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The Lucknow Sentinel, 1978-07-26, Page 9Keith Roulston writes second play "His Own Boss" playing at Blyth The opening night production of a play is a real. exhilaration for the writer says Keith Roulston of Blyth who wrote "His Own Boss" which opened at the Blyth Centre for the Arts two weeks ago. "But a depression sets in after the-' opening performance, says Roulston, "There is a sadness at the loss of something that has been so much a part of you for a time." It is unsettling for the author to sit in on rehearsals of the first production of his play. The actors and director are more critical of a first production says Roultson. If a script is typeset, bound and published the actor is more willing to say "this works" and will minimize the play's: weaknesses by putting on a stronger performance. But a first production will go through script changes. Whether the writer incorporates these changes in his final script is up to him, but they will appear in the first production authorized by the director. It is difficult to sit down and do a final script incorporating rehearsal changes says Roulston, and the writer puts it off and puts it off, sometimes it takes months to write the final draft. The writer goes through bouts of depression as he sees the director and actors do things to his play. There are as many as nine "editors" looking at his copy including seven actors, a director and the stage manager for "His Own Boss". Since the Blyth theatre produces so many new scripts, the writers get together and cry on each other's shoulders. The first day of rehearsal is the biggest charge says Roulston, but after you've worked and worked it, the jokes aren't funny anymore and the writer wonders if anyone in the audience will think it funny. But then, opening night, the audience laughs and the insecurity leaves. Roulston started writing "His Own Boss" in October of last year after the idea came into his head while he was doing the second rewrite of "The Shortest Distance Between Two Points", the first play he had written which was produced at Blyth last season. He is a fast writer and the last two rewrites of "His Own Boss" were done in three or four days. He did a first draft of "Shortest .Distance" and showed it to James Roy, artistic director at the Blyth Centre in 1975 who said it was interesting and encouraged him to work on it some more. He completed five drafts of the play and it was produced during last year's season for the first time. At this point, he already had the idea of "Ills Own Boss" and told Roy about it. Roy commissioned him to write the play and he began serious work on it in October. -The Blyth Summer Festival never uses a writer for three years in a row, so Keith expects that, if he writes anything for next year's season, it may an adaptation of a play written by another writer. The Blyth Centre for the Arts which sponsors the Blyth Summer Festival is gaining wide reputation especially among the theatrical community. It has been used as a model on how a community theatre should be run by the Ontario Arts Council. The theatre went equity in 1976, meaning they use equity actors - full time professionals. More personnel is required to stage reproductions when you go equity because you must use professional stage managers, directors and other off stage professionals. Roulston has been interested in theatre since his days at Ryerson Polytchnical institute in the journalism course. He used to get the best $2.50 seats at the Royal Alexandria Theatre to see such people as Helen Hayes and Art Carney: Underground theatre was really underground in Toronto at that time so he saw only a couple of these productions. He became hooked and in the back of his mind was the notion of starting a theatre. He saw the original production of Theatre Passe Maurielle's "The Farm Show" in the barn at Holmesville. It was a fantastic experience to see the tremendous electricity in the building" during that production says Roulston. He met Paul Thompson who belonged to the Passe Maurielle company . and Thompson put him in touch with James Roy and together the two were thecatalyst that initiated the Blyth Centre 'for. the Arts. Roy is the artistic director at the theatre and Roulston is the president of the board of directors. Keith was raised in Lucknow where his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Cliff Roulston, still live. He has worked .as editor of the Clinton News -record which he left when he bought the Blyth Standard in 1972. He started the Village Squire in 1973 and The Rural -Voice in 1975 and purchased the Teeswater News in 1975. He sold the Blyth and Teeswater papers in 1977. His aim is to write full time and his work in newspapers and publishing enabled hini to live in the Blyth area, instead of returning to the city, while he could not make a living by writing full time. For the future he wants to do things with the Village Squire he has ideas about and spend more time with his writing; perhaps, an adaptation for ne.a season's Summer Festival. Mini single cylinder standings , MINIS 1,000 LB. SINGLE CYL. 1st Kurt Gossen . Staples Case 2nd Kurt Gossen Staples White 3rd Mark Jewell Dutton Club Cadet 4th Bryan Vincent Seaforth . Int. 5th Allan McBride Hagersville Int. 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