Calgary playwrights gain coveted spotlight at Calgary Fringe Festival

There were 14 coveted spots in this year’s festival which were awarded through a lottery and, according to the festival’s producing director Michele Gallant, the competition was fierce. It was pure luck of the draw that Caroline Russell-King, James Odin Wade and Katie Miller will premiere their plays from July 29 through Aug. 6 at one of four Inglewood venues: Alexandra Centre, Festival Hall, Gravity Espresso and Wine Bar, and Lantern Community Church.

“Every playwright’s work is semi-autobiographical no matter what you’re writing about, but I am a playwright and so is my character so, in this case, it becomes more specific. For four years, I taught creative writing to recovering addicts at a rehab facility, so that experience has found its way into the play. The character of the young man is completely my invention. He is not someone I encountered,” says Russell-King.

Absinth Bourbon Vodka and Saki runs in the Alexandra Centre and has a live steamed production on Aug. 6 at 7:45 p.m.James Odin Wade penned the first draft of his play In Case of Fire in 2014 during his first year of grad school at the University of Calgary. Wade says he wanted to tackle a similar dynamic in his play so it begins when the husband “is caught in a lie and has to admit he hasn’t believed In God for a long time. This causes the couple to reckon with faith, life, death and their relationship. The play is a twist-filled comedy/drama.”Article content

This fringe production, directed by Cayley Wreggitt and starring Siobhan Cooney and Spencer Streichert, runs in the Alexandra Centre. It will not be live streamed.Article content “We call Flash our pandemic baby. It was initially going to be a song cycle about fear and how we are afraid of different things but it eventually involved into this story about how the lives of these four people flash before their eyes in that moment between life and death,” says Miller.Article content

Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Fringe best bet for FridayStigma, Pistil and Style: 9:30 p.m., Lantern Church Sanctuary
Source: calgaryherald - 🏆 64. / 52 Read more »

Founder of Calgary charity wants to ensure spotlight stays on UkraineAshid Bahl recently spent two weeks in Ukraine delivering medical supplies and aid to residents while also rebuilding a family\u0027s home.
Source: calgarysun - 🏆 63. / 52 Read more »

ChamberFest West brings first international chamber music festival to CalgaryIn the summer of 2020, violinist Diana Cohen and pianist Roman Rabinovich held weekly concerts in their front yard. The couple’s performances, one of many…
Source: calgaryherald - 🏆 64. / 52 Read more »

Icon Joe Louis Walker brings a lifetime of the blues to Calgary festivalWhen Joe Louis Walker was 11, he moved with his mother and siblings to a new neighbourhood in San Francisco.
Source: calgaryherald - 🏆 64. / 52 Read more »

Icon Joe Louis Walker brings a lifetime of the blues to Calgary festivalWhen Joe Louis Walker was 11, he moved with his mother and siblings to a new neighbourhood in San Francisco.
Source: calgarysun - 🏆 63. / 52 Read more »

Farmers' Markets In and Around Calgary - Avenue CalgaryThe big markets, the small markets and the out-of-town markets to visit if you’re looking for fresh, local products. yyc
Source: AvenueMagazine - 🏆 40. / 63 Read more »