Cerulean Blue
/Theatre of Antigonish’s upcoming spectacle
Theatre Antigonish has spent the past few months preparing their new dramatic spectacle, Cerulean Blue. The play is written by Drew Hayden Taylor and directed by Andrea Boyd.
This production has a wide array of characters and motifs, and will feature multiple musical numbers. It looks to be one of Antigonish’s most vivacious plays in a while, touching on a variety of topics including; religion, the environment and indigenous issues. Without giving too much away, the general plot is about a blues band named Cerulean Blue that is heading to the Dead Rat River first nations’ reserve to perform, but, there is some kind of political protest that blocks their way. The protest is about First Nations’ issues and the rights of their land.
Theatre Antigonish
Brooke Grady, a second year student at StFX reached out to us to give a little more information on her own personal role. She described her character as “Jennifer, a bubbly, peppy and crazy born-again Christian who joins the band ‘Cerulean Blue’ as the new keyboardist.” Grady formerly worked in the box office in the theatre and was scouted due to her musical and theatrical abilities. She hopes to provide an entertaining outlook on some serious issues. Grady added that people should come to see the play “because of the wide arrange of ethnicities casted, the humour, the music, and the excellent story.” Commenting that “all in all it is just fun.”
One of the leads in the play, Luke Letourneau, also came by for a quick interview about what he calls a “momentous piece of art." His character is Russel, “a control freak, blues musician that plays guitar and writes his own music," looks to control some of the chaos going on through the protest. Luke told us that he was similar to Russell, because he also “plays guitar and writes his own music, although," he added, “I would not consider myself much of a control freak.” He told us that, “Andrea Boyd, the director of the play, asked me personally to audition for the role of Russell. We sing together in the Antigonish Choral Ensemble and she thought that my vocal talents could be a huge addition to the musical side of the play.”
Letourneau wanted to emphasize that “the play is about addressing poignant First Nations’ issues, but in an accessible way to everyone. It’s a funny script but it also makes you think which is important, especially today.” He continued by describing the “vigorous” work they have been putting in. Stating “everyone has been putting in the hours and hard work. If you want to support the in-town culture you should definitely come out. Even if you don’t like theatre, this show is different.”
Cerulean Blue will take place at the Bauer Theatre, which is located on campus close by to Bishop’s hall. The first showing will be on November 8th at 7:30 and it is a "pay what you can" event. There will be more showings throughout that week at various times and if you are interested in going just check out the Theatre Antigonish Facebook page or look for those beautiful blue posters spread all around campus.
