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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1987-09-09, Page 19• Distinguished actress adds Blyth Festival to her extensive resume By Shelley McPhee Haist BLYTH - She's a mother, grandmother and wife. She's travelled the country from coast to coast and is equally at home in New- foundland or British Columbia. She's stylish. She's warm and articulate. She's one of the most distinguished ac- tresses in Canada and she's a featured per- former in Another Season's Promise now playing at the Blyth Festival. Florence Paterson plays Granny Purves in the story that tells about the plight of farmers in the 1980s. As Granny, she dons a pair of wire rimmed glasses, an old house dress and cardigan and portrays the crot- chety old woman who fights to save the family farm. Theatre critics have used such words as rivetting and outstanding to describe Pater - son's performance in this play, . Her character provides a focus on the past, on four generations of family and farm life in simpler times. It is no surprise that Florence Paterson wins top marks for her performance in Another Season's Promise. This high profile actress boasts an im- pressive resume that includes two pages of acting experience, on stage, on radio and on film. Her theatre career includes five nomina- tions for outstanding work including an AC - TRA award for best performance in the 1977 television production of Of The Fields Lately. She has been nominated four other times for best performance and best actress awards in both radio and television work. She has worked as a profession actor for 25 years. In 60 productions in amateur theatre over an 18 year period, she won three best actress and best supporting awards in regional drama festivals. She has worked on more than 400 televison programs, both regional and national. She did more than 300 CBC radio shows while living on the east coast. Most recently she has performed on Backstretch and Seeing Things for CBC -TV. Florence Paterson doesn't have to look for work. She is sought out for performances. Anne Chislett, co -playwright of Promise asked Paterson to come to Blyth, to play Granny Purves. Her work at the Blyth Festival includes the three week run of the play on stage, followed by an extensive tour that will take the production from eastern Ontario to Alberta. The rigors of touring, and of spending long periods away from her family, are not new to Florence Paterson. She works hard at her craft and she enjoys her work. She believes in discipline and in dedication. She regards her work as "a great teacher in life." Her rewards are a.job well done, audience appreciation, self-satisfaction, and, going home to her family. Florence is dedicated to her family - her husband, four girls and three grand- children. She describes her family as the foundation of her life. Vancouver is home base for this "coast to coast" actress. It's a new address, after lifelong residency in the Maritimes. Florence and her husband moved to British Columbia this past July to be closer to their family who live in the province. Florence is anxious to be in her new home and to be with her family. However her work is currently her primary focus. "I'm always anxious to get home, but when that theatre bell rings, I'm here," she says of her work at Blyth. The tour of Another Season's Promise is the most ambitious one to be carried out by the Blyth Festival. It runs from September to November and takes the play to 20 loca- tions, from Peterborough to Sault Ste. Marie, from London to Spruce Grove, Alberta. The tour is a long one, evert for such an ex- tensive traveller as Florence Paterson. At the end of the tour, in Edmonton, she will be joined with her husband. There they will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. Florence Paterson has successfully com- bined many roles in her 40 year marriage - as mother, wife and career woman. "1 worked in amateur theatre when my kids were young. It was my release to get out of the house for two of three hours." "It was very hard and I was determined," she recalls. "When my fourth child, my baby was 14 years old, I started to move out in my work." Florence Paterson has never looked back. She has performed in dramas, in musicals, in comedies. She can dance and she can sing. She has done live radio and television. She is equally comfortable in front of film cameras or on stage before a theatre audience. "Whatever I'm working on at the moment is my preference," she says of her diverse choice of work. The common denominator in her work is to seek out intriguing plays and characters. She explains, "I like to be stretched and challenged. I like to find a character that I'm really interested in." She has studied well for her role in Another Season's Promise. She has read books on the subject. She has joined the cast in discussions on farming issues of the day and attended a farm auction. "It's a topical play," Florence says. "This woman (Granny Purves) has a lot of guts. FLORENCE PATERSON This woman has survived and will go on surviving." "I've been playing 80 year olds since I've been 25," she says. Flor4nce Paterson has no notion of retir- ing from theatre. She appears to have an ex- haustive supply of energy and talent, two important prerequisites in the acting business. As far as retirement goes, Florence quips, "I'll probably go (die) on stage." Acting and family have been vital elements in Florence's life since she was a child. Her father, a mechanic, a town coun- cillor, a member of parliament, was also an entertainer of sorts. He used to write little plays for the radio. He led sing songs at community functions. He visited hospitals and gave performances for the patients. Sundays were best remembered for impromptu music sessions in Florence's home. "Daddy was an entertainer....I come by it honesty," she says. 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