Former Widdifield students, Garrett Ryan, and Robert Leitner, have teamed up as playwright and director to produce “Chocolate Milk & A Jam Jam” for the NTS High School Drama Festival, running this week at West Ferris Secondary School.
Leitner and Widdifield drama teacher, Rob McCubbin, began consulting with Ryan before the school year began, revising his play in preparation for this year’s festival. Leitner and Ryan had been involved with Widdifield’s drama troupe, “The Company,” since Grade 9, and wanted to work on an original piece.
The play tells the story of Alby Rubious (played by Ethan Sauve), a fictitious death row inmate, and his relationship with Bella (Hannah McCallum), his childhood love interest, and Milos (Parker Kirouac), her tortured artist husband.
Conceived by Ryan as a ‘Romance for Cynics,” the story is told in such a way that the audience is asked to consider how much of it is made up, so as to present a more likable picture of a criminal.
Leitner has enjoyed directing the piece, focusing on how to grab the audience’s sympathy. The challenges he faced were knowing when, and how, to drop occasional hints of the fiction behind the facts. Leitner’s experience as an actor allowed him to give his cast members meaningful critiques on their performances and helped bring Ryan’s script to life.
The NTS Festival is a competitive Drama festival, overseen by an adjudicator, with North Bay and area schools vying for Outstanding Performance awards, and an opportunity to advance to the Regional and Provincial Level. Leitner and Ryan have a few awards between them already for past festival appearances and hope to add to their collection.
Showtime for the festival is 7 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday, with tickets at $7 for students, and $10 for adults.