HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1992-04-29, Page 23THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29,1992. PAGE 23.
Theatre review
Awesome it was!
BY ERIN ROULSTON
On Saturday, April 25 children of
all ages gathered at the Blyth
Memorial Hall to see an excellent
program Jim and Dave's Awesome
Environmental Adventure.
And awesome it was.
They covered many environmen
tal issues from Acid Rain to Rain
forest to degradable plastics.
Singing 15 songs, they helped
young people to understand the
problems on our planet and how
each person can lend a hand and
clean things up.
They suggested planting trees,
composting, collecting bottles and
turning them in for money and the
3 R's: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
James “Jim” Gordon, a fine chil
dren's entertainer, along with David
“Dave” Archibald, a 10-year
Sesame Street composer, wrote,
produced and perform the entire
show.
James and David's songs are all
featured on cassette as well as their
story in a children's booklet. In the
recording of the tape they were
ably assisted by well-known musi
cians, Jeff Bird and David
Houghton (Cowboy Junkies) and
veteran guitar whiz Tony Quarring-
ton.
Nearer to the end of the show,
they asked children from the audi
ence for suggestions to help our
environment and made each sug
gestion into a short ‘rap’ verse.
At the end of this hour long pro
duction they presented Ray Salver-
da, general manager of the Blyth
Festival, with one acre of forest
land on the west coast of British
Columbia.
I found this show very entertain
ing and very educational. I think
that children need to know more
about our environment and leam to
respect it. I would rate this show, a
10 out of 10.
E ntertainment
Festival’s sales reflect times
A line-up of people once again
marked the opening day of ticket
sales for the public at the Blyth
Summer Festival April 21.
By Friday, 11 per cent of total
available tickets were sold which is
almost on par with the theatre's
1989 blockbuster year, said Jane
Gardner, Director of Communica
tions for the Festival.
However, ticket sales are down
from 15 per cent in 1991.
"Buying habits are really chang
ing," said Ms. Gardner. "People are
now buying tickets for two plays
where before they'd come to see
four plays.
She believes this is just a "sign of
the times" and said the Festival will
have to reach farther afield to earn
higher ticket sales.
So far in ticket sales, the popular
choice is Back up and Push, a show
which was recently added to the
summer's line-up and will be fea
tured in the Festival garage. It
claimed 24 per cent of all ticket
sales.
Following close behind are
Hometown Boy with 14 per cent,
The Glorious 12th with 13 per cent,
Puff and Blow Boys with 11 per
cent and then Yankee Notions and
I'll Be Back Before Midnight.
Ms. Gardner predicts ticket sales
will "blossom" once people learn
who's starring in the plays'-infor-
mation which should be released
soon.
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May 9 - Ian Wilbee Orchestra
May 16 - The Royal Aires
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11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
BUFFET DINNER
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Artistic enrichment
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ENTERTAINMENT
RETURNS
Doug McNall
May 1 & 2
Some 40 grade 7 and 8 enrichment students from all over the county participated in a two-day
workshop at Blyth Memorial Hall last week. The youths had the opportunity to study many
aspects of theatre, including costume design, script writing and acting. The event began
Tuesday with the students camping out in the rehearsal hall that evening and continuing the
work the next day. Here, Anne Conlin of Mt. Carmel, left, and Jayne Westlake of Zurich
discuss their script with Artistic Director Peter Smith and Jim Sheaffer, far right.
“Our theatre was built with the
pioneer spirit of volunteers, hard
work and vision,” says Ray Salver-
da, General Manager at the Blyth
Festival. “During National Volun
teer Week, we want to recognize
the contribution made by our Board
of Directors, and our volunteer
group, the Friends of Blyth. They
help us with fun-filled fundraising
events like the Book Sale on May
20, the gourmet dinner on August
15, our auction on October 17, and
at theatre performances throughout
the summer season as they act as
ushers to our growing audiences.
Without our generous volunteers,
many important activities at the
Festival would cease to exist. We're
always looking for new members
for the Friends of Blyth. Join in the
excitement and call the Blyth Festi
val office to sign up at 523-4345.”
This summer, there is a very spe
cial cultural exchange that over a
hundred volunteers will experience.
Fifty members of the Furano
Theatre Company from a small
island in northern Japan will live
and work in our community, cul
minating in performances of
Kanashibetsu at Blyth Memorial
Hall on June 5 and 6. Fifty per
formers and technicians will visit
Blyth and later travel to Toronto
and New York City to perform
their play, entirely in Japanese
(with surtitles). This is their first
performance in North America.
Kanashibetsu is a play about the
closing of a coal mine, the commu
nity breakdown that is directly
related to the closure of the mine
and the ultimate hope for the future
by the remaining people. It is a play
that speaks as clearly to us as does
a Japanese audience. Similar in phi
losophy to the Blyth Festival, Fura
no Group develops plays by
Japanese writers that reflect local
stories, history, and current issues.
Volunteers participating in the
Japanese cultural exchange are part
of the “Youkoso” group.
“Youkoso” is the Japanese word
for welcome. More volunteers are
needed to billet our Japanese visi
tors, be a part of the welcoming
committee, usher at one of the per
formances or play hosts at a num
ber of receptions being organized
in their honour. If you are interest
ed in becoming a “Youkoso volun
teer” telephone Jennifer Iutzi at the
Blyth Festival, (519) 523-4345.
Kanashibetsu will be performed
on Friday, June 5 at 2 p.m. and
8:30 p.m. and Saturday, June 6 at
8:30 p.m. Tickets are $10.00 and
all proceeds go to the Blyth Festi
val fundraising campaign. For more
information about tickets call the
Blyth Festival Box Office at (519)
523-9300.
Spring Sing!
with the Blyth Festival Singers
&
St. Marys Children's Choir
Saturday, May 2
8 p.m.
Blyth MemorialHall
Blytb Ipp
523-9381
Tickets:Adults $6.00
Students $4.00
Children under 6-free
Tickets Available at: ,
Blyth Festival Box
523-9300
PARK THEATRE
"0 Canada"
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FRIDAY, MAY 8, 1 PM-9 PM
SATURDAY, MAY 9,10 AM-5 PM
NORTHSIDE UNITED CHURCH
GODERICH ST. W., SEAFORTH
Adm. $3.00
(Includes Tea Party at Granny's)
Buck & Doe
for
Darryl Chalmers
and
Lynn MacDonald
Sat. May 9,1992
Blyth Community Centre
Music by 3 Neat Guys
Age of Majority Only
THURSDAY NIGHT IS
WING NIGHT
5 P.M. - MIDNIGHT
WINGS 35« EACH
MINIMUM ORDER 10
a variety of sauces available
Wings available for take out at
regular price of 50c each.
THURS., FRI., & SAT.
5 P.M. - MIDNIGHT
WINGS & CHIPS
$5.45
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for 'WHITE MEN CAN’T JUMP,’ a very funny, very smart new comedy.”
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WHITE MEN
CAN’T JUMP
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Sun - Thur 8 pm
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