HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1983-12-14, Page 16PAGE 4A—0ODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7,19f1'3
oulston says so long but not goodbye to theatre
BLYTH - Keith Bengston is a familiar
name in these ;r: its.
Over the past decade his name has been
connected with the Clinton News -Record
and The Blyth Standard, where he worked
as editor. He's known as a playwright and in
recent years as administrator at the Blyth
Centre For The Arts.
It's time for another career change for
this Blyth area man. On Oct. 31 Keith
finished his four year position at the Blyth
theatre. He's now turning his talents to
writing.
Keith has already faced the trials and
tribulations of play writing. Three of his
works have been staged, before audiences at
the Blyth Summer Festival, The Shortest
Distance Between Two points in 1977, His
Own Boss in 1978 and McGillicudy's Lost
Weekend in 1979.
Keith studied journalism in university and
still writes a weekly column Behind the
Scenes for the ClintonNews-Record and The
Huron Expositor and a monthly report for
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The Rural Voice. Yet he has found Ahat
authoring plays is the most fullfilling type of
writing.
"You get instant reaction from the
audience. It's not like newspaper writing
where you sometimes wonder if there's
anyone out there," he explained.
Play writing can also be a frustrating
occupation, particularly when the script is
prepared for the stage.
"Playwrights," Keith explained,
"visualize their play one way, but directors
and actors can all interpret it another. It
really becomes a give and take situation."
Still Keith believes he may have a suc-
cessful future in theatre. He's already had
the experience to show him what behind the
scenes is really like.
As administrator for four years at Blyth it
was Keith's responsibility to look after the
building and technical maintenance,
equipment purchases and manageanent
duties at the Centre.
It was Keith's job, he explained, "To do
everything to make life as easy as possible
for the art people."
Keith's involvement in the Centre dates
back into the early 1970s. In 1975 as
president of the board of directors he lob-
bied for modern renovations to the old
Memorial Hall and dreamed of bringing a
summer theatre company to Blyth.
In the winter of that year, Keith men-
tioned his dream to Paul Thompson, artistic
director of Toronto's Theatre Passe
Muraille. Thompson suggested that James
Roy, a young area director, take on the
project, and the Blyth Summer Festival was
born.
It began with two productions. This year
the Festival staged five plays over a nine
week season to more than 30,000 people.
Many, like Keith saw this potential for the
Theatre and by 1977 the board approved a
feasibility study to determine the cost of the
renovation work. By 1979 the construction
crews were at work.
Keith jumped into the position as ad-
ministrator with both feet. One of his first
duties was to work for 17 straight days with
banks and government agencies to arrange
financing for the renovation work.
Over the past five years he has been in-
volved in renovation and improvement work
that has amounted to over $300,000. The hall
now boasts air conditioning, better lighting,
new dressing rooms and a backstage area.
The renovations also made the opening of
the balcony possible, increasing the
capacity of the hall to 491.
"This is like heaven compared to when we
first started," Keith remembered. "We
really didn't envisage in 1975 what would
happen down the road."
Keith is especially satisfied with the
cooperation and goodwill that has been
established between the theatre and the
local community. This was particularly
evident after a 1981 fund raising canvass in
Blyth. In one week canvassers raised more
than $8,000.
"It showed the change and we didn't even
know it was taking place," Keith said.
The Blyth Festival and Centre For The
Arts has developed a national following
because of its comfortable, friendly, rural
appeal and top quality Canadian plays.
While Keith knows that this recognition is
important, he also believes that it is a
temptation that must be carefully handled.
"You have to stay true to the people," he
said, noting that at Blyth productions are
designed for the local audiences, not the
Toronto theatre scene.
The key to success, he noted, "is drawing
the tourists to us."
Keith believes there's a wealth of material
in this area alone that could be worked into
plays, but it needs imagination and leaders
to develop it.
He explained, "Small towns are micro-
cosmic of the whole world, you can find
many subjects here. Sometimes it's even
easier to find individuals In a small town."
Durin his four -years as administrator at
Blyth, Keith has combined both the
management and theatrical aspects of the
Festival in his work.
Janet Amos came to Blyth, as artistic
director, replacing James Roy, at the same
time Keith started. Keith has called their
work, "a partnership that's like a marriage.
We've had good days and bad days."
