Drayton Valley’s premier theatre troupe, River Valley Players, has survived the pandemic and are now in the audition phase for their first production since Covid arrived in Canada. The group is coming back in full force with their rendition of the southern hit, Steel Magnolias. The play is sure to tug at both the humour and the heartstrings.
Covid has been a widespread problem and local theatre groups that rely on public consumption and funding have been no exception. RVP board member and producer Ashley Luckwell says they have been ready for a while and explains how they managed to stay active.
“We video chatted our meetings, but besides the zombie run last year we haven’t done anything else during the pandemic till now,” says Luckwell. “We are very excited to get back at it! We had planned to put on Steel Magnolias in November of 2020 but then Covid hit so we never even had the chance to hold auditions.”
Steel Magnolias’ cast is made up of all women actors and is being directed by Melissa Wolf.
“After 25 years improvising and directing at Loose Moose Theatre in Calgary this would be my first chance to direct a scripted show,” she says.
Wolf explains why this piece is important now more than ever.
“Steel Magnolias is a story of life, love and loss and how a community comes together to support each other,” says Wolf.
The theatre group is currently in the audition phase with callbacks being held tomorrow night at the Eleanor Pickup Arts Centre. Luckwell says they are happy with the turnout.
“So far so good. We have quite a few ladies interested,” says Luckwell.
With the closing of all non-essential businesses and venues, holding a production such as Steel Magnolias was an impossibility. However, pandemic certainly wasn’t going to stop the local group from hosting such a powerful and timely play when the time allowed.
“Steel Magnolias is a beautiful play about strong women finding the joy in life,” says Luckwell. “Even in the hardest of times and even if they didn’t always agree, they respected and listened to others opinions.
Any group taking more than two years off is bound to collect some dust and Luckwell jokes about why they stuck with Steel Magnolias.
“We like that the cast is smaller so it’s a great way to start getting our toes wet again.”
The River Valley Players has been active for more than 10 years and with theatres and halls now fully open, they plan to get back to business as usual.
“We had our Acting Out reunion on June 4 and then the Zombie Run is back again this fall,” says Luckwell. “As well as we plan on the return of our Acting Out classes for the youth.”
While enjoying fun and games at the recently celebrated reunion, current students and alumni reminisced about productions past and discussed any pieces the troupe could tackle in the future. Focusing on education and socialization, the Acting Out youth classes are an important part of the River Valley Players. The group hosts classes in a multitude of Theatre Arts and Stage Production. Groups of youth from grades 4-8 and 9-12 can have fun while learning about acting, sound, stage management, lighting, makeup, improvising and more.
Largely thanks to it being an outdoors event, the only production RVP was able to do last year was their ninth annual Zombie Run. The scary adventure combines the benefits of healthy physical activities with Hollywood like zombie effects and full makeup. Children and adults are chased through the woods of Willey West campground by volunteer zombies. They are all horror fans that have gone through what the group calls Zombie Boot Camp. During the short course, they learn makeup and movement techniques to make the spooky experience more authentic for the audience. The annual October event has boasted over a thousand attendees in years past and the group is looking forward to bringing it back in full swing for its tenth year.
The River Valley Players certainly don’t want to be thought of as lazy. Along with their many productions, they are already looking to next year.
“We hope to hold our one acts next year and find the musical to put on next year, as well as the Zombie Run and 24 hour musicals,” says Luckwell.
The annual One Act Festival is another exclusive event produced by River Valley Players. The theatre production is a display of talent both young and old. Consisting of only one act plays, the event goes all day with youth plays being presented in the afternoon and adult plays running in the evening.
Now that auditions for Steel Magnolias are over, the casting process will begin with rehearsals to follow. Watch for the Southern belle play to premiere on Drayton Valley’s stages after the summer. Show dates are October 28, 29 and November 4, 5.
River Valley Players has managed to do what a lot of other groups haven’t over the course of the pandemic, hold on to their membership. They were able to maintain 11 full-time members including two youth members. With lots of shows on the horizon, Luckwell says there is always room for more members.
“We are always looking for volunteers. We would love for our theatre family to continue growing bigger and bigger,” she said.
