HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1990-02-21, Page 21THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1990. PAGE 21.
Rehearsals begin for ‘Mail Order Bride’ western tour
na?Mer'2oKLaSZas <centre)>.the artistic director of the Blyth Festival shows actors Stephen Walsh
( ettjand Robert McClure (right) what she wants in a scene they are rehearsing in preparation for an
extensive tour of “The Mail Order Bride’’ in Alberta and British Columbia.
BY LISA BOONSTOPPEL
The workshop and rehearsal
studio at Blyth Festival Garage are
the scene of intense rehearsal as
Artistic Director, Katherine Kaszas
and the cast members of “The Mail
Order Bride”, a play by Robert
Clinton prepare for an extensive
tour of Alberta and British Colum
bia to begin next month.
“Rehearsals are going very
well.” said Ms. Kaszas who is
directing the play for the second
time, the first time was when the
play appeared as part of the Blyth
Festival season in 1989 and toured
through Ontario last fall.
“The Mail Order Bride has
specific appeal to the western
audience,” said Ms. Kaszas. “The
players have to work the land and
another appeal is just what the
players have to do to establish a
successful farm. Another aspect of
the play relevant to the audience is
that the daughter leaves like many
girls on farms do today to go to the
cities.”
Jane Gardner, Director of Com
munications for the Festival said
“there was a lot of interest from
Alberta and we decided while we
were out there, we would tour.” It
was Alberta Theatre Projects that
was initially interested in acquiring
the play and ‘Bride’ will be
performed there for five weeks and
then put on the road with perfor
mances in 13 communities in
southwestern Alberta and south
eastern British Columbia.
“It’s been three years since a
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Blyth play has toured Alberta,”
said Bernice Passchier who has
been assisting on the western tour
itinerary and arranging accommo
dation for the company which is a
combination of new and old faces.
The production features new cast
members Peggy Coffey (Eva),
Louise Philippe (Charlotte) and
David Gow (Art). There are also
some familiar faces from last year’s
season: David Fraser (Charles),
Karen Barker (Rachel), Robert
McClure (Russell) and Stephen
Walsh who will be repeating his
portrayal of Harold, the comical
caretaker of the old Teeter farm.
These actors will be acting out a
play that spans three generations
as Harold takes Russell and Eva
Teeter on a sentimental journey
back in time to tell them the story
of Russell’s parents and grandpar
ents. The story centres on
Charlotte Emery who quit work as a
school teacher in winter of 1908,
got on a train full of strangers and
travelled hundreds of miles across
Canada to meet her husband-to-be
for the first time as a mail order
bride.
Ms. Kaszas said the appeal for
her as a director to do the play is
that it doesn’t adhere to real time
on stage. “That is a real challenge
to a director,” she said.
The Mail Order Bride is also
challenging to two actors who were
also showcased in last year’s
production of the play. Stephen
Walsh who is playing Harold said
“It’s habit to perform Harold the
way I did last year and it’s a real
challenge for me to look at the
character differently.” Mr. Walsh
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explained that working with a new
crew of actors creates different
adaptations of the role and he has
to “hang on to what is good in the
role and flow with what is new.”
Robert McClure added that he is
excited about his role as Russell,
and the tour. He said that acting on
tours is no more difficult than
acting in the same theatre for
weeks other than to get used to the
dimensions and geography of the
stage. “The hardest part about
touring is the travelling, motels
and cafeteria food,” he said.
The tour begins on March 8 and
continues to April 29th and fulfills
part of the Blyth theatre’s purpose
said Ms. Gardner who said that it is
important to see Canadian stories
on stage. “We always felt it was
important to travel with Canadian
plays.”
The western tour is an additional
project being taken on by the
Festival, which generally only tours
in the fall with the summer
season’s most popular perform
ance. But with the interest shown
in the plays to touring, along with
the new facilities that make winter
rehearsals possible, the tour was
added to the schedule.
Ms. Gardner said that no thea
tres tour as regularly as Blyth,
largely because of the expense
involved. The $4,000 to $5,000
sponsor fee only covers about
three-quarters of the cost of the
production and she added that
Blyth wouldn’t be able to afford the
tour either without the support of
the Canada Council Touring Office,
the Ministry of Culture and the
Communications Arts Abroad pro
gram.
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