They worked well together by both
defining individual areas of work. Both also
knew that keeping to budget meant the
fortune or failure of the theatre.
The past four years have not been quiet
ones for Keith, but with his retirement as
administrator he won't be enjoying a
relaxed life in the country. He's already well
into new ventures and says that he's even
been to busy to spend much time with the
new administrator Brenda Don er.
There's no doubt that Keith will still
remain a very active supporter of the Blyth
Centre . For The Arts and its various
programs from the summer festival, the
winter series to the children's workshops.
He believes the theatre will continue to
improve and grow.
"What it needs now is someone with new
visions and fresh ideas," he noted.
Playbill for 1984 announced at HCP
The Huron Country Playhouse in Grand
Bend will present five dramas and a musical
during its 12 -week 1984 season.
The new season's line-up was announced
at a recent press conference by Artistic
Director Ronald Ulrich.
The season will open on June 19 and close
September 8 with each of the six productions
running for two weeks. In order, they are: A
Thousand Clowns, a captivating comedy by
Herb Gardner; Sleuth, an outstanding
thriller by Anthony Shaffer; Bedroom
Farce, an extravagant romp through four
marriages by Alan Ayckbourn; Dracula, an
historical dramatization from Bram
Stoker's world-famous novel; The Gin
Game, a wry comedy by D.L. Coburn; and
Ain't Misbehavin', a bouncy Broadway hit
featuring songs by Thomas 'Fats' Waller
and various others.
Subscriptions for the 1984 main stage
season are priced at $48 for six vouchers.
The past season at the Huron Country
Playhouse was one of unprecedented
growth. With the support of the Federal
Government, the construction of the new
studio theatre, Playhouse II, was com-
pleted. 1983 also marked the third and final
year of eligibility and participation in the
Wintario Arts Challenge Fund, the $2 for Sl
match which enabled the Playhouse to
receive over 8231.000.
Playhouse II will continue in operation in
1984 but with a revised format. Instead of
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Ronald Ulrich
running three shows in repertory theatre
style, each of the offerings in Playhouse II
will run for 11 performances only; July 11-
21, July 25 -August 4 and August 8-18. As a
result, the overall season in Playhouse II
will be shortened and more concentrated.
More seating is also planned for Playhouse
II, thereby increasing the potential audience
size from 160 to 200 people per performance.
There will also be reserved table seating
and a three -voucher open subscription to
ahouse II.
As in 1983, all three shows at Playhouse II
will be Canadian with an emphasis on
musical entertainment and pure enjoyment.
A more specific announcement of the
playbill and ticket sales for Playhouse II
will be made early in 1984.
As in the past, Huron Country Playhouse
will be offering several special events in
1984, including the annual favorites -Monte
Carlo Night ( June 2) and the Cavalcade of
Fun Auction ( August 19) -as well as a
fundraising dinner and dance (March 3) and
a special music event to be announced.
In addition, the Playhouse is planning on
introducing a short children's series of three
events to be held on different Tuesdays
during the summer. Presently under con-
sideration for this series are Raffi, The
Polka Dot Door Live, Mr. Dress -Up, The
Puppetmongers Powell and Erewhon
Theatre and a return visit from Sharon, Lois
and Bram.
Round 'n About
with Martha
There may be a few people who recall this
tale - but with winter coming on, I thought
I'd like to tell it again. It originally came
from Ken Chisholm's scrap book and
railroading was his big interest.
Tom Jones was firing Engine No. 2028 on
the Hamilton -Guelph passenger run. Lines
were blocked and trains stuck in the
snowdrifts. He and Roy Coons were called to
take the snowplow No. 753 up to Goderich,
111 miles away. At 6:30 a.m., the Roun-
dhouse crew fixed a tarp across the cab and
tender - like a cummerbund around her mid-
dle, ready to whistle off into a real nor -
wester with visibility ZERO.
In the cab behind a snowplow, you might
as well be blind! Signals are transmitted
from the man in the snowplow - one who is
familiar with the physical characteristics of
the division - to the cab such as whistle
posts, yard limits, station order boards and
so on.
Tom Jones says - "At Guelph Junction we
received orders and took off. We hit our first
heavy cut between Moffat and Corwin. We
stalled, backed up half a mile and Roy went
after her! Old 753 Lurched, swayed crazily a
couple of times then broke through. Despite
precautions to enclose the cab, I was wet
from shoulder to toe. Along with each shovel
of coal goes the same amount of snow into
the firebox and we were really steamed up.
