Opening night began with a brief reception that gave the attendees a chance to mingle before we were ushered into the theatre. The John J. Conklin Theatre is a very intimate space, that served perfectly for the show as it relied heavily on audience participation, and the audience delivered.

Jocelyn, as well as all the other student actors executed their roles masterfully. The sound design and lights (led by Shivam Kheni and Savanna Mwaura) were perfectly curated to fit the theme of the night. It felt like we were actually sitting by the town of Sligo in Western Ireland. The set pieces (led by Xueqing Li), prop designs (led by Sam Fergus) and costumes (co-led by Destiny Klassen and Josie Long) all contributed to the full immersion that we experienced with the story.

At intermission, we were ushered to the lobby for a much-needed chance to stretch our legs. As the show clocks in at over 2 hours, this was a nice break which gave all of us a quick chance to make some predictions for how the remainder of the show would play out.

Without delving into too many details (you need to see it, after all), the show delivers its three-act main story along with several additional side plotlines, from tense drama packed with emotion to witty banter among the actors. There is something for everyone from this production. With the audience’s active participation, cheering, laughing, and booing when necessary, which is sometimes led by the actors breaking the fourth wall and instructing us to join in, it elevated the viewing experience and sent the attendees laughing out the door.

This production marks the final chapter for some of the department’s veteran students, who are graduating this year and ending their time at UM in the coming months. I had the chance to grab a few words from some of them after the show.

“If this is the chapter I end on, I’m grateful it’s with a character who changed me and a play that became home. Captain Molineux will stay with me long after the final curtain, and The Shaughraun will forever be the place where my heart learned just how deeply a story can hold you,” said Dola Akintan (Captain Molineux and head of publicity).

“Being able to play Claire Ffolliot in this production has been a privilege and I have loved the process of being able to develop this character. She has a bit of an edge to her and that is why I love her,” added Bronwyn Moll (Claire Ffolliot and costume crew member).

Don’t miss your opportunity to watch this riveting and emotional performance! Tickets for the show can be purchased online through Eventbrite for only $10.00 (plus Eventbrite fees). 

Come see it for yourself! The show runs Thursday (7pm) [SOLD OUT], Friday (7pm), Saturday (2pm and 7pm) and features a packed 2-hour and 15-minute runtime.

“We left our country, for our country’s good”

Based on historical events, the play centers around the landing of the First Fleet in Australia, its transported prisoners and the first English theatrical production in the land. One of the central themes of Our Country’s Good is the transformative power of theatre. For the convicts, acting in The Recruiting Officer, offers a temporary escape from their harsh realities. Mary Brenham (played by Meaghan Rohleder) portrays Silvia with passion, showing how theatre provides the convicts an opportunity to be more than their circumstances allow. It offers them a form of freedom, even within their captivity. 

Killara (played by Jade Wood). Credit: K. Schellenberg

Killara (played by Jade Wood) is a standout. Killara’s presence symbolizes the enduring impact of colonization. Quietly observing interactions between officers and convicts, Killara’s costume evolves from a plain grey blanket to one covered with red handprints, black crosses, chains and red ribbon. This transformation reflects the gradual yet far-reaching effects of colonization both in the past and present.

The play also explores the purpose of imprisonment: punishment versus rehabilitation. While Major Ross (played by Samuel Njiru) represents the harsh, punitive mindset, others like Second Lieutenant Clark (played by Taha Ali) advocate for the redemptive power of performance. It’s important to note that many of the convicts are petty criminals—victims of harsh laws for minor offences. This reality showcases the flaws in the justice system and its failure to offer rehabilitation.

After the show, I had the opportunity to sit down with two of the cast members—Taha Ali (playing Second Lieutenant Clark) and Samuel Njiru (playing Major Ross/Midshipman Harry Brewer)—to discuss their experiences.

Reflecting on a sold out opening night, including an unexpected power outage, both actors expressed pride in how the cast and crew navigated the situation. “Opening night was very memorable,” Taha shared. “We had some technical difficulties, but we powered through.”

Samuel echoed Taha’s sentiment, adding, “Despite the challenges, it went really well. I’m proud of the team. We held our ground, and the show must go on no matter what.”

When asked about the challenges they faced in their roles, Taha mentioned the physical demands of maintaining the rigid posture of Second Lieutenant Clark, while Samuel highlighted the difficulty of playing multiple characters with distinct voices and mannerisms.

Regarding the messages they hope the audience takes away, Taha shared, “I want the audience to know that they are so much more than the boxes society puts them in. Art—especially theatre—and the community it builds transcends social barriers.”

