U of L to wrap theatre season with a murder mystery
By Bobinec, Greg on March 11, 2020.
Tahnia Getson and Trevor Loman run through a scene from University of Lethbridge alumnus James Odin Wade play ÒIn Tongues,Ó set for performances March 17-21 at the University Theatre. Herald photo by Ian Martens @IMartensHeraldGreg Bobinec
Lethbridge Herald
The final University of Lethbridge Drama Department main stage show for the 2019-20 season will transport audiences into a cabin in the woods, and surround them with murder, mystery and bring them into the world of a serial killer.
“In Tongues,” written by U of L alumnus James Odin Wade, is making its first main stage production debut March 17-21 on the University Theatre stage at 7:30 p.m. nightly.
“This is called ‘In Tongues,’ it is a newly developed play by James Odin Wade, who is an alumnus of the University of Lethbridge and now lives in New York,” says Jake Rose, assistant director. “It is a cool kind of almost mystery genre play about grief and loss and understanding who each other are, and it is about communication and overcoming things. This play is about a grieving family but it also explores themes surrounding identity and how we all can find connection. Although the play is about a serial killer, the story has some comedic elements.”
When true crime author Cara dies alone in her British Columbia cabin while researching an infamous killer, her husband and sister are left searching for answers, but what they find in her research exposes a new side of Cara, her investigation and themselves.
“A few years ago, this play was work shopped by a class, so most of those people have graduated, but because we exclusively worked on it, we have the opportunity to put it on for the first time which is exciting because it has never been produced before and we have been working on it, not our specific team, but the U of L for quite some time,” says Kaitlyn Olfert, drama student.
Wade has been working alongside the production team and cast virtually from New York to develop the new piece of work for Lethbridge audiences. Olfert says the experience of the production has been interesting as she has been able to explore the different ways people experience and process grief.
“My character, Siobhan, is a little rough around the edges, so it has been interesting to explore how someone would deal with grief then how I would personally deal with grief,” says Olfert. “Getting to know someone and finding out things about them once they have passed away, I think that is something that is interesting because when someone dies, you want to think of them in the most wonderful way possible, like a legacy of their life, and I think that is what those characters are wanting, but they can’t because of the evidence they are faced with, and I think that is interesting for audiences.”
Tickets for “In Tongues” are available at the University Box Office, Monday to Friday from 12:30-3:30 p.m., by calling 403-329-2616 or online at uLethbridge.ca/tickets. Tickets are $18 regular, $13 for senior and alumni and $12 for students. A talk-back with the playwright will take place after the opening performance on March 17, and a talk-back with the cast will take place on March 20.
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