Morenike AjidagbaWhat: U of A New Works festival
When: February 5-10
Where: Timms Centre for the Arts, Second Playing Space
Admission: $12 for students, $15 general admission
The New Works Festival produces four plays written by emerging student playwrights at the University of Alberta. Arts & Culture writer Maria Besko interviewed Isabella Derillo, whose play Ellie & Tom is featured in New Works this year.
Besko: How did you get involved with the New Works Festival?
Derilo: I was doing a mentorship program with the Alberta Playwrights’ Network, and my mentor said there was this amazing festival called the New Works Festival, so I submitted my play, Ellie and Tom. There’s this panel who blind-reads your play, and that panel then chooses the top four plays to be fully produced, and my play was one of the pieces that were chosen.
What is your play, Ellie and Tom about?
My show is about a couple who are in the process of erasing each other from their memory. It’s about how memories can be manipulated by the way you feel in the present moment, when reflecting on the past. It depicts the aftermath of heartbreak, and the pain that lives within you no matter how much time has passed.
Are you nervous to have your play seen by so many people?
For sure! I am really nervous; I’ve been working on this show for three years. This play has really evolved. The whole festival has offered me a great opportunity to grow through my art. It’s crazy to see my words on stage. Sometimes I think, “Wow… I wrote that?”
How has Ellie and Tom changed since you first wrote it?
I wrote and directed Ellie and Tom for [Edmonton emerging artist festival] Nextfest in 2016. I have been working on it ever since then with the Alberta Playwrights’ Network to dig deeper into the story. It is very different from when I directed it last. I have altered the script to fit a female couple, because it was originally performed by a heterosexual couple.
Why is it important for people to go see theatre?
As artists, we deserve an outlet to express ourselves, and to allow ourselves to be vulnerable to our own art, and to allow others to do the same. I have always grown by throwing myself out there and grabbing opportunities where I can, and this festival has given me that. Due to the fact this festival is student-run, there is so much care and support that is put into it. Everyone wants the shows to go well, because everyone has put hours into making it come alive.
What advice would give to any emerging playwrights?
Write until you can’t write anymore, and when you think you can’t write… keep writing!
