The first performance of tragedy at Festival Dionysia was by the playwright and actor Thespis in 534 BC in ancient Athens. His award was a goat. Today, while there aren’t any goats involved, members of the UBC Players club have created their own Festival Dionysia.
Many people aren’t aware that the Players club is the oldest club on campus as it was established in 1915. It even predates UBC’s own theatre department – they'll be turning 100 this year with UBC.
This year is UBC Player's fifth annual festival. It is a collection of four one-act shows performed over five days from November 4-8. This year, there is a balance between student written work and published work, with two from each category.
"It’s a way of allowing aspiring playwrights to fulfill their dreams," said Olivia Etey, writer of Midnight Serenade.
For Etey, the festival was a jumping off point where she discovered her passion for playwriting.
Madeleine Walker, productions manager for the festival, also attests the festival as a way for members of UBC Players to get involved in the theatrical scene of Vancouver.
"The one-act festival allows for more roles overall," she said.
However, planning a festival with four shows was not an easy task. The process started in March with preliminary discussion and rehearsals began this semester.
“I spent all of April and May writing this play from scratch,” said Etey.
Over the summer, the student written plays were reworked extensively — some going through over 20 drafts and rewritings. Once the scripts are finalized, organizing actors and directors was the next step for the UBC Players executives.
“For three shows, we had to find directors and that took all summer. When school started, we only had two directors for the four shows," said Walker.
While the process is challenging, the people involved do it because they are very passionate about their work and they work incredibly hard. Milana Venchiarutti, a first-year media studies student is the director of A Modern Horror, got involved with UBC Players during Imagine Day.
“The play revolves around a group of ghosts who want to keep the family of humans that are moving into the house and if the family gets spooked, the house will be knocked down," she said.
“I worked on it every single day for months. All I could think about was the play. I wasn’t living on this earth," said Etey.
Her play, Midnight Serenade, draws inspiration from her aunt’s childhood in Bulgaria and how there would be five musicians at midnight that would come and sing to her. Etey wanted to explore the idea of what would happen if the woman fell in love with one of the musicians instead of the man who sent them.
The festival tickets are $5 for members and $10 for non members. Performances are at the Dorothy Somerset Studios located on 6361 University Boulevard.