When you think of theatre, one imagines actors and the drama or comedy they’re about to spin for an audience. Few realize the vast amount of work backstage personnel perform from script writing to directing to set, costume and light design.
During the first week of February, the University of Alberta drama department hosts the annual New Works Festival. First developed in 2000, the festival focuses on plays written, directed, designed, performed, and managed by university students.
The 2025 theme is New Works Festival Presents: Star Crossed Fates. The four-day festival runs Feb. 6 to 9 at the University of Alberta's Timms Centre for the Arts: Second Playing Space.
“I’m constantly amazed by the work being done. The designs always blow me away. But this festival provides opportunities not just for drama students, but all students in different faculties who have a passion for the arts. And even if you don’t have the skills, you can learn a lot from our mentors who coach different roles in the festival,” said Marshall Eglinski, artistic director.
A 2019 Paul Kane High graduate, Eglinski has been instrumental in transforming four student scripts into staged productions. They are Act of Contrition, Arthur and Titi, girls can eat now, and I’ll Go With You.
Written by Anna Leslie and directed by Angie Bustos, Act of Contrition takes place in a small town and blends elements of queerness, religion, solidarity and supernatural suspense.
Esther is a doctor who recently returned to her small hometown. Cal is a teenager about to finish high school. Both seek their church’s approval yet deal with the angst arising from a sexual identity not accepted by everyone.
“It’s really an exploration of identity and acceptance,” said Eglinski.
Developed by playwright Michael Watt, Arthur and Titi propel the theatregoer into an absurdist world. Arthur is a man. Titi is a puppet. Together, they are a young couple trying to make it in a world that appears to push and pull them apart.
“It’s an allegory of a queer romance. It’s not a normal relationship but is treated as a normal relationship. They move in together, but they don’t always support each other, and they go through issues people normally go through,” said Eglinski.
He added St. Albert’s Amanda Komarniski, currently a university alumni, works backstage as props designer.
Playwright Kyrie Wiebe’s girls can eat now is another absurdist play constructed from abstract ideas. Two women repeatedly get dressed. They make plans but no one knows where they’re going. They don’t know their names, but they know they’re in love. They know everything and nothing.
“It’s an older style of theatre and the ideas are very abstract. The director, Aidan Collins, has a dance background and is inspired by this piece full of interpretive movements,” said Eglinski.
In I’ll Go With You, playwright Alex Ward has created a dystopian world set in a vast metropolis plagued by authoritarian surveillance. Mandrake is a worker at a nearby meat factory and Poppy is a want-to-be-religious historian who works at dead-end jobs. They hope to find freedom and move east.
“Alex creates fantastical, detailed worlds. In this futuristic world, the city is ravaged by war and greed. Two factions fight for control over the city and relationships come from living in that world. The characters are stripped of their individualism and live in poverty. Nobody has the resources for luxuries. It’s about them falling in love and trying to navigate their relationship.”
Sam Villetard directs the one-hour production and St. Albert’s Andreas Schroder is assistant director. In addition, St. Albert actor Trey Maruyama, wrapped in bandages, is the Leper and serves as the play’s narrator.
The festival also highlights three plays still in developmental stages. They are Gawain, a post-apocalyptic retelling of the classic King Arthur tale; Sound of Rain, a whirlwind romance that explores themes of sexual violence, mental health and BIPOC relationships; and Corinthians, a play that centres on a mother and son whose secrets lead to grief, bloodshed and culpability.
“We have a unique and diverse group of plays this year. There’s a lot of different styles and a lot of innovative work from the future arts community. And we’re excited to see how people will react to them.”
Ticketing information is available at this link: https://www.showpass.com/new-works-festival-presents-star-crossed-fates-2/
