Dewdney Players are gearing up for a jam-packed 2018 season of theatre performance in Okotoks.

The volunteer theatre troupe kicks things off at the end of March with the Foothills Regional One Act Play Festival in High River.

Dewdney Players President Nicola Payton says the one act play competition offers performers the chance to test their technical skills and stretch their creativity, with a wide range of subject material, ranging from comedy to dark and dramatic. Plays must be between 10 and 50 minutes in length with a certain amount of time to set-up the stage, as well as take it down.

"The thing about one act plays is that it can be so much more," Payton says. "It can push the actors, it can push the directors because it's not focused necessarily on getting an audience in."

Before the festival, the Dewdney Players performers participating in the event will present their plays at the Rotary Performing Arts Centre in Okotoks. Following that, they'll focus their efforts on a large-scale production of Lion in Winter, which features the epic struggles of members of the English royal Plantaganet family as they fight for the crown.

"It's a good story, it's a good history lesson, it's a good drama, it's good comedy and it's good value," Payton explains, pointing out that even though the play is considered a drama, there are lots of more light-hearted moments of comedy and silliness.

Performances of Lion in Winter will run throughout the month of May, starting on May 11th at the RPAC. There's also an as-yet-to-be-named outdoor summer performance in the works, as well as a radio play of War of the Worlds coming up in the fall.

Payton adds that Dewdney Players is always ready to welcome new cast and crew volunteers as they gear up for their busy 2018 season.

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