“Peculiar,” “bizarre,” “macabre,” “delightfully weird” are just a few of the adjectives used to describe Ride the Cyclone, the Canadian musical that opens Nov. 18 in Canmore. First staged in 2009, the show follows six high-school choristers who meet their untimely end in a roller-coaster accident. From there, they find themselves in a strange space between life and death, where they are forced to compete for a second chance on Earth.
Learn how to be fearless on stage (and in life) in a series of improv workshops at Pine Tree Players. When we think of comedic superstars — Tina Fey, Jim Carrey, Eugene Levy and the late Catherine O’Hara come to mind. As for improv shows — Toronto’s Second City, Calgary’s Loose Moose, Edmonton’s Rapid Fire in Edmonton, the Tightrope in London and various Fringe Festival shows have given laughs to audiences, the world over.
If it’s money that’s keeping your budding young thespian off the stage this summer, there is now no excuse. Consider this the final call for applicants to Artstrek’s summer theatre school in Red Deer. With more than 10,000 alumni working across the globe, this week-long resident camp has run programs for decades and changed lives in the process.
For Ella Bagshaw, Theatre is all about building community and making space for each other. She had a busy season at the 2026 Canmore Summer Theatre Festival. Ella stepped into the roles of Rachel Lynde, Mr. Phillips and Doctor in Anne of Green Gables. In addition, she was also the Assistant Stage Manager for Little Women at the Festival.
Tambry Kopp helps shape PTP’s next season and keeps productions running smoothly behind the scenes. She’s happiest in the charged quiet just before the first cue, when the house lights dim, literally or metaphorically, and the entire room seems to hold its breath together. It is a fitting image for someone who has become such a steady presence behind the scenes at Pine Tree Players, helping create the conditions for others to step forward, take risks, and tell a great story.
Ally Schuurman may be new to Pine Tree Players, but Ride the Cyclone has been living in her imagination for more than a decade. This fall, Ally directs Pine Tree Players’ musical production of the cult favourite show, bringing with her a deep love for theatre that is bold, strange, funny, heartfelt, and just a little bit twisted. We caught up with Ally to talk about the first time Ride the Cyclone knocked her sideways, what she loves about working with actors, and why community theatre matters.
For six years, Bronwnyn Steinberg has been at the helm of Calgary’s long-running, immensely beloved, Lunchbox Theatre. Before she runs a two-part workshop for future directors at Pine Tree Players, she got comfy in the director’s chair to tell us more about what will be covered.
If it’s money that’s keeping your budding young thespian off the stage this summer, there is now no excuse. Consider this the final call for applicants to Artstrek’s summer theatre school in Red Deer. With more than 10,000 alumni working across the globe, this week-long resident camp has run programs for decades and changed lives in the process.
Sometimes at Pine Tree Players — when you’re not quite off book or up all night sewing costumes — it can feel like every day is “theatre day.” Officially, however, March 27 marks World Theatre Day, and to make theatre even more accessible Pine Tree Players is offering a three-day, 20% discount off its upcoming production, The Importance of Being Earnest.
Rhonda leads the old-time dance band Hip to Be Square and helps organize square dances far and wide. “It’s just pure fun and movement to exciting live music, and from the bandstand I’ve never seen bigger smiles.”
