Everybody has a party story. You know, the story of that one wild night you’ll fondly remember years from now as you exit your youth.
Kaeden Derksen, an Applied Theatre student at UVic, created a night of debauchery the audience won’t forget with his new play, The Whole Shebang. However, Ben (the play’s tragic hero) may want to forget his inebriated evening—if he lives till morning, that is.
See, Ben’s a little down on his luck: he’s built himself some bad relationships in the past and is currently in the middle of another. Plus, he just moved into a shady apartment after getting into a fight with his ex-roommate best friend, Lukas.
Ben plans to watch a movie, have a couple of drinks, and catch up on some much-needed alone time, but, unfortunately for him, his two lives are about to collide: Ben’s neighbour needs his help filming a sex tape; a drug dealer, hip-hop harpist comes looking for his big bag of cocaine; all the while, Lukas shows up with intention of becoming Ben’s ex-ex-best-friend.
Insane, right? Well, apparently not for SATCo, which Derksen says strives to constantly create theatre that is new, exciting, and experimental. “A lot of people don’t normally go out to the theatre, because they prefer to sit at home and watch South Park. But if anyone is . . . looking for some excitement, some raunchy entertainment, then come out and see The Whole Shebang,” says Derksen.
Derksen believes in the use of theatre for education, development, social change, and community building. “It entails a lot of teaching, practice, facilitation going into a classroom or a hospital and creating theatre for the sake of helping others out,” says Derksen, quick to credit the team involved in making his play happen. Derksen assures that The Whole Shebang, which he first wrote a year ago for his directing class to perform, would have never come to on-stage fruition without the indispensible writing help he received from Colette Habel and SATCo Senior Dramaturge Robbie Huebner. Also teaming up with Derksen is Jasleen Powar (a.k.a. Horsepowar), a Vancouver-based rap artist who will perform original music she wrote for the play.
Let’s face it: as a student you’re short on time and money, plus your reputation can’t afford another drunken night. So, save yourself the hangover and humiliation, because for only a small donation, you can go down to UVic’s Phoenix Building and party vicariously through The Whole Shebang.