Congratulations to the show director Dr. William Kerr and the students of the theatre program for another riveting production. Best of luck with the remaining performances.

Don’t miss your opportunity to watch this play! Tickets for the show can be purchased online through Eventbrite for only $10.00 (plus Eventbrite fees). For behind the scenes looks and to watch an official trailer, check out @umanitobatheatre on Instagram.

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Our Country’s Good

By Timberlake Wertenbaker
Directed by Dr. William Kerr
April 2-5, 2025
John J. Conklin Theatre, Gail Asper Performing Arts Hall 
150 Dafoe Road, West Tache Arts Complex, UM Fort Garry campus 
Wednesday to Saturday – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday – 2:00 p.m.
Runtime is 150 minutes (There is one 15-minute intermission.)

That changed when I became an international student. The first time I sat in a theatre, watching actors pour their hearts out under the lights, I felt something shift inside me. It wasn’t just a performance—it was real, raw, alive. Theatre wasn’t just about pretending to be someone else; it wasn’t just about playing around, it was about understanding people, about seeing the world differently. In that moment I realized I could rewrite stories and the world would believe me if I played my part right. I knew, in that moment, that I had found something that would change me forever.

Students rehearse for Our Country’s Good.

Since then, my journey in theatre has been one of discovery—of art, of history, of myself. And now, I find myself stepping into the role of Governor Arthur Phillip in Our Country’s Good, a play that speaks to everything I’ve been learning about power, justice, and the ability of theatre to change lives. A play that speaks to everything that I’ve hoped for.

For me, Our Country’s Good is not just a story about British convicts in Australia—it’s about something much bigger. It reminds me of my own country, Nigeria, and its history with British colonialism. The same questions the play asks—about justice, about who gets to decide what is “civilized,” about how we heal from the past—are the same questions my homeland has been asking for generations.

Governor Phillip, the man I play, is complicated. He’s a leader of a brutal empire, yet he believes that theatre can change the lives of the convicts under his rule. Stepping into his shoes makes me think deeply about history, about how power works, about the ways art can be both a tool of control and a tool of freedom. It makes me think of how people always have a choice.

This journey—from a girl in Nigeria who didn’t know theatre could change lives to an actor standing on stage, telling a story that connects the past to the present—has been overwhelming, beautiful, and life-changing.

I hope when people watch Our Country’s Good, they don’t just see a play. I hope they feel the weight of history, the power of storytelling, and the reminder that theatre—like life—is about more than just survival. It’s about understanding, about redemption, about finding our shared humanity.

This isn’t just a performance for me. It’s a conversation. And I can’t wait for the world to listen.

OUR COUNTRY’S GOOD
By Timberlake Wertenbaker
Directed by Dr. Bill Kerr

April 2 – April 5, 2025

John J. Conklin Theatre, Gail Asper Performing Arts Hall
150 Dafoe Road, West Taché Arts Complex, UM Fort Garry campus

Wednesday to Friday – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday – 2:00 p.m. 

Purchase tickets

Our Country’s Good stages the landing of the First Fleet and its transported prisoners who enact the first theatrical production in Australia.  Both highly comic and greatly troubling, the play suggests that theatre can enable positive futures while also acknowledging the pressing need for a just post-colonial future.

Tickets for Our Country’s Good are $10.00 plus Eventbrite fees and can be purchased online. You can also follow along with the theatre students on Instagram as they prepare for the production @umanitobatheatre.

Presented by the Department of English, Theatre, Film & Media‘s Theatre Program. Produced by special arrangement with THE DRAMATIC PUBLISHING COMPANY of Woodstock, Illinois. Set design by Bill Kerr with students Martina Caceres and Deklan Jocelyn. Additional design elements by technical staff Shane Stewart and Karen Schellenberg along with students from the production lab of THTR 3000. Promotional design by Joseph Ogbonnaya. 

The play pairs the story of a neuroscientist who is experiencing mental health challenges, Dr. Helen Harlow (played by Martina Caceres) with the true story of Phineas Gage (played by Sam Fergus), a construction foreman in 1848 Vermont who inexplicably survived an explosion that shot an iron rod through his head. After the explosion, Gage’s personality undergoes a complete transformation, marked by angry outbursts and inappropriate behaviors and comments. Dr. John Harlow (played by Kezia Obaseki), the doctor tending to Gage and a distant relative of Dr. Helen Harlow, intertwines the two stories, connecting their experiences. 

I appreciated the use of the Thrust stage – a design that extends into the audience on three sides, immersing the spectators and blurring the line between the performers and audience. The performers did a remarkable job of transitioning between the past and present, drawing the audience into the experience by seamlessly entering through various entrances, making them feel like active participants in the show.  