"At Guelph orders said No. 638, down -
bound was stuck about two miles east of
Wallenstein. The blizzard increased in
ferocity and temperature was just three
above. We ploughed within two pole lengths
of the passenger train and the gang shovell-
ed her out while we backed to the passing
track and Elmira, then let the 638 by.
Visibility was two pole lengths at best, we
finally reached Linwood, took on water and
whistled off.
"Three miles along between Millbank and
West Monkton, we found the stalled upbound
passenger, due in Goderich the night before
- and it was now 3 p.m. with a 40 m.p.h. wind
and six below. They shovelled snow into the
tender of 2052 to keep water in her boiler -
"After several rushes at the big drift, we
broke thru, coupled the plow to the tail end
of the train and pushed her into West Mon-
trose. There we ran around the pa
and plowed out the line into
hours late.
"On our
fla
enger
Goderich 21
way back to Guelph, we were
ed down by a farmer whose wife was
critically ill. Train crew' stumbled through
the drifts and put the woman in the caboose.
They made her as comfortable as possible
and with the doctor highballed it through to
Guelph over track cleared a few hours
before.
"After disembarking our passenger and
patient, old 753 and the plow headed for Lin-
wood, turned around on the "Y" and whistl-
ed off for the 16 mile run over the historic
branch line.
"The regular "milk run" hadn't been out
for two days. They were lucky, other ser-
vices were tied up longer than that! Just the
other side of Tralee we struck a drift in a
cut, banked as high as the engine. After
several attempts to cut through, we had to
call it quits.
"Just wait, then we realized we were pret-
ty hungry - just an odd sandwich since 5:30
a.m. I scalded the shovel, tossed a slab of
frozen butter - believe me - on the scoop,
held it on the firing plate of the limbed door
and when it began to smoke, Roy tossed on
two thick pork chops and began peeling
some potatoes. We also made a pot of coffee
in an empty oil pot. We used the lid trays
from our lunch boxes as plates - and I don't
know when I've relished a better meal. We
were good for another 12 hours!
"Later an extra gang of section men
reached us from Guelph Junction at 7 a.m.
By 4 p.m., they had dug us out and we head-
ed for Listowel. Between Tralee and Dork-
ing we hit another drift, we stalled, backed
up, and after four tries broke through.
"Steaming along, old 753 trembled as Roy
Coon held the reverse lever in the corner
and the throttle wide open. She swayed,
bucked and teetered and finally regained
her feet, then suddenly stopped.
"I turned on my seat box and was amazed
to see the right side of the tender at a crazy
angle. Roy and 1 climbed out, to a drift,
walked over the snowbank to the front of the
engine and gazed in awe - at the side of a
BARN about 10 feet from the nose of the
engine!
"The following morning the BIG HOOK
reached us at 9 a.m. At noon we were re -
railed and headed for the Aberdeen yard in
Hamilton, reaching it at 4 p.m. Although we
slept in the cab while de -railed, we had been
on continuous duty for 56 hours!
"That was my first trip on a snowplough,"
says Tom Jones, "and my last - for which I
certainly did not shed a tear".
People in this area may recall
but they would be very old
arrived in the '46-'4
really heapi
mor
t winter,
It was before we
winter and THAT was
g it on one who had never seen
than two foot drifts. ME!
We hope to get away next week - but I will
try to write to you - as I still have a few
"good memories" to tell you.
Do take care, love you ALL,
Martha
REHEAT PASTA
Cooked too much pasta? Don't throw it
away, says Monica Beaumont, foods and
nutrition specialist with the Ontario
Ministry of Agriculture and Food's rural
organizations and services branch.
Refrigerate and use in salads or reheat and
use as a side dish instead of potatoes. To
reheat drop in boiling water for a few
minutes until heated through.
Dec. 7 to Dec13
WEDNEs®AY;TNESDAY
DAYTIME
i ORNINO
5:00 RELIGIOUS TOWN HALL (Wed.)
5:00 A BETTER WAY (Thurs.) "
5:00 CHRISTOPHER CLOSEUP (Fri.)
5:00 THIS 1S THE LIFE (Tues.)
