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Saviour Performances Moved to 2015

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JPMF Fundraising Performances of Saviour Play to be Moved to Fall 2015

 

Well, I must confess to being both disappointed and relieved that the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund (JPMF) fundraising performances of the Saviour play are going to be postponed from Oct 2014 until the fall of 2015. As much as we wanted to see Saviour hit the stage this fall, the extra year will (hopefully) give the JPMF the necessary time to get the production funding in place.

In the meantime, I will continue working with Trevor Rueger of the Alberta Playwright’s Network in sending the Saviour script out to theatres in Canada and the U.S. in consideration for traditional production.

In other Saviour news, the management of the music group, ABBA, did not grant the JPMF permission to use 3 of their songs in the 6 fundraising performances. When I first approached Universal Music Publishing Group to start the process of requesting permission, I was told it is extremely rare for ABBA to grant the rights to use their music – even if it is only for 6 performances. But we still submitted the formal request because I’d just spent the last decade writing the script around those 3 ABBA songs 🙁

However, with that initial seed of doubt planted, I kept my ears open for other songs that might be suitable substitutes for the Saviour story – and before we’d even heard back from ABBA management, I already had 3 new songs in mind. So right now, I’m tweaking the Saviour script to fit these 3 new songs…and so far, not only are they an excellent fit, I think they’re even better than the ABBA ones!

As a quick recap, here’s the synopsis of the Saviour play:

Adri, an aspiring writer, has a heated argument with her husband, Sam, about her belief in Virginia Woolf’s idea that in order for women to write fiction well, they need a secure income. Sam, a police officer, goes to work that night, falls and hits his head, only to discover it is Virginia Woolf who till take him to the moment of his brain-death – as Adri learns she will now receive Sam’s wage for the rest of her life.

Saviour explores the age-old question of whether our lives unfold randomly or by some sort of predetermined plan. The play challenges the notion of romantic love and suggests instead the staying power of tough love, while offering audiences hope that while the search for meaning is a highly personal journey, peace and positive change can come from tragedy.

Saviour is a powerful and engaging story about the basic human need to live and die in peace – and just how incredibly difficult that can be to achieve. Saviour promises the audience a fast-paced, imaginative and compelling theatrical journey that has strong links to real-life events.

The JPMF was started after the on-duty death of Cst John Petropoulos of the Calgary Police Service – and educates the public about why and how to ensure their workplaces are safe for everyone, including emergency responders who may have to attend. The JPMF is the logical choice of charity to partner with, to stage the Saviour play, because of the tremendous potential to raise awareness about the workplace safety message – as well as raise funds that will help support the JPMF’s safety initiatives and programs.

For information about the Saviour sponsorship opportunities, please contact me or the JPMF’s Managing Director, Ian Wilson, at ian@jpmf.ca.

And if you’re into social media, you can join Saviour on Facebook or follow Saviour on Twitter.

That’s it on the Saviour front for now!

Maryanne Pope is the author of A Widow’s Awakening and the upcoming book, Barrier Removed; A Tough Love Guide to Achieving Your Dreams. In addition to plays scripts, Maryanne also writes screenplays, including God’s Country. Maryanne is the CEO of Pink Gazelle Productions and the Chair of the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund.

 

 

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