HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2010-09-16, Page 23THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2010. PAGE 23.
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Entertainment Leisure&‘Alligator Tears’ displayed local youth theatre talent
The Blyth Festival Young
Company took to the stage to
perform Alligator Tears,a new
musical by Stratford-area playwright
and musician Britta Johnson.
From opening scene to final
revelations, the play provided fertile
ground for comedy and intrigue as
the small town of mid-twentieth
century New Hamburg struggled
with an identity crisis and a
mysterious reptile.
Small-town girl Annie Thomas,
portrayed by Rachel Hearn, yearned
for more than her small town was
offering. After arriving home from a
trip abroad, she found herself in the
middle of what she thought was the
biggest problem with small-town
mentalities – accepting things
without question.
The town was gripped by fear,
fame and economic growth thanks to
verbose Reeve Aubrey McGregor
(brilliantly portrayed by Olivia
Warnham), who jumped to the
conclusion that unknown tracks near
the Nith River belonged to an
alligator.
What followed was fun and
insightful, as the town swung
between being terrified of the
potential beast in their midst and
trying to profit from it, selling
everything from chairs to watch the
beast from to alligator pie.
Johnson provided all the music for
the piece, and the songs were both
memorable and fitting, while fitting
the acoustics of the centre.
All the actors were excellent in the
portrayal of their characters, but of
special mention were Hayley Hunt
and Blyth’s Marlayna Kolkman, who
both did double duty.
Kolkman’s portrayal of Gladys
Brown, a very matter-of-fact, salt of
the earth farmer, and her portrayal of
the outrageous, energetic alligator
wrestler Tuffy Truesdell was the
definition of range. Kolkman’s
ability to, at one point, seem like a
strong, silent farmer, and the next,
riding a unicycle while playing a
saxaphone, and the next, play
the part of an inspirational
speaker, all while keeping a straight-
face, was definitely one
of the foremost memories of the
evening.
Hunt mirrored Kolkman’s
straightforward portrayal with
Phillip Brown. It was so different
from his work as the reporter that,
had the roles not been listed, one
could easily have thought the parts
were handled by two different
actors.
With a message that anyone from a
small, rural, southwestern Ontario
town can understand, and a final
revelation that small towns are not
something to be avoided, or
something to run away from, but
something to be treasured as a part
of a person no matter where they go,
Alligator Tears puts an interesting
spin on a historically-factual event,
and gives small-town identities a
different angle from which to be
viewed.
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
Happy 60th Wedding Anniversary
Bill & Isabelle Craig
September 16
Forthcoming Marriage
Steve and Frances Bearss
of R.R. #3 Auburn,
and
Peter and Shelley Langdon
of Burnaby, B.C.
are happy to announce
the forthcoming marriage
of their children
Amanda Jane Bearss
and
William Craig Langdon
on
Saturday, September 18, 2010
in British Columbia
80th Birthday
Celebration!
The family of
Jean Nethery
invites you to an
Open House
Sunday, September 19
from 3:00-5:00 pm
Anglican Church
Parish Hall, Blyth
Please join us for cake
and a visit.
No gifts please. If you wish,
donations to the food bank welcome.
Happy 25th
Anniversary
Charles and Abi were
surprised with an
anniversary party hosted
by their boys
Chris and Adam Corbett
Library creates
community booklist
Community Journals are being
scattered throughout Huron County
starting on Culture Days, Sept. 24 -
26. From then until Oct. 24,
residents are invited to visit a Huron
County Library branch, write about
a favourite book and contribute to
this county-wide discussion about
reading and libraries.
In addition to the journals within
the libraries, five journals are also
being sent out of the branches and
directly into Huron County
communities. These journals may
be passed from reader to reader until
being returned to a library branch,
one month later.
Once all recommendations have
been gathered, Huron County
Library will compile and share this
uniquely local booklist with Huron
County.
Culture Days is a federal and
provincial movement to raise the
awareness, accessibility,
participation and engagement of all
Canadians in the arts and cultural
life of their communities. In
addition to the Community Journals
program, the Huron County Library
is also partnering with various local
organizations on the public art event,
Communitrees, during Culture
Days.
For more information on Huron
County Library’s Community
Journals or the Library’s
involvement in Culture Days,
contact Meighan Wark, Branch
Services Librarian at 519-482-5457
or visit the library’s website at
www.huroncounty.ca/library.
Courtney Guy, Emily Stennett,
Cheyenne Schiestel, Ashley Johnston,
all of E. Wawanosh.
Boys.Justin Rodgers, Henri
Frischknecht, both of E. Wawanosh.
GRADE 7 - POSTER
Class 291 - Boys.Jarod Logan,
Chance Smith, both of E. Wawanosh.
Girls.Emily Meier, Megan Stute,
Rachel Cook, Judith Hess, Ashley
Higgins, all of E. Wawanosh.
GRADE 8 - BOOKS
Class 292 - Boys.Tommy Hewitt,
Dylan Bromley, Landon Stafford, Jesse
VanCamp, Braydon Whitfield, Bryce
Glousher, all of E. Wawanosh.
Girls.Brianna Yuill, Stacey Hallahan,
Jessica Procter, Kaitlyn Michie, Denice
Secord, Gabriel Carter, all of E.
Wawanosh.
Continued from page 22
Thousands of people across
Ontario will be participating in the
Terry Fox Run for Cancer Research
in Sunday, September 19, including
those participating in Brussels.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., starting at
the Brussels Optimist Station, local
participants will help raise money
for the 455 Canadians who are told
every day that they have cancer.
In 2009, Ontarians donated over
$10 million to cancer research
through participating events.
The Terry Fox Run started out as
the Marathon of Hope in 1980, when
Fox decided to bring cancer to the
forefront of social discussions, and
make people aware of the effects the
disease can have. By running across
Canada, Fox hoped to bring in funds
to help beat Cancer.
Although he was forced to stop,
Fox’s marathon inspired people,
including Isadore Sharp, who,
having lost a son to cancer, knew the
effect the disease can have.
Sharp told Fox that, even though
his run had to be stopped, it could
continue on as an annual event.
For more information about the
Brussels run contact Jeff Newell and
Doug McArter at 519-887-8993.
The Brussels run will be wheelchair,
rollerblade and bicycle accessible,
and have route lengths of two, eight
and 10 kilometres.
For information about the
Marathon of Hope, and Terry Fox,
visit www.terryfoxrun.orgSchool fair
poster results
Brussels to host 30th
annual Terry Fox Run