An American debut of SEEDS

Making history at Mount Vernon, the American production of Annabel Soutar’s SEEDS was an absolute hit. Never before performed in the U.S., the live theatre production drawn directly from real life, raised the bar for the MVPS Allstars. Constructed from the transcripts of a Canadian Supreme Court battle between a Saskatchewan farmer and a multinational biotech firm, this David and Goliath story shares how one man stood up to big business while tackling the complex ethics of genetically modified crops. Rich in dialogue, audio-visual effects, and creative staging and set, the cast and crew expertly captured Soutar’s docudrama. Glenn Campus Drama Program Director, Clark Taylor shares, “Doing an American premiere was a thrill for us all. Perhaps an even greater thrill was developing a relationship with the playwright. While we were rehearsing our production, a professional production was being mounted in Montreal. That meant two things: one, our play’s epilogue was written just days before we opened, thus giving the show an up-to-minute relevance; two, we took a photo of our company on our set holding a big “Break a Leg!” sign and sent it to the Canadian theatre for their opening night. So, MVPS now has a Canadian fan base!” Further enriching the experience, SEEDS was an outstanding accompaniment to the year-long Upper School transdisciplinary project as students tackle the issue of GMOs. Congratulations to the cast and crew who creatively captured the verbatim theatre: Dana Cohen, Patrick Helmke, Sam Lovejoy, Michael McConnell, Savannah Rettig, Anya Smith-Roman, Madison Silver, Stacey She, Solomon Simmons, Gina Zhang, Caroline White.