ESTEVAN — The Souris Valley Theatre will have one busy summer, with two main-stage productions, summer camps, concerts and more.
The work has been underway for a while, and it is finally time to share their progress with the community.
"We're going to have a very busy summer and we're looking forward to it ... It's nice to get back up and running," said SV Theatre president Allison Holzer.
Holzer said they are really excited to not only finally be back to a full season this year, but to also bring back musicals, so popular with the community in the past.
The first production will be musical The Big Heist, which is a sequel to local favourite Ranchers and Rustlers and is written and produced by Randy Apostle.
"Randy Apostle is an old friend of Souris Valley Theatre," Holzer said. "He has been around for a long time. We're so thankful to have him on site … It'll be a combination of live music along with recorded music.
“But I'm sure people will recognize the songs and they'll be busy putting in additions into the originals, because they've got some very talented, experienced cast members, so they're actually pumping it up for us."
The musical returns to the Red Rose saloon, which guests saw in Ranchers and Rustlers 1, and it's "a good old western who's-done-it show with lots of shenanigans", Holzer explained. The first production of the season will be rolling from July 3-14 with evening performances from Monday-Friday and one matinee.
"We are not running on the weekends this year, as we found last year that there were so many things going on in Estevan on the weekends, so we thought we could just target our shows for the week," Holzer said.
There will be a special thank-you event on opening night on July 3 for theatre’s sponsors and donors.
The second production is a play, Stag and Doe, written by Canadian author and playwright Mark Crawford. Regina's Mark Claxton, who directed The Ladies Foursome last season, will be back in the role.
Stag and Doe is a comedy, in which a couple is trying to have a social to raise money for their wedding. And another couple is looking for a venue for their wedding because their tent blew away in the wind.
"The two are going to try to share the same facility at the same time to do both events. And imagine some of the things that happen because the two of them are trying to do this," Holzer said.
The play will run from July 31-Aug. 11 on weekdays as well.
The actors have been already cast. The first group will move into Woodlawn Regional Park on June 17 to start rehearsing, and the second group of actors will come July 16.
The theatre will also offer many other entertainment opportunities for kids and adults. They will be running Act I, II and III as well as improv summer theatre camps again this year, which will be five weeks in all. Acts I, II and Improv will run for a week each, and Act III will be two weeks. Local author and playwriter Maureen Ulrich will create a play for the last one, and it will be performed on the main stage at the end of the camp. Other camps will also wrap up with smaller productions performed in a tent by the theatre.
Registration for the camps is underway. The Estevan Arts Council has scholarships available for any sort of arts-related activities, Holzer noted.
"If parents are looking at registering their students in summer camps, they should also look at the Arts Council scholarship that could give them up to $100 to help towards the cost of those summer camps," she said, adding that the deadline for applications is May 26.
The theatre board also found several ways to honour one of their members and avid volunteer Melodye Pierson, who passed away last December.
"We wanted to do something to recognize her and her contributions. So our summer student camps are going to now be called Melodye Pierson Summer Theatre Camps. We just thought that was so suitable because she loved being down there for the presentations that the kids did, and she loved working in the concession and making sure that they had lots of food. And because she loved working in the concessions, we'll probably have some concession specials named after Melodye Pierson as well," Holzer shared.
The theatre will have three local summer students helping with camps and other projects, including Rebecca Duncan as summer theatre manager, Iciss L'Heureux returning as camp co-ordinator and Katie Ostrander as assistant camp director.
"We're pumped about having those three young ladies down there. As of May 29, we will have two of them there. And then two weeks later, we'll have all three of those ladies down there working," Holzer said.
Also, the summer schedule will see a Brenda Lee Cottrell concert on July 26.
"We had a sold-out concert last year with Brenda Lee, she does the music of legendary ladies like Patsy Cline, Connie Francis, Loretta Lynn. We had a packed audience, and we had a lot of people say that they haven't heard about it, and they'd sure like to have gone to it. So, we thought, well, let's bring her back," Holzer said, adding that the show will be similar to last year's, but with some changes.
And to finish off the season, on Aug. 24, the theatre might bring in another concert, but plans are to be finalized yet.
In the meantime, they are currently working on getting their building into shape, finishing out the cork on the walls to help with acoustics and heat, replacing the fire suppression system, which was past its lifetime, and installing the new light and sound consoles, speakers and lights. The renos became possible thanks to grants and local sponsorships and donations.
For more information and the latest updates, visit their website at sourisvalleytheatre.ca or follow them on social media.
Tickets for the main production will be $35 and will become available online at their website and at Henders Drugs starting June 1 or even earlier.
