For playwright Thornton Wilder, the ordinary is extraordinary. It is, however, a simple truth we fail to see in the course of our daily lives.

Directed by Kevin McKendrick, Western Canada High School Drama delivers a charming, well-executed production of Wilder’s Our Town.

Set in the small fictional town of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, Our Town stages the life and history of its residents between the years 1901 and 1913. The Stage Manager (Act I – Bonnie Wearmouth, Act II – Montsy Videla, Act III – Haley Petrowhich) acts as our guide to the town by providing narration as well as inviting various townspeople to speak to different aspects of the town. At the heart of the play is the budding romance between George Gibbs (Leif Wester) and Emily Webb (Emily Shackleton) which develops over the play’s three acts: Daily Life, Love and Marriage, and Death and Dying.

Our Town is notable for two things: its minimal set and the use of mime in place of physical props. It is no easy task to create a town out of imaginary space, nor to peel beans, milk a cow, or even drink a cup of coffee at the breakfast table. The actor’s job is to deliver consistent, believable movement which takes into account the weight and dimensions of an object and/or activity; it is an exercise in the critical observation of simple, taken for granted actions. Continue reading →