The parallels between Dr. Helen Harlow’s and Phineas Gage’s circumstances, both transformed by changes to their brains, powerfully highlighted the complexities of the human experience. The play does an excellent job of exploring how those around Gage are affected by the changes in his personality. This is vividly portrayed through his workmate and friend, Jack Kirwin (played by Fallon Waddell), who suffers from PTSD after witnessing the accident and his lover, Sophie Kirwin (played by Bronwyn Moll), who has a more tragic outcome that I won’t spoil here.  

This play offers something for everyone, seamlessly binding elements of psychology and neuroscience, comedy, the complexities of the human mind, mental health, a touch of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and even musical moments.  

Congratulations to the show director Dr. Katrina Dunn and the students of the Theatre program for another brilliant production. Best of luck with the remaining performances! 

Don’t miss your opportunity to watch this riveting performance! Tickets for the show can be purchased online through Eventbrite for only $10.00 (plus Eventbrite fees). 

THAT ELUSIVE SPARK 
By Janet Munsil 
Directed by Dr. Katrina Dunn 

November 27 – December 2, 2024 

John J. Conklin Theatre, Gail Asper Performing Arts Hall 
150 Dafoe Road, West Tache Arts Complex, UM Fort Garry campus 

Wednesday to Friday – 7:00 p.m. 
Saturday – 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. 
Sunday – dark 
Monday – 2:00 p.m. 
Runtime is 95 minutes (no intermission) 

A mashup of historical drama and romantic comedy, That Elusive Spark time shifts between a contemporary university where neuropsychologist Helen Harlow struggles with teaching Psych 101 and taming her own mind, and 1848 Vermont where her physician ancestor John Harlow tends to Phineas Gage, a construction foreman who miraculously survives an explosion that shoots an iron rod though his head.

If you’ve taken Introduction to Psychology (PSYC 1200) then you likely remember the story of Phineas Gage and his amazing post-accident personality transformation. That Elusive Spark uses this famous and true case in psychology and neuroscience to explore the human mind, brain and heart with humour and theatricality, along with a dash of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. What emerges is a play that takes a touching and insightful look at mental health in the academy and beyond.

In these productions, undergraduate students studying theatre work together demonstrating their course-learned skills onstage, backstage and through promotion. The experience not only produces a full theatrical production for audiences to enjoy, but also provides hands-on experience to the students that helps them learn the ins-and-outs of working in the world of theatre. “The course these students take is fully experiential,” shared Dr. Katrina Dunn UM faculty member and play director. “Students learn presence, listening and respectful collaboration as each must play their role in the sophisticated teamwork required to bring a play to performance.”

That Elusive Spark is ultimately a story that helps each of us grapple with our understanding of mental health. Being set in a post-secondary environment where we both navigate and study mental health, audiences will find some of the scenes quite familiar.

Tickets for That Elusive Spark are $10.00 plus Eventbrite fees and can be purchased online. You can also follow along with the theatre students on Instagram as they prepare for the production @umanitobatheatre.

THAT ELUSIVE SPARK
By Janet Munsil
Directed by Dr. Katrina Dunn

November 27 – December 2, 2024

John J. Conklin Theatre, Gail Asper Performing Arts Hall
150 Dafoe Road, West Tache Arts Complex, UM Fort Garry campus

Wednesday to Friday – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday – 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Sunday – dark
Monday – 2:00 p.m.
Runtime is 95 minutes (no intermission).

Purchase tickets

Set and costumes are designed by technical staff Shane Stewart and Karen Schellenberg, assisted by students from the production lab of THTR 3000. Additional production students take design leads on lighting, sound, props and projection. Promotional design by Joseph Ogbonnaya.

A man arrives in a new city to find that everyone knows his name, but thinks he’s someone else. A woman claims to be his wife but he’s never met her and her sister is extremely appealing. His servant has the unwelcome task of running interference between a defiant master and a handful of citizens who are increasingly incensed by the outrageous behaviour of a man they thought they knew. When the shenanigans finally resolve, a tragedy has transformed into love and delight. Such is the plot of William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors.

Cast of The Comedy of Errors in rehearsal. Credit: Sam Fergus

Believed to be one of Shakespeare’s earliest plays, this comedy about separated family and mistaken identity is unforgettably poignant and hilarious. Based on the Roman comedies that Shakespeare studied as a schoolboy, the comic setups are thousands of years old and elevated to new heights in the hands of the Bard.

