It’s only five bucks a piece for some diverse entertainment.
UFV Theatre presents the 19th Annual Directors’ Theatre Festival — a festival of short plays directed and performed by UFV Theatre students as well as post-secondary students.
The fest has grown over the last two decades to become the biggest event of its kind in B.C.
Impressive numbers have been racked up with more than 150 students and 4000 people in attendance last year.
While many plays presented have been written by well-known playwrights, some have been devised by student playwrights. Back by popular demand is the original burlesque comedy, Mr. Bigg and Tall, written by UFV students Tim Howe and Stephen Wilhite. There will even be staged readings of new plays written by upper-level English students who are learning playwriting from UFV Associate Professor, John Carroll.
“The festival is a great opportunity to see and celebrate the work of students from across the province,” Festival Curator and faculty Ian Fenwick said. “Audiences can experience more theatre in five days than is possible in an entire year.”
This year, audiences can choose from 21 show slots featuring 40+ plays playing multiple times in two performance spaces at UFV’s Chilliwack North campus.
Plays of nearly every theatrical genre will hit the stage, from comedy to drama. Performers and directors will be coming to Chilliwack from Capilano University, Simon Fraser University, Thompson Rivers University, Trinity Western University, and UBC Okanagan.
The five-day UFV Directors’ Theatre Festival runs April 23 – 27 at UFV’s Chilliwack North campus at 45635 Yale Road (at Airport Road) in Chilliwack. The festival begins on the Wednesday with a series of previews and matinees, followed by Thursday’s opening ceremony at 4:30 pm, and performances continue at various times Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, concluding on Sunday at 11 pm. Tickets $5 per show, with packages of 4 tickets for just $15, or a festival pass valid for all 21 show slots for $40. The full festival schedule is available at UFV.ca/Theatre. Tickets at 604-795-2814, theatre@ufv.ca or at the box office on the day of the show.
