New West’s Hootenanny back with original play

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on July 6, 2023.

Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman Mirielle Nieuwenhuis as Mabel runs through a scene of Hootenanny's Summer production "There's a Turtle in my Tub" on Wednesday morning at Galt Gardens.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

New West Theatre’s summer outdoor production Hootenanny, is coming back for their fourth season with the original play “There’s a Turtle in my Tub!”

The family friendly performances will take place at Galt Gardens throughout the month of July at a different corner from previous years. This year they will be performing in the corner of 5 Street South and 1 Avenue South.

Assistant director Ahona Saynal said performances help bring the community outdoors to enjoy theatre at no cost with the whole family.

“‘Turtle in my Tub!’ is our show this year. We perform at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday to Saturday throughout the month of July,” said Sanyal.

The original play by Nicola Elson is about a little girl named Mabel who discovers a surprise visitor in her bathtub – Seymour the turtle, and she realizes that Seymour needs her help to return home far across the vast sea.

Sanyal said that with not a lot of outdoor theatre going on, New West has an opportunity to bring the community together to enjoy a play for all ages.

“It’s important to have events like these because it really brings our community outside, it helps our art get out there, it represents our culture in Lethbridge, and it’s really great to just build a really nice foundation among ourselves,” said Saynal.

Saynal who previously performed, said that this year as an assistant director provided her the opportunity to expand her skill set and she is looking forward to continue to raise through the ranks and one day direct a play.

She said this year the play was put together in stages that evolved within the play itself.

“We went off the dialogue, we went off the actions of the script, and we just created that together through set and design and through props. We started out with cardboard boxes and we moved on to bigger things as they came along, and it was a really good building block type of show,” said Saynal.

Hootenany is encouraging members of the community to bring their little ones, friends, and family along for a theatrical experience that will leave them grinning from ear to ear.

“Get ready to dive into a world of imagination, laughter, and adventure as Mabel and Seymour prove that anything is possible when you set your mind (and your bathtub) to it!,” reads a release.

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