Now celebrating its 11th year on the Edmonton map, the Concrete Theatre’s Sprouts New Play Festival for Kids is a weekend of family fun in a creative atmosphere.
The two-day festival, running June 9 and 10 at the Stanley A. Milner Library Theatre, is geared toward nurturing the imagination with face painting, storytelling, music activities and crafts.
Equally inventive are four plays that have been well watered and fertilized by five local playwrights: Nadien Chu, Carmen Sison, Joshua Dalledonne, and Joel Crichton and Richard Lee.
Chu’s Zhang Barrett Meets Tiger looks at a little five-year-old who is thrown into a new situation – a Mandarin bilingual kindergarten.
Tradition, family roots and differences come into play in Sison’s short play Lola’s Soup, in which a young girl and her grandmother find a hidden recipe, go on a trip to find the freshest ingredients and make new discoveries about life.
Dalledone’s Pia and Maria is about fulfilling promises and going back to school and learning that sometimes the most important lessons are not found in books.
In Crichton and Lee’s imaginary world of The Antyssey Oscar, a young ant, discovers that his true identity is a mystery. He sets off on a bug odyssey to discover who he is, learn about diversity and challenge preset stereotypes.
Lobby activities begin at 1 p.m. and four 15-minute plays start at 2 p.m. All tickets are $5. Call 780-420-1757 or go online to: www.tixonthesquare.ca.
Guitarist Jim Donnett, who currently sits on the renowned Newcastle Soul Service jam with Willie James Engel and Crawdad Canterra, and is a mainstay with the Fabulous Canola Tones, is moving back to the West Coast.
In the 1960s, Donnett moved to the area from the coast and created some buzz with his balanced technical skill and onstage comfort.
“His timing and control brought so many invites to sit in when he entered any music room or gig,” says Mark Ammar, co-host of LB’s Pub Moosehead Barsnbands Open Stage.
This coming Tuesday, Ammar is pairing Donnett with Septimus, a calypso/reggae and pop saxophonist with the band Catalyst.
“He has a very jazzy, upbeat style,” adds Ammar.
This is Septimus’ first visit to the St. Albert open jam even though he’s been a dedicated player around the area for some years. The upcoming Tuesday jam starts at 9 p.m. at LB’s Pub, 23 Akins Drive. No cover.
