One-act wonders
by Corey LeBlanc coreyleblanc@thecasket.ca

      The annual Theatre Antigonish One-Act Play Festival will take centre stage this weekend.
      Veteran and emerging artists will display their talents from Friday to Sunday at the venerable Bauer Theatre.
      “I think the appeal for the audience of the one acts is its spontaneity, variety and freshness.
      “My play and many of the others presented are, in effect, premieres of new works. You are there at the birth of something that may be quite big. Who knows?” Steve Holloway said in an email interview.
      The St. F.X. University political science professor is a familiar face in local productions, including performances with TA and Festival Antigonish Summer Theatre.
      Friday night Holloway will present Bailbondsman, a performance with Nick Ryan and A.J. MacQuarrie.
      “The Bailbondsman is my adaptation for the stage of small segment of a novel by Stanley Elkin of the same name,” Holloway said.
      “It starts off as a comedy but halfway through turns suddenly into film noire as an aging bounty hunter confronts a long-time fugitive from the law.”
      Holloway added the piece will be staged as a radio crime play.
      “We will also provide our own on-stage sound effects as we proceed through the drama.
      “It’s something I’ve been working on and revising in various forms for many years but this will be its first public performance,” Holloway added.
      Along with Holloway’s Bailbondsman, the opening night of the one-act festival will feature Bruce Kane’s Caught in the Act, featuring Sarah Digdon and Kristian De Angelis, along with Whispers by Lucia Dodaro and Etty Keating. Joining the creators in the cast are Kyle Cameron, Laura Ten Brinke, Nathaniel Pelley and Wing Ng.
      Soon Miss Guttenberg? Oh Yes, Soon Mr. Abraham! by Paula Montgomery will feature Ken Kingston, Pam MacLean, Terry MacIsaac and Kristian De Angelis, while Brian Friel’s Winners includes Kyle Gillis and Cat McCormack.
      Theatre Antigonish artistic producer Ed Thomason described the 10-production line-up as a “fascinating mix,” which will feature not only familiar and new plays, but also performers with a variety of stage experience.
      Saturday night’s showcase will include Dwayne MacDonald’s But Wait, There’s More and State Your Problem which features members of the Port Hawkesbury-based Under The Map Theatre group.
      Local stage veteran Pauline Liengme will take centre stage in Alan Bennet’s A Lady of Letters.
      The festival finale Sunday night will include Filling the Gaps. Members of the Antigonish County Adult Learning Association (ACALA) are creators of the piece, along with Woooo! written and performed by Brendan Ahern.
      The stage performance will wrap up with SOH Wright and The 7 Mathletes by Catherine Meery and Caleb MacIsaac, featuring members of The Harbour Players and Dr. J.H. Gillis Regional High Players.
      After each evening’s performances, Antigonish native Mary Colin Chisholm will provide adjudication. On Sunday night, she will help present Theatre Antigonish’s annual awards.
      To end each season, the local community theatre’s board of directors presents the Russell Alcorn and Eleanor Mutimer awards, along with the Theatre “X” Award.
      The Russell Alcorn award honours someone who has made an “outstanding contribution” to the activities of Theatre Antigonish, and whose contribution reflects the qualities of dedication, unselfish service and a generous spirit of support and cooperation for which Alcorn, the late theatre veteran, was known and admired.
      The Eleanor Mutimer Award commemorates the tremendous contribution the late educator made to theatre in the community during her time at Dr. John Hugh Gillis Regional School. It is awarded to a student graduating from high school who has taken part in Theatre Antigonish activities with distinction.
      The Theatre “X” awards will be presented to graduating St. F.X. students who have participated greatly in Theatre Antigonish productions.
      Each night the curtain will rise at 8 p.m.
      For Theatre Antigonish One-Act Play Festival tickets, phone 867-3333.