1981-1989
The '80's were characterized by energy, exploration and evolution.
The Seniors' Recreation Centre became our home. We infested the building several times a year, to the chagrin of a few seniors. Paint was spilled, objects dragged across the floor, lights hung from the roof structure and audience risers and stage extensions were erected. We rode that fine building pretty hard, often put it away wet. Two weeks later, all was taken down and apologies were issued.
The comedy cabarets encouraged novices, collaboration and laughter. The annual Christmas shows gave us a wider profile, and the one act festivals taught us so much about theatre. Our mainstage shows gained some sophistication.
1981
May
An Evening of One Act Plays
Peak Theatre Players mounted their first production on May 29, 1981. It was an evening of two one act plays, The Storm and The Ugly Duckling, both directed by Henry Bowen. The gymnasium of Sundre High School hosted large and supportive audiences. Tickets were $1.50 for adults, $1.00 for students and seniors, $0.50 for children.
We learned that rehearsing and performing were fun, that cast parties can last all night and that we never wanted to perform in a gymnasium ever again.
The show was taken to Caroline, where a decent crowd was in attendance. The school band kicked off the evening. When they finished, the audience shrunk to a family of five. The show went on.
The Storm
by Donald Payton
The Ugly Duckling
by A.A Milne
December
Kids' Christmas Show
at the Elks Hall
Jug Band Christmas
Adapted by Brian Bailey
This was our first Christmas Show, which we staged at the Elks Hall. We wanted to entertain children in the community as a Christmas treat. Actors donned fuzzy ears, painted on shiny noses and whiskers and played jug band instruments.
A visit from Santa closed the evenings.
1982
February
Comedy Cabaret
Comedy Cabaret
Peak Collective
The comedy cabaret was the brainchild of Henry Bowen. He described a series of short skits, music and dance, with food and drink. The audience was invited to express their approval or disapproval by hurling styrofoam balls at the stage. Each table got their own basket of balls. The balls didn't hurt, but the baskets could. We hired a DJ for a dance afterwards.
This was our first event at the beloved Seniors' Rec. Centre, now known as the West Country Centre.
May/June
Full Length Play
Too Many Misses
by unknown
Too Many Misses was our first attempt at a full-length play. We were looking for a comedy, and at the time didn't realize we were staging a farce. Several members had taken a makeup course and failed to distinguish the different techniques of male or female applications. It was directed by Henry Bowen, held at the Seniors' Recreation Centre. We also bundled the show up and took it to Olds College where we drew in an audience of about twelve.
October
Comedy Cabaret
Cabaret De Styrofoam
Peak Collective
Our second comedy cabaret: more dance, more music, crazy skits followed by a social dance. We discovered styrofoam as a set building material.
December
Kids' Christmas Show
at the Elks Hall
Emmet Otter's Missed Tree
by Brian Bailey
This was a sequel to Jug Band Christmas, but this time with a bit of mystery, hardships, fuzzy ears, music and in the end, triumph.
1983
July
Alberta Summer Games
One-Act
Playwrighting Competition
MountainView County was hosting the Alberta Winter Games and Peak was approached to manage and stage a playwrighting competition. Two plays were selected and performed by us in Olds.
The Race
by Grace Snow
If I Should Die Before I Wake
by Joe Woytowich
November
Full Length Play
How The Other Half Loves
by Alan Ayckbourn
This was our first dinner theatre and our first exposure to the genius of Alan Ayckbourn. Our goal was to give our audience an complete evening with cocktails, dinner, the show, then visiting until the wee hours.
The play was originally to be held the previous June, but was postponed due to cast and directorial issues.
December
Kids' Christmas Show
at the Elks Hall
Mole Family Christmas
Adapted by Brian Bailey
This was our third Christmas special for kids at the Elks Hall. These near-sighted rodents dug their way out of a tight spot.
1984
February
Comedy Cabaret
Cabaret D' Amour
Peak Collective
In our first themed comedy cabaret, celebrating Valentine's Day, we spoofed some love stories including Rod and Brooke (Romeo and Juliet,) Mate Your Date and Sgt. Preston of the Yukon and the Fair Rosemarie.
June
1981-1989
Full Length Play
Murder In Company
by John Boland & Phillip King
Murder In Company was our first exploration of the murder mystery genre, and another dinner theatre. It was also the first production that Ed Longwill walked the boards with us.
August
Greenwood Days
Greenwood Days
Peak Collective
For several years, the Town of Sundre hosted a celebration called Greenwood Days. We organized a travelling minstrel show, complete with snake oil sales.
November
Comedy Cabaret
Peak Freak Night
Peak Collective
In celebration of all things scary we hosted a Halloween comedy cabaret including Ghost Busties, The Tell Tale Heart, Quasimoto Quintet, The Curse of Dracula...
December 1984
Kids' Christmas Show
at the Elks Hall
Critters' Christmas Concert
by Brian Bailey
Back at the Elks Hall, we assembled a more diverse, large and inclusive group of critters.
1985
March
Comedy Cabaret
Soap and Suds
Peak Collective
We thought we should clean up our act, so we drew aim on daytime television soap operas, As the Wheel Turns, Zest, Phallus along with cheesy daytime commercials.
Full Length Play
Meanwhile, Back
On The Couch
by Jack Sharkey
This was a fast-paced farce in the tradition of fast-paced farces.
