An in depth look at the people celebrating 80 years of drama at USask

For the past 80 years, the Drama Department at the University of Saskatchewan has been giving students a space to showcase their talents, nurture their love for the arts and be a part of a community that welcomes others with open arms. 

As the first university drama program in Canada, as well as the entire British Commonwealth, it has shaped generations of theatre artists, influencing both local and global performance landscapes. 

This anniversary is not simply a celebration of longevity. It is a reflection on a department that has helped shape Canadian theatre culture, fostered generations of artists and established Saskatoon as an important center for the performing arts.

This March, for their 80th anniversary, they will engage with this legacy through the creation of one-act plays that explore theatre in Saskatoon with nods to theatre student lore as well as creative interpretations of the Prairies as a whole.

These brand new one-act plays were commissioned from five alumni of the School for the Arts Drama Program. These performances will be premiered and performed in the Emrys Jones Theatre in the John Mitchell building on campus from March 19 to 28. 

A Ghost Named Hank

A Ghost Named Hank is a play written by Leanne Griffin, who has a Master in Drama from the University of Saskatchewan. She has taught acting classes in the Northern Teacher Education Program and at St. Peter’s College. Her acting credits include Much Ado About Nothing and The White Devil at Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan, Steer Clear of Kafka at 25th Street Theatre and various Fringe productions. Leanne Griffin has written and directed three plays for Fringe Theatre Festivals.

The play, which is set in 1993, is about the ghost that was said to hang around in the old “hangar” building, which was where drama classes were held before they switched to the new John Mitchell building. It follows a group of students who try to convince the ghost to move to the new building before the hangar gets transformed into a parking lot.

MUD: A Prairie Fairytale

This is a play written by Lauren Griffin, who has a BFA in Drama and minors in sychology and English, and was awarded the University Medal in the Fine Arts. Awarded Outstanding Emerging Artist at the 2025 Saskatoon and Area Theatre Awards, Lauren acted in and wrote The Mooneaters, which won Best Local Show at the 2025 Saskatoon Fringe Festival. She is also an actress and stage director who has worked on many Saskatoon theatre productions. 

Her play covers a story of a character named Mud, one of the Fae, or fairies, who rules over the Prairies. Mud is attempting to uncover the mystery of who poisoned their father, Rain. Through three stories and conversations among the Fae, the audience must discover who poisoned Rain and decide their fate.

Double Major

Double Major was written by Sugith Varughese, a pioneering South Asian Canadian in the arts. A Writers’ Guild of Canada award-winning screenwriter and Gemini award-nominated TV writer, he is best known for writing and starring in the first multicultural romantic comedy produced by CBC TV, Best of Both Worlds, and the iconic Muppet series Fraggle Rock. 

He was the first South Asian writer-director to attend the prestigious Canadian Film Centre. He is extremely significant within the theatre and film industry, and between his acting, directing and writing, he has over 150 screen credits and has been nominated for 11 awards.

Double Major is an autobiographical one-act play about his time at the University of Saskatchewan. It’s based on his experience of being the very first pre-med and drama major at USask 50 years ago. All of the characters’ names have been changed, including his own. 

His story is told through a character named Sunil and his journey of finding friends, falling in love, facing discrimination and his everyday life of following his passions.

Samein Dorazahi, the actor who plays Sunil, when asked about what makes the 80th anniversary of the Drama Department important to him, said: “I personally am really glad to be part of it, especially as a minority, to be a part of something bigger than I.” 

Idyll in the Wild

This play was written by Hope McIntyre, whose training includes a BFA in Performance from the University of Saskatchewan and an MFA in Directing from the University of Victoria. McIntyre is an award-winning playwright and director. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Winnipeg’s Department of Theatre and Film.

Idyll in the Wild follows a character named Sass who is contemplating what to do as a new graduate with a theatre degree. They are stuck between staying and striking, or seeking adventure and new experiences. Ghosts and visitations have a lot to say to them without really offering any helpful advice. 

This play explores the struggles that many students face after they graduate from university as they decide what they want to do with their future.

In the Middle of Every Storm Is a Moment of Silence

This play is written by Clare Middleton, who has a BFA in Acting from USask, an MFA in Creative Writing from UBC and has been working in theatre and film for the past several decades. She has taught theatre classes at USask, UBC and U of R, and is a founding member of the Live Five theatre season in Saskatoon.

In the Middle of Every Storm Is a Moment of Silence invites the audience to participate collectively as it follows a woman at a crossroads, forced to analyze her life and her experiences as she contemplates what really makes us who we are and what really shapes us: our failures, choices, experiences or the people that we surround ourselves with. 

This play explores what exactly makes us alive and who we are as human beings. It forces the audience to look at themselves and reflect on who they are as people and what they value within their own lives, just as the main character does.

When asked about why it was important to her to be part of this production, Jasmine Keck, who plays the protagonist, responded, “It’s important to me, because these are creations that were made from people that come from here, and so I think it’s important to represent what we’re doing in our own program.” 

Grace Hecht, another actor from this production, said: “I love working in theatre and just seeing how much theatre impacts people and brightens people, and seeing how it’s impacted people for this long.”

The Directors

The director for Idyll in the Wild, A Ghost Named Hank and In The Middle of Every Storm is Skye Brandon, a sessional instructor who teaches consistently in the drama program at USask.

He first came to the USask as a commerce student who decided to take a drama class. When  asked what the Drama Department meant to him, he replied, “Had I not started taking acting classes to see if I was any good at it, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing. That’s where I met my wife. This is where I met a lot of my really great friends, the people I met here while I was a student here.” 

Ken Mackenzie, directed MUD: A Prairie Fairy Tale and Double Major. He’s an assistant professor in the Drama Department and has been at the university since 2021.

Mackenzie believes, “that some of the most important value in drama and in theater is its ability to create empathy and to teach right, to help people understand the world around them. So I’m really happy to be in a position of passing on what so many mentors did for me, which has really helped me understand the world.”

They were both enthusiastic about being able to direct plays which were created by alumni and being able to highlight the work that comes from the drama students, both currently at USask as students, but also the alumni who came before them.

Costume Designer and Head of Wardrobe

Beverley Kovelsky is the instructor for the costume construction and design class. But on top of this, she works as head of wardrobe and as either the costume designer for all the main stage shows or as head of wardrobe when there are student designers. 

Kovelsky has been with the drama department since she was a student in the 80s, when she was a visual arts student. During this time, she took a drama class and found that she really liked it, so after going away for her Master in Visual Arts, she came back to USaskto get a drama degree in design. 

Since then, she has been working in costume design and has been the head of wardrobe for many theatres around Saskatoon for many years. 

Kovelsky emphasized how important the Drama Department is and has been for both students and faculty. “It’s welcoming. It’s collaborative. It’s one of the college departments that is extremely valuable, I think, for just being a service college where we learn collaboration.” 

Even after 80 years, the Drama Department at USask has been going strong and with many future shows planned and countless students working both on the stage and behind the scenes, there is sure to be many more performances to come.