Geoff Ursell’s Gold on Ice debuted at Dancing Sky Theatre in 2003. (photo provided)

“This is a little miracle, what they’ve done!”

It’s the quick answer that flows from playwright Kelley-Jo Burke when you ask her about Dancing Sky Theatre’s 20^th Anniversary.

“That place is like a bubble that’s supposed to pop but never does,” Burke explains. “You aren’t supposed to be able to open a small theatre 40 minutes outside of an urban center, produce locally written theatre and have a season that’s a success.”

Curtis Peeteetuce’s Popcorn Elder debuted in 2016. (Britainy Zapshalla)

Those are the odds that Angus and Louisa Ferguson have been defying for two decades. The pair founded Dancing Sky Theatre in Meacham Saskatchewan in November 1997. Since then the company has gone on to stage 52 productions, 38 of them world premieres.

“I think it’s worked for several reasons, “ explains Angus Ferguson. “We’ve set ourselves apart from other theatres with our performance choices and we’re about an event and a community. People come for the home-cooked meal and to see the same faces greet them at the door.”

Days By The Radio premiered in 1999. (Dancing Sky Theatre)

The mandate of Dancing Sky Theatre has always been to present Canadian work much of which, was written right here in Saskatchewan. It’s a mission that suits Burke just fine.

“They adore the artists and they love what they do in that space, you can feel it when you walk into that room,” says Burke. The playwright has had four of her plays produced by the Dancing Sky Theatre team and credits much of her success to that stage time.

Catherine Harrison’s The Last Windwalker premiered in 2009. (Dancing Sky Theatre)

It’s those long-lasting friendships that Dancing Sky Theatre will be celebrating with its 20^th Birthday Celebration Saturday Nov. 4^th, 2017 6p.m. at Dancing Sky Theatre in Meacham. You can come for a dinner and a show for $100 or just the performance. Those tickets are $15. The show will include readings, music and roasts of local artists as they toast the theatre. This event is also a fundraiser for the theatre.

“I hope it’s a celebration of ‘Holy cow! Look at what we’ve actually done,’” says Ferguson.

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