HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2009-07-23, Page 18It seems simple enough. Take a
single man, and a single woman and
put them together at a hockey game.
But when the arena is part of a
Blyth Festival production, in the
heart of the hockey-loving Snowbelt,
it gets a little trickier.
Designer Shawn Kerwin admits
that she came to the project of
Hockey Mom, Hockey Dad, which
opens Friday, July 24, with limited
knowledge of the sport. “I did spend
time in ice rinks while growing up,
but wasn’t around hockey. I have
become a bit more familiar with the
hockey arena now,” she says, smil-
ing.
The whole story unfolds in the
bleachers. “This isn’t a play where
you get abstract or conceptual,” said
Kerwin. “You have to make it believ-
able. There’s no messing around
with it.”
This, for the hockey novice meantresearch. While the average hockeyfan may think that re-creating anarena would be a breeze, Kerwinwanted to ensure authenticity ineverything from the state of the facil-
ity to the banners that adorned it.
To start her information and detail
gathering, Kerwin went first to the
Toronto Metropolitan Research
Library where she took photo-
graphs. Next she toured a number of
arenas and took pictures during
practices.
Most important in her design was
figuring out how to make good act-
ing space while creating a believable
arena. While Kerwin has seen a pro-
duction of Hockey Mom, Hockey
Dad at another theatre, the stage was
below the audience, so the chal-
lenges here are different.
“If the audience is essentially on
the ice, there are sight lines prob-
lems because of boards and glass.
You have to determine how you
manipulate the architecture of the ice
rink so it’s believable and provide
space that’s good for the actors.”
Also, with the Blyth stage being
small, there is also a decision to be
made on exactly what part of the
rink will be used on stage.
Then there are the smaller details,
the ones that would seem to mean
little, but would not escape the dis-
paraging remarks of hockey affi-
cionadas in the audience should they
not be realistic.
“In every arena there are banners
that deal with text that we have to
make sure is right.”
As the team in the play is a junior
one that’s “not doing well,” said
Kerwin, a decision was made that
the banners would be old. “They
honour past long-ago wins.”
To achieve the vintage look, a thin
brown paint is spread across them,
while the backs are painted black to
keep light from filtering through.
To assist with her research in this
area, Kerwin visited some localmoms for some Hockey 101. “Ispoke to Janice Peters (whose oldestson plays with the CarolinaHurricanes’ American HockeyLeague team, the Albany River Rats,
while his brother, Anthony plays in
the Ontario Hockey League) about
the differences between the leagues
and teams.”
Kerwin said she also learned
something about the photos she had
taken of the banners at the Blyth
arena. “I didn’t know this, but they
were actually pretty serious win-
ners.”
Copyright of course prohibits a
complete re-creation of the banners,
but Kerwin’s inventions are based
closely on them.
There is as well reference to the
age of the building and the need to
replace it, so the creative approach
taken to showing wear and tear on
the bleachers was to drag them
behind a tractor for a spell.
A good deal of work goes into the-
atre design, most of which the audi-
ence will never see or recognize.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing,
says Kerwin.
“I do feel there should always be
some mystery to it. But if they knew
some of the secrets, the time that the
crew puts into each detail, that’s nice
too.”
PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN,THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2009.
New exhibit
The work of Darlean Morris, an internationally-exhibited
painter is on display at the Blyth Festival Art Gallery.
Perceptions - Abstracts on Aluminum opened officially on
Friday with a gala reception. The exhibition will continue
until Aug. 5. (Vicky Bremner photo)
Designer puts Blyth Festival stage rink-side
Making it real
Designer Shawn Kerwin, left, and production crew member, Andrea Willette put the finishing
touches on the banners that will grace the stage during the Blyth Festival production of
Hockey Mom, Hockey Dad, opening tomorrow (Friday, July 24). The play, written by Michael
Melski, brings Festival artistic director Eric Coates back to the stage for the first time since
2004’s successful Test Drive, as a single father who finds romance in the bleachers. Kerwin’s
designs transforms the Blyth stage into an arena. (Bonnie Gropp photo)
By Bonnie Gropp
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Dwight Leslie
Edward Fuels
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519-392-8146
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