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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2016-04-07, Page 26PAGE 26. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2016. Entertainment & Leisure Festival cast a mix of familiar faces and new talent Continued from page 1 travelling along the Camino de Santiago trail. While casting Matthew Dinning proved to be a challenge, casting his brother Brendan, Garratt said, proved nearly as difficult. The solution, however, was right under his nose. Cam Laurie, a Varna native, will play Brendan. Laurie and Garratt first met when Garratt was directing the Blyth Festival's Young Company and Laurie was in his teens. Laurie has since founded a Toronto theatre company and performed in Falling: A Wake at the Blyth Festival. He is currently acting alongside Garratt in The Fighting 61st, a co -production by the Festival and the Huron Arts and Heritage Network. The cast will be rounded out by Meghan Chalmers, who will play Tanya, Matthew's girlfriend at the time he was killed. In The Birds and the Bees, the season's second production, Marion Day, another Festival veteran, will lead the way. She'll play Sarah, a recently divorced turkey farmer. Day has been in many notable Festival productions, including Innocence Lost: A Play About Steven Truscott and Kitchen Radio and Garratt says Day is someone able to connect with Festival audiences in a unique way. Day will be complemented by John Dolan, a Fanshawe College professor who has performed at the Festival in productions like Against the Grain and Courting Johanna, and Nora McLellan, a well-known Canadian performer with credits at both the Stratford and Shaw Festivals, as well as numerous television and film projects. This will be McLellan's first season at the Blyth Festival. Garratt says that it was McLellan who reached out to him wanting to work in Blyth for the first time in her long career. Christopher Allen, another Fest- ival rookie, will play Ben. Festival Orchestra to perform On Saturday, April 16, two of Huron County's favourite musical ensembles, the Huron Harp School and the Blyth Festival Orchestra, will come together to present an evening of music at the Kingsbridge Centre. The highlight of the evening will be a joint performance of the Celtic Concerto by Laura Zaerr. The concert begins at 8 p.m. The Kingsbridge Centre is the former St. Joseph Church and is located in Kingsbridge, 20 minutes north of Goderich. The centre has a reputation as a beautiful musical venue with excellent acoustics. With over 20 harpists, the Huron Harp School is a growing ensemble based in Goderich under the direction of Sharon Johnston. Students come from all areas of Huron County and beyond, and range from seven years old to seniors. The group's mandate is that music is accessible to all, as everyone plays together at their own level. Huron Harp School members can be found performing at weddings, churches, special events and other random and unexpected locations. The Blyth Festival Orchestra was formed 20 years ago as part of the Blyth Centre for the Arts. This chamber orchestra is composed of 10 members from their late teens to their mid -60s. They perform music written for ensemble, ranging from the 12th to the 21st century. The deciding factor is: will the audience like it; a secondary factor: can the orchestra play it? Laura Zaerr is a harpist and composer living in Oregon. Her Celtic Concerto premiered in 1999. In it the composer blends her strong classical background with her love of Celtic music to achieve a dazzling showcase for the Celtic harp. "When I play Celtic music all my worries fly away as the melodies unroll through my fingers. I became so immersed in the potential sounds of harp with orchestra that I wrote the piece in about four days, complete with the orchestration in my head," she said. "This concert promises to be a highlight of the spring season. The musicians are excited to be involved in this musical collaboration, and the Kingsbridge community is delighted to open their doors to an extraordinary event," said Johnston. Tickets are $10 and will be available at the door. A big show The Woodstock Dutch Theatre group presented Abseilen at Blyth Memorial Hall last month. The group has been performing for 35 years and presents five shows a year in four different venues across southwestern Ontario. The group raises money through the shows to give to charity and, this year, donated $1,000 to Children's Health Foundation from the proceeds of the 2015 season. The group's last performance for this year was held April 1 at the London Dutch Canadian Society in London. Above are actors from the troupe, from left: Dick Wolters, Jeanette van Barneveld and Mere! Purton. (Denny Scott photo) Difference of Jesus is apparent Continued from page 20 Saviour. Many people knew Him and the life he lived before knowing Jesus, and they saw the difference Jesus made in His life. I overheard some people speaking about him one day at the coffee shop and they were talking about the change they were observing. My friend's life had become a witness to the truth of the resurrection of Jesus. And though he did not think he was showing it very well, it was evident to many people that Jesus had come into his life and that my friend had been raised to the newness of life with Jesus. P;lime ARK THEATRE 30 The Squar:illy—) MINE— 441Pr. GODERICH 519 524 7811 FOR MOVIE INFORMATION... • • • www.movielinks.ca long distance?1-800-265-3438 In the Festival's third production of the season, If Truth Be Told, actors from the first production will populate the cast. The play will be carried by Fitch, who will play Peg Dunlop, a small- town writer whose books are being banned by the local school board. Nicholsen will play Harry Briggs, Auerbach will play Maysie Pigot and Chalmers will play Jennifer Pigot. Anita La Selva, a veteran of many Canadian television shows and movies, will play Carmella, a teacher who's new to the community and becomes one of the author's biggest supporters. The season's fourth play, The Last Donnelly Standing, is a one-man show featuring Garratt and directed by Member to the Order of Canada, Paul Thompson. The Festival's box office officially opened to the public on April 1 and those working the Festival box office reported selling one ticket per minute for the duration of the day. Tickets are available by calling 519-523-9300, toll-free at 1-877- 862-5984 or on the Festival website at blythfestival.com. A busy man Whether it's performing at a recent fundraising lunch in Belgrave, over the Easter weekend at local United Churches or performing for Clifford Coultes' 80th birthday at the Belgrave Community Centre on Saturday, guitarist John McDowell has been a busy, busy man. On Saturday he began the evening with an original song he'd written in the 1990s when his friend Clifford had retired from teaching. The song was well received on Saturday night, both for its musical and humorous qualities. (Shawn Loughlin photo) FRIDAY, APRIL 22 BMG COMMUNITY CENTRE, BRUSSELS 519-335-3557 Tickets: $60/person foundation @ mvca.on.ca