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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1994-06-22, Page 24Home haidwaie Page 24 Times -Advocate, lune 22, 1994 Rural location is the trend for special effects Craig puts on explosive demonstration for firefighters, Motion Pictures could be made in your community By Erin Lobb T -A staff DASHWOOD - 1t was out before it was even going. That was what most onlookers had to say about the car explosion in Dashwood Mon- day evening. The demonstration was part of Ron Craig's presentation to Mutual Aid, a Huron County Firefighters Association. Craig, who operates a special ef- Ron Craig, left; spoke with local firefighters before blowing up a car in Dashwood Monday night. Peter Pan brings a new dimension to theatre Huron Country Playhouse starts season with musical -comedy Reviewed by Fred Groves T -A staff GRAND BEND - Can you crow like a rooster? Do you always dream about being a child and never growing up? Well if that's the case, then the Huron Country Playhouse's production Peter Pan is for you. Last Wednesday night, the Playhouse opened it's 1994 summer theatre season with the musical which, although had several outstanding cast mem- bers, will no doubt be remembered for it's inagural use of the flytowcr. Peter, played by Leisa Way, bursts through a win- dow into thc bedroom of Michael (Jon -Erik Lap- pano), Wendy (Cara Hunter) and John (Benjamin Canny) and immediately has the audience captivat- ed. While the cast is good, it is once again the behind thc scenes work led by set desinger Robert J. Ivey and production stage manager Gloria Day which makes this play a hit. At the Playhouse until July 2, Peter Pan. was written in England by Sir James M. Barrie in 1904 but it was not until 1954 that it appcard as a mu- sical -comedy. Among thc famous names who have played the role of Pctcr arc Sandy Duncan, Mary Martin and Cathy Rigby. There arc several hidden messages in the story one being why. in the dream of the children, their father who is a kind and gentle soul, is also the kid- napping Captain Hook. Also, a bit of history accompanies this story as Barrie wrote Peter Pan when England had a pro- gram called Bernardo Boys in which orphaned boys were sent to Canada to livc. Wednesday night i asked someone during the in- termission why Pctcr has always been played by a female._ The answer I received was that it takes a person with a great deal of agility and someone, in Way's case who has a wide vocal range. Huron Country Playhouse's director - choreographer Max Reimer is no stranger to this play as he was the Associate Director of Peter Pan when it was a Jessie -Award winner in Vancouver and Seattle. One of Rcimcr's talents, as illustrated in his first year at the Playhouse last year, is to recruit talented supporting actors. Salvatore Scoz.ari who plays the pirate Smcc is hilarious and he looks a lot like the late Saturday , Night Live great John Bclushi. Smee is the sidekick 3 of the crocodile -fearing Captain Hook played by David Nairn. You can't teach someone to be funny on the stage and Nairn has a wonderful gift much like another gentleman who has graced the Playhouse, Paul Brown. if there is one complaint I have about this play, it's that the opening act spends far too much time in the children's bedroom. The dialougc between Peter and Wendy is just too long. I wanted to sec Never - land. This three -act production has a little audience participation as Peter has the crowd clap loudly to bring his companion Tinker Bell hack to life. Wednesday night, 1 heard a young theatre -goer say to Pctcr, "I believe in fairies." Believing in fairies and believing in being able to never grow up is what this play is all about. It makes you think a little, it makes you dream a lot and among everything else, it makes you laugh. (he Iluron Country Playhouse is a believer in using local talent and for those who were Pirates and Lost Boys, congratulations on your acting de- but. Those are Kerian O'Rourke. Sandra Steele. !Hilda Steele, Bill .Steele. Greg Bryden, Jonathon Morton. Ben lloogenboom, Andre Mayer, Joey De nomme, Christopher Gorza and Ashley Keld- ers.) "I'm flying!" Jon -Erik Lappano (Michael), left; Cara Hunter (Wendy), Benjamin Canny (John), and Leisa Way (Peter Pan) star in Peter Pan...the musical playing at Huron Country Playhouse until July 2. fects company in Toronto spoke to firefighters about what to expect if a motion picture company ap- proached them to help with film, and the procedures and safety to be aware of. "The new trend in motion pic- tures is moving toward using rural locations for special effects, instead of Toronto, New York, L.A., or London, England," said Craig. Craig, who has dont effects for movies such as Death Wish 5 star- ring Charles Bronson, said that ex- plosions he sets up in Toronto re- quire emergency task force bomb squad members to be present. Similarly, in Califomia the Fire Marshall, or a representative, must be on hand for any explosions. Craig adds that in rural Ontario the Fire Marshall shows no interest in these projects. Special effects that Craig pro- duces have created explosions that have generated 20 million BTU's of heat in five seconds. He explained to firefighters how to ensure the safety of the crew and the arca by freeing the arca of haz- ards such as underground gas tanks, overhead gas mains, or other flam- mable liquids. He explained a special technique he uses to prevent overhead sprink- lers from going off without neutral- izing the enure system. Says Craig, ''It's important not to turn your sprinklers off in case of an emergency in another part of thc building." He advised the fire departments to examine a copy of the script first to get a sense of the type of effects that are going to be involved. "If there's one thing you can count on," says Craig, "its that mo- vie crews always downplay how big the effects will be." The car explosion Craig prepared involved stripping down the intcr- ior of the car, to expose the crew to minimal toxic material, and pre - weakened the body to allow it to come apart easily. Whcn Craig isn't working on sets he is teaching a visual effect.; class to third -year university students, or working on a tire recycling project in Huron Park. CANADA DAY SAVINGS SALE at Centralia Farmers Prices in effect til July 2 Open Weekdays 8 - 12, 1 - 6, Sat. 8 - 12 PREFINISHED Choose from 15 onroctl colour. Provides architectural/structural and cosmetic qualities Ihot enhance your property value. Slid lengths ore cul to your specifications Easily applied with colour .lc ,ng 1r �m and fasteners. 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