5:30 UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN PRESENTS
6:00 FARM AND GARDEN (Wed.)
6:00 TV -5 AND YOUR COMMUNITY (Thurs.)
6:00 SCOPE (Fri.)
6:00 U.S. FARM REPORT (Mon.)
6:00 HEALTH FIELD (Tues.)
6:30 NBC NEWS AT SUNRISE
7:00, TODAY
9:00 DIFF'RENT STROKES
9:30 SALE OF THE CENTURY
10:00 HAWAII FIVE -O
11:00 HOUR MAGAZINE
11:05 SHUTTLE COVERAGE (Wed.)
AFTERNOON
12:00 NEWSCOPE
12:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW
1:00 DAYS OF OUR LIVES
2:00 ANOTHER WORLD
3:00 MATCH GAME/HOLLYWOOD SQUARES
HOUR
4:00 HAPPY DAYS AGAIN
4:30 LAVERNE 8 SHIRLEY & COMPANY
5:00 ALICE
5:30 MASH
WEDNESDAY
DECEMBER 7, 1983
DAYTIME SPECIALS
11:05 SHUTTLE COVERAGE
EVENING
6:00 NEWS
6:30 NBC NEWS
7:00 P.M. MAGAZINE
7:30 THREE'S COMPANY
8:00 NBC NEWS WHITE PAPER
10:00 ST. ELSEWHERE
11:00 NEWS
11:30 TONIGHT
12:30 LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN
1:30 MOVIE: "RUN SILENT, RUN DEEP". Clark
Goble, Burt Lancaster.
3:00 MOVIE: "100 RIFLES". Jim Brown, Raquel
Welch.
THURSDAY
DECEMBER 8, 1983
EVENING
6:00 NEWS
6:30 NBC NEWS
7:00 P.M. MAGAZINE
7:30 THREE'S COMPANY
8:00 GIMME A BREAK
8:30 MAMA'S FAMILY
9:00 WE GOT IT MADE
9:30 CHEERS
10:00 HILL STREET BLUES
11:OONEWS
11:30 TONIGHT
12:30 LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN
1:30 MOVIE: "CURSE OF THE MAYAN TEMPLE".
3:00 MOVIE: "BONNIE AND CLYDE". Warren
Beatty, Faye Dunaway.
FRIDAY
DECEMBER 9, 1983
EVENING
6:00 NEWS
6:30 NBC NEWS
7:00 P.M. MAGAZINE
7:30 THREE'S COMPANY
8:00 SMURF CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
8:30 A CHIPMUNK CHRISTMAS
9:00 MOVIE: "SEEMS LIKE OLD TIMES". Goldie
Hawn, Chevy Chase.
11:00 NEWS
11:30 TONIGHT
12:30 FRIDAY NIGHT VIDEOS
2:00 MOVIE: "MOUNTAIN MAN-. Denver Pyle.
John Denver,
4:00 MOVIE: THE ROSE TATTOO", Anna
Magnani, Burt Lancaster.
SATURDAY
DEIMPARER 10, 1913
MORNING
6:00 CARRA0.SCOLENDAS
6:30 NEW ZOO REVUE
7:00 ROMPER ROOM
7:30 THUNDARR
8:00 THE FLINTSTONE FUNNIES
8:30 THE SHIRT TALES
9:00 SMURFS
10:30 ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS
11:00 SOUL TRAIN
AFTERNOON
12:00 NFL '83
12:30 NFL FOOTBALL
3:30 MOVIE: "BRONK". Jack Palance, David
Birney.
5:00 POP 'N' ROCKER
5:30 NEWSCOPE
EVENING
00 NEWS
6:30 HEE HAW
:30 THE BEAR WHO SLEPT THROUGH
CHRISTMAS
8:00 DIFFRENT STROKES
8:30 SILVER SPOONS
9:00 MANIMAL
10:00 THE YELLOW ROSE
11:00 NEWS
11:30 SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
1:00 BENNY HILL
1:30 MOVIE: THE LAST HUNT'. Stewart
Granger, Robert Taylor.
SUNDAY
DECEMBER 11, 1983
MORNING
6:45 DAVEY AND GOLIATH
7:00 OPEN CAMERA
7:30 IT'S YOUR BUSINESS
8:00 DAY OF DISCOVERY •
8:30 REX HUMBARD
9:00 ORAL ROBERTS
9:30 SUNDAY MASS
10:00 THE MUNSTERS
10:30 MOVIE: "EVERYTHING'S DUCKY".
