The Citizen, 1994-07-27, Page 17THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 1994. PAGE 17.
‘We were too inexperienced to realize the enormity
of our task’, Festival founder recalls of 1975 season
Continued from page 14
$2,000 towards the first season. Half of that
would only be given to match private
fundraising, but we would manage that
somehow.
We threw ourselves into rehearsals in the
basement of the Hall with the naive
excitement of those too inexperienced to
realize the enormity of their task. Part of the
day was spent creating "Mostly in Clover"
with the four member acting company,
augmented by one local teenager, Mark
Battye, to play the young Harry Boyle.
Afternoons our core company was joined by
some willing local amateurs for "Mousetrap"
rehearsals.
Meanwhile, upstairs on the stage, the one
man technical staff designed and built both
sets, and rigged together a lighting system of
household dimmers and a few instruments
begged from local high schools. The new
Board members helped find props and
costumes, but otherwise seemed happier not
knowing what was going on. (There was
always the possibility that it was the sequel
to "Baby Blue" after all).
At the same time, Anne was undertaking
the publicity campaign, keeping the books -
after a crash course from the village clerk,
and, with Board help, soliciting the private
donations we needed to round out our budget
and claim the remaining portion of our grant.
Most of the latter was painstakingly earned
in a scries of afternoon visits to village
ladies where multiple cups of tea were
consumed, while the real purpose of the visit
could not be forthrightly mentioned. But,
miraculously, by the time Anne returned
from the bathroom prepared for another
round of tea al the next home, a cheque for
$25 or $50 had usually appeared.
By the end of June, sufficient funds had
been raised for us to claim our full grant, but
there remained the question of whether
anyone would want to see the plays we were
about to present, and where we would ever
find enough of an audience in such a rural
area to make even a small dent in our 400
seat capacity. "The Mousetrap" should
attract some of the cottagers from the shores
of Lake Huron, 15 miles away, but who
would come to see "Mostly in Clover" even
if it did strike a chord in local residents? I
was young enough to proceed on blind faith,
only to have Keith and others of the Board
confess afterwards to many sleepless nights
spent wrestling with worry.
The problem was solved for opening night
at least. One day late in June the village
clerk surprised us with a brilliant idea. Since
the Hall had undergone major repairs, and
since it had originally been built in memory
of those killed in the first war, he reasoned
that opening night of the new theatre season
would be a perfect occasion to rededicate the
Hall as a war memorial. That meant that the
village council would need to purchase a
block of 250 seats to be distributed amongst
the members of the Canadian Legion.
Spouses who did not belong to the Legion
would have to buy their own tickets. We
were thrilled by the scheme; it would be
easy enough to sell the remaining seats to
the curious and the small group of supporters
we had acquired.
Opening night arrived, inevitably as
always. I tried not to think how much the
future was riding on the performance.
Watching 400 people find their way to their
seats did have a momentary calming effect at
least. Suddenly, Norma Clarke, our OAC
Theatre Officer turned up and, to our horror,
was trapped in the Legion colour party as it
trouped into the auditorium. We extricated
her from the procession with some difficulty,
and the redcdication began. As the actors
waited nervously behind the curtain, the
ceremony went on and on and on. Each of
the local ministers participated - at length.
So did more dignitaries than we knew a
small village could have. The speeches were
supplemented with "Oh Canada" and
"Reveille" played on a portable cassette
player that was barely loud enough to reach
half the auditorium. We began to notice that
the temperature in the Hall was rising
rapidly as 400 bodies added their calories to
the already hot Ontario evening. It stopped
just short of the suffocation level where it
would remain for the rest of the evening and
every subsequent warm summer's evening
until air conditioning was installed four
years later.
Half an hour later, the audience sat stone
faced and sweating. They were there out of
duty, and that duty discharged, they still had
to watch a play before they could be
dismissed. "Mostly in Clover" began. The
silence in the house was broken only by the
sound of people ripping their shirts and
blouses away from the melting varnish on
the backs of their scats. Suddenly, a few
minutes into the performance, there was a
another and another. They loved it!
