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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1987-07-22, Page 49PAGE 4A—GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 1987 Entertainment Knocking on doors pays off for local Goderich actress BY LOU -ANN HOPE By the time she was 12 -years -old, Shirley Hall knew what she wanted to do with her life. Hall, a Goderich native, is currently co- starring in "Miss Balmoral Of The Bayview," a comedy which opened at the Blyth Festival July 14 and runs through August 29. In the 12 years since deciding to pursue an acting career, Hall has doggedly pursued roles in theatre and television. "I was 12. I saw my sister in a GDCI (Goderich District Collegiate Institute) play and I was mesmerized by it," Hall said, explaining her first interest in acting. 'From that moment on, Hall was deter- mined to make acting her career and thought of little else. All through her high school years, Hall was a member of the GDCI Drama Club and at age 14 she started working with the Goderich Little Theatre (GLT). Some of her early theatre involvement consisted of parts in GDCI productions of "Oklahoma!" and "Prisoner of Second Avenue" while GLT credits include "Solid Gold ,Qadiilac," " Cinderella" and "Witness For The Prosecution". . "If I wasn't performing in them, I was involved in another way," she said. Her connection with the Blyth Festival began in 1981 when she worked as an usher. By the Festival's 1983 season, Hall was an apprentice and understudy for the production of "Nobody's Child". This year marks her debut on the Blyth stage, however, in the intervening years she has been anything but inactive in the acting field. KNOCKING ON DOORS At the end of the 1983 Blyth Festival season, Hallpacked her bags and moved to Toronto where she enrolled in a theatre program at York University. However, university just didn't appeal to her. "I stayed three weeks (at school). I just didn't like it. Everything on 'the course outline I had learned here (at Blyth)," she said, explaining her decision to not pursue a university degree. She then moved to London where she took a job as manager of a gift store, a position that lasted only five months at which time she accepted a position with the Stratford Festival during its 1984 season. "I worked in'wardrobe as a dresser for one season. It was fun, although it is much different from Blyth. • Stratford is too much like an institution. It's so big, as are a lot of the attitudes around the theatre. Here, ( Blyth) it is like a big family. Of course, I wasn't acting in Stratford," Hall said. At the end of the 1'984 season, Hall moved hack to "Toronto to pursue her acting •Sn Goderich native Shirley Hall is appearing in "Miss Balmoral Of she has already appeared on television as well as thestage and isn't The Bayview" at the Blyth Festival this year. At 23 years of age, ready to quit yet. (photo by Lou -Ann Hope) career. "Because I had no school training in ac- ting, I had to go out and find work (in acting)." Hall noted she did a lot of different work that year (waitressing, telephone sales) to support herself during her search for ac- ting work. "It took me six months to find an agent," she said, explaining the difficulty in con- vincing an agent that "you are good." "Getting an agent is really difficult. No one wants you because they have never heard of you. I don't blame them because who wants to take..a chance," Hall said. Her persistence paid off and she found herself signing up with an • ageny. However, she is currently looking for a new agent since her current agent "tends to cater to models." Although actors need agents, Hall noted her agent did not really help her find work. "They really didn't help much. Pretty much everything I got in Toronto, I got by myself going around to casting directors. "When you do get something, it makes it all worthwhile," she said. He first actual acting job was a part in a low budgetfilm called "Marked For Death "It was a flop," she said.' Hall noted that most of her parts have been walk-on parts which are different from "extras". "Extras are usually needed for crowd shots and you don't really see your face. "Miss Balmoral" destined to be this year's hit at Blyth Festival BY LOU -ANN HOPE If you have tickets to see "Miss Balmoral Of. The Bayview" at the Blyth Festival this summer, congratulations, you're in for a real treat: If not, well you could try standing in line for one of the 10 rush tickets sold prior to each performance but don't count your blessings. "Miss Balmoral" is destined to be this year's hit of the Blyth Festival. The play, by Colleen Curran ("Cake Walk" and "Moose County" author), was entirely sold out prior to its opening night performance of July 14. This is the first tune- in the history of the Blyth Festival that the entire run of a new play has sold. out even before the play opened. 