The Citizen, 2006-06-28, Page 23Historians provide walking tour
Brock and Janis Vodden make the
history of Blyth streets come alive.
They hope that their Historical
Walking Tours will give Festival
visitors another reason to linger in
Blyth, giving them a broader
perspective of the town than they
• get as they pass through.
In the event that the weather is
inclement, the. Voddens have
arranged to provide people with a
virtual tour in the basement of
Memorial Hall.
Born and raised in the Blyth area,
careers took them elsewhere for
most of their marriage, returning in
1995.
Upon their return they began
collecting the history of Blyth:
block by block, decade by decade.
Their vision was to develop a
social history by detailing who
played with whom, where people
worked, shopped, visited.
During the decade since their
return, the Voddens have become a
repository of Blyth history, and
many of its secrets.
They know where the salt mines
were; where the planing mill was;
where the flax mills were. They
know who left town without paying
their bills, and where they went.
The Blyth they share is the one
hidden from view to most of the
current residents, and certainly to
visitors.
Eugen Bannerman who wrote
Street Names of Blyth recognized
this in his preface, stating "Special
thanks to Janis Morritt Vodden
whose stories and research have
been a- constant source of
inspiration for this mini-history of
the village. And thanks to Brock
Vodden for painstakingly
compiling the index."
It is this constant quest for stories
and detail that help the Voddens
breathe life into their stories.
The Voddens hope that when
people join the walking tours they
will not just listen to the Voddens'
stories of the block, but that they
too will share whatever memories
they have.
"Blyth is a very remarkable
village," Brock shares. "Since the
1850s it has experienced constant
changes.
"It has survived because there
have always be people to help
adjust to the times, visionaries to
help adapt to the future."
He uses Memorial Hall as an
example.
"The people who signed up (to
support building) the hall were
dreamers, yet in five years it was
paid off."
Thresher Park is another
example.
"Threshers Park started small in
response to a need. Over the years
it continued to expand to meet
changing needs. Today, in
response to an expressed need it
has been enlarged again."
"The village that doesn't look to
the past has no future," Janis states
as her hands linger over one of her
70 binders of Blyth family records
and obituary notices.
The Voddens encourage anyone
"who has historical documents
about Blyth to contact them at 357-
4193. Where possible they will
photocopy the information and add
it to their ever expanding, cross-
indexed files.
This summer, visitors and locals
alike will benefit from the
opportunity to have the history of
the Dinsley, Queen, Drummond,
Mill Streets block come alive as the
Voddens share their stories.
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BLYTH FESTIVAL SALUTE, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28/29, 2006. PAGE 23.
Box office staff make theatre's
Charlotte Drennan and Linda
By Carol Burns
Citizen staff
The box office staff are usually
people's first contact with Blyth
Festival Theatre, either with the
`pleasant voice on the phone" as
Charlotte Drennan refers to herself,
or as the smiling face who is helping
provide tickets and area information.
Linda Street, the box office
manager, has a special attachment to
the theatre. Her cousin James Roy
started the theatre, and it has been
part of her life since she was a child.
Although Street is responsible for
ticket sales, maintaining the website
and keeping the seating updated,
when she speaks about her job, it is
Continued from page 3
Then it's narrowed down through
call backs."
It can be a difficult process, says
Coates, "I have made many tight
relationships over the years and I
have these people coming to me,
vying for work. It's tough when it's
one of your best friends across the
table and they don't get the job: It's
a great credit to them that they can
separate our friendship from our
business."
Adding to that complexity was the
fact that Coates needed someone
with enough charisma to take on the
role of Canadian music icon
Stompin' Tom Connors in David
Scott's Ballad of Stompin Tom. He,
of course, would also have to be able
to play music and sing. "I'm very
pleased that we were able to get
Randy Hughson."
Hughson and Coates visited with
Connors at his home to re-search the
role and the pair apparently hit it off
well, with the meeting taking them
into the wee small hours of the
morning.
"He is quite a character," Coates
says of Stompin' Tom. "Just an
incredible man.- I continue to be
fascinated by his story."
Another challenge this year is the
fact that the season has a number of
roles for young people. "I needed
people with the ability to play very
young people and young adults at
the same time."
Despite the requirement of
Schoolhouse for children, Coates
took at chance and decided through
consultations with others involved to
use adults. "It might seem counter
productive after the success of The
13th One (with its large cast of local
children) last year, but with the
structure of the play and the
complexity of the -characters I
couldn't imagine child actors
achieving that."
Instead, he says, smiling, he hopes
the audience can "embrace the
magic of theatre."
"There are a couple of very young
professional actors just out of
university who can handle roles far
beyond their age and wisdom."
Coates has led the theatre
artistically for several seasons now,
with success. But has the job gotten
easier?
"No. Each year the plays have
their own set of demands. They can
be like restless children."
However, some things seem to be
happening with more ease. "I don't
know if the job has gotten easiei-
through experience or if I've just
learned to handle it better."
He does feel he has developed his
confidence in his ability to assemble
competent people, which is very
first impression
To sell tickets,
staff must be
familiar with the
shows
job is reading the scripts, meeting
the staff and crew, and getting to
view the play before opening night.
"We have to know what the play is
about so we can help people choose
what they want to see," Street said.
"We have many people who order
tickets year after year. They get to
be like family." she continues.
"When my mother-in-law died, I
received a call from a ticket-holder
who realized we were connected.
This is very special."
,Although people come from all over
the world to experience the Blyth
Theatre, Street says that the people
who fill the shows are local people.
Street and Drennan laugh as they
remember the blackout two years ago.
That night's performance had just
ended, the next night's performance
was cancelled and money refunded,
but the actors performed a play down
at the Greenway Trail, the Country
Dinner went on, and Street and
Drennan worked by candlelight.
Working with patrons, Street
exhibits warmth, patience and interest
in meeting their needs.
The box office staff are an extension
of the theatre, human, intimate and
welcoming.
important. "That's key to making
any job easier. To be able to know
you have the best people in place, to
delegate and not have to put your
stamp on every detail. It's the
smarter way to go:'
And while the theme of the 2006
season is obviously about new plays,
Coates said he also discovered
another one, which took him by
surprise. "All these plays really do
focus at one point or another on a
child's reaction, an awakening to the
world around them, desperate to
create a nurturing environment
around them for people at an early
age. They show how bitterly people
can be impacted by a lack of
nurturing and family."
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Street: two of the front line staff.
the connection with the theatre-
goers, the actors and crew, and the
community that make her eyes
sparkle.
"Without the more than 100
volunteers who usher patrons to
their seats and provide information
about the community, we would be
in difficulty. We just do not have
enough paid staff," states Street.
She says that the groups who
provide the country dinners on
Friday and Saturday nights, give
theatre-goers the opportunity to
enjoy a dining experience gives a
community flavour to the theatre
experience. Tickets for the dinners
are available at the box office.
One of the enjoyable parts of her
Casting can mean turning down friends
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