The Citizen, 2006-06-28, Page 16Jerry Franken: Plays patriarch Ken Purves :n Harvest.
1O CO /14Latiadtf.
Myth 96attited on. 32 SE4.6 0/14
(Itsat eatttaGuatat
howick (519) 335-3561
MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY
Wroxeter, Ontario
NOG 2X0
• Prompt Claims Service
• Competitive Rates
• Over 125 Years of
Community Service
" Qadlitli Sit#14s id the cotatUtons
ot sait§tAlizi u do .
Papplels
Garden Centre and
Produce Stand
118 Main St., Seaforth (519) 522-0874
www.papple.ca
See our huge selection of outdoor grown perennials.
These hardy, well-established plants will instantly look beautiful and
thrive in your garden. Most perennials in one gallon pots aft $4.00
including tax. Browse our website or stop by to see our weekly
specials on perennials.
We also grow a great selection of annuals and hanging baskets.
cpe Come check out our
fresh strawberries
Stop by for fresh in-season produce
straight from our farm
.11
1111.
1110
gift caltdaaaQAe ov
We're open all day, every day
Fresh produce by 10:30 daily ids
Art—Custom Framing—Art Supplies
Workshops — Digital Printing
54 Courthouse Square, GoLierich ON
wwiAr.elizabethca eprolitOburontel.oh.ca
(519) 524-4080
54 COURTHOUSE SQUARE
519.440.0523 MON-SAT 10-4
PAGE 16. BLYTH FESTIVAL SALUTE, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28/29, 2006.
Making a
connection
Jerry Franken loves sharing
emotions with the Blyth audience
where people 'want to connect'
By Carol Burns
Citizen staff
If he were not an actor, Jerry
Franken would succeed as director
of tourism for Blyth and the Festival
Theatre. But that would be a waste.
His light blae eyes dance and
sparkle as Franken talks about the
magic of working in theatre.
"I love to do what I do, which is to
make a connection with each person
in the audience."
For Franken, it is the ability to
share emotions with people, and to
bring them face to face with feelings
and experience they might otherwise
avoid that fascinates him.
Franken says that every
performance is different, a different
bond between the actors, the
character and the audience.
Franken decries modern life and
the isolation that is evolving
between people and their emotions
"Something happens in theatre
that doesn't happen elsewhere. The
experience of participating in theatre
reassures us of our humanity,"
continued Franken, "Theatre is so
immediate."
Even when what is happening on
stage disturbs people so much that
they walk out, Franken says his job
has been successful. He speaks of
one of the early plays he did in
which he was in a sound-making
contest, all improvisation.
"There was one point in every
performance, where we would have
several people leave," Franken said,
"But we knew that we had made
people feel something. Their
leaving was their statement about the
play. It was an opportunity for them
to have self-expression."
Franken, who has been in Blyth 12
of the last 15 seasons, plays several
roles in The Ballad of Stompin' Tom,
as well as a leading role in Another
Season's Harvest.
He says that working in Blyth and
performing new plays about locally
relevant issues is unlike working
anywhere else.
"I am interested in stories. There are
so few summer theatres that do new
works. It is exciting being part of
making it happen," states Franken.
"And the audiences here work at
helping you. You know that they want
to connect, to make the story happen.
You can feel them reaching out to you,
and when it is not working they never
let you know...until you are on the
street," Franken continues with a
chuckle, "Not that they are ever harsh,
they will just tell you that that was a
play they could have missed."
Franken speaks admiringly of the
willingness of Blyth citizens to
support the theatre, even if they are not
interested in attending. He says that
people are welcoming and accepting
of theatre people, willing to go out of
their way to share skills and local
information with them.
One of the benefits Franken enjoys
about working in Blyth is that he can
sleep in his own bed at night. He lives
on a farm near Stratford, and when in
Blyth, commutes daily. He says that
he enjoys the drive because .it helps
him make the transition and provides
thinking time.
As an actor working in theatres
throughout Canada for more than 30
years, Franken admits that his work is
difficult on family life, and was a
significant factor in the breakdown of
his marriage 10 years ago.
" I needed to go where the work
was. The constant separations are hard
on relationships," Franken remarks.
Although Franken began his love
affair with theatre as a high school
student avoiding conflict with a
teacher, acting and directing are
go
rI
rI
something he has to do.
"At one point I taught for two years,
but it almost drove me crazy. Theatre
is like an addiction to drugs. I have to
do it." Franken concluded. "If you do
not have to do it, you shouldn't be in
theatre."
Sales • Service • Parts
Chemicals & Accessories
Inground & Above Ground Pools
Eigaiegia2E2ESierirainieSiE2E2iiinea1
ri
TI POLARIS'
m SNOWMOBILES
Covkaglatioad °agora. sza Sit4s4oal IA
IJ 11
FA
FA
VA
POOLS & SPORTS PJ
NI Phone: (519) 527-0104 Fax: (519) 527-2262 FA
TI 234 Main St. N., Seaforth, Ontario • NOK IWO
INEMERIENEMENIEN.SESNEEEMEREELIEN