As a boy growing up in small-town Saskatchewan and Alberta, the opportunities to attend theatre productions were few and far between, and when they did come up I immediately shot them down in a dramatic display of teenage angst.
I was naïve back then, considering theatre to be all dancing and singing and telling old, outdated, stories in incomprehensible languages.
No surprise here. It turns out my narrow view of performing art on stage was wrong.
Certainly there are productions that include singing, dancing and languages I have not yet learned. But there are also performances that better fit my evolving tastes, by including a focus on modern issues, comedy, and most importantly captivating dialogue.
Last month, I was necessarily re-introduced to theatre when I attended the stage production Inhabited, which was produced by local production company Grand Parlour Productions and had two well-attended showings at the Assumption School Theatre on Oct. 30 and 31.
I was blown away. There is an incredible mood that comes over a theatre during a strong performance, with audience members captivated by the performances happening just feet away from their seats.
The story of Inhabited goes that there is a haunted house, in which horrible occurrences have taken place throughout the home's history, leaving it haunted for the next residents. Providing some narration to the story of how the house came to be are two gravediggers.
Sitting near the front row, I could literally feel the emotion during some of the conversations between the gravediggers, as the grave setting extended out from the stage towards the audience.
While I am no theatre critic, as proven by my lack of a background in the subject, I will say that including locals in the cast might have been a necessity for an up and coming production company, but the choice to do so made the production even more compelling.
The performers, many of whom are from the Cold Lake and Bonnyville area, and those working behind the scenes pulled off an amazing show and have turned this chap into a champion of theatre. Much appreciated, especially in a region severely in need of arts and culture.
