HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1991-10-23, Page 23E ntertainment
Theatre review
Buddy makes music and fun
THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23,1991. PAGE 23.
by Bonnie Gropp
"There is no depth to the foolish
ness we will try. But we seem to
get away with it." So said Wayne
Chaulk, member of Buddy Wasis-
name and the Other Fellers, in
describing the trio's material to the
full house at Blyth Memorial Hall
on Saturday night.
I couldn’t have said it better
myself. With songs inspired by
everything from GST to doggy-doo
(perhaps not the best examples to
show diversity) this Newfoundland
threesome kept the capacity audi
ence tapping their toes and laugh
ing uproariously with two full
hours of zany musical comedy.
And just when you thought their
wacky antics were hiding inferior
musical ability they performed a
tender ballad that demonstrated a
vocal and instrumental talent wor
thy of admiration. Their smooth
voices blend beautifully and they
adroitly accompany themselves on
a variety of instruments, including
mandolin, accordion and fiddle.
Buddy Wasisname and the Other
Fellers have performed their origi
nal and traditional songs and skits
on stages from Victoria to New
foundland. They have been fea
tured on television and recently
completed their third album,
Flatout.
Buddy is the alter ego of Kevin
Blackmore, the centre stage, manic
comedian. Although his formal
musical training is limited, he is a
gifted entertainer, who draws from
his lifetime experiences in a small
Newfoundland town, for the sub
ject of his humour.
Wayne Chaulk is one of the
"other fellers", a second banana to
Kevin and often the voice of sanity.
He grew up in Charlottetown,
Bonavista Bay, a small village, and
through his thoughtful viewpoints
he offers a warm, lyrical look at
rural Newfoundland.
The third member of the group
Ray Johnson was given the heritage
of Irish songs and recitations hand
ed down to him as a child in the
small fishing village where he grew
up.
It is that sense of heritage and
simple lifestyle that is a large por
tion of the enjoyment received
from listening to this group. They
are warm and natural and draw the
Keep finger on the pulse
business leaders told
Continued from page 22
for it,” Mr. Geddes said.
He's an avid supporter of strate
gic planning. It's his business and,
he stresses that it's an essential
exercise that every business owner
must carry out.
“You can't take your finger off
the pulse for a minute. You're never
done assessing, but the process is
critical. It helps you determine how
you will market your product.”
Mr. Geddes advises that business
analysis and strategic plan develop
ment is not a process that can be
accomplished over a cup of coffee,
while you're wailing on customers,
or stocking shelves.
It is best done on a separate agen
da, away from your place of busi
ness, and should include other key
employees and management peo
ple. To be done properly it takes
time, thought and objectivity. Once
audience into their performance.
The evening reminded me very
much of a large house party where
three exuberant good buddies stand
up to amuse and entertain their
friends, with good natured comedy
and silly antics.
The humour is silly, undeniably
so. The jokes are often antiquated.
But, the ingenuity of this trio puts a
new twist on everything renewing
even the oldest joke. For example,
we've all heard the one about the
cop who comes upon the fatal auto
mobile accident and learns the
details from a monkey, which, it
turns out, just happened to have
been the driver. But chances are
you've never seen the joke before.
As Wayne narrated, Kevin assumed
the role of a mountie, who grilled
the monkey (Ray) to gather evi
dence. Silly? Absolutely, however
Buddy and the Other Fellers know
it is too, and it's that honest
Theatre review
Good show for younger audience
by Nlcki Gropp
Lampoon Puppettheatre's Folk
tales From Around the World, drew
a full crowd to the Blyth Festival
on Saturday. October 19.
The show began with the first
story called "The Tea Kettle",
which is a folktale from Japan. The
many puppets kept the audience
amused, especially the badger,
which seemed to be everyone's
favorite, because it was the most
active, moving across the stage and
turning up in different places.
"The Golden Fish", a story from
Russia was next. The golden fish
would grant the fisherman any wish
he wanted, until he got too greedy,
then he took it all away. The thing
that the children found most inter
esting in this story was the moving
sea water, which was explained
after the production. They had
made a fake backdrop of waler with
a net attached and when the man
would cast his net into the water
there were waves.