UM faculty member and play director Dr. Katrina Dunn, explains that because the play is one of Shakespeare’s earliest and shortest, it is a good fit for a student production. “It is a great opportunity for our students, many of whom are performing Shakespeare for the first time, to experience his brilliance and see how he borrowed from others to begin to develop his own style.”

In these productions, undergraduate students studying theatre work together demonstrating their course-learned skills onstage, backstage and through promotion. The experience not only produces a full theatrical production for audiences to enjoy, but also provides hands-on experience to the students that helps them learn the ins-and-outs of working in the world of theatre. “All plays, and especially this one, teach students to work in relationship and in ensemble” shared Dr. Dunn. “Students practice being present with focus, listening and reacting, and collaborating in a very nuanced way with others. This is great healing work after the isolation of the pandemic.”

To make this production fresh for audiences, the action is set in a high fashion house of mirrors to highlight the play’s fascination with image and identity. Dr. Dunn promises much fun will be had with nods to the runway and plenty of flashy music and lights. The cast of twenty talented students will bring to life a story where style is commodity, image is identity, and your reflection could take over your life.

Tickets are $10.00 plus Eventbrite fees and can be purchased online. You can also follow along with the theatre students on Instagram as they prepare for the production @thecomedyoferrors_uofm.

THE COMEDY OF ERRORS
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Dr. Katrina Dunn

March 27 – March 31, 2024
John J. Conklin Theatre, Gail Asper Performing Arts Hall
150 Dafoe Road, West Tache Arts Complex, UM Fort Garry campus

Wednesday to Friday – 7:30 p.m.
Saturday – 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Sunday – 2:00 p.m.
Runtime is 80 minutes.

Design credits: Costume design by Karen Schellenberg. Set design by Chance Sabados. Lighting design by Brenda Vaca. Sound design by Oluwatomisin Akintokun. Promotional design by Joseph Ogbonnaya.

Before and during World War II, both in Romania and then France, Rhinoceros playwright Eugène Ionesco watched the people around him embrace fascism and become Nazis. This experience inspired him to create this Absurdist genre play in which his main character, Berenger, watches everyone he knows transform into Rhinoceroses. Rather than confront this change directly, the characters spend their time debating bizarre topics such as whether the rhinos have one horn or two, are Asiatic or African. Reason itself is turned on it’s head as everyone’s energy is spent on anything but confronting the monstrous change in front of them.

At a time when the seductive allure of brutish unreason has made a resurgence in many places and manifests in recent movements like MAGA, Q-Anon, the strangest of microchip Anti-Vax conspiracies and the Freedom Convoy, it seems very appropriate to revisit this play in 2023. Suddenly, the absurdities in the text of the play seem all too connected to an underlying reality as themes of conformity, culture, responsibility, logic, mob mentality and morality are explored.

In these productions, students from all levels of the theatre program work together demonstrating their course-learned skills onstage, backstage and through promotion. The experience not only produces a full theatrical production for audiences to enjoy, but also provides hands-on experience to the students that helps them learn the ins-and-outs of working in the world of theatre. “Teaching theatre is teaching serious play,” shared Rhinoceros director, Dr. William Kerr. Through classes and productions “students encounter the great commitment and discipline required to make play real.”

Rhinoceros is a unique production that includes fear, comedy, distance and physicality. Even after years of teaching and directing, Dr. Kerr notes that he can still be pleasantly surprised when working with students. Sam Fergus, cast as Jean, has to convince the audience that he is turning into a rhinoceros right in front of them. “Sam has an extensive and fascinating body of physical work behind him, including some training in sumo wrestling, which allows him to make physical choices I never remotely envisioned,” says Dr. Kerr.

Tickets are $10.00 plus Eventbrite fees and can be purchased online. You can also follow along with the theatre students as they prepare for the production on Instagram @rhinocerousuofm.

RHINOCEROS
A play by Eugène Ionesco
Translated by Martin Krimp
Directed by Dr. Bill Kerr
November 29 – December 2, 2023
John J. Conklin Theatre, Gail Asper Performing Arts Hall
150 Dafoe Road, West Tache Arts Complex, UM Fort Garry campus
Showtime: Nightly at 7:30 p.m.
One additional afternoon performance at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 2

Support student theatre – get your $10 ticket today.

Design credits: Costume design by Eva Miranda. Set design by Shane Steward. Lighting design by Bee Dasuki. Sound design by Riel Graves. Promotional design by Joseph Ogbonnaya. Rhinoceros design by committee.

