If one of the characters in the play Barrie, Europa, premiering at the Simcoe County Theatre Festival this week, gets described as robotic, know he came by it honestly.
The original script was written for a two-man and one robot cast, and a Collingwood-based artist has sourced a made-in-Simcoe robot for the play’s debut.
Rochelle Reynolds is directing Barrie, Europa, written by Orillia resident and truck driver Kristian Diesen.
Diesen wrote the play while stuck in Highway 400 traffic.
“It’s a therapeutic love letter to what he thinks is the solution to the city’s traffic,” said Reynolds.
The solution is pretty far out — like moons of Jupiter far.
“The play is all about the city of Barrie’s successful bid to become an ambassador settlement on Jupiter’s moon, Europa,” said Reynolds.
The casting called two Earthlings and a Europatanian, described as a “mannequin on wheels.”
With that direction, Reynolds thought “I can do better than that.”
After a brief exploration of Simcoe County’s robotics clubs, Reynolds connected with Bryan Haas, the teacher overseeing Banting Memorial High School’s robotics program in Alliston.
In a Zoom meeting with Reynolds, the class told her they would like to build her a custom robot for the play, and she could send over her list of requests.
With the cancellation of the usual robotics competition circuit, the class was itching for a project.
“I gave them creative freedom and agency over its construction,” said Reynolds.
More than a ‘mannequin on wheels,’ Hugh Man became a part of the cast, with his student operators joining the backstage crew. WIthout spoiling the show, Reynolds teased the robot has a dance scene.
“The student engineers have gone above and beyond,” said Reynolds. “They have created a whole other person… he’s an integral part of the show.”
As cosmic coincidence would have it, Haas is also a “space nerd” according to Reynolds, with special expertise on … Europa.
“It’s been so incredibly serendipitous,” said Reynolds.
The Simcoe County Theatre Festival runs for 11 days from June 15 to 26, at the Five Points Theatre in Barrie.
In addition to Barrie, Europa, there are five other new, original plays written, directed, and performed by Simcoe County artists.
Reynolds will be acting in another play in addition to her director’s role. She’ll be part of the cast of “I” on the Prize, which centres around a church bingo event and three of the characters one might meet at a bingo hall.
“It’s what I would call a Canadian Summerstock staple,” said Reynolds. “It’s an easy-drinking kind of story. A fun, sweet story with an important message.”
Reynolds compared the local festival to Toronto’s Fringe Festival, but noted the Simcoe County event includes wages for the artists and a merit-based juried selection process for the plays.
“Simcoe County is chock-full of incredible writers and the festival is finally an opportunity to showcase that … it’s a great opportunity,” she said. “And all of the really great plays are in really great hands.”
The six plays premiering at the festival are:
- B-O-D-Y, created by Black Cat Theatre Co. and directed by Sabrina Merks.
- “I” on the Prize, written by Trudee Romanek and directed by Stephen Bainborough.
- Barrie, Europa, written by Kristian Diesen and directed by Rochelle Reynolds.
- Murth Island, written by Alexandra Gaudet and directed by Keara Voo.
- Retrograde, written by Jackson Doner and directed by Ashley Frederick.
- The Cowgirl of Suburbia, written by Megan Adam and directed by Stacey Schat.
The festival will run over 11 days. Weeknight and Sunday events will feature two shows and Saturday events will feature the entire roster of plays.
More information on the festival, including the schedule of events, can be found at www.theatrebythebay.com/festival.
