Kristin Shepherd writes her plays the only way she knows how: with an authentic voice.
She starts with a single opening scene in her head and, through a deep, personal curiosity-driven journey, cultivates that small set into a living, dynamic live show.
Now, four years after becoming a full-time writer, her latest brainchild titled Curved is being showcased alongside the province’s best community productions in the Theatre Ontario Festival in North Bay this week.
The four festival performances, which launched with Curved in front of a crowd of over 200 on Wednesday night, are the respective winners of the Outstanding Production Awards from various regions of Ontario.
Curved is the dark comic story of an 11-year-old girl growing up in an extended family of strong, compelling and imperfect women who struggle with freedom, love, sexuality, and dying.
The Guild’s performance of the original script was chosen as the QUONTA regional winner, representing North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Elliot Lake, Espanola, Sudbury, Timmins and Gore Bay, catapulting Shepherd’s piece into the spotlight of Northern Ontario theatre.
And she’s more than happy to do that.
“I can’t write in anything other than a Northern voice,” she said simply. “I don’t set out to say ‘I’m going to write something Northern’ - but what I do set out to say is ‘our voices are worth hearing and exploring.’
“I really believe in telling our own stories enough that that’s the reason I persist,” she continued. “I could happily act in and direct great plays from all over the place, but I look around and think not enough people are writing in our voice, so I’m just really happy to be a part of that.”
But her counterparts who her show is competing against in this week’s showcase are vying to do the same for their own regions.
The three other features are “Boeing Boeing” by Coburg’s Northumberland Players, “33 Variations” by Theatre Sarnia, and “The Drowning Girls” by The Curtain Club of Richmond Hill, which will take the theatre over on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, respectively.
Each unique voice is part of what makes the festival so compelling.
“I’m all for Shakespeare and I’m all for Shaw, but there’s something wrong in the arts if you think those are the only worthy voices and you’re not producing your own voice - I feel really, really strongly about that,” said Shepherd.
“There’s just something missing if we’re only doing really well-known playwrights’ work here and that’s what we’re calling art,” she added. “I feel really strongly about producing our own work from our own region.”
The success of Curved marks the first time a local performance is featured when the festival visits town, with North Bay having previously hosted in 1988, 1996 and 2008.
“They hit it out of the park last night, it just struck all the right notes," said director Maureen Cassidy. “It touched me last night; it just really had a lot of heart.
“I’m proud because I’m from North Bay, so it’s great to be able to represent our driving community of theatre here," she added. “We can proudly show that our acting talent is very professional. Just because these people aren’t paid or don’t do it for a living doesn’t mean they don’t have the chops.
“It’s stories being told live right in front of your face; there’s something really gripping about it,” Shepherd said. “This is reckless - something alive is happening in front of you. It’s just a beautiful opportunity.”
Shepherd hopes that others in the city share and indulge in what she called a Christmas-like enthusiasm.
“I’m just totally excited that we get to watch four plays of this quality from around the province and then go to adjudications in the morning and green rooms at night," she said. "Nothing is better than this for me.”
Each performance begins at 7:30 p.m. at St. Joseph-Scollard Hall’s Bishop Carter Auditorium.
The Festival also acts as a classroom, with three free workshops open to participants beginning with a comedy scene study hosted by Michelle Jackett-Webster on Thursday night, a Playwright-in-Person workshop with Donna-Michelle St. Bernard on Friday and Stage Combat 101 with Joshua Bainbridge on Saturday.
Tickets are $24/show or $96 for a festival pass and can be reserved by calling 705-358-1425 or email [email protected].
The closing Awards Brunch is also being held at The Grande Event Centre on Sunday at noon for $30.
For more information on the festival, click here: www.theatreontariofestival.ca
