David Granger, a University of Saskatchewan sessional lecturer in drama, is no stranger to the world of theatre. For over 15 years, he has worked as a lighting and set designer. However, he is venturing into new territory with the debut of his first play, Shadows of a Dancing Moon.

Saskatoon theatre company La Troupe du Jour is presenting the production, which premieres on Jan. 28. The action takes place during the Second World War, following the story of a Saskatchewan soldier who becomes a boxer and fights to entertain troops stationed overseas. The heartbreak and triumph of such a turbulent time in history is interwoven throughout the play.

For Granger, the story is very personal  — his grandfather was the inspiration.

“During the Second World War, [my grandpa] had club feet, so he couldn’t partake in military service, but they noticed he was a good-old strong farm boy and wondered if he might be interesting in entertaining the troops as a boxer,” Granger said. “So he travelled around Europe and battled other [members of the] allied forces.”

After growing up hearing his grandfather’s anecdotes about his unique role during the war, Granger was struck with the inspiration to turn it into a play.

“I just kind of thought it was an interesting premise to stage as a play — just this whole wartime entertainment kind of scenario where, you know, it’s war. People are in a hard situation and yet there’s still the entertainment factor to balance out that darker side,” Granger said.

Granger is primarily a set and lighting designer, but has been involved in every aspect of theatre since childhood. His love of art was evident from an early age.

“Sometimes these things just kind of choose you. Even as a kid I acted often and I was always involved in theatre. Later in my high school life, I was painting a lot and diving into the visual arts and when it came time to [choose a] university degree, set design just seemed like an interesting combination of both,” Granger said.

Writing has proved to be an exciting challenge for Granger. His other artistic pursuits, like music, were very helpful when working on the script for Shadows of a Dancing Moon.

“Often, I’d ended up having some drinks with some friends, playing some music and when I’d get home, I’d kind of write along the beat of whatever we were jamming on,” Granger said.

As for the actual words of the play, Granger adds that they came very naturally during the creative process, saying the words almost wrote themselves.

“On other writing projects I’ve had to do sometimes, it got a little tricky, but this time — especially the dialogue — I had a wonderful ease with dialogue,” Granger said.

Regardless of what he’s doing, Granger loves the unique aspects of his career in theatre.

“I really enjoy the fact that every day I have work-wise is always new and different. There’s always new problems and there’s always new solutions to be found. That’s really exciting to me,” Granger said.

For U of S students that are interested in pursuing artistic careers, Granger has some words of wisdom to pass along to aspiring writers, actors and designers.

“The main advice is that it’s worth a try. Even if in your brain you know it’s not the most financially secure field, it’s still worth a try,” Granger said.

“You’ll always have time to turn around in life and go towards something else. If you want to write, write. It’s the only way that you’ll get that desire out. [It’s] the same thing with acting — jump right in and go as hard as you can in that field.”

Shadows of a Dancing Moon runs from Jan. 28 to Feb. 7 at Studio 914. For more information, visit ltdj.dreamhosters.com.

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Image: Pamela Jaton