'Miss Balmoral" is a comedy. A light yet brisk comedy in which practically every other line has the audience smiling if not laughing. From the opening scene to the almost too abrupt ending, "Miss Balmoral" grabs the audience's attention and holds it. Not once does the -cast let their audience drift away from the action on the stage. The play's title character is a strong- willed Scottish lady who, after having lost in the game of love, quits her teaching position at an uppercrust private school in response to an advertisement for what she assumes to be a hotel manager. Upon arriving at The Bayview, an old inn which was saved from the wrecking ball after being deemed a historical site, she gathers a varied hotel staff who, together, hope to refurbish the old inn. Judith Orban, as Miss Balmoral, manages to pull off the characterization of the title character with ease. She is con- vincing as the strong-willed., stern Scottish lady who, throughout the course of the play, changes her personality to that of an approachable, caring, and, most impor- tantly, likeable woman. However, Beth Anne Cole, as Miss Balmoral's assitant Patsy Cherubino, steals the show with her aritics. Cole plays the role of the'eccentric, meddling Patsy to the hilt: Not once does she slip out of character and, more often than not, it is from her remarks that the audience responds the most. It is, perhaps, ,her boisterousness that keeps the play "up". Goderich actor Kevin Bundy fills the role of the blundering hotel management trainee Shane Dempsey with few pro- blems, a real change from his role as Jim- my in the Blyth Festival's "Bordertown Cafe". Jerry Franken, as the quiet, philosophical carpenter Dominic Cherubino, is really the only stable character in the play. As the widowed brother-in-law of Patsy, it his Dom who ends up becoming Miss Balmoral's love interest. The villain of the plot, ' Stephen St. Stephens, as played by Stan Coles, doesn't appear to the end of first act, yet he is cen- tral to the play's development. Cole plays Miss Balmoral's ex -suitor who travels to the inn to propose to Miss Balmoral which, if she accepts, will make him headmaster at the private school where the two characters taught. Cole makes the role of With walk-on parts, each shot of you is a single shot. All the work I've done has been single shots which is good exposure." She has apperared in the television shows "Hangin' In" and "Night Heat". In "Night Heat" she was a lawyer. Prior to these parts, she did some live stage work at Garbo's Bistro Cabaret on Queen Street in Toronto. She has also appeared in a rock video. Last August through December, she was busy filming "Chasing Rainbows," a CBC - TV mini-series scheduled for television debut in January of 1988. "It's about the 1919 period and I'm in two scenes. One is outside a private school and ,the other is the Prince of Wales scene." WORK AT BJ:.YTH " Hall's first audition for the Blyth Festival last year did not pan out, however this year's audition resulted in her being cast in "Miss Balmoral". "I was reluctant this year about apply- ing to Blyth. One day while I was in Goderich; I'§toppled in at Blyth and left a message for Katherine Kaszas saying I was interested. When I got back home (London, where she was working as a manager of two hair,. salons), there was a message on my machine that Katherine Happy Birthday "FLOYDETTE" (Linda Vance) ( Kaszas, the artistic director at the Blyth Festival) had something for me," she said. Originally, Hall was to be hired through a grant program, however she did not qualify fpr the grant since she was not a student, nor would she be attending school in the fall. "Under the grant, 1 was to be a member of the Young Company and possibly in 'Miss Balmoral."" Although she- could not be hired under the grant program, she still auditioned for this year's season and *on the part of Dehlia Abbott, the librarian who is on a crusade to end book -banning, in "Miss Balmoral". Of her job at the Blyth Festival, all>Hall could say was "I love it." She noted that"Terry Tweed, director of "Miss Balmoral" was "a wonderful direc- tor and that the whole cast is great to work with." Herposition at Blyth not only allows her to follow,her acting dream but also