Latest Production At Rosebud A Very Personal Story
The Rosebud Theater always has interesting and unique stage productions and the show they have today (Friday) and tomorrow (Saturday) fits the profile.
The show is called “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye” and is what they call a “movement show”. The show is a true story of a Rosebud School of the Arts student, Judite Vold, who bravely travels from an orphanage in Haiti to a new life with a Canadian family in Alberta. Vold tells a little more about her story: “The story is that when I was 1 year old I was taken to an orphanage where it was very difficult to live every day. I was physically, emotionally and sexually abused. I didn’t take care of myself, I was too busy protecting other people. I got hope when I was told I would be adopted by a Canadian family. I was afraid to go there too, but I said, “God, please make this a good experience,” and so far it has been. I still face problems, especially in traumatic situations, but I know I’m doing a lot better than I was eight years ago.”
Deanne Bertsch, who choreographed and developed the show, shares how Vold’s story became this presentation. “I teach a class at the Rosebud School of the Arts. It is a movement class and a theater design class. In class we create a show together. On the first day I knew that we would work with masks. My question to the students was, “What was a time in your life when you wore a mask and you took that mask off?” We all, of course, have masks that we use to protect ourselves in different situations where we might not reveal who we really are. The show is ultimately about that, but then Judite told a really amazing story and we decided that her story should be the focus of our play.
Processing her experiences and turning them into a play was very difficult for Vold. “(It was) very hard because if you know me, I’m not the type that likes to be the center of attention for other people. I don’t like attention. I’m pretty calm and I like it that way. It was really difficult to tell a story about myself and getting other people to listen and actually hear it was really difficult because in a way I was really revealing myself. All in all I think it turned out to be turned out to be a truly unique experience.”
Vold is excited for the story to be presented, but also very nervous. Again, the shows will be on Friday February 10th at 1:30pm and 8pm and again on February 11th at 1:30pm and 8pm. Show-only or show-and-dinner tickets are available through the Rosebud Theater website, and good seats are still available for most shows.