Law Show 2023’s triumphant return

Photo credit: Inna Dymouriak-Tymashov

Live performances of the Faculty of Law’s annual Law Show returned in January, ending a two-year recess created by COVID-19-related restrictions.

Since none of the law students currently attending the University of Alberta had experienced a live version of Law Show — which was pre-taped in 2021 and canceled in 2022 — it was initially difficult to find enough participants for this year’s edition, said second-year law student and co-executive producer Riley Bushell.

Cast and crew are typically smitten by the idea of adding Law Show to their already demanding schedule of legal studies and resume-enhancing extracurricular activities after having been entertained as audience members, she said. Fellow second-year law student and co-executive producer Kenny Schiewe signed on only after hearing that, as of late September, the club that mounts Law Show was one short of the 10 executive members required to retain its student group status.

“We felt such a responsibility to keep it going,” said Bushell. “It’s such a great tradition that allows people in a serious place to be silly and to kick back profits to a community project.”

Mean Lawyers, which ran January 27–28, 2023, was a musical parody of a popular film that spoofed the legal profession, just as all Law Show productions have done since 1996. 

The script was written for the 2022 version, which was canceled when the surging Omicron variant put the University’s second semester back online abruptly. Having a script in hand made this year’s production possible on short notice, but Mean Lawyers’ executive team scrambled on other fronts.

Overcoming obstacles

In late October, their booking for the Myer Horowitz Theatre was canceled due to ongoing renovations. The team, which included second-year law student Rider Kahl as acting and creative director,  had to find numerous other locations within walking distance of campus to hold rehearsals. The theatre at MacEwan University they secured for technical and dress rehearsals was much costlier to rent yet seats fewer people than the Horowitz.

Nonetheless, Law Show 2023 raised approximately $15,000 for the Terra Centre, the local charity that Law Show committed to supporting for three years, back in 2021.

The 2023 edition also introduced timely updates on some customary features of Law Show.

“Previously, a couple of dances had been gendered,” said Bushell. “One was called Man Dance and the other Girl Dance. In order to make sure that Law Show is an accessible and inclusive tradition for all, we changed their names to puns on barristers and solicitors.”

Despite mounting a production with less than half the normal complement of executive staff, despite fewer dancers (but more singers!) and despite the stomach-ache-inducing worry during its glitch-ridden technical rehearsal that the show might run longer than the time for which they’d rented the theatre, Bushell, Schiewe and Kahl are keen to return to Law Show as 3Ls.

They say that it built bridges between law students in different years of study that COVID-19 broke and it reinforced critical skills they are hoping to use as lawyers, such as, “knowing the rules you have to navigate and paying attention to the details,” said Schiewe.

Added Kahl: “Being with a team of people who want to make something happen and who are so witty and funny, I spent a lot of time laughing.

“It’s probably my favourite thing I’ve done in law school.”