(Submitted image/Saskatchewan TheatreFest)

By Angela Brown

Unpacking an intense drama

Agnes of God among highlights of TheatreFest

Apr 11, 2024 | 4:00 PM

Agnes of God is one of the exciting highlights of Saskatchewan TheatreFest, taking place in North Battleford this year.

The play will run Wednesday, April 24, during TheatreFest, which takes place April 21 to 27 at the Dekker Centre.

The show, performed by Yorkton Paper Bag Players, features a cast of three: Teresa Weber as the psychiatrist, Bailey Lemcke as Agnes, and the director, Pam Willerton, as the Mother Superior.

The story by John Pielmeier is about a novice nun who is accused of murdering her newborn child. A psychiatrist is brought in to determine the young nun’s sanity, while the mother superior is highly protective of her.

“We had wanted to enter something into this festival, and traveling all the way from Yorkton we knew we needed something [for a] small cast and a minimal set,” Willerton said. “I read several plays that fit those two requirements, and this one jumped out at me right away. I read the script one time and I was set on doing it.”

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While the script for this intense drama is a challenging one for any community theatre group to be taking on, she said the cast was eager to dive into it.

“We like to be able to push ourselves,” Willerton said. “We view these festival shows as an opportunity to step out of our regular comedy dinner-theatre. So, we do enjoy the challenge and appreciate the challenge. We face it head-on. The script has definitely been challenging. More because doing [it with] a small cast means there are a lot of lines to memorize, and it’s a very heavy dialogue. Those things alone make it a challenge.

“Also, the subject matter itself, which we as a cast and crew have really dove into,” she added. “We’ve asked a lot of questions. We’ve had some heavy conversations. We’re really trying to understand the story, each character and what the author may have intended. There is a lot behind this play for sure, but we’re really enjoying it, which is odd to say given the subject matter of the play.”

Willerton noted she asked the cast not to watch the movie about the story or another version of the play, so they aren’t influenced in how they play their characters.

“I’ve never seen the movie or read the script before,” she said. “That was actually one of my rules for the cast: Don’t watch the movie. I don’t want our vision to be tainted by someone else’s vision. I don’t want us to feel like we have to imitate someone else’s portrayal.”

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angela.brown@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @battlefordsNOW