Exclusive: How THE NEW CANADIAN CURLING CLUB Replaced WITHOUT RULE OF LAW In Alberta Theatre Project's Upcoming Season

Alberta Theatre Projects has become a staple of Calgary's theatre community since its inception in 1972. It is a hub of Albertan theatre, dispensing new works every year, and featuring artists from all across the country. Their mission, as stated on their website, is to "create community by producing relevant, high quality contemporary theatre; by playing a national leadership role in the development and creation of new Canadian plays; and by bringing audience and artists together in an exchange around the work."

In April of this year ATP announced their 2018/2019 season, one month before announcing their new Artistic Director/Producer Darcy Evans, with the theme of "Defining Moments". The season included two award winning sequels (The Virgin Trial by Kate Hennig, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard), two world premieres (Zorro: Family Code by Rebecca Northan, Without Rule of Law by Michaela Jeffery) and a multi-company, cross-provincial collaboration (Café Daughter by Kenneth T. Williams). All but one of their shows lined up for the season were written by Canadians; two of which were written by native Calgarians (Rebecca Northan and Michaela Jeffery).

Last week, ATP made the announcement that they would be replacing the fifth show in the season, Without Rule of Law (WROL) with a show by another Canadian writer, Mark Crawford and his new work The New Canadian Curling Club.

Playwright Michaela Jeffery took to Facebook to share the news and spoke with me briefly on her future plans for the show.

"WROL (Without Rule of Law) is a show I've been developing over the past couple years as part of the Alberta Theatre Projects Playwrights Unit." She wrote. "In February, it was contracted to receive its world premiere in ATP's 18/19 season. Despite this outcome [...] I'm so proud of that." Jeffery was a member of ATP's program that works with new and established writers for the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons where she first developed WROL.

"This is a project I loved, brought to this point in its journey by a village of smart, funny, courageous artists." She added "These are people I'm exceptionally proud to know, and whatever course this piece takes in the future, I consider myself fortunate to have such passionate collaborators and advocates, and am further saddened by how this decision impacts them."

Without Rule of Law tells the story of a group of adolescent girls who are convinced that the world at large can't be trusted to prioritize their well-being in the event of a cataclysmic event (or just in general) and commit to preparing for survival in the post-collapse society they anticipate inheriting. Described as "Judy Blume meets Rambo" on the playwright's website, Jeffery confided that she grew frustrated with the urban legends that perpetuate the narrative of women as victims. "I was just tired of hearing campfire stories that end in young girls getting murdered by hook-handed killers, or terrorized while babysitting by calls coming from inside the house, or learning that the killer was under the bed licking her hand the whole time, or whatever thousands of other versions of those things we tell and continue to tell...Basically, it's just a grievance that almost all the fictional stories (especially the oral ones) I can think of, that feature young women, are mostly about bad things happening to them." She goes on to say that she wants to challenge those stereotypes head on with WROL. "It's about young women refusing to adhere to a narrative that has been prescribed for them."

After the announcement of WROL's replacement with The New Canadian Curling Club, the theatre community in general expressed their disappointment at seeing a new, female writer, lose the opportunity for a world premiere on the Martha Cohen stage.

I was able to have a brief conversation with Artistic Director Darcy Evans about ATP's decision after they published a response to the change a few days later.

"Although we believe in WROL (Without Rule of Law), initial indicators raised serious questions about the financial viability of producing it in the final slot of our season in the Martha Cohen Theatre. Our plan was to add The New Canadian Curling Club as a sixth show to our 2018-19 season. Together with the WROL (Without Rule of Law) team, we discussed options for a production or further development of WROL (Without Rule of Law) but ultimately jointly decided not to move ahead with a production in the 2018-19 season. Out of respect for the artists involved, it was our desire not to share this level of detail."

Last season, ATP announced the launch of their "Propel Us Forward" campaign, seeking funds from the public to make up for the 77% drop in corporate funding the company received. Between March and May of 2018, the company exceeded their $200,000 goal, accumulated exclusively from public support, securing at least one new season for the company.

"Everyone at ATP is absolutely committed to the long-term health and financial stability of the theatre and its essential role in Calgary's arts landscape." Said Evans "I will work tirelessly toward that goal to ensure we are here for years to come."

To the question of why he chose this particular show, Evans responded "The New Canadian Curling Club is a wonderful new play about a very modern Canadian experience. It takes a look at the intersections present in our contemporary communities against the backdrop of refugee resettlement, our nation's small towns, and the national pastime of curling. Without shying away from some difficult questions, it is very funny and very touching and will, I think feel incredibly relevant to a Calgary audience." He also stated "We will be reaching out to established artists and cultural communities in Calgary to cast the roles in The New Canadian Curling Club."

Playwright Mark Crawford also expressed excitement at a Calgary run of his show (which had it's world premiere in June of this year at the Blyth Festival) "I'm looking forward to great Calgary actors sinking their teeth into these roles. I know Calgary has phenomenally talented theatre artists of all kinds, so I can't wait for them to tackle this play!" He also echoes Evans' opinion that Calgarians will respond to a story about refugees and coming together as Canadians. "I wanted to write a play about New Canadians and what life might be like not in an urban centre, but in a smaller community. [...] When I started to write it, I was reading a lot about refugee resettlement programs in Canada. I had donated some money to a sponsor group and a friend of mine who was very involved in it told me some stories about the teenage daughter of the Syrian family who'd been here a few months. I thought she was a character I'd never seen on stage and I wanted to. I also wanted to look at some of the more ignorant or xenophobic parts of our culture, as well as offer some hope in that area." Crawford finished by saying "It's an unapologetically Canadian play, so if audiences walk out of the theatre thinking about Canada, or feeling some optimism for our country, I think that's great."

The New Canadian Curling Club, which tells the story of four people of colour in a rural Canadian town who participate in a free "Learn to Curl" class and find themselves engaging with strong opposing opinions of immigration, will run at the Martha Cohen Theatre from March 5th-23rd 2019.

As for Without Rule of Law, Jeffery already has plans for a staged reading later in the year. Shortly after the announcement, a GoFundMe was started in support of the playwright and within two days, 170 people had helped to reach double their goal. A reading is planned for September 17th with the original cast and crew.

 

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