Mourning Theatre
A Celebration of Art
the project.
In our fourth year of the BFA Production Stage Management program at the University of Alberta, we must create a final thesis project. I was originally going to do my project on immersive theatre, but I changed my topic based on the current state of the world and how it has been affecting the theatre community. I know a lot of people out there are mourning the loss of shows, due to COVID-19. So, I put together a collection of stories into a book from those who had a show cancelled or postponed for the foreseeable future. The stories I received were all from the Edmonton theatre community.
I am now looking to expand this project globally and am reaching out on a wider international scale. My end goal is to publish these stories into a book. If you would like to be a part of this project and write a story for the book you can submit it on this website under the submissions tab.
The stories can be as long or as short as you want them to be, within reason. Here are some guidelines on what to write in your story:
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Your thoughts/feelings about your show and the people you worked with
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Your experience surrounding the cancellation or postponement
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How it felt having to say goodbye too soon
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Any anecdotes from the process
Other than that, format is quite open ended so write from the heart! The point of all this is to celebrate the shows that I know people have put their heart and soul into that did not get a chance to share them with an audience or had to close early. Furthermore, I want to document this monumental moment in theatre history. If you would like to include a story I would really appreciate it! Please include the following information about the show:
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City, Province/State, Country
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Show Title
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Director
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Playwright
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Theatre
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Theatre Company
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Your Role in the Production
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Any pictures you may have from the process
about the editor.
Krystal Johnson is graduating this semester with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Production Stage Management. She previously completed a BA (Drama)/BEd (Secondary) Combined Degree with a Minor in English. She is working towards her goal of becoming a professional Stage Manager with Canadian Actors' Equity Association and has already completed two of the six required credits. She gained one of these credits on a show that was cancelled two days before opening night, due to the theatre closures. She was also lined up to work on another show that would have given her a third credit, but was also cancelled due to COVID-19.
Krystal is living in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with her rescue cat, Bright Eyes, and Pomeranian, Kiki. Her favourite self-isolation activities include: reading, singing, going on walks with the dog, cuddling with the cat, having a virtual Marvel marathon with friends, and playing Animal Crossing. Krystal also enjoys creating makeup looks and having fun with fashion. Krystal is currently helping plan a Virtual Drama Grad for her year, since the in-person celebration the team planned was cancelled along with convocation.
submissions.
Please send your stories to: krystaljaynejohnson@gmail.com
Make sure to Include the following information:
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City, Province/State, Country
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Show Title
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Director
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Playwright
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Theatre
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Theatre Company
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Your Role in the Production
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Any pictures you may have from the process
Thank you for your submissions!