Melfort Amateur Dramatics (MAD) is celebrating their 50th Anniversary in 2025 and to honour the occasion, they will host the Theatre Saskatchewan TheatreOne 2025: The Golden Age of Theatre from April 24-26 at the Kerry Vickar Centre.
Co-chair Nancy Hamilton said organizing the festival with co-chair Hannah Gil and other committee members has been going well. She said that the sponsors were too numerous to list but would be in the programs.
“We have a whole committee of wonderful Melfort Amateur Dramatics supporters and we have incredible sponsorship from the community and area,” Hamilton said.
“We have seven theatre groups, including our own Melfort Amateur Dramatics, on Thursday night, and there are three wonderful actors for that play: Chris Bingham, Harley DeLorme and Gord Gilbertson. The play it’s so good. It’s called ‘Box.’”
Bingham was out in the community selling tickets at Cindy’s Independent and the Prairie North Co-op grocery store recently dressed as a box.
“He was hoping to sell some more tickets for us, so we thought that was a different way to do it,” Hamilton said. “He’s in the play as well, so it’s pretty cool. It’s pretty fun.”
Other theatre groups in the festival include Smokescreen Productions from Prince Albert, Battlefords Community Players, Cochin Community Players, Regina Little Theatre Company, Last Mountain Theatre Company from Strasbourg, and Castwell and Company from Biggar.
MAD will be presenting “Box” on Thursday, April 24 along with Cochin who are presenting “A Man walks into a Bar. On Friday, April 25 Last Mountain Theatre Company will be presenting “I Dream Before I Take The Stand”, Castwell and Company will be presenting “I, Chorus” and Regina Little Theatre will be presenting “Scent of Honeysuckle. On Saturday, April 26 Smokescreen Productions will be presenting “Dead Men Don’t Eat Quiche and Battleford Community Players will present “Revenge of the Red Feather Ladies.”
Doors open at 7 p.m. with performances at 7:30 p.m. each night.
Sullivan said the 50th anniversary is also special for the group.
“It’s crazy that there has been amateur theatre—small town theatre—for 50 years and we’ve changed a lot,” Hamilton said
MAD was also scheduled to host the larger Theatre Festival in 2020. It was delayed until 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“That was Theatre Festival, which is long plays, so it over a week’s time,” Hamilton explained. “This is the one act, so that’s why it’s only three nights.”
She said MAD was excited to be hosting the festival.
“We’ve got a couple of people that are doing that backstage parties. They have it all themed out…. We have got specialty drinks to go with our after parties, and the tickets to the shows each night gets you into the after parties. Everybody’s just pumped up. It’s just so exciting.”
For ticket call the Kerry Vickar Centre at 306-752-4177, tickets are $25 per night or $65 for all three nights.
“You want to come all three nights,” Hamilton said. “It’s going to be some fantastic theatre.
It’s so fun to bring that to communities. As an actor myself, it’s just so much fun. You see people up on stage that you know and you go ‘holy cow, look what she can do on stage.’
“I just love small town theatre for that. I love the feedback from the community too. It’s just a lot of fun.”
Hamilton encouraged everyone in Melfort and area to come out for some great theatre
“Just come and check us out. Come for a great three nights. (It’s) $65 for three nights of incredible entertainment. There are some comedies and there are some dramas. It’s not just comedies, so be prepared for that too.”
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
