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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-11-01, Page 12PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2012. Continued from page 1 and truest sense of the word. “If there’s not pride in ownership, then we’re missing something.” Smith said while visiting one village resident, he was confused as to what Smith did at the Festival and then he was surprised that Smith would take the time to come to his home. “He couldn’t believe I would come to his house, which is exactly why I should be going to his house,” Smith said. He said he doesn’t want to give the impression that the Festival, and those who work there, are unapproachable. The opposite is true, he says. He wants people to come and visit him, tell him what they thought of the plays and provide him with constructive criticism. “I’m not inventing anything here,” Smith said about his knockabout. “This theatre is owned by the community. This is what it’s all about.” After the Dear Johnny Deere remount, the season begins with Beyond the Farm Show, which will be directed by Severn Thompson and will build on the success of last season’s Young Company production of The Farm 2012. Smith and Coates agreed that it was time to build on the Young Company’s success and build a play around the farmers of Huron County, just as The Farm Show did in the 1970s. Smith said Thompson was slated to direct the show, but before anything could be done, she gave him a simple two-word instruction: call Paul. Paul Thompson, Severn’s father, was the director of the original Farm Show and without his blessing, nothing would be done. However, Smith says, blessing has been given and actors will return to the farm in January and April of 2013 to begin conducting interviews and crafting some ideas for the show that will run from June 26 to Aug. 16. Smith calls The Farm Show a turning point for Canadian theatre and says he’s honoured to be doing his part at the Festival during this return to the stage. He says that while technology has changed so much in the world, this new incarnation of The Farm Show will incorporate that technology, but in the end, show that so many aspects of farming haven’t changed since the show was first produced in the 1970s. The season will continue with a second world premiere: Yorkville – The Musical. Smith says Yorkville will be a return of sorts for the Festival, to the genre of a pure musical. He said that while last year’s Dear Johnny Deere was certainly a play with musical elements, the Festival has not produced a pure musical for several years. This musical, he says, will be a classic fish-out-of-water story that’s being billed as Green Acres in reverse. Instead of a city-oriented family moving to the country, it’s a couple of rural-oriented friends moving into the affluent Toronto neighbourhood of Yorkville. The pair excel at step-dancing, which only stands to complicate matters, Smith says. The play, which is written by Carolyn Hay, who wrote 2008’s Against the Grain, and will feature music by Tom Szczesniak, will include plenty of rural humour, Smith says and will be a story plenty of Huron County residents will be able to relate to. “They find out a lot about themselves, stuff that they maybe didn’t want to know,” Smith says. Yorkville will run from July 3 to Aug. 11. The Festival’s third show is a revival of Garrison’s Garage, a play that was originally produced by Ted Johns in 1984. Smith calls Johns one of the Festival’s “favourite sons” and says it only made sense to bring one of his plays back. “I must have read 25 plays for that slot,” Smith says, “but I kept coming back to Garrison’s Garage. I was in the company as an actor that year and I saw the original. “Ted is just so tapped into this community.” Smith said that if Beyond the Farm Show is the story of farms in the outlying areas of the community, the Garrison’s Garage is the story of living in town in a rural community. Smith will be directing the remount, which will run from July 31 to Aug. 31. The season’s closing play is another world premiere, Prairie Nurse. The play follows two women from the Philippines who come to Canada as nurses and who are stationed in Saskatchewan. Written by Marie Beath Badian, who directed Reverand Jonah in 2007 and led the Festival’s Young Company for three years, the play is based on her mother’s life. The problems arise when no one in town can tell the two women apart, says Smith, especially when a man begins to carry on a romantic relationship with one of the women. And while they may seem the same to those in Arborfield, Saskatchewan, they are very different. One is from a town in the Philippines and the other is from the country, which leads to the universal disagreement over who’s a snob and who’s a hick. The show will run from Aug. 7 to Aug. 31. As far as the transition process is concerned, Smith says the passing of the baton from Coates to him has been smooth and he will soon be ready to begin employing directors and crew members and auditioning actors for the 2013 season. For more information about the Blyth Festival’s 2013 season, call 519-523-9300 or visit the Festival’s website at www.blythfestival.com Central Huron Council will be purchasing iPads for over $500 each after purchasing a set of Samsung Galaxies earlier this year. The recommendation of Director of Finance Terri Taylor was approved by council at the Oct. 25 Committee of the Whole meeting. Taylor said there have been problems with the tablets being used now (the Samsung machines) and iPads. “The Samsung Galaxies, which have brought council into the first step of going with a paperless agenda, have not proven to be as conducive as originally anticipated,” Taylor’s report read. “It was originally hoped that the use of the tablets could bring seamless paperless agendas to council. Although we have managed to work with the tablets, the system can be improved upon.” Taylor goes on to say that an application that is only available to Apple iPads could cut agenda preparation time in half. Taylor proposed that 10 iPads be purchased (eight for council, one for the CAO and one for the clerk) for $515.82 each. While there is no guarantee that anyone would want to buy them, Taylor’s report stated that a potential trade-in value of $175 for each Samsung Galaxy could be realized and contributed to iPads. Taylor suggested that the funds for the iPad purchased be removed from the office supply reserve. “[Samsung Galaxies] don’t work for what we want,” Councillor Brian Barnim said. The vote came down to a tie, which was broken by Mayor Jim Ginn, who voted in favour of the new tablets. Gabriele DelBianco, a former marriage and family counsellor situated in Auburn, will soon go to trial on several charges of sexual assault. Charges came to light last year when a handful of alleged victims came forward accusing DelBianco of sexual assault. As of April, 2011, seven women had come forward. The charges all stem from the 1980s when DelBianco was a Catholic priest serving in the Windsor, Lakeshore and Wallaceburg areas. A three-day preliminary hearing was held in Sarnia, wrapping up on Oct. 24. The case will now proceed to trial, while a date for the trial has yet to be set. DelBianco was ordained by the Diocese of London in 1982. According to a statement issued by the diocese last year, initial allegations against DelBianco were made in 1994, when he left active ministry, eventually quitting the priesthood two years later. It has been suggested by Rod Dale, a lawyer for the group of complainants, that many of the alleged assaults occurred through the church youth group started by DelBianco. CH votes in favour of iPads Former counsellor proceeds to trial 2013 season torevisit ‘Farm Show’ Brainstorming Vanessa Wilts was one of many people who made their way to the Bainton Gallery at Blyth’s Memorial Hall on Saturday to help the Huron County Museum and Historic Gaol come up with ideas for the future of the museum. The open house was held to help gauge the public’s interest in the museum and brainstorm some ideas for the museum’s future. (Vicky Bremner photo) IT’S TIME THEY MOVED OUT OF THE BASEMENT. 1-888-646-1820 Space provided through a partnership between industry and Ontario municipalities to support waste diversion programs. Face it, your old electronics have had their day. Find out how and where you can safely and easily dispose of them at recycleyourelectronics.ca. Remember to clear your hard drives and SIM cards before recycling.