The Central Interior Zone Theatre Festival begins Wednesday at the Studio Theatre in Williams Lake offering three evenings and one afternoon of theatre entertainment.
The festival plays will be adjudicated by noted Vancouver director Sarah Rodgers.
Wednesday, May 18 (8 p.m.): The Maranatha Players present Snake in the Grass, a zany western melodrama written by Tim Kelly and directed by Becky Strickland.
Dainty Dakota Melody needs the sturdy hero, Sheriff Billy Bold, to fight the villainous plans of Silias and Wild Prairie Rose. Both want power in the thriving Dakota Territory.
The coffee critique takes place Thursday, May 19 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Central Cariboo Arts Centre.
Thursday, May 19 (8 p.m.): The Studio Theatre presents Death Defying Acts directed by Shane Tollefson. Death Defying Acts with adult language and content offers three short plays in one production.
David Mamet’s An Interview is an oblique mystifying interrogation between a sleazy lawyer and an attendant.
In Hotline by Elaine May, a neurotic woman with enough urban angst to fill a neighbourhood calls a suicide crisis hotline late one night.
In Woody Allen’s comic Central Park West, a well to do psychiatrist has just discovered that her best friend is having an affair with her husband.
The coffee critique for Death Defying Acts is Friday, May 20 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Central Cariboo Arts Centre. The public is invited to sit in on the coffee critiques.
Friday, May 20 (8 p.m.): The Studio Theatre presents Annoyance by Sam Bobrick and directed by Brad Lawryk.
This play, involving a very annoying man who manages to drive both of his therapists over the edge, contains occasional adult language and content.
The Annoyance coffee critique is Saturday, May 21 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Central Cariboo Arts Centre.
Saturday, May 21 (2 p.m.): The Prince George Pocket Theatre presents the comedy Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike written by Christopher Durang and directed by Dominic Maguire.
The story revolves around the relationships of three middle-aged single siblings, two of whom live together, and takes place during a visit by the third, Masha, who supports them. They discuss their lives and loves, argue, and Masha threatens to sell their ancestral home.
The coffee critique for Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike takes place Sunday, May 22 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Studio Theatre.
Saturday, May 21 (5 p.m.): The dinner, awards presentations and announcement of the winning play will take place at the Studio Theatre starting at 5 p.m. with the dinner.
The winning play goes on to compete at the Theatre BC Mainstage provincial festival taking place in Chilliwack July 2-9.
Sunday, May 22 (1 to 5 p.m.): There will be an intensive workshop with the adjudicator for the zone’s winning play from 1 to 5 p.m.
Tickets are availabe at The Open Book and Kit and Kaboodle: $15 regular and $10 for seniors and students.
Tickets for the Saturday banquet are $15 a plate and will be available after the Saturday performance.