With energy levels still running high, we debriefed on Sam and Nadine’s performance and how they felt after opening night. Sam was still feeling the high of performing while Nadine felt quite relaxed despite the short rehearsal period. While this was Nadine’s last show as a student, it was Sam’s first major role in a UM theatre program performance. However, that didn’t mean that each of their performances didn’t come with their own set of learning curves. Both Sam and Nadine had an incredible amount of lines to memorize in their scripts as both had long monologues written into their characters. In addition to the memorization, both Sam and Nadine spoke of challenges they had to overcome in their performances. In Nadine’s case, she spoke of the traumatic issues that her character faced and how she needed to learn to separate her character from her own self. In Sam’s case, he needed to balance the high intensity of the physical comedy that his character provides to the show with the dramatic tone shifts that often accompanied his character’s environment.

In the end, both Sam and Nadine agreed that they gave their best efforts and were satisfied with how opening night went. The audience seemed to agree, ending the night with a standing ovation.

The Faculty of Arts would like to extend its heartfelt congratulations to show director Dr. William Kerr and the students of the theatre program for another round of sold-out performances and wish them the best of luck for the remainder of the shows. 

Design credits: Costume design by Alison Holliday. Set design by Regina Avíla Alamilla.

The modern classic Scorched by Lebanese-Canadian writer Wajdi Mouawad follows twins, Janine and Simon, as they try to fulfill the last wishes of their mother to go and find the brother and father whom they never knew existed. The play weaves multiple pasts, presents and places as they try to solve the mystery. In the tradition of the great tragedies, Scorched asks what we are to do with the legacies of war, blood, and revenge. How can Janine and Simon continue haunted by the weight of their mother’s past? How can they find a way to fulfill their mother’s promises, a way to hope, to live up to the words that break their mother’s silence: “Now that we’re together everything feels better.”

In-person performances returned in the fall of 2022 with the verbatim theatre production Seeds by Annabel Soutar, which students performed in front of sold out crowds. In these productions, students from all levels of the theatre program work together demonstrating their course-learned skills both onstage and backstage. Scorched director, Dr. William Kerr shared that the process of working on the play with students has been “a fascinating journey, often very moving, at times unexpectedly hilarious, but always deeply human”.

Shows are open to all and tickets are free. Tickets are required.

Scorched
By Wajdi Mouawad

March 2 – 11, 2023
John J. Conklin Theatre, Gail Asper Performing Arts Hall
150 Dafoe Road, West Tache Arts Complex, UM Fort Garry campus
Showtime: 7:30 p.m. nightly
Exceptions: March 5 2:00 p.m., March 6 dark
FREE

Register on Eventbrite for a FREE ticket

Content warning: This play explores issues of violence, incest and rape in the context of war.

The University of Manitoba requires everyone to be masked while on campus, including audience members attending performances of student productions. For the production of Scorched, unmasked actors will perform 5 meters from a masked audience.

Design credits: Costume design by Alison Holliday. Set design Regina Avíla Alamilla.

Sitting down in an interview with Dr. Bill Kerr and students Alison Holliday, David Agba, Alex Christie and Jules Ross, it was evident to see just how much passion and hard work that each of the students, faculty and staff had poured into putting the show together. Seeds has thirteen student actors and one faculty member embodying 40 characters onstage and another twelve students supporting the show behind the scenes with design and technical work. “Theatre work is extremely collaborative and an example of experiential learning at its most profound,” shared director Dr. Katrina Dunn. “This show is allowing us to heal some of the isolating effects of the pandemic by working together as a real ensemble.”  

After two years of performing shows from their bedrooms, the energy in the room was palpable and it came through during and after the production as smiles were glued to every face in the hall. 

Each of the students have joined the theatre program for different reasons. For some, it is a way to break out of their shell, for others, to find community, but regardless of the reason, it is vital for each student that there is an audience to perform for. As Dr. Kerr put it, “Theatre doesn’t exist without an audience”.  

“As a student actor, knowing that people are just interested in theatre makes you feel like you’re doing something fantastic. It makes you encouraged to partake in all of this and just tell stories knowing that people, even for just one night, listened to you,” said Alison Holliday, who plays the playwright Annabel Soutar. 

The UM Theatre Program in the Department of English, Theatre, Film & Media would like to extend a heartfelt congratulations to each of the students and staff members involved who are humbled and appreciative of the outpouring of support from their fellow UM students, faculty members, friends and family.  

Seeds ran November 18 to November 26, 2022.  The next mainstage production for the program will be Scorched by Wajdi Mouawad and will run March 1 to 11, 2023. Watch for ticket announcements in the new year. 

Photo credit: D. Nguyen

Photo credit: Sahil

Photo credit: K. Schellenberg

Photo credit: D. Nguyen

Design credits: Lights, Samuel Oshode; Set, Catarina Schultz; Costumes, Karen Schellenberg