The Citizen, 2009-12-17, Page 23THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2009. PAGE 23.
The 2010 Blyth Festival’s season
opener was given a few readings last
week at Memorial Hall as part of a
winter workshop.
A Killing Snow, written by
Governor-General nominee and
Grand Bend resident Paul Ciufo,
was on the reading table on Dec. 9
and 10, perfectly coinciding with the
first blast of this year’s winter,
adding a very real aspect to the
readings.
Ciufo, as well as director Kate
Lynch and actors Catherine Fitch
and Tony Munch, among others,
gathered in Blyth, huddled from the
snow and delayed due to the
weather, to work through A Killing
Snow. The real aspect to this
particular winter workshop,
however, is that the play takes place
in Huron County over a few storm-
stayed days.
When Blyth Festival artistic
director Eric Coates announced the
2010 season, he called A Killing
Snow, a “really attractive play for us
to open our season.” And while
Blyth Festival plays often pride
themselves on their relevance to
Huron County, art certainly imitated
life last week when writers and
actors had trouble getting to Blyth
because of a snowstorm to attend a
workshop for a play about people
stuck together in a house due to a
Huron County snowstorm.
Lynch says the workshop is almost
entirely for the benefit of the
playwright, although it does give the
actors, as well as the director a
chance to begin to formulate some
ideas and an approach to how they
will act out their characters or direct
the play.
A Killing Snow, Lynch says, has
gone through two major re-writes
and is now a very sound play. The
process will be helpful for Ciufo, the
mind behind 2007’s hit Reverend
Jonah, in that he will be able to hear
his words performed for the first
time. Lynch said a playwright can
read a play 100 times, but that it will
sound different with the words
coming out of an actor’s mouth. She
says it will help him understand
what works in the play and what
might need some work.
While Lynch says she has been
through her fair share of workshops,
every one has been different to date.
She says it depends on the writer,
and in this case, she has never
worked with Ciufo before.
Fitch says she finds she can best
assist the writer in the workshop
process by asking questions, not
only from an actor’s standpoint, but
also as an audience member.
Lynch agrees, saying that as she
listens to the actors present the
script, she can begin to formulate her
vision for the play, although she
can’t get too carried away until she
gets working with her designer in
the new year.
“This play is grounded in the
reality of five characters over five
days,” she says. “But there’s also a
supernatural element to it too.”
The play takes place during a
typical Huron County winter when
four travellers take refuge from the
storm in the secluded house of
Gerald Goldie, a retired Latin
teacher.
As the days go on, a distaste for
their host emerges as well as a
growing animosity for each other
and it is clear as the time goes on
that someone has murder on their
mind.
The murder-mystery aspect of the
play is something that makes the
play fun, Lynch says.
She also said the storm has helped
bring a real energy to the play so far,
making the words on the page
become very real.
“I think we’ve all been getting
really swept up in all of this,” she
said.
Staying organized during the
hectic holiday season can be the
ultimate testament to a person’s
ability to multi-task.
Perhaps no time of year presents a
bigger challenge than the holiday
season, when the list of obligations
increases but the amount of time in
the day unfortunately remains the
same.
But staying organized can be a
great way to save time and some of
your sanity this holiday season. To
do just that, consider the following
tips.
1. Create a holiday calendar. This
calendar will be solely devoted to
the holidays. Fill it with all your
parties, shopping lists and anything
else pertaining to the holidays.
That way you’ll have it all in one
place.
2. Create a meal plan. Map out
what meals and goodies you’ll be
making this season. Write a list of
ingredients you’ll need to have ready
in the pantry and bring the list with
you to the market.
3. Write a list of chores. Organize
your home by creating a list of what
needs to be decorated, what rooms
need cleaning, etc.
4. Rely on gift lists. Don’t risk
having to visit the toy store
more than necessary just because
you forgot one or two items. Make
gift lists for every person on your
list.
On each list, write down what the
recipient wants, gift ideas, clothing
sizes, favorite colours, hobbies or
anything else related to that
person.
5. Make a holiday binder. Don’t
just stuff all those mile-long gift lists
and other organizational items into a
drawer. File them away in a holiday
binder. Pack the binder away with
the holiday decorations each year so
you’ll have it ready come next
season.
Talking shop
The time has come for winter workshops at the Blyth Festival with writers, actors and directors
gathering in the village to go over next season’s opening play, A Killing Snow. Actors Catherine
Fitch, left, and Tony Munch, right, were charged with the task of bringing the play’s characters
to life, while the director, Kate Lynch, watched the reading as if she was a member of the
audience, trying to think of how she might approach the direction of the play in 2010. (Shawn
Loughlin photo)
Get organized for the holidays
Winter workshops underway at Blyth FestivalEntertainment Leisure&
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Tickets at Festival Office, Legion,
Ernie King Music in Goderich & Wingham
Call: 1-800-465-7829
SAT. JANUARY 23/10 - 2PM
BLYTH MEMORIAL HALL