The final story was a tale by
Robert Munsch, called "The
Paperbag Princess", which is a pop-
the first steps are taken, the plan
can take form with relative ease
and becomes an ongoing dynamic
process that is key to the business.
He warned that strategic plans
work well, as long as they're not
cast in stone, filed away in a forgot
ten desk drawer, or left unattended.
Goal setting is a popular exercise
for business, but if goals are to be
effective they must include specific
time frames and amounts. Every
goal needs an implementation plan,
every implementation plan needs
specific dales and the assigned peo
ple who will carry the work out.
“Humans are great strategists, but
we need to say when we'll do it and
who will do it,” Mr. Geddes noted.
Strategic planning may be a rela
tively new business term, but it's a
program of action that may make
the difference between business
success and failure.
approach that makes them so
appealing.
They know what an audience
needs to make them laugh and they
are truthful in telling the audience
what they want, too. "We'll all
gather in the lobby," is a sales
pitch. "Put your money on the table
for a t-shirt and a tape, and go
home feeling good."
Likewise, they perform an origi
nal song that asks the audience for
an encore, in advance. No problem
there. Not only were they given a
well-deserved, standing ovation,
but they got a second one as well,
unsolicited.
Buddy Wasisname and the Other
Fellers were the first in a series of
concerts to be presented this fall
and in the spring by Blyth Centre
for the Arts. It's going to be a tough
act to follow, but if the rest are half
as good you won't want to miss
them.
ular story among the little children.
The puppets in this story were
made to look exactly like the char
acters in the story book, and you
could tell by the chatter in the audi
ence that they were recognized by
all the people who have ever read
the book.
The two talented people bringing
the puppets alive were Johan Van-
dergun, and Marjanka Vrabcova-
McComb. Both used many
different voices throughout the play
and played many different charac
ters, some at the same time. To
keep the play running smoothly the
pair was on the move all the time.
Johan Vandergun founded the
company in 1972 and is the Artistic
Director. He studied design in Hol
land, and writes and performs in
Lampoon Puppettheatre produc
tions. He also builds and creates
the sets and puppets.
In Prague, Czechoslovakia, Mar
janka Vrabcova-McComb studied
the puppetry arts. She writes and
directs many of the stories per
formed by the company.
After the show was over the
making of the puppets was
described. It seems that they were
simply made from foam and out of
old mattresses, which were painted
many bright colours. The puppets
seemed to be the high spot in the
show and caused much laughter.
I felt that this production was
basically directed at the younger
audience. The two children, both
aged 10, who accompanied me,
agreed. Though they did not dis
like the show they thought they
would have liked it more if they
were younger.
The production showed lots of
talent and Johan and Marjanka
know how to keep the audience
amused with just their puppets.
Seaforth Minor Sports
BINGO
EVERY MONDAY NIGHT
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Brussels library
hosts Christmas
design class
Are you thinking of making
something special for your home
this Christmas? The Huron County
Library, with the assistance of Out
reach Ontario Program and the
Southern Ontario Library Service,
Royal Botanical Gardens will be
presenting Christmas Designs for
the Home at the Brussels Library
on Monday, November 4 at 2 p.m.
Lil Haworth of the Royal Botani
cal Gardens will be doing a lecture
/demonstration using fresh, dried
and preserved materials to show
how to achieve a vast array of
Christmas designs for your home.
The suggestions Ms. Haworth
will be sharing include: wreaths,
swags and centrepieces. All of the
decorations will be made with natu
ral materials and a selection of the
more difficult to find hardware will
be made available for purchase at
the presentation.
Admission is $ 1 per person.
Spelling hope for the future
Support tor literacy programs in the developing world
is a long-term solution to hunger and poverty.
To make a donation, call 1-800-661-C0DE.
Self sufficiency through literacy in the developing world.
Happy Anniversary
FROM THE CREATOR OF
HOME ALONE," JOHN HUGHES
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