NORTH BATTLEFORD — A whole week of performing theatre in the Battlefords wrapped up on April 27, at the Dekker Centre, as TheatreFest 2024 came to an official close.
The week featured four workshops coupled with daily two-hour production workshops focused on the previous night’s performance, parties, an apprenticeship program with groups from across Saskatchewan, and of course a different performance from a community theatre group each night.
The groups in attendance were:
- Battlefords Community Players, An Inspector Calls
- Cochin Community Players, Looking
- Odyssey Productions, Dogbarked
- Yorkton Paper Bag Players, Agnes of God
- Melfort Amateur Dramatics, Here on the Flight Path
- Last Mountain Theatre Company, The Tin Woman
- Moose Jaw Community Players, Spirit Control
Nena Hawkes, the executive director of Theatre Saskatchewan, told the News-Optimist that she’s overwhelmed with the results of the awards ceremony and with the whole week in its entirety.
“Obviously the performances that were brought were so strong and so varied. I loved that we had drama and intrigue and comedy, but I think that the highlight for me was the incredible education pieces that came this week,” Hawkes said.
“The feedback we’ve received from the folks that … came out to those events has been phenomenal. And I honestly cannot wait to come to the Battlefords.
“I am honestly just buzzing. This has been an incredible experience.”
The winners of the award ceremony are as follows:
- Technical Merit Award. Winner, Yorkton Paper Bag Players
- Best Visual Presentation. Winner, Battleford Community Players.
- Aspirant Award (given to a novice participant who has shown remarkable progress in a performance.) Honorable mention, Nolan Fehr with Odyssey Productions. Winner, Lorna McComber with Melfort Amateur Dramatics.
- Outstanding Female Performance in a Supporting Role. Winner, Bailey Lemcke for her performance in Agnes of God.
- Outstanding Male Performance in a Supporting Role. Winner, Lynn Wagner for his performance in The Tin Woman.
- Outstanding Female Performance in a Lead Role. Winner, Jenn Gritzfeld for her performance in The Tin Woman.
- Outstanding Male Performance in a Lead Role. Winner, Rick Kostiuk for his performance in Looking.
- Excellence in Characterization. Winner, Chris Wagner for her performance in The Tin Woman.
- Best Stage Manager. Winner, Ivy Sheward with Moose Jaw Community Player’s production of Spirit Control.
- Runner Up Best Director. Winner, Pam Willerton with Yorkton Paper Bag Player’s production of Agnes of God.
- Best Director. Winner, Lorne Goittselig with Last Mountain Theatre Company’s production of The Tin Woman.
- Runner-up to Winning Entry. Yorkton Paper Bag Player’s production of Agnes of God.
- Winning Entry. Last Mountain Theatre Company’s production of The Tin Woman.
“This year’s festival in the Battlefords honestly feels like a really key, pivotal moment post-pandemic. The arts are coming back in Saskatchewan, we’ve had an incredibly successful week,” Hawkes added.
“We can build on that next year, and the year after that.”