December
Kids' Christmas Show
at the Elks Hall
Squirrels' Christmas Carol
By Brian & Colleen Bailey
This was another heart warming kids' Christmas presentation, relegated to the Elks basement due to a booking error. It featured an adaptation of the hit anthem "We Are the World" which became "We are the squirrels, we are the rodents. We are the ones who start the Christmas trees, so let's get cracking!"
1986
March
Comedy Cabaret
Looney Tunes
Peak Collective
This was yet another comedy cabaret featuring adaptations of famous musicals:
Off to See the Wizard, The Smell of Music and (award winning) Grit Side Tory, followed by a dance and midnight lunch.
June
Full Length Play
Tribute
by Bernard Slade
This was one of our more compelling early plays which was presented as our June dinner theatre. We included some effects with slides and a scrim.
This play selection was cause for some controversy as some viewers thought it was inappropriate to tell the story of a man who had less than perfect morals.
August
Greenwood Days
Nerd To The Rescue
by Brian Bailey
We took this '50's themed love story on the road around town on a flat-bed trailer, complete with poodle skirts, greased back hair and rock and roll.
November
Comedy Cabaret
Small In The Saddle
by Brian, Colleen Bailey, Bill Lough
Our first multi-media comedy cabaret, this was less of a variety show than a continuous, ridiculous romp set in the wild and wooly old west.
December
Kids' Christmas Show
at the Elks Hall
Wee Willie's Woes
by Shannon Simington
Yet another kids' Christmas show. Santa forgot the date, but after a long carol sing and hectic phone calls, Rudolf brought him to the Elks Hall.
1987
March
One Act Play/ADFA Festival
After Magritte
by Tom Stoppard
We decided to participate in the Alberta Drama Festival Association One-Act Festival and in the process, discovered one of our favourite playwrights, Tom Stoppard. After clearing the Regional festival, we were happy to be invited to Provincials. It was thrilling perform on the Red Deer College main stage and to watch the works of other community groups. We danced away with multiple awards: Best Director, Best Design and Best Ensemble.
June
Full Length Play
Murder By The Book
by Duncan Greenwood & Robert King
This was our second go at a whodunit, and while many mysteries feature a disappearance there seem to be no programs or photos of Murder by the Book still in existence.
August
Alberta Teachers' Association Convention
Teach With Nothing
by Brian Bailey & Colleen Bailey
We were commissioned to present a one act play about the effects of budget cuts on the education system. We loaded up our sets and props and performed before this large convention. A main actor became ill, and fortunately we had a road hand who stood in.
November
Comedy Cabaret
Don't Play It Again Sam
by Brian Bailey w/Bill Lough, Pam Friesen
While this was still called a comedy cabaret, it followed the model of a goofy, continuous story of a self-absorbed private detective.
December
Kids' Christmas Show
at the Elks Hall
The Toys That Jack Built
Peak Collective
We were back in the old Elks Hall, when suddenly this terrifyingly insane character called Jack popped out of his box. He was a totally different character than had been developed during rehearsals. I don't know how the kids felt, but the cast was horrified.
Mind you, it may have had something to do with space limitations as we were forced to assemble props and do costume changes in the rear emergency stairwell...
1988
March
One Act Play/ADFA Festival
Emboldened by our experience at last year's ADFA Festival, we mounted another rather bizarre Tom Stoppard one act. Best Ensemble and Best Design were again awarded.
We did mount another one act, An Inspector Answers, in order to host a full evening's entertainment in Sundre.
An Inspector Answers
by Norman Phillip Hart
The Real Inspector Hound
by Tom Stoppard
June 1988
Full Length Play
Bedroom Farce
by Alan Ayckbourn
This was another intriguing Ayckbourn script, which we presented as a dinner theatre with another experiment: our only seniors' bus tour show.
August 1988
Alberta Teachers' Association Convention
Connections
by Brian Bailey & Colleen Bailey
Of course we were delighted to go back on the road to entertain a gymnasium full of educators, and this year the theme was making positive connections with students.
November 1988
Comedy Cabaret
Dusk To Dawn
Peak Collective
A drive-in movie night gave us the inspiration to transform a handful of B grade movies into C grade skits. The writing had become uneven, and this was to be our last comedy cabaret. The young couple parked in their convertible beside the stage will be long remembered.
December 1988
Kids' Christmas Show
at the Elks Hall
Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas
Adapted by Brian Bailey
Another fun kids' Christmas show with improved costuming, which ironically had to be put on in the rear stairwell again.
1989
March
One Act Play/ADFA Festival
We took Hughie and Passion, Poison and Petrifaction to the Regional Festival in Red Deer (along with 7 other entries) and Hughie was sent to Provincials in Whitecourt. It was awarded for Outstanding Technical Production.
Hughie
by Eugene O'Neil
Passion, Poison & Petrifaction
by George Bernard Shaw
June
Full Length Play
On The Razzle
by Tom Stoppard
We were excited to find this little known Stoppard adaptation and it was to become our largest, most lavish production to date. Elaborate period costumes, a multi-scene set with sizzling dialogue made it a treat for the ears and eyes.
October/November
Full Length Play
Frankenstein
By Tim Kelly
Frankenstein was a wonderful adaptation of Mary Shelly's classic horror story, and gave us the opportunity to study extreme makeup techniques and gothic set building.
December
Kids' Christmas Show
at the Elks Hall
'Twas The Nut Before Christmas
by Brian Bailey
The squirrels are back with a carol sing and Santa.
