On Staging

S4E22 - Taming of the Shrew - Full Circle Theatre

Discussion

Opening February 26th at the Vertigo Studio Theatre in Calgary, and closing March 5th, Full Circle Theatre presents a gender-flipped Romantasy version of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. Kyle sits down with director Cayley Wreggitt and costumer Tawni Marie Evans to discuss how this vision of the production came to be and what they hope audiences take away from the opportunity to bear witness to it.

Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/the-taming-of-the-shrew-hazndhyk

About the Show:

First produced by Full Circle Theatre in 2011, The Taming of the Shrew marked the beginning of our journey with Shakespeare. Fifteen years later, we return to Padua in a whole new way, reimagining Shakespeare’s most provocative comedy through a bold, romantasy-inspired lens.

This production keeps the original text intact while flipping the genders and placing the story in a lush High Fae Court. It is a world of magic, hierarchy, and unspoken rules where power is always up for negotiation. Here, a brooding fae prince meets their match in a fearless human knight, sparking a battle of wills that blurs the line between performance and desire.

Often dismissed as one of Shakespeare’s problematic plays, The Taming of the Shrew becomes, in this telling, a story about control, consent, and transformation. Witty, sharp, and charged with tension, this production asks what love looks like when two people refuse to yield - unless it’s for each other.

Expect Shakespeare’s language layered with fae glamour, enemies-to-lovers tension, and a court where every glance, gesture, and word carries consequence. This is a Shrew that leans into spectacle and storytelling while wrestling honestly with the questions at its core.

S4E21 - Frozen Jr - Small Time Theatre

Discussion

Opening February 19th and running through February 21st at the Glenmore Christian Academy in Calgary, Small Time Theatre presents Frozen Jr directed by Bree Johnson. Kyle sits down with Bree and costumer Cami Price to talk about what Frozen means to them and how they've brought their own love of the Disney movie to this junior production of the broadway musical.

Tickets: https://smalltimetheatre.shop/

About the show:

The enchanting modern classic from Disney is ready for your Broadway Junior stars! Frozen JR. is based on the 2018 Broadway musical, and brings Elsa, Anna, and the magical land of Arendelle to life, onstage. The show features all of the memorable songs from the animated film, with music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, plus five new songs written for the Broadway production.

A story of true love and acceptance between sisters, Frozen JR. expands upon the emotional relationship and journey between Princesses Anna and Elsa. When faced with danger, the two discover their hidden potential and the powerful bond of sisterhood. With a cast of beloved characters and loaded with magic, adventure, and plenty of humor, Frozen JR. is sure to thaw even the coldest heart!

S4E20 - Little Women - Morpheus Theatre

Discussion

Opening January 30th and running through February 13th at the Pumphouse Theatre in Calgary, Morpheus Theatre presents Kate Hammill's Little Women, directed by Corinne Nairn and Colleen Bishop. Kyle sits down with them both to discuss the themes and meaning of this story and how relevant all of it is in today's world. Gender stereotypes, civil war, and the importance of family will have you leaving the theatre thinking about the themes of this production long after your drive home.

Tickets: https://www.morpheustheatre.ca/?portfolio=little-women

About the Show:

Share this timeless and enduring classic about the March sisters’ journey from childhood to maturity during the American Civil War.  Audiences of all generations will enjoy acquainting — or reacquainting — themselves with the sisters:  Meg, the eldest; Jo, the high-spirited tomboy; Amy, the self-centered beauty; and gentle Beth, as well as their beloved Marmee and Father.  Together the March family learns to endure both good times and bad as they share the joys and pains of growing up.

S4E19 - The Great Gatsby: Live Radio Play - Dewdney Players

Discussion

Opening January 23rd and closing February 7th at the Old Church Theatre in Okotoks, Dewdney Players presents The Great Gatsby: A Live Radio Play directed by Sherene Seders. Kyle sits down with Sherene to discuss the difficulties of realizing this novel in radio play form and how to market this work to an audience in new and novel ways.

Link to Tickets: https://www.showpass.com/dewdney-players-presents-the-great-gatsby-the-old-church-theatre-8/

About the Show:

Scott Fitzgerald's beloved classic comes to life as a 1940s radio broadcast in this spirited adaptation of The Great Gatsby. An ensemble brings more than two dozen characters from the novel to the stage of the WBFR radio station for a live broadcast, punctuated by 40s-era commercials. A story of triumph and tragedy that reflects the decadence of the Jazz Age and the perils of the American Dream. Still, ain't we got fun?

S4E18 - Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - Front Row Centre Players

Discussion

Opening January 9th and running through January 24th at the Pumphouse Theatre in Calgary, Front Row Centre Players presents Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, directed by Jamie Eastgaard-Ross, musical direction from Becky Salmond and choreography from Katie Bernardo. Kyle sits down with Katie and Becky to discuss how the movement and music has come together for this comedy and the work that went into making this production come to life.

Tickets: https://werklundcentre.ca/whats-on/dirtyrottenscoundrels

About the Show:

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels takes us to the French Riviera for high jinks and hilarity. Lawrence Jameson makes his lavish living by talking rich ladies out of their money. Freddy Benson more humbly swindles women by waking their compassion with fabricated stories about his grandmother's failing health. After meeting on a train, they attempt to work together, only to find that this small French town isn't big enough for the two of them. They agree on a settlement: the first one to extract $50,000 from a young female target, heiress, Christine Colgate, wins, and the other must leave town. A hilarious battle of cons ensues that will keep audiences laughing, humming and guessing to the end!

