they don't just need actors, they need behind-the-scenes help, too. Lights, sound, set design, and more are all important.
In the announcement for the casting call, the MJCP tells residents that "The time has come for you to show us what you've got!"
Debbie Burgher, who helped co-write the play and will be its director, told MooseJawToday.com that they want a large cast for Notoriously Moose Jaw. She would like to see around 30 people involved in bringing it to life at the Mae Wilson in May.
Notoriously Moose Jaw is a vignette-style play that will cover many of the major events in the city's history, such as the Spanish flu in 1918 and the big flood in '74.
Burgher and fellow MJCP members Joan Stumborg and Tara Gish, who died in 2021, have worked on the play for years. A Theatre Saskatchewan grant program has given them a collaboration with professional dramaturge Gordon Portman to put the finishing touches on their script.
MJCP President Crystal Milburn said her theatre group needs some fresh blood and are always ready to help new people find their niche in theatre.
"If we can get enough people on board to make it happen," Milburn said, "the one we're looking at producing is called Notoriously Moose Jaw, and it is about the history of Moose Jaw, some of the fun and fascinating and interesting things that have happened in our community over the past hundred or so years.
"If we can't get the cast members, we have kind of a back-up play in place, with a slightly smaller cast. But it would be really fun to come back (to regular performances) in Moose Jaw with a story about Moose Jaw."
