The Moyter-Fancy Theatre’s unique new show this November
This Nov. 4 to 7, the Moyter-Fancy Theatre (MFT) is putting on Caryl Churchill’s Love & Information! With a cast and crew of Mt.A students from multiple disciplines, the drama community is working hard to put together a successful and accessible show.
In an interview with The Argosy, the director of production, Professor Valmai Goggin, introduced the show as a fun challenge. “The script is really different from what we’re usually used to working with. It has no defined characters, and there are very little stage directions,” she said. As a drama and screen studies professor with the faculty at Mt.A, Goggin looked at the play from a dramaturgy point of view.
“The first time I read it, I felt like I was scrolling through social media because it just felt like I was getting these glimpses of lives and moments.” Goggin discussed how the format is reminiscent of the short-form media trends of the modern age. “There are 51 scenes and over 100 characters in 75 minutes.”
Love & Information’s playwright, Caryl Churchill, is an award-winning British playwright who lived in Canada for part of her life. She is known for her work addressing feminism, power dynamics, and sexual politics. Goggin said, “I think [Churchill] is really testing the limits of how small can a story be… She was a bit of a pioneer, I think, in anticipating where we were heading in terms of attention span,” Goggin said.
Due to the short-form script, there is a theme of interpretation in the show. Mt.A drama student and first-time stage manager, Arielle Cyr, said, “I think the play, if you allow yourself to be imaginative, you can make of it whatever you want, whatever you want your mind to imagine.”
“It’s a fun community experience where we can watch it together, and you’re going to see a completely different story than mine, and it’s all from our imagination,” said Cyr.
The theatre team is looking forward to the talkback, where audiences can ask questions to the team after the show. Goggin said, “I think people will have very different takeaways from the show, and that’s the point.”
Love & Information features students from across Mt.A in its cast and crew, including individuals who are new or visiting the drama program at Mt.A, and students who have been part of many shows. There are many students working on the show to make it as high-quality as possible, but the cast has a total of eight actors, including a few MFT debuts.
One of the actors, Amy Evans, shared her experience as a veteran MFT actor working with the team. “I’m a drama minor, but I am a bachelor of science, psychology major, so I found that the inclusivity of the MFT is so lovely because I’ve worked with history students, and biology students, and drama students all within the same shows,” she said. “I love how it gives opportunities to everyone on campus.”
The MFT is not just giving opportunities to Mt.A students. It is the second year that the MFT is running the Radical Access program, which is a ticketing initiative that sets all tickets to $5 for the season.
“We piloted this initiative last year, to a huge success. We had 19 straight sold-out performances last year. Even more exciting than that, we had tons of people come to the theatre for the very first time,” Goggin said. “Radical Access is predicated on a belief that theatre, and art more generally, is for everyone.”
The initiative is supported by the Walker Wood Foundation, and the theatre is hoping it will continue for as long as possible.
MFT shows are always open to student members across campus, and welcome new students every season. “This is the favourite part of my day,” Evans said about MFT rehearsals. “It’s such a positive environment. Like, everyone is lifting each other up. Everyone’s laughing, but at the same time, everybody’s putting in so much effort, and it’s so amazing to see.”
Love & Information will be live at the Moyter-Fancy Theatre from Nov. 4 to 7. Radical Access tickets are available online at app.ticketowl.io/love-information