INNISFAIL - History's most famous detective team got more than they bargained for when they jumped into a time machine to hide from an angry landlord.
They found themselves in the future inside a psychiatric hospital called the Freudley Institute alongside famous characters of the past.
The problem for Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, who were teaming up for their first case, was that they were hired to find a lost manuscript in their time but were soon forced to sleuth and unravel the mystery around the discovery of a body of an unknown victim at the 21st century institution.
In the meantime, they were also tasked to handle the zaniness all around them caused by the likes of Emily Dickinson, Count Dracula, Lizzie Borden and Queen Victoria. Of course they were just out-of-touch patients but Holmes, who was being treated for "grand delusions" just like the other characters, had to prove he was the real famous detective of the past while trying to crack the case of the future before him in his baffling new present.
It all added up to a marvelous comedic murder mystery romp, a popular theatrical production that was originally written by American playwright Craig Sodaro and called The Secret Case of Sherlock Holmes.
It was chosen last January by the grades 7 and 8 drama class at Innisfail Middle School (IMS) for a special theatrical project, the first full-length production the school has created in a "very, very long time," said drama teacher Amanda Oslund, who directed the 70-minute production. The Secret Case of Sherlock Holmes was performed before the community and younger IMS students at the Innisfail Schools Campus from June 5 to 7.
"It was one of the reasons why I wanted to offer a year-round drama class," said Oslund, of her desire to spearhead the school's first full-length theatrical production in at least five years. "I took drama all the way through school. I knew the importance of it. I knew it helped me find a place within the school because I didn't play sports or things like that, so I knew it was important to offer that."
She said the students chose the Sherlock Holmes production after she read a selection of script descriptions to them last January.
"The kids fell in love with the idea of having all these different historical figures, like Marilyn Monroe, George Washington, Tarzan and Dracula, and just try to embody them," said Oslund. "They were just so excited. It was hands-down for this production. They just bought into this one right away."
Once everybody had bought into the project, what followed was hours and hours and hours of hard work from herself, 19 young novice actors and another half dozen students who worked backstage.
For Oslund it was also new territory for her. While she had no previous formal training in theatre she did take high school drama classes and had past community theatre experience in Kimberley, B.C. However, Sherlock would be her first test in the director's chair.
"I've been a stage manager before, but you don't get that beginning-to-end (experience) like you do being a director," said Oslund, estimating she put in up to 100 hours of after-school work on the production. "Even the whole concept of casting calls or getting these kids to come in to audition, figuring out the whole process of what they should memorize and that whole concept of once they have been casted, how do we set up that schedule that works? Kids have a lot going on these days."
And everything did come together when it was time to hit the stage for the trio of shows, even if the first performance on June 5 was one needed to work out the jitters.
"They knew all their lines but it was more like not jumping on top of each other, like saying their lines before they were supposed to, and if they do miss a line and being able to pick it back up again, they did struggle with that on the first day, but then on June 6 it was immaculate," said Oslund. "They didn't miss a line. They were a little fast, but other than that everything went hunky-dory.
"On the Friday (June 7) they were so confident. Just the fact they had a third day, they were on a high," she added. "It was so exciting to see how proud of themselves they were, and the emotion and just realizing it was all coming to an end they were highly, highly emotional."
And the director could take a bow too. It had been a long time between full-length theatrical productions for IMS but the school and its class of drama students had plenty of reason to be proud.
"Ultimately my goal is for these kids to enjoy themselves, and I know for a fact that they did," said Oslund, adding all monies raised through ticket sales and concession went back into the school's drama program. "I would really like to be able to bring these kids to Rosebud and have them take professional level classes and workshops and really be able to hone their skills.
"But I would really want to grow the program. I want people to know in the community that every time Innisfail Middle School puts on a production it is something they need to see, because it is going to be well done," she added. "I think theatre is a great outlet, and gets us away from our phones, our screens and we are just able to enjoy people's natural talent."