acts as a teaching method. "The role of Dehlia was a real challenge for me because I had always played an ex- travagent'character but Dehlia is so sim- ple, so straight -forward. I can't do any rng funny with the character except -,TThr the one or two funny lines she does have. I did have a lot of difficulty in understanding her." With only two weeks of rehearsal, prior to the opening night 'performance of July 14, Hall noted learning lines was not a pro- blem but that rehearsals were not all fun either, "The first time we had fun with the play was at dress rehearsal. How can you ex- pect the audience to have fun when you're not having fun," she said. Dress rehearsal also allowed. the cast to see where the audience would laugh, although Hall noted each audience is dif- ferent and reacts differently to the perforrrbaance. "Performances are exhausting not only physically but mentally as well," Hall noted, adding a few days off between per- .formances allows the cast to obtain some rest. ONLY ACTING - Hall has no intention of giving up her ac- ting career, now or in the future, even though there are many people pursuing the same dream. "I'm 23 now and in the age range where'" there is the most competition (16-25 years). A lot of people will get discourag- ed trying to find work. You just have to hang in there, which means you could go a while with no work but you have to be will- ing to do that," Hall said. Having something to fall back on is more of a distraction than a plus, she added. "If you do have something as a back-up; then you will fall back .on it. You have to keep acting right up front." Hall said she will most likely be moving back to Toronto after the Festival's season to concentrate on her acting career. She hasn't ruled out the possibility of returning to Blyth again. "I would love to come back to Blyth again if they have something for me. I just wish there were more opportunites year- round to keep me here." The comedy of "Miss Balmoral Of The Bayview" is destined to be the hit of the 1987 Blyth Festival. Here, left to right, Stan Coles (Stephen St. Stephens), Kevin Bundy (Shane Demp- sey), Shirley Hall ( Dehlia Abbott) and, in front, Beth Anne Cole (Patsy Cherubino) rehearse a scene from the play. the blustering, aloof, nasty professor come alive yet, in the end, the professor seems confused by the results of his endeavors. Goderich, native Shirley Hall plays the aggresive, intelligent Dehlia Abbott, the local librarian on a crusade to end book - banning. As Dehlia, Hall has, perhaps, the most difficult role in the play. Because Dehlia is so simple and straight -forward and has only one or two humorous lines in the play, there is little, if any, room for im- provisation. And, it is hard learning to follow such a rigid role. However, Hall does carry the role off well. There are two sub -plots in the play, one of which is the love interest between Bundy'sShane and Hall's Dehlia. While the scene does slow the play down, it is in- teresting to see how the slightly goofy Shane reacts to the adoring Dehlia. The second sub -plot involves the rela- tionship between Dom and Miss Balmoral. While the audience is led to believe Miss, Balmoral and Dom do fall in love, the play ends to abruptly for the audience to know for sure what does happen. Although, he is, in the end, her knight in shining ar- mour, a single kiss or a marriage proposal would have been nice. However, the play is a hit in spite of this one factor. Also to be commended are the three men who formed the Ersatz Renovation Com- pany and acted as scene changers. The men helped in making the scene changes quick yet interesting since the audience could see what the men were doing. Pos- ing as a renovation company, the men changed the setting from that of a dusty, dilapidated hotel to a clean,'homey inn. The entire play is set in the lobby of the Bayview Inn during the month of September. STAG & DOE For JO -ANNE MOORE and JOE COWANLOCK Sal., July 25 8 p.m. - 1 a.m. Goderich For moee information call 524-2441 or 524-7773 Music by Buck . 53.00 per person Lunch Provided WHO ME? ...yes you again Happy Birthday. Steven Wylds Love, friends & family Mr. & Mrs. Harvey Hodges of Port Alpert are pleased to announce the forthcoming mar-•- riage of their daughter, Anita Joann, to Gary Raymond Taylor, son of Mrs. Leila Gilc hrist and the Late Raymond Taylor. The weddinr, will take place at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, Ju- ly 25, 1987 at Christ Church, Port Albert. Reception in Saltford. Happy 21st Birthday Greenie (Paul Green)