HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-07-25, Page 23THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 25, 2013. PAGE 23.
By Marie Beath Badian
Prairie Nurse is a play about my
mom….sorta.
My mom immigrated to rural
Saskatchewan from rural
Philippines in 1967. She came to be
a nurse in a small community
hospital. She stayed two years
before moving to Toronto. In
September 2007, I took my mother
back to Saskatchewan – on the 40th
anniversary of her arrival in Canada.
We returned to the village where she
lived – Arborfield, Saskatchewan - a
tiny farming community with a
population of 300.
To our surprise, many of the
people that knew mom were still
there – other nurses and people who
lived and worked in the community.
And the first thing they would say
when they saw mom was “Where’s
the other one?”
Who’s the other one? Her name is
Penny. She was the only other
Filipino nurse that was stationed in
Arborfield. She came on the same
flight as mom back in 1967. We had
not planned to see her, as my mother
rarely spoke fondly of her, except to
say that Penny didn’t want to be
there. Though both their contracts
were for two years, Penny stayed
just shy of a year, moving away
shortly after sponsoring her fiancée
over from Manila.
On a whim, I typed Penny’s name
into the SaskTel search engine and
found her in Saskatoon. On the day
we were scheduled to leave
Saskatchewan, we sat down with
Penny in an airport café. She was
short, sweet and grey haired. And
she looked very much like my mom.
From that encounter I was tickled
by the idea of what it must have
been like back then when no one
could tell them apart, when
everybody thought they were like
two-peas-in-a-pod but in truth had
nothing in common other than
nursing, and the Philippines.
So Prairie Nurse was born. A
partly-true play about my mom, the
other one and everyone else who
couldn’t tell them apart.
For those who have already seen
this summer’s smash hit, Yorkville –
the Musical, you will be delighted to
see the dynamic and energetic cast
back onstage together to amaze
audiences. The same palpable
energy will return with Ryan Bondy,
Steph Sy, Jess Abramovitch,
Michael Torontow, Rob Torr and
Sarah Cornell. There is an addition
to the cast, welcoming Lana Carillo
to the team. The cast will be led by
Director Sue Miner with set and
costume design by Eric Bunnell. It
will be a treat for the senses as this
comedy of errors will leave you
laughing all night long!
Tickets for Prairie Nurse are on
sale at the Blyth Festival Box Office
at 1-877-862-5984 or by visiting the
website at blythfestival.com
It has been a short 28 years since
Garrison’s Garage made its world
premiere on the Blyth Festival main
stage and it seems that time doesn’t
move too quickly over at the Garage.
Come and see for yourself Aug. 2
through to Aug. 31 at the Blyth
Festival.
Written by the incomparable Ted
Johns, Blyth Festival’s most
produced playwright, Garrison’s
Garage is a Festival gem which will
have audiences laughing just as hard
as the first time it was on stage.
Garrison’s was written in 1985,
“before the world of cell phones and
‘blueberries’ – or whatever you call
them,” remarks Johns. With a few
tweaks and updates by Johns,
Garage now reflects the 21st
century, while maintaining the
charm of the original. Johns,
“hopes people will enjoy [this
production] as much as they did in
the past.”
There is a unique similarity
between the two productions. David
Fox, who stars as the quirky
garage owner Garrison this season,
was cast as the taxman, Blair, in the
1985 production. Director and
Interim Artistic Director, Peter
Smith, was somewhat of a spring
chicken in 1985 and remembers
watching the original production, “I
was in the acting company then… I
can see it all now like it was
yesterday” describes Smith. “One of
the main quotes I remember
audiences saying was, ‘Hey! I take
my car here.’ – The show is on
a lot of people’s top 10 favourite
lists.”
This season’s Garage will also
have a tie to the past. The designer
Pat Flood, has been working with the
original consultant Dave Roy, and
the “two have been doing a great job
bringing it together,” says Smith.
Roy has brought in “a phenomenal
amount of props.” It’s a play full of
charm and wit and some
unforgettable characters.
Garrison’s Garage features a full-
sized car on stage, which Frank is
trying to fix, while its owner,
Blair, paces about waiting
impatiently. Blair, as it turns out, is a
field officer for Revenue Canada and
while he waits he observes
various oddball events – enough to
convince himself that he has
stumbled upon the tax swindle of the
century. He launches an attack on
Frank’s books but is thwarted by
Garrison, Garrison’s daughter
Lorna, and by Bert, the innocent
but ever-calculating local
councillor.
The cast from Beyond The Farm
Show, Catherine Fitch, Tony Munch,
Jamie Robinson and Rylan Wilkie,
return to the stage with additional
help from David Fox. This crew is
sure to recreate the dynamic energy
developed in Beyond The Farm Show
and with the keen directorial eye of
Peter Smith, Garrison’s Garage will
be the laugh of the season!
Get your tickets through the Blyth
Festival box office by calling 1-877-
862-5984 or by visiting the website
at blythfestival.com. The 2013 Blyth
Festival Season is proudly sponsored
by CTV and Sparlings Propane and
Garrison’s Garage is graciously
sponsored by Ideal Supply and The
Rural Voice.
Playwright puts her mother
on stage with ‘Prairie Nurse’
Festival’s ‘Garrison’s Garage’ to open Aug. 2
Updating the ‘Garage’
Ted Johns, creator of Garrison’s Garage, which will return to the Blyth Festival on Aug. 2 for
the first time since it first hit the Memorial Hall stage in 1985, is seen here in front of a car,
hood open, brandishing some of his cash. The play, a fan favourite, will run at the Festival from
Aug. 2 to Aug. 31. (Keith Roulston photo)
Then and now
Prairie Nurse playwright Marie Beath Badian visited
Saskatchewan with her mother who first came to Canada
in 1967 and worked at the hospital she is pictured in front
of. The left picture was take in 1967, the right in 2007.
Prairie Nurse tells her story. (Photo submitted)
Louis and Nancy Greidanus are
proud to announce that their
daughter, Nicole Greidanus, has
graduated with distinction from the
Honours Specialization of
Kinesiology BSc. program at the
University of Western Ontario.
Nicole now endeavors to complete
a Masters of Physiotherapy while
studying abroad. We are very
proud of you and wish you all the
best in the future!
From your family: Louis, Nancy,
Donny, Katerina, Lukas, Hailynn,
Warren, Kathy, Mikeal,
Makenzie, Bailey, Brad, Jess
and boyfriend Josh.
Graduation
Great Food
Streetfest July 27
Blyth
Entertainment Londesborough ON.............................................www.seedforwildbirds.comnaturesnest@tcc.on.ca 430 Queen Street, Blyth, Ontario226-523-9720Specialty Coffees &Espresso BarLunches, fresh pies, buttermilkbiscuits, cakes, etc.