HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2005-06-29, Page 3BLYTH FESTIVAL SALUTE, JUNE 29/30, 2005, PAGE 3
Jane Gardner shows the set model for The Ginkgo Tree. It takes
a whole team to take a play from page to stage.
Building a great
team
By Bonnie Gropp
Citizen editor
A year as general manager of
Blyth Festival has Jane Gardner
thinking of continuity and creativity.
“When you saw me last year, I had
just been on the job a short time.
What I first noticed was what a
terrific team we have here. But I’m
also amazed at the number of people
who come back.”
“And there are those from close to
home. We have people in the shop
who live in Stratford and London.
Ian Chappell is the head carpenter.
He worked here a number of years
ago and his family comes from
London.”
From employees in the box office
to administration, to design there is a
consistency that can only benefit the
Festival. “It’s nice,” says Gardner.
“They are familiar with what we do
here and are committed to this
theatre.”
But a spirit of adventure and
innovation is evident as well.
“What’s fun this year is the number
of things we’re doing that we haven’t
done before.”
The first was being involved in
Doors Open Ontario in May. “It was
a great time of year for us, with all
the building in the shops.” Visitors to
the community toured backstage at
the Festival and its workshops.
July 7 the Festival is hosting high
tea, an idea that came out of a
visiting group of Red Hat Society
members earlier in the year. “They
did a special behind-the-scenes
workshop with (designer) Shawn
Kerwin and through discussion we
came up with the idea of doing high
tea.”
Another new idea is a walking tour
of Blyth. “Many people who come to
visit will ask us how the village got
here, why it’s here. We have Janis
Vodden, who’s very good talking
about Blyth’s history and people will
learn things like how Gypsy Lane
got its name. It’s something really
new for us.”
With Bluewater Theatre in
Kincardine and Georgian Festival in
Meaford, Blyth Festival is offering
special passes for ticket packages to
see a show at each theatre. “It was
suggested by one of the theatres that
there’s not much cross-over. And if
you like theatre, this encourages
people to try something new and
helps us keep people in our area
longer.”
The new ideas came about as a
result of staff brainstorming
sessions, says Gardner. “This is a
terrific group working as a team.
Blyth Festival is a really creative
Festival general manager praises
the team that makes the Festival
work so well
place where you get to meet a
company, this year of about 60. It’s a
team you get to know really well
and work with to put on these
shows.”
With Anne Lederman’s Spirit of
the Narrows back this season,
Gardner says they will hopefully
return to a Festival tradition, not
seen in recent years. People who
book shows for touring have been
invited to attend the performances in
the hope that they will be interested
in the play. “In its two week run last
year it was basically a workshop, a
wonderful risk, but was such as
success that it’s allowed us to plan.”
The show has only two
performers, Lederman and Capucine
Onn, Blyth born, who is a recent
theatre school graduate. “We are
doing this on long-term planning, to
see who’s interested. 1 feel it has a
great life ahead of it. But it has to
have a theatre behind it.”
Ensuring that a touring production
meets the needs of a variety of stages
and transportation requirements is
one of the creative parts of the job
that’s really interesting, says
Gardner. “By bringing it back this
year, we have the opportunity to
address these questions with the
Her goal now is to help put the
Festival on solid ground.
“I’m here for awhile and would
like to see us get rid of thezdeficit
and be able to do the creative work
that Eric (Coates, artistic director)
wants us to do.”
BLYTH
FESTIVAL
SALUTE
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Phone 523-4792
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Congratulations
Blyth Festival on the
opening of your 31st season.
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Blyth
design team.”
“These are the kinds of things that
aren't on the job description, but
make it all kind of fun."
Though she worked in
communications at the Festival
several years ago, there have been
many changes through the years. “1
have been getting to know the
organization. Even though I was
here before I really needed that full-
year cycle to know the strengths of
the people I’d be working with now.
When you manage the bills and
dollars you need to be able to fill in
the blanks.”
Wishing the Blyth Festival many more
successful seasons!
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