S4E17 - All Roads Lead to the Station - Nose Creek Players

Discussion

At the Bert Church Theatre in Airdrie on December 19th and 20th, Nose Creek Players present All Roads Lead to the Station, written and directed by Haley Day. Kyle sits down with Haley over zoom to discuss the efforts taken to put up her first written work and the unexpected difficulties and joys that come from that experience.

Tickets are limited: https://tickets.airdrie.ca/TheatreManager/1/login?event=578

About the show:

It is 1917 when we meet fourteen-year-old Peter Harris, who has been uprooted from his home in Nova Scotia and sent to stay with his Uncle Hubert in the small but bustling town of Airdrie. With his sister serving as a nurse overseas to help with the war efforts, Peter dreads having to spend Christmas away from his home, his sister and everything he holds dear to him. While in Airdrie, he starts working at his uncle’s general store and soon meets the colourful folks of Airdrie, each with their own holiday hopes, hardships and humour. Through these encounters, Peter begins to understand that Christmas isn’t just about where you are- it’s about the people who make a place feel like home.

S4E16 - Holiday Special - Full Circle Theatre

Discussion

Opening December 17th and closing on December 20th at the West Village Theatre, Full Circle Theatre presents A Full Circle Holiday Special of Riverona Actually and Holding. Kyle sits down with directors Danielle Baker and Kendra Hutchinson to talk about what a holiday special means and the complications of directing not only performers during the holidays but for performers who also wrote the work they are directing. Kyle ends with a quote from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol about the meaning of the Holiday Season and hopes that you will find time to take in this delightful production.

Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/a-very-full-circle-holiday-show

About the shows:

A Very Full Circle Holiday Show turns a late-December slot into a brand-new festive tradition — a double feature of romance, chaos, and Riverona-style mischief. Featuring Holding, a brand-new rom-com, and Riverona Actually, a lost holiday special packed with fan favourites and holiday shenanigans.

S4E15 - Nuncrackers - Swamp Donkey (2025)

Discussion

Opening December 18th and running until December 21st, Swamp Donkey Musical Theatre presents Nuncrackers, directed by Trisha Gizen. Kyle sits down with Trisha to discuss what putting up the show a second Christmas in a row means and the complications, and easements, that happen when you do something again.

Tickets: https://www.showpass.com/s/events/all/?search_string=nuncrackers

About the Show:

The Nunsense Christmas musical, Nuncrackers, is the first TV special taped in the Cable Access Studio built by Reverend Mother in the convent basement.  It stars the nuns you love, plus Father Virgil and Mount Saint Helen’s most talented students.  This show is filled with wacky Nunsense humour!  Certain to tickle your funny bone and likely to tug at your heartstrings, Nuncrackers is the perfect way to make your holiday season merry and bright (synopsis from concordtheatricals.com)!

S4E14 - Peter Pan - Morpheus Theatre

Opening December 12 and running through the 20th at the Pumphouse Theatre in Calgary, Morpheus Theatre presents Peter Pan: An Awfully Big Pantomime, directed by Janos Zeller. Kyle sits down with Janos to discuss the scope of a pantomime, the labour involved in theatrical comedy and and in depth discussion about how this project came to be. A must listen.

Tickets are Limited: https://www.morpheustheatre.ca/?portfolio=peter-pan-2025

About the Show:

All children, except one, grow up… On the hunt for his pesky shadow, Peter Pan meets the Darling children in their Nursery. With a sprinkling of Tinkerbell’s fairy dust, Wendy, John and Michael leave Nana the Dog behind on a flight to Neverland – a magical place home to lost boys, mermaids and the most villainous pirate of them all; Captain Hook! With Mrs Starkey and her bumbling son Smee by his side, Hook seeks revenge against Peter Pan who fed his hand to a tick-tocking crocodile. Will the boy who never grew-up rid Neverland of Captain Hook forever? Will the Darlings find their way home to London? And, most importantly, do you believe in fairies? Find out in this swashbuckling pantomime that will have you ‘hooked’!

S4E13 - The Sound of Music - Small Time Theatre

Discussion

With only four shows - December 11, 12 and 13th at the Glenmore Christian Academy in Calgary, Small Time Theatre presents the Junior production of The Sound of Music, directed by Lena Chalmers. Kyle sits down with Lena and Ingrid Koller (part of the set design team) to talk about the meaning of this Rogers and Hammerstein musical, and what theatre for young people with Small Time has meant to them and their families.

Tickets: https://smalltimetheatre.shop/

(as of publishing the performance is sold out)

About the Show:

The final collaboration between Rodgers & Hammerstein was destined to become the world’s most beloved musical. Featuring a trove of cherished songs, including “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” “My Favorite Things,” “Do Re Mi,” “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” and the title number, The Sound of Music won the hearts of audiences worldwide, earning five Tony Awards and five Oscars. The inspirational story, based on the memoir of Maria Augusta Trapp, follows Maria, an ebullient postulant who serves as governess to the seven children of the imperious Captain von Trapp, bringing music and joy to the household. But as the forces of Nazism take hold of Austria, the von Trapp family must make a moral decision.

Copyright 2026 Kyle Gould