Village Squire, 1980-05, Page 6worried about the sheer number of jobs, and Hopkins is willing
to walk an extra mile or two for the actors he is able to hire.
CHEAP ACCOMMODATION
"Often the actor coming to a regional theatre will find the
costs of accommodation have practically used up his salary," he
said. "And I've heard this from an experienced actress, not just
the 22 year-olds who are looking for small parts simply to keep
the motor running. They come here looking for two things: Good
work and cheap accommodation. To help with the
accommodation, I'm going to tramp around and look for
reasonably priced apartments in the downtown area."
In case Hopkins sounds unnecessarily dramatic to any reader,
it should be mentioned that the acting profession is not a
lucrative one, except for a few starts at the top. According to
1977 figures, 54 per cent of the Canadian Actors Equity
Association members made less than S2,500 annually, and
about 60 per cent of Equity members were out of work at any
given time.
Hopkins said he would like to start a practical apprenticeship
program dt the theatre, to help young people find work in all
facets of stage business. "It's always surprised me how many
young people don't know what's involved," he said. "At theatre
school, all the props and costumes may be taken care of, and
there's a cutter on hand to work in that area. What they don't
realize is that it's not going to be like that when they come out to
work in the regional theatres, for example. I want them to have a
-mum rounder view of what the theatre is like, and they can get
this by going from department to department under this
-m)nrentice approach."
One of 30 candidates for the post, Hopkins was trained at
London, England's Royal Academy of The Dramatic Arts
(RADA), and since coining to Canada has taught drama at
Toronto's Ryerson and George Brown,campuses, as well as at
Bishop's. From 1975 to 1977, he worked at the Shakespearean
Festival in Stratford, an experience he said he's extremely
grateful for, and in 1977 directed les Belles Soeurs at Theatre
London.
Hopkinssaid one of the requirements for the position had him
compilinga sampleplaybill, and the works he's chosen for the
1980-81 season are balanced between such familiar fare as The
Rainmaker and recent plays such as The Incredible Murder of
Cardinal Tosca, a Sherlock Holmes tale written by Alden
Nowland and Walter Learning.
Although the bill of fare has been attacked for playing it too
safe -- a charge the theatre has faced before -- publicity director
Rob Wellan is prepared to defend the bill as creative and
commerical. A study has indicated about 90 per cent of the
Theatre London audience have not seen the plays, Wellan said,
adding that the theatre feels the choices arc important in terms
of audience and company development.
OLD WARHORSE
At least one choice, The Killing of Sister George, which
Hopkins described as "a good old warhorse," could arouse some
of the controversy created by Equus, and earlier in the '70s, by
The Collected Works Of Billy The Kid. Sister George,a study of
lesbianism, will be staged at the McManus, downstairs from the
big stage.
Hopkins said he hoped the McManus stage could serve as
London's home for avant-garde or alternative theatre, something
the city Tacks following the collapse of Centre Stage.
One place you probably won't see Hopkins during his first year
of duty is on the stage. Although he has ambitions to develop his
career as an actor, he doesn't expect to vacate the director's
chair for a place on stage because of budget constraints. "I don't
see it (taking a part) actually happening in the first year. Given
the fee for quest directors, our hands will be financially tied."
Although Hopkins has said a role he's looking forward to
PG. 4 VILLAGE SQUIfFEIMAY 1980
playing is that of Polonius, Ophelia's doddering and long-
winded father in Shakespeare's Hamlet, one of his first actinns
after being appointed artistic director was most unlike the old
advisor. Nettled by a review of Equus he felt to be unfair,
Hopkins fired off a short, angry letter to The London Free Press,
addressed to its theatre critic, Doug Bale.
When I asked him about the letter, Hopkins replied with a
detailed answer that could serve as artist's indictment of
criticism written to a deadline. "I felt that strongly (the need to
write the letter) because I felt on that occasion the man wasn't
doing the job," Hopkins said. "The Critic's job is to report an
event, and if there are 799 people, other than the critic, up and
cheering a performance, he should report what's happening
around him. I think he wasn't reporting the event."
VIEW MORE THAN ONCE
As an improvement, Hopkins suggested critics be allowed to
view a play more than once before having to review it. He
expresses his sympathy with the critic "with a bit of pad in the
dark and a bit of pencil," who is forced to pass judgement on a
play he may not have been able to concentrate on.
There have been no angry letters from Janet Amos,, at least
not yet, and an annoyed letter from her would seem almost as
surprising as a peeved letter to the editor from Polonius. This is
not because she lacks the fire and conviction to redress a
grievance, but because of the moderate image of Amos's famous
on-screen alter ego, Clara Sturgess. As one of the main
characters of the CBC -TV series, A Gift To Last, Clara projected
a calming wisdom on the show, a quality Amos portrayed until
Clara's withdrawal from Tamarack in the 1979-80 season.
According to the script, Clara left Tamarack because she was
stricken with consumption. In reality, Janet Amos was already
committed to her work in Blyth, and she tells people who ask her
if Clara died: "I went to Blyth, and came back!"
Blyth is a place Janet Amos admires ("It's a magical place and
I love it there."), though her feelings were literally cooled over
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