Ponoka’s St. Augustine School Drama Class is gearing up to present The Wedding Intern’s Farce, hitting the stage Dec. 15-16.
Performance times on Dec. 15 are 7 p.m. and 2 p.m. on Dec. 16.
Directed by Dayna Wittal, the play was written by Jon Jory and Michael Bigelow Dixon.
Tickets are $5 and are available at the school office.
“It’s a comedy, it’s a farce, and it’s quite ridiculous — I think it’s laugh-out-loud funny,” explained Wittal with a chuckle.
“It’s about a wedding business, and they are trying to put on these weddings. The company has these three interns, who are trying to work their way up,” said Wittal.
Throw in a boss who isn’t overly nice, and a whole lot of mayhem, and there are ultimately plenty of laughs to be had.
“It’s funny and goofy, and the kids are having a lot of fun with it,” she said.
“I keep telling them to ham it up! It’s just light and fun.”
Wittal said the fact that it was a shorter play, and they were able to fit in all the students, made it the ideal choice.
“Lots of plays wouldn’t have that — but we have 22 kids in this play and everyone has got a part,” she said. “So it worked out perfectly with these numbers.”
She said she also knew from the get-go the story would appeal to both the students and audiences.
“One other reason this play appealed to me was the simplicity of the set. The focus is on the actors,” she said, adding that this play marks her first stint as a play director.
“There are a lot of different hats to wear, so trying to balance all of that out has been a learning experience,” she said.
She finds working with the youth in this way to be a fun and inspiring venture. It’s also been terrific to see so many of them grow in confidence as the play takes shape, she said.
“You see so many good things happy with this. We’ve seen some kids who come into drama, and they just blossom. You see a confidence come out in them that they didn’t even know they had,” she explained.
As to crafting what the play will ultimately look like, Wittal describes it as being something of a collaborative journey.
“I did have a vision for it, but the kids bring a lot of things to it, and I’ll say, that looks great! Let’s do that. I’m also really impressed how they are just getting better and better,” she said, referring to the rehearsal process.
“Each time I see them, they are trying new things and they just seem to be having a lot of fun with it.”
For more information about the play, or for tickets, call the school office at 403-704-1155.