The Media Shoot will take place on Monday, March 28, 2011 from 4:30 pm to 5:00 pm at the Gas Station Arts Centre (445 River Avenue). Members of the media are invited to register their attendance with Patty Hawkins at 204.786.9955 or p.hawkins@uwinnipeg.ca by noon on Monday, March 28. Director Andrey Tarasiuk will be present at the Media Shoot.
WINNIPEG, MB – The University of Winnipeg’s Department of Theatre and Film concludes its 2010/2011 theatre season March 29 to April 2, 2011 with the emotional coming-of-age story While We’re Young. Special Guest Director Andrey Tarasiuk will helm the production, which will be performed by the Fourth-Year Honours Acting Style and Genre class with technical support from the Department’s production students.
While We’re Young is a war story, a comedy, a drama, and a tapestry of love stories spanning the decades from the 1870s to the 21st Century. A young soldier goes to Afghanistan, another to Passchendaele. A family splits in two when a Protestant falls in love with a Catholic, 120 years later, it could happen all over again for a whole new set of reasons. In this poignant play, six generations of young men and women move into adulthoods filled with emotional and dramatic surprises.
“I chose While We’re Young for several reasons,” said Tarasiuk, the Stratford-based director / producer overseeing this year’s production. “The drama offers plenty of opportunities and roles to challenge the graduating class of actors and the production and design students. It’s All-Canadian and, in fact, was written just three years ago by an outstanding playwright, Don Hannah, specifically for an ensemble such as we have at The University of Winnipeg. Most importantly, it’s a good story that balances our past with the immediacy of Canada’s role in a current international struggle whose legitimacy divides Canadians to this very day.”
The set design by Amy Wood suggests a neutral landscape with elevated planes that allows for fluidity from scene to scene and from one time period to another. The costumes are designed by Kelsey Noren in a way that suggests the various time periods in the play, and the evocative lighting design is by guest artist Scott Henderson.
Performances are Tuesday, March 29 through Friday, April 1 at 7:00 p.m. nightly and Saturday, April 2 at 7:00 p.m. at the Gas Station Arts Centre, 445 River Avenue. Admission is free but reservations are recommended. Please call our 24-hour Reservation and Information Line at 204.786.9152 or visit The University of Winnipeg’s Department of Theatre and Film website at: http://theatre.uwinnipeg.ca.
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Patty Hawkins, Department of Theatre and Film
The University of Winnipeg
T: 204.786.9955
