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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-08-23, Page 7GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 1979—PAGE 7 Ted Johns...from teacher to playwright By Jim Hagarty It isn't a long way from Mitchell to Blyth unless you take the route Ted Johns took to get there. In 1960, Ted graduated from Mitchell District High. School fully intending to become a school teacher. Almost 20 years later, he's an ac- complished stage actor, director, and playwright. His latest play, The Death of the Donnellys, opened last night at the Blyth Summer Festival. It's already been scheduled to run one week longer than originally intended because off the heavy pre -opening demand for tickets. Born in Seaforth 36 years ago, Ted moved to a farm east of Mitchell when he was a boy and took his elementary school education at Gould's School (USS No. 6, Fullarton). He showed no particular yearning for the theatre while in high school but did pick up some early writing experience by reporting his school's news each week in the Mitchell Advocate. "I never thought of myself as a theatre per- son," recalls Ted, though his interest in literature led him to study honours English and History at Victoria College, part of the University of Toronto. It was at university that he did his first theatre work in the drama club there and eventually discovered he had some abilities as an actor. For one year following his graduation from school with a Masters degree in English literature, Ted taught elementary school in Old Fort Bay, a poor, remote fishing village on the Strait of Belle Isle in Labrador. He was there through the Anglican Church's Grenville Mission. The experience inspired a later play, Naked On The North Shore. In 1968, he became a modern poetry lecturer at Brock University in St. Catherines. The university was just building and Ted remembers the four years he worked there as a "very ex- citing time". But he still wasn't involved much in theatre. After he left Brock in 1973, he took the plunge into acting and eventually writing. He worked with various companies in Toronto and learned to act, in his words, "the hard way". He simply performed and learned from the people he worked with. In those years, Ted also began contributing to some collectively -written plays including He Won't Come in From the Barn, Shakespeare for Fun and Profit, and The Horsburgh Scandal. Those plays were performed in Blyth where the festival building in 1973 was threatened with demolition. But with the large audiences which came to see some of those plays, including the popular Farm Show, residents of Blyth realized the value of the festival and started renovations of -the old town hall. Six years later, the building's still there and the people still keep coming to see the plays. Each year a few things have been added, a few improvements made. Now it seats 400, has ex- cellent acoustics, and according to Ted, has become an important draw for the town. Ted's first big piece of writing, The School Show, was a smaskhit in Blyth last summer. Based on the 1978 'Huron County high school teachers' strike, in was a humourous two -act play with Ted the sole actor, He pIay6c1 six dif- ferent characters in the one-man show,,intluding three women. His 'effort was well-received by playgoers and, critics alike. ' The School Show will probably appear in Toronto this fall and will tour next spring. It's already been published by Playwrights Co-op. It has helped establish Ted as a serious writer and a versatile'performer. In the summer, Ted and his wife Janet Amos rent a house in Blyth. The rest of the year, they live with their two children, Christopher, 9, and two-year-old Joseph in Toronto. • Theatre is firmly embedded in the Johns family. Currently appearing in the CBC's A Gift To Last, Janet takes over the artistic director's job at Blyth in 1980. Ted is 9bviously excited about his latest play. He started writing The Death of the Donnellys last winter and finished it this summer. It started out as a rewrite of two former Blyth offerings entitled Them Donnellys but Ted has added several new scenes of his own, amplified the characters, balanced out the play, and clarified it. History is difficult to deal with in a play. "You can't bend it too much," claims Ted. But a few days prior to the play's opening, he was con- vinced he and his fellow actors had succeeded. Time will tell. The three acts of The Death of the Donnellys span 40 years of history. Act One shows the family in its youth. The second act is centered around Will Donnelly, his stagecoach business and all the business wars that raged in the Lucan area in the mid -1800s. In the final act, the in- troduction of the railroad into rural Ontario brings about a change in the world. The Lucan community forms their now -famous conspiracy to rid itself of the Donnellys. There's lots of action in Ted's version of the famous Donnelly story. He calls it, "high energy stuff." As such, it should make for good en- tertainment. - As far, as providing any new answers to the Donnelly puzzle, it's doubtful this play will do that, though Ted admits his story is a sym- pathetic look at the whole affair. "It can't help but be sympathetic," he argues. "It was a terrible thing that happened. Everybody regrets it." The Death of the. Donriellys. Blyth Summer Festival. August 21 to September 8. Sports action at Dungannon diamond Company on Wednesday with Mel Jones were Mrs. Winnie Bell of Goderich, Mr. and Mrs. Norman Bell and family of Thunder Bay and Mr. and Mrs. George Turton of Goderich. Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Park attended the 25th wed- ding anniversary dinner and social evening for Grant and Lois Farrish held on Friday evening at their home on Highway 86, west of Luck - now. Congratulations to Howard and Ruth Johnston of God- erich, formerly of the Dun- gannon area, on the occasion of their 50th wedding anni- versary, August 3Ist. They are, celebrating August 24th with a dance at the Goderich Legion. Mr. and Mrs. John- ston have a family of one daughter, Bernice, Mrs. Ross Henry, and son, Mur- ray, of Saltford, 8 grand- children and 7 great grand- children. Sympathy is extended to Mrs. Anne Kilpatrick and family on the death of their husband and father, the late Dick Kilpatrick. Mrs. Lynn Wall accom- panied Harold and Joyce Farrish and son, Bradley of Listowel, to the wedding on Saturday of Sharon Taylor and David Pinch, held at West Side United Church, action at the Dungannon dia- mond, the "Beez" won over Kinloss with4a 28 - 27 score. This is a best 2 out of 3, and Dungannon doings. Marie Park correspondent Owen Sound. The dinner and reception were held in Wiar- ton at the Propeller Club. The bride is a niece of the two ladies. Mr. and Mrs. Bert Marsh of Auburn and two daugh- ters, Betty of Burlington and Helen of Madison, Wiscon- sin, visited on Sunday with Mel Jones. SPORTS On Wednesday night sport 529-7719 each team has a win with the third game scheduled for Monday evening. The M. J. Smith men's slo pitch team were defeated by the Port Albert Pirates in a rescheduled game. At Colborne on Tuesday night, Dungannon soccer team lost to Colborne by a 1 - 0 score.. On Thursday they came right back to defeat Kingsbridge by a 9 - 0 score Have an "AFFAIR" With Your Hair at "Hair Affair" Noir Styling for Ladies & Gentlemen 53 South St., Goderich 524-4/79 in a game played at Brook- side. John Curran scored 4 goals, Paul Jerome, and Ken... Logtenburg ,each scored twice and David Hamilton had a goal. Dungannon rounded out the 10 game season with a record of 7 wins, 1 tie and 2 losses, for 15 points. John Curran led the team scoring with 14 goals; Paul Jerome, 6 goals; Mike Austin, Kevin Beattie, Don Carmichael, Ken Logtenberg and Jeff Gibson, 2 goals each and David Hamilton with 1 goal. For all interested parties, there will be a soccer tourna- ment on Saturday, August , 25th at Brookside school starting at 11 o'clock. Prizes and awards will be given at this time. Smile Hotel clerk: 'We have no more rooms with bath. Would you mind sharing a bath with another man?" Guest: "No, as long as he stays at his end of the tub." *sr. , Ted Johtis(a 1960 graduate of Mitchell District High School, hasturned actor - playwright and is currently appearing in his latest work, "The Death of the Donnellys" at the Blyth Surnmer Festival. The three -act play is based on the well- known 1880 slaying ttear Lucan of James Donnelly and four other members of his family. It is scheduled to run until Sept. 8. (Photo by Jim Hagarty) Air show to be held here Thanks to some financial backing from Business Air Services Ltd., it looks like another air show will be held at, the Goderich airport next June 28. BAS, a local company, has offered to .cover as much as $5,000 of any losses incurred by the proposed air show and to match dollar for dollar any profit up to $3,000. E.G. Squires, the company's vice- president, said in a letter received by town council last Wednesday, "We are convinced that any air show is good for business.. and tourism in the community and could event.'' an annual Dick Wright, spokesman for the town's airport committee said he felt that the com- munity would support an annual air show and that it should be able to make a profit. He based this feeling* on public r action to the air show h ld two years ago Goderich's sequutewr- ring tennial celebrations. Wright said the up- coming show would be aboltit 21/2 hours long with individual acts lasting eight to 10 minutes. He said two acts have already accepted the committee's invitation to perform. He added that he'd like to get the Canadian Sno_vv, birds to fly over, even if they can't land but said it would be expensive. Anstett Jewellers LIMITED 11 ALBERT ST. CLINTON 482-391 OPEN WEDNESDAYS For Your Convenience HOURS: Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; Friday nights till 9 p.m. einsissmommew THE GODERICH RESTAURANT STEAK HOUSE & TAVERN LTD. COME IN AND TRY OUR DELICIOUSLY PREPARED BREAKFASTS, LUNCHES & DINNERS FULLY LICENSED 42 WEST ST. ,M1•1•F' Aar _ riffirMLYWNi August Towel Sale • Come in soon - while the selection is at its best V/S.1 34 North St,. (Next door to tho Clothe,. Closet) ShoppersSqo, Goderiat 10014„ 524.8577 t %to! SALE STARTS THURSDAY, AUGUST 23 UNTIL SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1979 Thank You We would like to thank all the people who dropped into our store and wished us well during our opening day. We would also like to thank our friends and relatives (especially Jim Durst) for all their help and encouragement. AND CULOTTIER 21" JEANS 4 0 106 THE SQUARE 524-4566 • ROYAL BANK ..... APPOINTMENT ,-47,-, ,,,,4/,,- •-s„- ,,.,. • „,..„........ • , r ,1,',..,.*, „, ,7 --4,,,,,, .: , V,4''' • 4r., '::,',, -e' ,'” , , . •-•:, o' — r .• ,, • '' 4';' , •,,A.PAa' ''' • ' ''' •N 0 ,, ' MA ' •. " ,.., ......1,. „.„,, ,,..,.. 7., .. '. .... .... ,,.. , ., ....4 -1 '5 0,:i, '' ' 4,, ,. ''-, = , ,, A. J. P. LAWRENCE. The Royal Bank of Canada announces the appoin- tment of Mr. John Lawrence as Manager of its Goderich. Ontario branch. Mr. Lawrence, a native of Orillia, joined the bank at Gravenhurst in 1959 and has since held various managerial positions throughout Ontario, most recen- tly in Richmond Hill and Woodstock. 4/1/ENII/Mair Aar _ riffirMLYWNi August Towel Sale • Come in soon - while the selection is at its best V/S.1 34 North St,. (Next door to tho Clothe,. Closet) ShoppersSqo, Goderiat 10014„ 524.8577 t %to! SALE STARTS THURSDAY, AUGUST 23 UNTIL SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1979 Thank You We would like to thank all the people who dropped into our store and wished us well during our opening day. We would also like to thank our friends and relatives (especially Jim Durst) for all their help and encouragement. AND CULOTTIER 21" JEANS 4 0 106 THE SQUARE 524-4566 •