This year marks the Victoria College Drama Society (VCDS)’s 100th season since its formation in 1918. To celebrate 100 years of theatre at Victoria College, VCDS is holding a Centennial Gala in tandem with this year’s production of Twelfth Night. The evening will feature the performance of Twelfth Night along with segments from each of the shows running this season and a gallery of VCDS archives.
Co-producers Alyssa DiBattista and Leora Nash told The Strand: “The Gala is to celebrate this history of art-making with students who are currently involved with VCDS as well as with alumni of Vic and VCDS from many decades past.” To show appreciation for the many students involved in VCDS throughout the years, current students and alumni previously involved in the society are encouraged to attend and will be able to purchase subsidized tickets.
Pairing the performance of Twelfth Night with the Centennial Gala is an important combination for the co-producers as well as the director of the production, Maya Wong. Not only was Twelfth Night the first VCDS production in 1918, it also began a tradition of inclusivity within VCDS.
DiBattista explains that the 1918 production “impressively and importantly did an all-female production at a time when women were vastly outnumbered at UofT and had only recently been allowed to start attending.” The levy continues to strive towards these values of inclusion, as she adds “We are re-mounting Twelfth Night to mark 100 years and to continue upholding inclusivity, diversity, and innovation at VCDS.”
Although little is known about the intention behind 1918’s all female production, it remains a poignant example of how drama can both transcend social barriers and open new possibilities. As the director of this year’s remounting, Wong adds “I do intend for our production to reflect the complexity of living in a world bound by labels and statuses and the ways in which these things can shape our lives to both humorous and tragic effects.”
Wong is also on the planning committee for the Centennial Gala and she shared her artistic vision for Twelfth Night, Or What You Will. She hopes that audience members will be able to connect with the play’s example of “living in a world shaped by imperfect human-made structures and constructs, and the joys and struggles that ensue from pursuing our own desires and needs within this world.”
Regarding the production’s contemporary setting, Wong claimed that the hope is to “present an environment that is familiar enough to the majority of our audience members that they will feel prompted to accept certain commonalities with the characters of Twelfth Night.” Adding a contemporary element to Shakespeare’s 17th century play harmonizes well with the Centennial Gala as VCDS celebrates its history, present, and future.
Twelfth Night, Or What You Will runs March 8th-10th at the Isabel Bader Theatre. More info here.