We flew through the show, and the
applause when it was over seemed endless.
There were people on the stage congratu
lating the cast, in the house congratulating
Keith and Anne and I and the rest of the
Board, on the front lawn congratulating each
other for bringing the Blyth Memorial Hall
back to life. They even forgave us their
damaged shirts. We had a hit, and a theatre
company was bom.
After only two or three performances, the
entire run of "Mostly in Clover" was sold
out. Audiences came from as much as 50 or
60 miles away: perhaps because local
winters are so severe, they had saved up
their travelling time and thought nothing of
spending an hour or two on the road to
attend a worthwhile evening's entertainment.
"The Mousetrap" drew respectable
audiences but trailed dismally behind
"Mostly in Clover". Clearly the Blyth
rd r Rural VoiceiL
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audience was most interested in dramatic
material about themselves and their lives.
Unlike "sophisticated" theatre audiences,
they came with no preconceptions that plays
from other cultures were inherently more
insightful or that their lives and concerns
were less worthy than those in other
countries.
In response to what I learned in that first
season, the theatre’s artistic policy was fixed
on the production of plays that directly
reflect the people and region of Western
Ontario, and with that, the uniqueness of the
Blyth Summer Festival was assured.
To: The Blyth Festival
Thanks for the
Memories
From: The Staff at the
Blyth Mini Mart
Open
Mon. - Sat. 7 a.m. -10:30 p.m.
Sun. 8 a.m. -10 p.m.
Your local convenience store
THE BLYTH MINI MART
Blyth 523-4486
DINING GUIDE
Enjoy a meal at these fine area restaurants
KOUNTRY KETTLE RESTAURANT
The Kountry Kettle Restaurant opened just over
three months ago in Blyth.
Scott and Deb Fraser of R.R. #4, Clinton have 20
years of restaurant experience behind them from
Stratford, where Scott was a high quality chef and
Deb, a professional waitress.
Their aim is to offer people of the country, from the
farmer to the tourist or family, top quality food at
reasonable prices.
They also strive to deal with local businesses
wherever possible.
The restaurant offers everything from burgers and
homemade fries to top quality seafood and steaks,
homemade pies and pastries. There are specials
to please with Scott's creativity.
The service is professional, fast and very friendly
based on the customer’s always fight.
The Kountry Kettle offers a decor of tablecloths,
fresh flowers or a more casual coffee shop area
with some of the best coffee in town.
As well as having lots of other plans in the works
for the future there is a private banquet room to
host any of your events.
Come and sample home cooking, fine service and
beautiful decor with Scott, Deb and staff at the
Kountry Kettle.
tbe
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Lunch: 11:30 - 1:30
Dinner: 5:00 - 8:00
Lunch & Dinner Specials
Daily
Luncheon Buffet on Fridays
Light lunches & dessert served
throughout the day
Entertainment
Friday & Saturday
9:00 - 1:00 a.m.
Open Monday - Saturdays
11:30 a.m. - 1:00 a m
523-9381 Blyth LLBO
Casual Country Dining
in an inviting atmosphere.
Patio area now open
Hwy. 4 South of Wingham
Minutes north of Blyth Festival
WINGHAM 357-4484
BRUSSELS
COUNTRY INN
Daily Specials
Friday Lunch Buffet
Sunday Evening Smorgasbord
SATURDAY SPECIAL •
CHICKEN PRIMAVERA
(accommodations
KARAOKE-AUG 13
Turnberry Street, Brussels
887-9035
QlP Golden
Igntern
restaurant ‘MarH^dr Joan
Wednesday Wings 25c
Sunday Brunch
11:30-2
Sunday Smorgasbord
4:30-8
Monday - Wednesday
11:30 - 11:00
Thursday - Saturday
11:30 -1:00
Sunday
11:30-8
WINGHAM 357-4492
ROADHOUSE =
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TURNBERRY ST.,
BRUSSELS
887-6303