Ruby Slippers Theatre present The Advance Theatre Festival: Girl Group by Shakil Jessa

Tickets

Cost: $20.00
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Ruby Slippers Theatre in association with The Shadbolt Centre for the Arts and Playwrights Guild of Canada present The Advance Theatre Festival: Advancing the Radically Inclusive Stage.
Staged Readings of five new works written and directed by equity deserving IBPOC artists.

Set under the sweltering California sun, backstage at Coachella, Girl Group follows the five members of the rising global pop group, NOEMIE.
EMILY, our girl who thinks she’s the Beyoncé of the group, but has the skills of Michelle, has been offered a solo career from the label. The only catch? They’re going to announce it right after the performance in 90 minutes, and yeah, she’s the one who has to break it to the girls.
On top of that huge secret,, she also has to deal with last minute changes from production on costumes and choreography, difficult friendship/co-worker dynamics with the other members that are supposed to be her “family”, and the incredibly invasive media reporters, who are already catching wind of the future of the group. Also, there’s like no water for some reason in the backstage area. Can we get a PA on that?
Emily is not the only one with a secret. From one member having her own fan page about herself to boost her engagement online, to one being a secret Republican, to another resorting to some unhealthy “extracurricular activities” to keep her going through the grueling hours that come with being a pop star, chaos, tension and five years of their shared history are unleashed in this sweltering backstage pressure cooker. Did I mention, there’s still no water yet!
As fans file into the Sahara tent, and the girls can hear the audience chanting their names, will this group be able to resolve their problems and hit the stage? Or will they let the one moment they’ve been dreaming of their entire career, slip away, and with it, the group as they know it.

About the Playwright
Shakil Jessa (they/he) is a writer and producer from ‘Vancouver’. They were one of the producers on the feature film A Nice Indian Boy (Levantine Films/Wayfarer Studios/Kaling International). They also wrote and directed the award-winning short film Imran and Alykhan (CBC Gem) and returned as a writer for the third season of Allegiance (CBC/NBCU), where they co-wrote the penultimate episode. They completed the 1497 Features Lab and are now heading into pre-production on their debut feature film, Student Government.
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