HomeMy WebLinkAboutSetting The Stage, 1998-06-24, Page 38Festival Fact:
In 24 seasons
the Blyth Festival has
premiered 75 new
plays, 30 of which
have gone on to be
performed across`
Canada and around
the world.
,1 Festival Fact:
The Festival has an
annual budget of $1 million
eorak.44.6i --" /1 91
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PAGE 14. SETTING 771E STAGE, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 1998.
Tom Hauff will be mayor this summer twice
Thomas Hauff: He learned his
language lessons well.
By Allison Lawlor
Thomas had a funny
introduction to acting. After
his family moved to Canada
from Austria when he was a young
boy his mother sent him to speech
lessons to rid him of his German
accent.
Thomas thought the lessons
were fun. He said they were like
George Seremba: teams up
with Andrew Moodie again.
By Allison Lawlor
George Seremba is excited to
be working with Andrew
Moodie again. George
played Henry in the world premiere
of Andrew's hit show Riot.
This season at the Blyth Festival
George is playing Ben in Andrew
Moodie's new play Wilbur County
Blues.
"It is a hilarious play," he said.
"But it has a sad edge to it." •
George is not new to audiences at
Blyth. This spring he performed in
the play he wrote about his life in
Uganda called Come Good Rain.
"I look at myself as a playwright
and actor and as a testimony of all
men and women who didn't live to
see the light of day in Nigeria,
Bosnia and Rwanda."
Born in Kampala, Uganda,
George started writing and acting at
Makerere University. At 22, George
went into self-imposed exile in
Kenya to avoid political persecution
at home.
acting- speaking aloud for his
teacher in a different accent.
That was a long time ago.
Thomas has been acting for 35
years now.
"It's the only way I can express
myself. Theatre gives me an
outlet. It's something I know I can
do well and people recognize my
talent." Thomas' first
season at Blyth was in 1979. Since
then he has been part of four
seasons at Blyth. He is best
remembered for his performances
in John and the Missus, The Life
that Jack Built, He Won't Come In
From the Barn, Sticks and Stones,
Stone Angel and Glengarry School
Days.
This season he'll be playing the
self-serving mayors in Yesteryear
and Jobs! Jobs! Jobs! "I may as
well be the town mayor this year,"
he said.
While the roles aren't as
challenging as others he has
played, he said the season will be
interesting.
"I don't often play unsympathetic
characters on stage. I usually play
characters who care about people.
It will be different for me."
Thomas and his partner Diana
Belshaw, who is directing Thirteen
Hands this season, fell in love with
Blyth years ago. In homage to the
town they gave their daughter,
Eleanor, the middle name, Blyth.
Thomas and his family live in
Toronto, but one day he said, they
When George returned to Uganda
he was interrogated, tortured, shot
and left for dead. He miraculously
survived and in 1980, with the help
of family, friends and a Canadian
missionary he was able to leave. He
didn't return home for eight years.
Come Good Rain was the result of
his first visit home.
Since moving to Canada, George
has appeared in numerous
productions across the country
including: Our Country's Good,
Separate Development, Majangwa,
and Master Harold and the Boys.
In 1990, he starred in the feature
film, The Midday Sun. He has also
performed in television series and
radio dramas.
In addition to acting, George has
written three one-act plays. His
most recent play, Napoleon of the
Nile will be performed in Ireland
this year.
George was in Ireland last year
performing in Asylum. Asylum. by
Donal O'Kelley. He met the Irish
playwright while he was in Toronto
for a theatre festival.
hope to live in the country where
they can have a garden and
orchard.
Thomas is excited about the
new theatre company he and his
wife helped found. The Canadian
Artists Workshop was formed in
1994 in the Windsor area. They
hoped to fill the void of
professional theatre in the city.
The company's first productibn,
Brooks is a play about the
A veteran of the Blyth Festival,
David Vanderlip will be in Port
Dover this month. He is the
production manager of the
Lighthouse Theatre's production of
Hot Flashes.
David will be working on the set
of Hot Flashes by Paul Ledoux and
Originally from Montreal
Daniell- Guillaume has worked as
far away as Las Vegas. She
travelled down tr, California
with Cirque du soleil.
Since then she has worked at the
Waterloo Stage Theatre and the
Montreal Fringe Festival. This
season she will be assisting in the
"I see myself as a storyteller but
also as an ambassador to the
African continent."
Through his writing, George also
hopes to create a macrocosmic
picture of what Canada is all about.
Being from Africa and being black
George said he still fights
stereotypes when it comes to the
roles he plays in theatre. Aside from
seeing himself as African he said he
now sees himself as --"a citizen of
the world."
Canadian Auto Workers, in which
Thomas plays the title role and
Diana is the director. They hope to
take the production on the road this
fall and play in legion halls across
the country.
He has worked extensively in
movies and television. His recent
credits include television
appearances on The Road to
Avonlea, Universal Soldier, Wind
at My Back, Night Heat and others.
John Roby.
For the past two years David has
worked as a sound designer and
house technician at Stage West in
Mississauga. Most recently he was
sound co-ordinator for Jason
Sherman's Patience at the Tarragon
Theatre in Toronto.
stage management of Hot Flashes
at the Blyth Festival Garage
theatre, beginning July 24.
No story on any stage could be as
remarkable as George Seremba's life
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An old friend in charge of
production for 'Hot Flashes'
Daniele Guillaume worked
with famous Cirque du soleil
CI Plumbin g
Heating
Salutes The
Festival Theatre in Blyth on
their 24th Season Opening
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