BOOK, MUSIC and LYRICS: CHRIS WYNTERS
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FIRST PRODUCTION:
July 28 – 31, 2010 /Â August 20-25, 2010
Producing Company: The Scona Theatre Company
Theatre: The Old Cycle Building, Edmonton /Â The Church Hill Theatre, Edinburgh, Scotland
Director: Linette Smith
Musical Director: Stephen Delano
AUDIO SAMPLES
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CAST:
Hattie: Morgan Melnyk
Berowne: Lauren Kneteman
Longaville: Maddy Lakusta
Dumaine: Kara Chamberlain
Adriana de Armado: Cassidy Civiero
Dull: Alanna Toogood
Costard: Kate Myszkowski
Moth: Nadia De Santis
Boyet: Skye Macdonald
James: Hunter Cardinal
Smithers-Jones: Sam Wolkow
Sellar: David Walker
McDonald: Jordan Mah
Juan Gonzales: Karo Castro-Wunsh
Holofrenes: Thomas Barnet
CHORUS: Michael Strean, Josh Rapanos, Jonny Kawchuck, Tom Boyce, Dustyn Tennessen, Candace Grant, Alaina Sadowski, Heather Stock, Kaylin Good, Tashona Bannister, Cam Kneteman, Alycia Mitchell, Susan Evans, Natasha Gowda, Mackenzie Scott, Nick Eaton, Michael Vetsch, Will Hamilton, Jay Wickins, Brenden Kunimoto, Iain Hill
HISTORY
Early in the fall of 2009 Chris was approached by Linette Smith and Stephen Delano of the Theatre Program at Stathcona High School to see if he was interested in writing them a new musical that their students would perform at the Edinburgh Fringe the following year. The time was pretty tight but of course he was interested. He’d always had an idea to adapt Shakepeare’s LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST into a musical and blend it with his own experiences in the familiar surroundings of a west coast boarding school at the height of the Cold War in the early 1980s. Immediately he set to work writing SAINT AGGIE’S ’84, choosing this time, for the first time ever, to write the whole thing solo.
Chris worked with the students on the piece from time to time throughout the year, reading through it several times, learning a song or two as the songs were written. A detailed blog was kept the whole time, documenting the writing process, rehearsals and subsequent performances.
The show ran first at the “Old Cycle Building” – ARTS ON THE AVENUE‘s and ARTS HABITAT‘s multipurpose arts building which is still very much in it’s early stages of development – serving as a perfect venue to preview the piece to Edmonton audiences. The short run was completely sold out and an extra performance was added. The show went into rehearsals again for a two week period and then whole production packed up and flew across the Atlantic to perform at the EDINBURGH FRINGE in Scotland – the world’s largest theatre festival.
Currently, Chris is developing SAINT AGGIE’S ’84 into a two act musical. At this time several future productions are slated, starting with the American debut at the WEAVER ACADEMY in Greensboro, North Carolina in the fall of 2011.
