Vanier Collegiate and Cornerstone Christian School will represent Moose Jaw at the Saskatchewan Drama Association’s provincial festival this week, with both schools offering their interpretations of the play “Radium Girls.”
The festival occurs from Thursday, May 4, to Saturday, May 6, at the Riddell Centre Theatre at the University of Regina. Vanier performs on May 4 around 7:15 p.m., while Cornerstone performs on May 5 around 7 p.m.
Tickets are $16 per play, while a festival pass is $55 and children under 10 are free. Tickets can only be purchased on-site with cash, so arrive early.
The two Moose Jaw schools will compete against teams from Regina, Esterhazy, Yorkton, Balgonie, Wolseley, Langham, Warman, Paradise Hill and St. Walburg.
Vanier and Cornerstone are attending this year’s provincial festival after placing first and second, respectively, during the Region 2 drama festival held here in mid-April. Pictures can be found on the schools' Facebook pages here and here.
Vanier won best overall production and best visual production, while Cornerstone won runner-up to best overall production. Meanwhile, members of both drama teams took home several personal awards.
“Radium Girls” is based on a true story from the 1920s in the United States, where companies painted the dials of watches with radium-based paint. The women who did this were encouraged to use their lips to point the paintbrushes, which put radioactive material on their faces, gave them cancer, and killed some of them.
The play focuses on their legal struggles against companies that denied any wrongdoing.
“We’re really excited. This is our second year in a row that we’re going to go to provincials,” said Ben Sackville, Vanier’s drama teacher, who noted Cornerstone placed first and Vanier second at regionals last year.
“We’re excited to see what the rest of the province has to show this year. It’s always an honour to get to go because there’s so much good theatre that goes on in the province,” he continued. “And it’s just nice to see what everyone else produces.”
Vanier’s drama team did well at last year’s provincial festival but did not take home any major awards, Sackville said. However, it did win some merit awards for technical support and acting.
Twelve regions normally send a winner to provincials, but fewer schools have been participating post-pandemic, he explained. Last year six regions participated, while this year, it was seven.
To address this decline, the association decided last year to allow multiple teams from the same region to attend. This year 12 high schools will be performing, with Regina and Moose Jaw each sending two teams.
Vanier’s win at regionals was a team effort involving other school programs such as robotics, painting, photography, model making and makeup, Sackville added.
In particular, the robotics team created a clock with two motors so the hands could run at different speeds and in different directions, while the makeup team ensured some actors aged quickly because of their sickness.
It is exciting to attend provincials this year, while it is an honour to represent Region 2, said Tanya Johnson, Cornerstone’s drama teacher. Last year the team won best technical production and best stage manager — two big awards — and captured some minor acting awards.
“Moose Jaw has an incredible history of strong theatre for students in the city, and so it’s just a real honour to be part of that,” she stated.
Performing the same play as Vanier wasn’t planned, but it is a great opportunity to see different interpretations of the same script, Johnson laughed. The productions are “vastly different” and tell powerful stories in different ways but are still entertaining.
Visit saskdrama.com/provincial-festival for more information.