AFTERNOON
12:00 MEET THE PRESS
12:30 NFL '83
1:00 NFL FOOTBALL
4:00 MOVIE: THE JEALOUSY FACTOR".
EVENING
6:00 NEWS
6:30 TAXI
7:00 FIRST CAMERA
8:00 KNIGHT RIDER
9:00 MOVIE: "COAST TO COAST'.
11:00 NEWS
11:30 MOVIE: "THE ASSASSINATION BUREAU".
MONDAY
DECEMBER 12, 1983
EVENING
6:00 NEWS
6:30 NBC NEWS
7:OOP.M. MAGAZINE
7:30 SHARE A HELPING OF LOVE FOOD-A-
THON
8:00 MOVIE: "SPENCER'S MOUNTAIN".
11:00 NEWS
11:30 BEST OF CARSON
12:30 LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN
1:30 MOVIE: "DESTROY ALL PLANETS".
3:00 MOVIE: "THE D.1.".
TUESDAY
DECEMBER 13, 1983
EVENING
6:00 NEWS
6:30 NBC NEWS
7:00 P.M. MAGAZINE
7:30 THREE'S COMPANY
8:00 THE A -TEAM
9:00 REMINGTON STEELE
10:00 FOR LOVE AND HONOR
11 :00 NEWS
11:30 TONIGHT
12:30 LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN
1:30 MOVIE: "DEATH STALK".
3:00 MOVIE: 'VILLA RIDES".
L'il Abner opens at
GDCI Thursday night
BY TERESA CANNON
AND LiSA BROWN
As the opening night approaches, the cast
and crew of L'il Abner are becoming more
and more excited. Each person has given
100 percent effort and dedication in order
that L'il Abner will live up to the high
quality of G.D.C.I.'s past musical
productions.
This project has encompassed the efforts
of a great many students and teachers. As
well as the actors and actresses, there are
people involved in the pit band, stage crew,
lighting crew, makeup and costume crew
and publicity personnel.
Li'l Abner is an original musical comedy
OPP out
based on the characters created by Al Capp.
The production brings to life the characters
from the comic strip of the same rime and
will keep you laughing throughout the show.
Come out and support the hard-working
students and teachers of GDCI and enjoy an
evening or afternoon of musical comedy.
Tickets are available at GDCI from 11:40 to
12:30. Adult tickets are $3.50, students $2.50
and children $1.50. The production runs
Thursday, December 8 and Friday,
December 9 at 8 p.m. Afternoon per-
formances will be presented Saturday,
December 10 and Sunday, December 11 at 2
p.m.
after drinking
drivers over holiday
The Ontario Provincial Police will be em-
barking on an all-out attack on drinking
drivers over the Christmas and New Year's
holidays OPP Commissioner Archie
Ferguson announced this week.
OPP officers in every corner of the pro-
vince will be watching for people who take
their holiday celebrations too far. Using
roadside breath screening devices, the
police officers will be able to test drivers
they believe have been drinking. -
The test devices show one of three results
after a driver takes the test. If the 'pass'
light shows, the driver can go. A 'warn' light
means the driver may receive a l2 -hour
suspension; in that case, his driver's licence
is seized, and he must make other 81"-
rangements for continuing his journey. If
the person taking the test sees the 'fail'
light, it means the start of a procedure to ob-
tain a test with a normal breathalyzer.
-.Last year, out of 538 drivers killed in
fatal accidents in Ontario, 301 had been
drinking," reports Commissioner Ferguson.
"Everyone in the community has a respon-
sibility to try to reduce this terrible
statistic."
The OPP has a major part to play in any
work to reduce drinking and driving says
Commissioner Ferguson. But he also
stresses the fact that everyone can try to
prevent' the drinker reaching his ear when
his driving will be impaired Friends and
family can use their influence to stop a loved
one from taking totally urmecessary risks -
both the risk of having an necklet and the
risk of being caught by the police.
"Moderation is the keyword," says Com-
missioner Ferguson. "Hospitality means
more than just making sure someone's glass
is always ffull.u.. It also meas making sure
that guests can get home safety."