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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1989-04-19, Page 26PAGE 26. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 1989. Wait Wingfield's turned Dan Needles into a farmer The Needles family is having more time for togetherness these days after the success of “Letter from Wingfield Farm” and “Wingfield’s Progress” helped Dan quit his city job and take up writing and farming. Nowadays he’s home with his wife Heath and daughter Madeline preparing his new play “Perils of Persephone” for its opening at the Blyth Festival in June. BY KEITH ROULSTON It’s an irony that Walt Wingfield, central character in “Letter from Wingfield Farm’’ and “Wing­ field’s Progress” would appreci­ ate: the success of the shows Dan Needles created about Walt, the big city businessman who wants to be a farmer, has allowed the writer to quit his city job and move to a farm to raise sheep ... and write more popular plays. Dan, his wife Heath and young daughter Madeline have been liv­ ing on their Collingwood-area farm since he gave up his job as director of public affairs for Canada Life last year. There’s plenty to keep h’m busy though, between looking after the sheep, digging post holes and getting two new plays ready for presentation. He was in Blyth last week on his way to the opening of his two one-man shows at the Grand Theatre in London. He’ll be seeing a lot more of Blyth in the coming months as he prepares his first larger cast play, “Perils of Perse­ phone” for its opening at the Blyth Festival on June 16. The play is set in Persephone township, on the farm of township councillor Eldon Currie, township reeve, a couple of miles south of the Wingfield’s farm, where Walt Winfield spun his tales in the previous plays. Come this fall, Walt will be back on stage in a new one-man play tentatively called “Winfield’s Fol­ lies”, a play workshopped at the Blyth Festival. As well as the work on the stage, the collected “Letters from Wing­ field Farm” will be published this fall by Key Porter Books. The whole Winfield saga began back after Dan had graduated from Entertainment CHSS band, choir shows off talents the University of Toronto and took a job as editor of the Shelburne Free Press. As a continuing series, he concocted a weekly correspon­ dence from a mythical urbanite, Walt Wingfield, who had left his executive job in Toronto to seek peace in Persephone township. Later, two boyhood friends of Dan’s, actor Rod Beattie and his brother, director Doug Beattie, persuaded him to adapt the letters for the stage. “Letter From Wing­ field Farm” opened in 1984 and the sequel, “Wingfield’s Progress” debuted at the Arbour Theatre in Peterborough in 1987. “Letter” has already had more than 400 performances across Canada and both Wingfield plays have been on CBC Radio. The success of the two Wingfield plays has taught him, Dan says, that there is a huge audience across the country outside of Toronto that Huge audience for theatre outside Toronto is very interested in theatre and just as moved by the theatrical experience as “anybody south of Steeles Ave.” Theatre can be successful outside the big city without the kind of financial risk taken in the major market where only productions with a huge prior record like “Cats” or “Les Miser- ables” are assured of making money. He learned, he said, that outside Toronto, the country is operating on very consistent lines theatri­ cally. This, of course, is something the Blyth Festival discovered years before he did, Dan says, and has developed a loyal audience because of it. And that in turn is why he is so pleased to be premiering his new play at Blyth. “This setting here is just made for me. It’s designed for new plays-about my turf, rural Ontario.” Rural Ontario is symbolic of a lot of things he likes, Dan says. People don’t pretend to be cosmopolitan or sophisticated and have a nice refreshing, and skeptical view of everything. That skepticism plays a major part in the characters in the two earlier Wingfield plays and in “Perils of Persephone”. The play, he says, is “an encouragement to skepticism about what the engi­ neers and politicians say to us.” In it a truck carrying nuclear waste goes out of control and lands in the farm of Eldon Currie, township reeve, who has been setting his goal to become county warden. Because of the spill the authorities have to be called in and when the Minister of Environment and his assistant arrive, Eldon finds him­ self in a far more complicated situation than he could have ima­ gined. Just as he used his newspaper and small town experience to good use in the Wingfield plays, Dan uses another part of his experience here. After his stint as a newspaper editor he became executive assis­ tant to the Ontario Minister of Environment. You are not dealing with evil people, he says of the bumbling politicians who invade Eldon’s farm. By nature of the nuclear industry these are people out of their depth. ‘ ‘I didn’t know what I was talking about (when he was executive assistant) he admits with a chuckle, “but I had an excuse: I was 25 years old. But nobody else did either.” As a result of the fumbling the government often ended up accomplishing the oppo­ site to what it set out to do, he said. The situation isn’t so far-fetched when one looks at the Exxon oil spill, Chernobyl and other man­ made disasters. Yet though there is a serious side to him, his plays are gentle, not harshly satirical. If you want people to take home what you have to say and mull it over you have to be cautious of the bite in your voice, he says. On Wednesday, April 26, CHSS will again present their annual Spring Music Concert and Art Exhibition in the high school auditorium. This is the final major event for the Music Club after a busy and exciting year. The Band and Choir have just returned from a trip to Bermuda where among other things, they performed a public concert in the Hamilton-Toronto square and along with the music students from Northlands S.S. in Bermuda, pre- sented a concert in the High School. The Music Club thanks all who bought pizzas so that this trip could be possible. Some of the excitement generat­ ed as a result of this trip will be evident in their music as they perform at CHSS. Once again the students of the art classes will display their talents in the entrance. A special invitation is extended to area Grade 8 students, especially those who have registered for the music program at CHSS. PIZZA PIZZA PIZZA & "Doe FOR Bill Jefferson & Debbie Rimmer APRIL 29 AUBURNHALL Music by Realistic Sound 9p.m. to1 a.m. THURS., FRI., SAT. 5P.M.-12A.M. BLYTH INN EAT IN OR TAKE OUT 523-9381 BRUSSELS JR. 'D' DANCE FRIDAY APRIL 28th AT THE B. M. & G. COMMUNITY CENTRE DANCING 9-1 $6 Per person JAMIE HAM0ND EVERYONE WELCOME! For advanced tickets phone 887-9289 SPONSORED BY JR. “D” BOOSTER CLUB for Rich Hamming and Wilma Van Dyke Seaforth Community Centre April 22 8 to 1 For more information call 523-49^4 or 527-1435 Seaforth Harmony Kings 7th Annual Barbershop Show “MAROONED” SHOWTIMES: Saturday, April 22, 1989 at 1:59 p.m. Matinee and 7:59 p.m. Seaforth and District Comm. Centres FOR TICKETS CALL: Seaforth Insurance Brokers or 482-7763; 527-1076; 524-9223; 348-9501; 236-4705. Member of Ontario District Association of Chapters. The Seaforth Harmony Kings financially support the Harmonize For Speech Fund. FROM MOM & DAD April 12/89 BLYTH FESTIVAL Blyth Festival Singers PRESENTS {pt a Satiny With Special Guests: Georgian Bay Community Choir Saturday, April 29 - 8 p.m. Refreshments to follow At Blyth Memorial Hall Tickets: $6.00 Adults $3.00 Children Call Blyth Festival Box Office 523-9300/9225 v