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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 1997-06-11, Page 23THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11,1997 PAGE 23. E ntertainment Collective a unique challenge Putting it together Director Paul Thompson, foreground, watches as Raoul Bhanja and Beverly Elliott improvise a scene for the collective Booze Days in a Dry Country, which premiers in Blyth on June 25. By Bonnie Gropp Citizen staff Remember childhood games of make believe, pretending to be someone, interacting with your friends' characters and letting the story take you where it would? Now imagine that after doing this for some months, you are going to perform your make-believe story for an-audience of thousands. An over-simplification, perhaps, but basically the process currently underway for the collective work Booze Days in a Dry Country. Opening at Blyth Festival in just over two-weeks, the play had nei ther script, nor characters. Director Paul Thompson, who has developed such Canadian clas sics as The Farm Show, Maggie & Pierre and Barndance Live!, describes the collective process as "a very scary one. There are differ ent challenges for the actors than with a scripted play. It seems to attract a certain type of actor, and they get so good at it, that it becomes a valuable asset. If you can do this you can do anything," says Thompson. "They're very vul nerable out there, but when it works, it's an extraordinary connec tion. " For the cast of Booze Days, work began a month ago with research. The play deals with the time fol lowing World War II, when tem perance had given birth to illegal, backdoor watering holes and for bidden sales of bootleg booze. The actors, Beverly Elliott, Raoul Bhanja, Brian Paul, Carolyn Hay, Eric Coates and Scott Hurst, weren't around then, but through digging into the past, they got some interesting ideas on what it was like. Thompson, who is a product of the era, says, "It was a time when you could totally believe you would be damned for the wrong you were doing, but were caught up in the immorality, the exhileration. In the end that is what we are look ing for — the see-saw tug of war between the attractive qualities of the illegal period and some com pelling positions on point-of-order and appropriateness." "That generation took the idea of rebellious youth and made it almost an idea of necessity." To help the actors get a better sense of how deeply this illicit behaviour permeated society, Thompson is planning a field trip. "I want to find someone who can actually wander around with us as they did in the 50s trying to find a place where there's booze. Each stop we will work-in different vari ations, then come back and create the imaginary world out of what they've seen and where they've been." To get the actors even more into the sense of the times, he wants costumes and if possible the use of a vintage car. The rehearsal for a collective is, in its early stages, a fascinating experience. Following informal dis cussion regarding further informa tion and ideas for characters, the actors move about. Thompson instructs them to "work on pulling in the visiting characters into your psyche." Suddenly, Brian Paul begins to talk, objecting to having his photo taken. As he winds down, Carolyn Hay becomes a DJ from Owen Sound radio's 'dry' music station. For the next few minutes the actors wander across the dimly lit Festi val's Garage, switching persona, conversing at times to themselves or drawing in others. There is an organized confusion, a cohesive ness that is surprising in light of the fact that it is free-form, improvisa tion. Two actors from across the room will begin to move together and start to dance. Two others will play a flirtatious game in a bar. "They are very tuned into each other," says Thompson, "which is why I love working in this way. There is a bond of trust that is very high." As the process flows, certain characters begin to take shape and stand apart. Where earlier the improv tended more to the graphic parts, Thompson says, the police chases, "that whole kind of exciting exploration of the underground his tory", there weren't many scenes forthcoming. "Eventually, some characters become more presenta- tive, they connect with the actors. They discover things and see how much of a story can evolve through the actor." The actors see it from the inside, he said, while as director he sees it from the outside. "The characters give the actors something to hang onto while we're trying to tell the story." Everyone working on the play recognizes when a character works. "You get a sense that there's some thing to this particular person." Actors are protective of the char acters they are becoming familiar with. Hay and Elliott were reluc tant to spend time bringing out two characters further on this particular day as they felt it was too soon. They wanted to get to know them better. "I don't want to fall flat on my face with a character I’m trying to develop," Hay tells Thompson. They move on to developing James, played by Bhanja. "The idea is to do a character, then have the others bring him out," says Thomp son. As scenes are improvised, we begin to see the evolution of James, albeit in a rather unpolished man ner. As the actors work, a costume designer sketches and the stage manager, Maria Costa, watches tak ing copious notes. The collective for the stage crew is a "fast ride at the end," says Thompson, requiring an excellent back up team. He recalls a production where the actor was so into the scene, that when they came off stage they forgot where they were. The stage manag er was there to get them back on track in time for their next scene. "The audience expects actors to change before their eyes. They are switching roles, costumes, trans forming into anything and any body. It is quite intense. There is something very theatrical about it. There are no strings on stage." Music will eventually be added to the collective. Thompson hopes that its power will enable the actors to succumb to it, that it will be "generated by them, from inside." The ultimate goal is to tell the story of an era when restrictions and rebellion collided, of the fear and the thrill. "I want to communi cate this to the actors without sounding duplicitous and find the theatrical aspects that work. That will make the ultimate challenge," says Thompson. "There is a connecting point in the collective, when the material will be there every night." Jlappy Anniversary Mom <§• T)ad (Bill & Lynn Logue) on June 17 With all our love, Michele, Lori, Deborah, Lisa, Henri & Nicholas Mirror Continued from page 21 amalgamate. As the process moves forward we will keep you informed of any changes. Most of the changes will probably be in the governance structure and there will likely be little or no change at the classroom level. We hope that everyone has a safe and happy summer. ^CAPITOL V THEATRE 291-3070 LISTOWEL Dolby Surround Sound Stereo 4th & FINAL WEEK 7:00 & 9:30 P.M. DOORS OPEN 6:30 THE LOST WORLD PG Frightening acenes. HAPPY 19TH BIRTHDAY JAS. June 14 Love Dad & Mom, Danielle, Jeff & Dylan HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY GRANDMA Love, Mercedes, Brody & Dalton LONG DISTANCE? CALL 1-800-25,5-3438 FOR TOLL FREE MOVIE INFO BUCK & DOE Saturday, June 14,1997 JIM OSTER & PAM DONEY Blyth Community Centre Music by MCL SOUND For more information or tickets call 519-523-9751 The family of Alex and Helen Cullen cordially invite you to an open house in celebration of their 50TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY Saturday, June 21, 1997 2-4 p.m. Grey Central Public School Best wishes only Vanastra Recreation Centre SUMMER PROGRAM ‘97 June 30 to September 6 SUMMER WITH A SPLASH • Youth Red Cross Lessons • Adult Lessons • Pre-School • Aqua Fitness • Swim Team • Daily Recreational Swims For information or to register call 482-3544