Shaeann Hall as the Announcer reveals the election results to the public.
By Shelley Cooke
Alfie Smith, a Grade 12 student at Sir Oliver Mowat Collegiate, wrote and directed this year’s spring production My Glorious Soap-Selling Mayor.
As a student in the Performing Arts Honours Program specializing in drama, Alfie wanted to write a play that was not just unique but one that encouraged the audience to think critically about our political world.
“I wanted to write more than just a basic high school play. My goal was to write a political satire that gets people to question the world around them, especially the corruption in politics and the messy dealings that often occur,” said Alfie.
The play is a political satire about a fictional town, and a fictional leader who convinces a naive young man named Michael into becoming mayor of the town while he manipulates and pulls the strings controlling events behind the scenes.
Alfie wrote his first draft in the spring of 2024 and has been revising it ever since. The on-stage production, which was held on February 25, represented his seventh draft! Auditions were held in the fall and rehearsals began in December, immediately following the school’s fall mainstage show.
While many of the cast and crew are drama students, the theatre productions at Mowat are open to all students. My Glorious Soap-Selling Mayor was an ensemble of about 10 students in the main play, a chorus of six interpretive dancers, and a quartet of musicians. There were also approximately 15 students working behind the scenes.
Each year Theatre Mowat enters the NTS Dramafest, which is a province-wide festival sponsored by the National Theatre School of Canada, Scotiabank and Heritage Canada. The first round, which was held in February, is the District level with Toronto being divided into three districts: East, Central and West.
Three shows from each district are then chosen to perform at Hart House Theatre at the University of Toronto in April. The final round, which is the Provincial Showcase, is held in May in a different city each year. Previously known as the Sears Drama Festival, the festival is currently in its 79th year!
At the District Awards night, Alfie received an Award of Excellence for Writing and Directing. Adjudicator Autumn Smith credited Alfie for his “sharp, intelligent writing that exercises curiosity and empathy. A brilliant political satire that moved effortlessly from page to stage.”
Naturally, this made Alfie very proud of his accomplishments. “It felt extremely rewarding to know that the work I had done got recognized and it boosted my self-confidence in my writing and directing abilities,” Alfie said.
For those who didn’t get the chance to see his show, Alfie and his cast and crew are planning to do another performance in a couple of weeks.
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