UCalgary students take on Morris Panych’s dark comedy ‘7 Stories’
Posted Feb 4, 2026 9:19 am.
University of Calgary students are taking on an acclaimed dark comedy by a legendary Canadian playwright, which premieres Friday.
Calgary-born Morris Panych, one of Canada’s most celebrated playwrights and directors, premiered 7 Stories in Vancouver in 1989. Now in 2026, undergrad and graduate students from his home city are taking the mantle, gaining hands-on experience as part of their theatre training.
“This is a dark comedy, so it’s funny, it’s dark, and it’s hopeful,” says Malak Abdelbaky, one of the show’s two student producers.
The cast consists of nine senior-level acting students in their final year of the program. Director Jessica Buchanan and the designers are graduate students completing master’s degrees in fine arts, and a larger group of students work backstage as stage managers, dressers, and crew for their practicums.
And beyond the stage crew, UCalgary is also depending on students for the production’s administrative tasks.
Abdelbaky is in her third year of a drama degree, with a focus on drama education, and has already worked on multiple productions in non-performing roles.
“I’ve done producing twice, and I’ve done stage management three times,” she says.
As a producer, her responsibilities extend well beyond opening night. Student producers meet weekly with faculty supervisors and handle many of the administrative and promotional tasks that support the production.
She says not only has she learned about the administrative tasks required to run a real-world theatre company, but she also gained valuable contacts through her professors, who also work professionally.
Abdelbaky is hoping to work with semi-professional theatre productions throughout the summer to expand her experience.
7 Stories centres on a man standing on a seventh-storey ledge, preparing to jump, when he is repeatedly interrupted by neighbours who launch into their own self-absorbed monologues. It is a classic in the Canadian canon and is one of Panych’s best-known comedies.
The production runs Feb. 6-7 and Feb. 10-14 at the Reeve Theatre on the University of Calgary campus at 7:30 pm.
