By Brady Lang

‘Lords of Sceptre’ a tale of small towns and baseball

Oct 26, 2018 | 2:24 PM

An interactive, theatrical, and educational play on the story of a small town’s baseball team is coming to Battleford.

Lords of Sceptre, which will hit the stage Nov. 19, follows four years of a baseball team situated in the town of Sceptre, just west of Leader. It tells the story of a team that struggled to beat their bitter rival Delisle, and how they climbed the ranks to play in the Western Canadian Championships against Indian Head in the late-1940s and early-1950s.

Playwrite Maureen Ulrich said this period was a unique time for baseball in Saskatchewan, calling it “the golden era.”

“It was a time when NHL players and Negro league players were rubbing shoulders with farm boys on the roster of teams from North Battleford, Saskatoon, Estevan, Moose Jaw, and also smaller communities,” she said. “This one is about Sceptre, which was a town of fewer than 200 people. They would be the smallest town that was competing against the Indian Head Rockets, which was an all-Negro team. It was a really unique time.”

Ulrich’s father played with Sceptre in 1946 and 1947. She stumbled onto the idea by attempting to connect with her father, who suffered from dementia.

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She wanted to learn of his cherished memories with the baseball team, and his strong connection to the game. She would call her father’s cousin, George Mahaffy – who became the central character of the play – and talk about the memories he had about the club.

“The story has a natural arc,” she said. “We’re talking about a team that went from not being able to beat Delisle, to beating them in the finals, to playing a team like Indian Head, and playing them in a Western Canadian Conference Championship in 1951.”

The one-act play is very interactive, with people asked to stand up and follow the voice of the announcer. The two actors, Mikael Steponchev and Tyler Toppings, will play multiple characters.

“It’s a unique topic, but also a unique means of presentation,” Ulrich said. “They’re going to see two actors who are playing ball and telling the story inside of an imaginary baseball field.” 

Instead of a traditional setting where the crowd looks at the stage, the audience will be sat around a baseball diamond and feel as though they’re at a game.

Ulrich said the play isn’t just about the game, it’s telling the story of many people and places that show the true history of the game, and how integral it was in this time.

“It’s about a way of life. It’s about small towns,” she said. “Thousands of people used to go out and watch these games. Its part of our culture, we’re not just a hockey nation, we’re a baseball nation, also.”

Doors will open at the Battleford Players Clubhouse at 6:30. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students and seniors.

brady.lang@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @BradyLangCJNB