Studio 58, Langara College's professional theatre program, has announced three new productions to be produced for its spring semester.

The shows, to be presented online in February and March 2021, will be the first to be produced by the program's new artistic director, Courtenay Dobbie, who takes over from long-serving artistic director Kathryn Shaw in January.

Dates and streaming and sign-up information for the three shows are still to be determined, but a December 8 news release noted that tickets for all the projects will be "by donation".

One of the productions, Monoceros, is slated to be presented in March and is a new Canadian musical. The release describes it as a show "that inspires us to celebrate our individuality". It has been adapted from the 2011 award-winning novel of the same name by Suzette Mayr.

Another show, TomorrowLove, will be presented online in February and is characterized as a "wry but heartfelt theatrical film journey, where viewers get to choose their own path". It consists of 15 playlets that speculate about "romantic relationships of the near future".

The third, to be "devised online" in March, is the latest installment of the Risky Nights series, which has been presented for two decades by senior students in the theatre program. This version will be an anthology of adapted horror, science-fiction, and fantasy short stories by well-known authors such as H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, Junji Ito, Edgar Allan Poe, Pu Songling, and others, presented as an original theatre production under the guidance of a professional director.

“I am so very grateful and excited to come on as artistic director of this amazing program in the new year,” Dobbie said in the release. “Although 2020 has been challenging, the theatre that was created at Studio 58 has remained innovative and enlightening. I'm proud to say that not only have we forged ahead in the face of adversity but created new artistic pathways within it.

"Our programming for the spring of 2021 is the continuation of Studio 58's commitment to delivering and inspiring dynamic live theatre during the pandemic. We're also discovering new energy, responding to important shifts within the industry, and building movement in the art of live performance.”