The Yorkton Paper Bag Players were the host of the TheatreOne festival from Nov. 8-10. The festival featured eight one-act plays from theatre groups across the province.
Yorkton Paper Bag Players, Moose Jaw Community Theatre, Melfort Amateur Dramatics, Impavido Theatre out of Yorkton, Shoulder Birds, Kamsack Players Drama Club, Indian Head Stage Left Players and Regina Little Theatre all put on performances over the weekend, entertaining the crowd with their plays.
But it wasn’t just about entertainment, but also about competition. The plays would be judged, with awards at the end of the evening. The festival was adjudicated by Judy Wensel, a Saskatchewan-born director, performer, creator and educator.
At the end of the day, it was a Yorkton group which took home the top prize at the festival. Impavido Theatre, who performed on Nov. 9. Along with best overall production, actors Robyn Letson and Paige Kashmere also took home acting awards.
A relatively new group Impavido had their first production last year for the 2017 TheatreOne Festival. Leanne Keys with Impavido said the awards put them on the map.
“The girls worked hard to get ready for the show, so we’re pretty proud of them.”
With a full house all three nights, Keys said that the weekend showed how strong community theatre is in Saskatchewan and Yorkton in particular.
“I always think it is a great opportunity for new groups and advanced groups to come out. It’s a huge learning opportunity to have an adjudicator there.”
They hope to produce a production for the spring, and will definitely be back at TheatreOne in the fall.
The complete list of winners is as follows:
Shumiatcher Trophy for Best Play - Impavido Theatre from Yorkton.
George Barnet Trophy for Runner Up to Best Play - ShoulderBirds, Regina
Florence Eberle Memorial Trophy for Best Director - Debbie Burgher, Moose Jaw Community Players
Last Mountain Theatre Award for Best Actor/Actress in a Supporting role - Paige Kashmere, Impavido Theatre
Nancy & Sam Goodfellow Trophy for Acting - Linda Kort, Indian Head Stage Left Players
Janet Lowndes Trophy for Acting - Robyn Letson, Impavido Theatre
Kathleen E. Nouch CDA Trophy for Technical/Backstage - ShoulderBirds, Regina.
