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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-11-14, Page 27THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2013. PAGE 27. Continued from page 26 we’re on, because it seems like we’re on two different pages,” she said, adding that she was not attempting to “criticize” Knight or the work of the staff. She said she simply felt the bylaw was too vague at this stage in the game. “We have to talk about it,” she said, to which Knight responded by saying that council will first have to define what cost recovery means to the municipality. He said, for example, that staff members and councillors have attended a lot of public meetings and open houses related to wind turbines. Those people were not directed or required to be at those meetings, but they went anyway, to build their intelligence on the subject, so then is that billable to the turbine company under the proposed bylaw, Knight asked. “As councillors, we have to do our own research,” said Councillor Diane Diehl. “That’s just for your own knowledge. Every time you pick up a pen or pick up the phone, that doesn’t mean you can bill it back to [wind turbine companies].” Knight told councillors that they didn’t have to make a motion at the Nov. 5 meeting, but the report was simply to let councillors know where staff was at the moment. Dekroon, however, said the decision on whether to proceed with a motion was the councillors’ and not Knight’s and she attempted to make a motion in regards to when council should send their cost recovery bill to the wind turbine companies. Dekroon then made a motion stating that the municipality will bill the companies immediately and continuously as the projects go on. The motion was defeated nine votes to two. Two entertainers who used to call Huron County home are returning to the area to play their part(s) in Royal Flush Improv, which will be on the Blyth Memorial Hall stage on Nov. 23. Mandy Sellers, originally from Bluevale and a former student of Brussels Public and F.E. Madill Secondary Schools, now of Toronto, will star in the “evening of unscripted comedy” alongside a number of other actors. The show was conceived by Nug Nahrgang of Toronto, who is also a Huron County native, originally hailing from Clinton. The pair actually met at a Toronto comedy event with Nahrgang on stage and Sellers in the audience. Nahrgang discussed his childhood in the “Radar City” of Clinton and Sellers approached him after the show, telling him she was from the Brussels area. The two became friends and were soon performing on the same stage, finding that their similar upbringings made for good comedic chemistry. Recently they both, as part of separate comedy troupes, performed at the Big City Improv Festival in Toronto. Nahrgang says the show in Blyth will be highly interactive relying completely on audience participation for scenarios and games to be played out on stage by the actors, similar to the popular comedy improv television show Whose Line Is It Anyway? “So, it’s the audience’s fault if they don’t like it,” Nahrgang jokes. Sellers began to hone her craft shortly after graduating from Brussels Public School, taking drama classes at F.E. Madill and falling in love with the stage. Nahrgang followed a similar path, growing up immersed in theatre, performing in any play produced during his time at Central Huron Secondary School and even working as an usher at the Blyth Festival when he was young. The two found their way to Toronto as Sellers was brought on by Second City in Toronto as a paid actor in 2010. Nahrgang has performed in a number of plays and movies since moving to the Toronto area in 1998, including a role in the original cast of Evil Dead The Musical in 2003, a show that eventually went on to off- broadway productions in New York City. Nahrgang now makes his living as a professional actor in Toronto and Sellers spends her evenings in Toronto’s comedy scene, travelling all over the country and even into the U.S. to perform. Nahrgang says the show will be completely family-friendly and it will not be stand-up comedy. In talking with Blyth Festival General Manager Deb Sholdice, Nahrgang heard that Blyth has had its share of stand-up comedians at Memorial Hall, but he’s pretty sure this is the first time an improv show will grace its stage. While both Nahrgang and Sellers have done their fair share of scripted comedy, they both say there is something thrilling about improv when the actors arrive at the theatre with no idea what they’ll be doing on stage that night. “I love showing up with nothing and doing a whole show that night,” Nahrgang said in an interview with The Citizen. Sellers says her love for improv began in Wingham when she was an F.E. Madill student and she took improv classes there. She says with improv, it’s almost as if the cast and the audience are getting the joke at the exact same time, which simply doesn’t happen in other forms of theatre. “I love laughing on stage and I love the idea of discovering something the same time as the audience does,” Sellers said in an interview with The Citizen. “I think improv really embodies the idea of live theatre.” As for returning to their home county, both Nahrgang and Sellers say it’s a great chance to have quality comedy in Huron County, both for them and for the audience. “My grandparents are coming and they haven’t seen me on stage since I was in high school,” Sellers says. “So that’s pretty special.” Nahrgang too will have friends in the audience who have never really seen him perform, which he says will be a great experience. “I’ll have friends there who will see me and think I’m doing the same jokes on stage that I used to do for them in high school,” Nahrgang said. The show features, in addition to Nahrgang and Sellers, Sandy Jobin- Bevans, Dale Boyer, Kylee Evans and Trevor Martin. It begins at 8 p.m. on Nov. 23 and tickets are available now through the Blyth Festival box office at 519-523-9300 or online at www.blythfestival.com for $30 each. As someone who grew up in Huron County, Sellers says there’s something special about attending a quality comedy show in your own backyard. “This is an opportunity to see great live comedy in your own backyard, so you don’t have to travel to Toronto or London or K-W [Kitchener-Waterloo],” she said, “which is so nice.” Bluevale, Clinton natives return for improv night Bylaw still being considered Correction Braving the elements Members of the Brussels Cadet Corps braved the rain and sleet on Monday as they paraded from the Brussels Legion down Turnberry Street to St. John’s Anglican Church as part of the village’s Remembrance Day ceremonies. The service began at the Legion, indoors because of the weather, and concluded at the church with a service officiated by Rev. Perry Chuipka. (Shawn Loughlin photo) Belgrave Kinsmen Breakfast Sunday, November 17 9:00 am to 1:00 pm at Belgrave Community Centre Adults ~ $8.00 Children ~ $5.00 Under 5 ~ Free Proceeds for community betterment Entertainment StopsStopsStopsStopsStopsalong the wayalongthewayA VISITORS’ GUIDE TO HURON COUNTYstopsalonglakehuron.comLook for entertainment ideas on our Stops Along the Waywebsite at...430 Queen Street, Blyth, Ontario 226-523-9720 Specialty Coffees &Espresso BarLunches, Treats, Craft beerand Ontario wine By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen In last week’s story about the Blyth Festival’s Memorial Series, The Citizen stated that Blyth Festival Artistic Director Marion de Vries created the series as “something special to coincide with the 14/19 campaign.” While Blyth Festival supports the campaign’s initiative to raise funds for capital improvements to Memorial Hall, de Vries’ actual intention for the series, she says, is to produce one play each season for every year marking the 100th anniversary of The Great War from 2014 – 2018. Her artistic inspiration is to pay homage to the lives of soldiers past and present, and to honour Memorial Hall itself as a living cenotaph and the Blyth Legion and Legion Ladies Auxiliary, among others. The Citizen apologizes for the misinformation.