Mourning Theatre
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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.
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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
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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.
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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!