See what this Whitehorse live theatre company has coming down the pipe, from this fall through next spring
When the Guild Hall pivots from one show to the next, there’s often quite a bit of overlap. As artistic director Brian Fidler told What’s Up Yukon, auditions for the next theatre show will be held when its current one is still running, meaning that the team behind the productions needs to be well-organized and to work efficiently.
“We are lucky that we have several spaces to work with at the Guild, so we can be performing one show on the stage and rehearsing the next show in the OR (the Other Room, as it is known),” explained Fidler. “It can be tricky moving two productions forward at the same time, but it’s also a wonderful challenge and we have an excellent board who supports our activities, pitches in behind the scenes and generally keeps things moving on the organizational front. It’s really a group effort to keep the whole machine rolling.”
With three shows running between this fall and next spring, Fidler and his team are hard at work making sure that everything that needs doing gets done on time.
The season’s first show is CoyWolf by Métis playwright Colin Wolf. The show is a co-production between the Guild Hall and Wolf’s own company, Thumbs Up Good Work Theatre Collective, and its run at the Guild will be its world premiere.
“At its heart, this is a play about family and follows the journey of a young CoyWolf (part coyote, part wolf) named Isidor,” said Fidler. “Colin and his partner Sydney, who is directing the show, describe the play as a cyber-folk tale, in reference to the fantastical design elements that draw on cyber punk and the aesthetics of steampunk while, at the same time, the story functions as a fable or folktale with all of the characters being wolves, coyotes or coywolves. It’s a beautiful, passionate play that had us all in tears at the first readthrough.”
Next up is Mustard by Kat Sandler. The show centers around an imaginary friend named Mustard, who won’t go away. Mustard is present well into their person’s teen years, even becoming visible to the teen’s mom, with whom they go on a date.
“Things escalate when two goons from the Imaginary Friend Ministry come calling,” teased Fidler. “I laughed out loud a lot when I read it on the page, and I’m super excited to see it on the stage.”
The final show of the Guild’s upcoming season is the Canadian cult-classic musical Ride the Cyclone by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell. The show will be directed by Allyn Walton, with musical direction by Scott Maynard.
“This musical is truly a wild ride,” said Fidler. “The story revolves around a group of Saskatchewan teenagers who die in a freak roller-coaster accident but are given the opportunity to come back to life if they can make the case to be saved by the carnival’s mechanized fortune teller. As we have seen over the last several years, there is an amazing generation of young performers in the territory, and we’re excited to work with these talented folks on this show!”
There have been changes to how Canadian theatre, in general, is done since the pandemic, according to Fidler, but some of these changes are positive.
“We have shifted our focus away from the idea that ‘the show must go on,’ and moved it to ‘How do we take care of our performers, volunteers and audience, and still deliver stellar shows?’” Fidler said. “In many ways, the pandemic has strengthened our sense of community, and we have truly seen how loyal audiences and sponsors are to this little community theatre.”
Founded over 40 years ago, the Guild began, as a community theatre, to showcase local performers, designers and directors. The Yukon has changed a lot since the Guild opened, and the community that it serves has as well, according to Fidler.
“There are so many more ‘communities’ and diversity in the Yukon, and so we are always thinking about how to redefine ourselves and to reach out to all the communities in the territory.”
“We have initiatives such as Make it at the Guild, wherein we open our doors to non-profit organizations, newcomers and individual artists, to use the space at affordable rates. We work on a sliding scale with our rentals and invite artists and not-for-profit organizations to contact us to see how we can work together. I think it’s important that the Guild keeps the doors open to the community and makes the space available to anyone who wants to bring their creative energy to the Guild.”
Another major change is that the Guild’s general manager, Brandon Wicke, is moving on from the theatre company this fall.
“We’re sad to see him go and are on the hunt for a new general manager to come and join our team,” said Fidler. “We’re looking for someone with strong community spirit, financial chops, some technical know-how in the theatre, and some great people skills.”
The Guild is inviting applications from all communities, and the team is happy to answer questions about the position. Interested candidates can send an email to [email protected]. To learn more about the Guild’s upcoming season, visit guildhall.ca
