This Saskatchewan drama program first housed in an airplane hangar on campus is celebrating 80 years

As Carla Shynkaruk tells us, the University of Saskatchewan's Drama Department recently celebrated quite the milestone.

A special milestone is being marked on campus as the drama department at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) celebrates its 80th anniversary.

The program is marking eight decades as the oldest degree-granting theatre program of its kind in Canada and across the British Commonwealth.

The program began in 1946 and helped start theatre and performance studies in Canada.

“We were the first to sort of legitimize what it means to study theatre and performance and dramatic arts,” Carla Orosz, an associate professor in the U of S School for the Arts told CTV News.

In its earliest days, the program was housed in an airplane hangar on campus. That recognizable structure was used until 1993, before being torn down. Then, drama moved into the John Mitchell Building and that was supposed to be temporary. That is still where the program is housed today.

Orosz who is also an alumnus is proud of how far the program has come.

“When we look across Canada, there’s lots of different theatre programs. But to think about that here in the Prairies, we were the very first. It’s huge,” she said.

The first production at Greystone Theatre opened in March 1946 and featured Frances Hyland, often called the First Lady of Canadian Theatre.

Over the decades, the program has produced well-known alumni, including Kim Coates from the television series Sons of Anarchy and Eric Peterson from the Canadian sitcom Corner Gas.

Many other graduates have also gone on to work in theatre, film, and television, many in Saskatoon.

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The university’s program is closely connected with several major arts organizations in Saskatoon.

“The university is very, very important and integral and well connected to Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan, Persephone Theatre and 25th Street Theatre,” sessional lecturer Skye Brandon said.

Brandon, now head of Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan is also an alumnus of the program. He says typically there are between two and 20 students graduating each year.

Small class sizes and one on one instruction help students build lasting relationships within the theatre community.

“There are former students of mine who I’ve now done shows with. They’ve been contracted as actors to act with me or with me as a director,” Brandon said.

To mark the 80-year milestone, organizers are highlighting the work of alumni with a special series of performances.

“They put out a call for brand new one-act plays by alumni, and ultimately they picked five one-act plays,” Brandon said. “Five former students have written original plays.”

The anniversary production run begins March 19 and will feature stories with local themes and Prairie roots.

As the program celebrates eight decades of theatre, organizers say it’s also an opportunity to highlight the cultural contributions that have come from the Prairies.

“We’re not known for arts and culture — we’re often known for agriculture. One wouldn’t think that arts and culture would have started here 80 years ago,” Orosz said.

With a new generation of actors, writers and directors coming through the program each year, the next act for drama at the University of Saskatchewan is well underway.