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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSetting The Stage, 1998-06-24, Page 42Lualin's Country Flowers More than a flower shop. come in and shop in our friendly store where we strive for unique gifts and floral designs at great prices. A Full Service Florist We deliver to Clinton, Seaforth, Goderich,- Wingham and Brussels. (Free delivery to area funeral homes min. $30 order) Open 6 days a week and evenings before theatre. Queen St. BLYTH 523-4440 1-800-610-7757 Fran Cook: part of a family tradition of helping the Blyth Festival remain a success. Box office manager Fran Cook keeps the human touch alive for Festival ticket buyers topli Middleton's OF WINGHAM COUNTRINVIDE 1-800-463-4663 • Furniture • Appliances • Electronics Serving You For 25 Years 164 Josephine St., Wingham (519) 357-1411 "At Manning's we have everything you'll need to build anything" • spruce - pressure treated lumber • plywood • landscape ties • decking materials • hardwoods • picnic tables • hardware • insulation & much, much more Come in and see our large selection of inventory Best Wiles to the 13lytk Festiva on your 241k Season EMENZWNYMMINL "'JA4.271/:; irAk: MANNING'S BUILDING SUPPLIES LTD. Hamilton St., Blyth 523-9305 RADFORD AUTO FARM AND INDUSTRIAL PARTS A warm welcome to all summer visitors Pest Wishes to the C8lyth ,1estiral as they open their 24th season. Blyth 523-9681 1-800-276-4163 after hours 523-4417 Brussels 887-9661 1-800-383-8749 after hours 523-9023 PAGE 18. SETTING THE STAGE, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 1998. Paul Lampert has directed at top theatres Paul Lampert: Not just teaching, but "doing". By Allison Lawlor W hen Paul Lampert is directing he makes sure he steps out of his teaching shoes. Paul is the artistic director of George Brown Theatre School in Toronto and this season he will be directing Yesteryear by Joanna Victoria Wallace juggles hectic spring design schedule V ictoria Wallace was busy this spring juggling the design work _ fortwo productions, Needfire at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto and Jobs! Jobs! Jobs! at Blyth. Her costumes can currently be seen on stage now at the Princess of Wales Theatre in the new Mirvish production Needfire featuring celtic music and dance. This summer she will create the set and costume design for Keith Roulston's new play, Jobs! Jobs! Jobs! Victoria is not new to the Blyth Festival. She designed two previous shows for the festival, Fireworks and This Year, Next Year. This past winter she will design the costumes for a new production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella for Theatre Aquarius in Toronto. Although Victoria lives in Toronto she has designed for theatre across Canada. She has also worked for the Vienna State Opera and the Metropolitan Opera in New York as a design assistant. Victoria Wallace: working in big -and .small theatres. McClelland Glass at the Blyth Festival. As a director Paul prefers rehearsal time to the actual performances. He said he doesn't usually attend performances because by that time his job as director is over. "My job is to guide, shape and hone the rhythms of the play and the overall aesthetic of the play," he said. "I act as an outside eye. The actors should be the inside." In others words, Paul expects actors to come to rehearsal with their own ideas about their characters, he doesn't like to By Allison Lawlor Fran Cook can't remember a time when she wasn't involved in the Blyth Festival. "I think I've been around here forever," she said with a laugh. "Officially it's been five years." Fran's mother, Betty Battye, was one of the first board of directors at the festival back in the '70s. A former teacher at Blyth Public School, she insisted all seven of her children get involved in the theatre. Fran remembers ushering when she was 10 years old. In 1993, Fran co-ordinated a community play called Many Hands with general manager Karen Stewart. The play was a huge production that involved the whole town. It was performed at Hubbard's rutabaga plant and told the history of Blyth. Following that, Fran started working part time as a clerk in the box office. "Back then there used to be six of us in the box office. We're a lot more efficient now." She was soon promoted to manager in '97. Fran works in the box office full time all year 'round. "The real work starts," Fran said, "after the summer season is over." In the winter Fran starts working simply impose his ideas on actors. Paul likes variety in his work. He enjoys directing all types of theatre, whether it be new or old, comedy or tragedy. Above all he doesn't want to be pigeon-holed as a director. Paul has worked at most of the large theatres across the country. He spent three years at Persephone Theatre in Saskatoon, six seasons. at the Shaw Festival, four of those' years he spent as assistant to the artistic director. Aside from directing Paul has taught acting at several schools including the National Theatre on winter events being held in the hall and preparing for ,the next season. While the box office sales represent under 50 per cent of the theatre's revenue, the sales are essential to the festival's survival. — Before working in the box office, Fran was manager of the Mini-Mart in Blyth. Fran enjoys her work at the festival. "Working with the festival is like working with a family. If something goes well than everyone gets credit," she said. "That's what I really like about it." For the past three years Fran has worked with Susan Hubbard, the box office assistant. They are also hiring a student for the summer. Fran explained that while the box office isn't computerized and this slows things down, customers say they appreciate talking to a person rather than a computer when they call. The theatre is looking into buying a computer system but cost is the biggest thing preventing them. Born in Alberta, Fran has lived in Blyth since she was 10. She and her husband, Dave, who manages the Blyth arena, are the proud parents of two boys. School, University of Windsor and . University of Alberta. He recently finished his masters in fine arts at York University. His thesis production will be performed this summer in Berlin as part of an international festival of student theatre. Paul started out as an actor. He graduated from the National Theatre School with a degree in acting. While his acting days are over, he said he rarely misses them. Born in Poland, Paul moved to Canada with his family when he was 10. He was last in Poland in 1995 when he directed Oleanna for the national theatre of Poland. The play was performed in Polish so Paul sat in his director's chair during rehearsals with a Polish/English dictionary by his side. Paul now lives in Niagara-on- the-Lake with his wife and two children. • Festival- Fact: Your ticket cost pays 411 • only half the cost of running the theatre.