Jamieson Wang, Howl Staff
The Drama Festival at Hart House Theatre last Wednesday evening revealed that where I thought were only grades-obsessed academics, there are also artists.
Hosted by the U of T Drama Coalition, the Drama Festival was a four-day long event where students exhibited not just their acting abilities, but also their writing, directing, and producing skills. Over the four nights the Drama clubs, from various St. George colleges as well as the Mississauga campus, put on single-act plays in a competition for awards. Held at the quaint Hart House Theatre with tickets ranging from $10 for students to $12 dollars for adults, it was an opportunity for good entertainment at a good price.
On opening night there was a sizeable turnout, as more than half the theatre seats were filled with supportive friends, families, and the odd lone spectator (myself included in that category). After a short introductory speech by the festival coordinators, they listed the three plays that were to be shown and the clubs that would be performing them. The announcement drew cheers and whoops from the various members of the audience that had come out to show support the UTM Drama Club, the UC Follies, and the Trinity College Drama Society, who were that night’s performers. The atmosphere was energetic thanks to the lively chatter and scattered laughter among the audience as they waited for the lights to dim.
As expected, the performances were of a relatively high caliber; ‘university level,’ if you will. I did notice a rather raw nature to the works, but despite any small falters or slip-ups, the casts remained fully committed, which resulted in convincing stories. The plays were all very different as well; one was a solemn drama, another, an ironic comedy, and the final was a social commentary. Although they all used the same stage, the space was transformed each time thanks to the clever blocking and storylines. The beauty of live theatre is its naturalistic nature, with props, costume, and the occasional sound effect being the only additives to the experience. I found that this really allowed for the strength of the scripts and the talent of the actors to be exposed.
Attending this event highlighted to me that education is about so much more than lectures and labs, papers and exams; education is about creation. It is about community expression through art and the sharing of that expression with others. I’ll be watching for the U of T Drama Club’s next event.
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