Village Squire, 1980-05, Page 7the winter when she found work in the festival's administrative
offices demanded extra layers of clothing. She remembers the
great success of The Farm Show tour, which finally had to
commence at 7:30 p.m. -- an hour early -- because all the seats
had already been filled.
People were coming to the show in droves, some of them
under the impression it was an important exhibition. Amos
remembers farmers weeping with laughter, however, at some of
the scenes. The tour showed the possibilities for theatre in the
region, a chance followed up by James Roy and Anne Roy in
1975.
"The tour set the precedent and got the word-of-mouth going.
You can't beat that kind of publicity in this area," she said.
"People were ready for the summer theatre when it got started.
Now, they see it as their theatre and they trust it. Our solid base
audience (about 21,000-22,000 from a 50 mile radius) is from the
area, and it's gone up and up each year."
A THRIVING CONCERN
The festival Amos inherits has evolved into a thriving concern,
with a summer budget of 5130,000. A 5200,000 renovation
project will increase seating capacity to 480, and in the 1980
season there will be a company of 11 actors and one musician. As
is Aileen Taylor -Smith in Grand Bend, Amos is concerned with
keeping the community hall open and busy during the
off-season. The Canadian Brass have been through on previous
tours, and Amos said the Goderich Rotarians had arranged to
bring in a choir from Wales. It's all part of her plan to make
going to the show a year-round habit.
The season will open July 4, and run through August 30. One
play repeated from last season, I'll Be Back For You By
Midnight, has been given the critical nod as the Blyth work most
likely to make it to Broadway. Amos said Peter Colley's thriller
("a real spooky show") has done extremely well wherever it's
been staged.
1 asked her about Keith Roulston's McGillicuddy's Lost
Weekend, a comedy that was the hit of the 1979 summer ("it
outdrew Midnight"). While the Colley play has travelled well,
critics have said that Roulston's humor is too localized to do the
same thing.
The artistic director defended Roulston's local popularity, and
suggested there are opportunities for his work to develop and
become more widely -known. "A large percentage of our
audience loves Keith's work," she acknowledged"and he really
has an ear for the humour found in the this part of the world."
Amos went on, however, to stress the way she'd like to see his
work grow. "He's not a naturalistic writer; it's not like the Odd
Couple. His plays have these maniacs running around. They're
exaggerated, but somehow recognizable. What 1'd like to see
him do is turning his characters' foibles (which she said are
apparent in their comical names, i.e. the miser who is called
Moneybags) back on their heads. That's the way it happens in
Restoration comedy, and that is Keith's true quality."
On the other hand, Amos admitted, there are people whose
critical insights into Roulston's work are as valid as her own.
With a most Clara -like laugh, she related an anecdote about the
reaction of local police officers to the bedevilled constable
McGillicuddy. An actor in the Blyth company was pulled over
one summer evening for a case of excessive foot on the
accelerator. For a moment it looked bad, but when the officers
heard the actor was headed to the theatre for a weekend with
McGillicuddy, they immediately cheered up and offered to
accompany him.
Their reason? As they told the actor: "There's a lot of truth in
that play."
And a happy ending like that -- with a young actor rewarded
with a second chance and a friendly nod -- seems like the best
way to conclude this conversation with the three new artistic
directors. May all their tickets be such good ones!
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VILLAGE SQUIRE/MAY 1980 PG. 5