Videotaped at the Calgary One-Act Play Festival, 2007

By Lori Shyba and The Gamer Players 
Directed and Mused by Mariette Sluyter

This edition of Spies in the Oilsands was performed at The Calgary One-Act Play Festival at
the Pumphouse Theatre, Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 2007.

Spies in the Oilsands is an interactive digital live theatre comedy that begs the question … fossil fools or alternative energy zealots, whose side are you on? On one hand we have Tarzana who champions the traditional Alberta line of Big Oil and Easy Money; on the other is Terra who is sure Kyoto is the ticket. Caught in the middle is A.J. Fosso weighing the odds between the economy and the environment and not knowing who or what to believe. This moral conundrum comes to a head when the characters play — live on stage for the first time — “The Pipeline Pinball Energy Thrill Ride Game,” a wall-sized computer game that pits fossil fuel points against alternative energy points, and global warming against global well-being. How will the spy characters choose to play? And how will you, our audience-spies choose when it’s your turn?

The Gamer Players are:

Tarzana                        Lori Shyba                                                  Tech and Camera Operation
A.J. Fosso                   Mike Unrau                                      Sean Lynch and Nooshin Esmaeili
Terra Incognita             Lindsay Ruth Hunt
The Muse                    Mariette Sluyter

The Gamer Players thank The Alberta Foundation for the Arts; Calgary Arts Development; The University of Calgary, Interdisciplinary Graduate Program, Faculty of Graduate Studies, Dept. of Drama, Digital Media Lab.