The King's Players

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The King’s Players is a company name for public drama presentations by students, faculty, and community volunteers presented on campus. Between 1995 and 2005, play productions were organized by a campus drama club. The recently expanded range of drama courses now permit public presentation of the performance projects of students enrolled in those courses. Drama 202 Introduction to Theatre concludes with the late November presentation of a program of classic scenes. In the Winter term, Drama 305/355/405 Ensemble Acting and Drama 310 Stagecraft collaborate to produce a full length play.

Production History:

Cosi, by Louis Nowra, featured patients at an Australian mental hospital as they rehearse and present Mozart’s opera Cosi Fan Tutti under the direction of an idealistic university drama student. Directed by Heather Fitzsimmons Frey, March 2009.

Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, was given new currency by being set in today’s Alberta amid a conflict between ranchers and environmentalists, directed by Heather Ftizsimmons Frey, March 08.

At the Zenith of The Empire by Stewart Lemoine, directed by Heather Fitzsimmons Frey, March 2007, celebrated the early days of live theatre in Edmonton in 1905.

The Butterfingers Angel directed by Heather Fitzsimmons Frey in Nov. 2005. In honour of the King’s 25th anniversary, a new production of the very popular Christmas show first presented at King’s in 1998.

The Baby Dance directed by Annette Loiselle, Nov. 2004: an infertile professional couple arranges to buy a baby from a working class family who have more children than they can manage.

Cry the Beloved Country an adaptation of the classic novel about racial tensions in South Africa, directed by Todd Odhuno Were in Nov. 2003 and performed using theatrical masks and recitations.

The Beams are Creaking by Douglas Anderson, directed by Daniel vanHeyst, Nov. 2001
The true story of the German theologian Friedrich Bonhoeffer and his implication in a plot to assassinate Hitler, and his subsequent imprisonment and execution.

Les Belles Soeurs by Michel Tremblay, Nov 2000. A famous Canadian play about a close-knit neighbourhood of working class Montreal women.

The Passion by Bernard Sahlins, a series of Bible stories based on the medieval Mystery Cycle, April 2000.

Quiet in the Land by Anne Chislett, Nov. 97 The compelling story of a young Amish man, Yock Bauman, who enlists in WWI in rejection of his rural Ontario community’s pacifism.

Faith by Fire, by Sharon Johnsey, told the story of Joan of Arc as she faced imprisonment, trial, and execution. (Nov. 99) A coproduction with Off The Fence Theatre Society, directed by Gil Allan, and presented in The King's Court, dramatically transformed into a medieval hall. To prepare for the battle scenes, certified fight director Thomas Usher trained and choreographed the combatants.

Juvie, by Jerome McDonough, directed by Shirley Dahlsiede, a co-production with Off The Fence Theatre Society, featured a young woman’s descent into, and escape from life on the street.

The Butterfingers Angel, by William Gibson, celebrated Christmas with an inventive retelling of the Nativity. (Nov. 98)

The Village of Idiots, by John Lazarus, a comedy set in a fictional Jewish shtetl, was directed by student Robert Kelly. (April 96)

Quiet in the Land, by Ann Chislett, pitted an Ontario Amish community against the social upheavals brought by WWI. (Nov. 97)

Measure for Measure, by William Shakespeare, featured all of the faculty members of the English Department in cameo roles performing alongside King’s students in the principle roles. (Dec. 96)

The Greatest Song, a musical adaptation by Calvin Seerveld of the Song of Solomon, opened the Interdisciplinary Studies Confernce and the annual conference of Christians in the Theatre Arts (CrissCross) at King's. (Feb. 95)

The King's Players

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