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Village Squire, 1978-01, Page 26THEATRE Theatre Go Round manages to reach students of all ages The weather is stormy and one of the buses carrying high school students to the theatre is late, meaning the curtain must be held. The rest of the students are noisy and restless. It's not the kind of audience that an actess yearns for. But at last, amid confusion the students arrive, just as the actors are prepared to go ahead anyway. The audience settles down as the show begins and for the next two hours are as well behaved as any audience could be expected to be. At the end they give the three young actresses a thunderous ovation. Such are the perils and the joys of doing theatre for schools and Theatre Go Round, based in Petrolia's Victoria Playhouse has been an excellent example of just what can be accomplished. The group, under the artistic directorship of Patricia Mahoney, has performed plays for all age groups of students from kindergarten to high school and succeeded at all levels. The production enjoyed in the snow storm is Miss Mahoney's own work, Mirror Mirror, based on the work of such Canadian female writers Margaret At- wood, Margaret Laurence, Sylvia Fraser, and Alice Munro (who is in the audience to see the show). It brings the characters to life for the students dealing with the writers' views of women through their lifetime from childhood through the teenage years to womanhood and even death. The actresses weave the different characters from the different books into a cohesive production Angela Gei, Wendy Creed and Liz Hannah switch from one character to another with only a change of expression and perhaps a slight costume change. They change ages they change personalities. They draw a strong response from the students, particularly the girls, when they deal with the frustrations and feelings of adolescence, showing that no matter what age the writer grew up in, the problems remain the same. But later, when the show switches to the problems of older women, the young audience is still there, attentive and appreciative even though there can be no shared experience here. It's part of the success of Theatre Go Round which is funded under a Canada Works grant from the government. In September it produced its first production Earth Song which toured Lambton county schools for Kindergarten to grade three. Later it toured The Voyageurs, written by Rita Baker, Petrolia 24, VILLAGE SQUIRE/JANUARY 1978. playwright for grades four. five and six. It deals with Canadian pioneer Pierre Radisson who was one of the greatest explorers along with his friend Groseilliers. -Both plays have been well received by the children and won critical praise as well. A theatre to succeed must know its audience, yet the problem for a theatre like Theatres across Canada into winter seasons BY NANCY COLDHAM The lights dim; the theatre darkens; the curtain rises to an evening of drama, comedy, satire. This scene will be repeated many times across Canada this fall/winter, 1977-78, season. Canadians' appreciation of the perform - Theatre Go Round is that audience keeps changing. The demands for theatre for kindergarten children is different from theatre for 10 year olds and far different again than for senior high school students. Thus the success of Patricia Mahoney's Theatre Go Round is especially praise- worthy. ing arts is made visible by the number of well-equipped theatres throughout the country. The Playhouse, a 647 seat theatre built and opened in 1962 is one of three operated by the city of Vancouver, British Columbia. and housed in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Hap -E -Nest 184 Diagonal Rd. Wingham, Ont. Phone 357-3833 tie It's a magical season, filled with dreams come true! Hope your holiday's brimming with smiles and laughter! Thank you for the joy given to us, by your patronage of our new venture. MARGARET ENGLISH t.