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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1980-07-03, Page 28' DaVid FPI deSerihes, hlzn- eIf as •',"lachy", loaldttg hack : onhis theatre career This Year playing the ,patt of Jelin' in John and the rylitaue and Working' • ori° file colleetiVe prodluctiop (Mg. Life That Jack Built, •Pavki wift spend his first seasoe in BlYthe• " "I'd Much tether be doing theatre like thin," he$aid. ".1 feel; closer to the Inaterian and closer to the audienCe." Meng with stage :work • across Canada, David has . performed ; in •television. ., MOst..recently involved in, four episodes of A Gift to Last, David has: also acted in • Ada and Maria, (part of the CBC For the Record series), The Masseys, 11337 for tele- vision, and Going DOwn -Slow. Born in Swastika, David said it.was while he attended ' high school in Kirkland Lake and beCaine We've& in the drama club that he first _thoughtof acting as a career. After going to the Univer- sity of Western Ontario and liter finishing a degree at the University olGueleh David went on to the Ontario _Col- / lege of Education. He said losing an appren- tice actorsaudition in 1961 in Stratford, made him decide to stay out of theatre and in 1962 he started _teaching English and theatre arts at a • Brantford high school. Anne Anglin Ilk's • Blyth's-hones • . . Afterteanhihg for 19 Yeitta, David eaPtained he went back .te theatre for several reasenj. waa, a build up of se'veral things,'" ,Ile said. "1 WaS More lin 'high schoOt .illantta, and Para.' man_litY 010* Oa 1 was In PieParing lessens," • "EntalIy" ranieSeeingno, {beneitsin teaehinfn" ; THE OLYTH SU ESTIVAtv ISSU ht(Preparing gor !Os tole as /Akin Jahn and the Missus, David saki • he travelled to ' , Newfnundlaed for a few days before, rehearsals tee txrand ' pick up the accent of the iare., a'onit6hitVsseur:o .1:etthe ehedPliaYe "ya; •• of the accent without .going .oveleboard," he said. . "Yea have -to combi e what is a regular Newfoett • land accent, with what will be believed . by the aud- ience:" . , Researching material for i the collective, The Life That JackBuilt; David .said he ' read as much as he could • about the first world war and • be talked to Jack MacLaren, whom th-e play is about. —In- describing •-JackL•Mace.--- Laren's character, David said the other day he asked Jack for a script celled F..stame he 'wrote in 1917. • When he :Couldn't find the old -script , :they wanted to •use in the •show, David said Jack re- wrote it from memory. "The guy is 85 years old, he's incredible," said David. "The energy and determin- ation is great." David describes theatre aS zi "more satisfying med- ' " "Television is a director - and editor's medium, where as stage is much More of an actor's medium," lie said. Anne Anglin says it's the honest, ingenuous reactions from Blyth audiences that appeals to her. "I love theatre like this," she said. "I think it's won- derful -that there is a theatre Eke this so close to Strat- ford." This season, playing the part of the Missus in John and the Missus, Anne is back for her second year in Blyth. A Montreel Theatre School graduate, Anne said she has been acting for close to 12 years. "1 try to , do as many different things as I can," She explains that if you're talented and versatire; your chances of working increase Anne has performed in theatre and on television, mbst recently for a TV. Ontario drama series on moral issues. Anne has done drama and mugicals. "Musicals are fun," she stid. "I really like singing." This summer Anne will be living in a caboose with her two daughters and husband Paul Thompson, founder of Theatre Passe Metallic in Toronto. audiences "I don't like the city in the sununer," she said, adding that living in Brussels for the summer is a peaceful break. Anne, who was born and raised in TONVItO, said she would like to do more film work. "Film is a wonderful med- ium." she said. "It is more intimate." She explained, in working Wilson's Health and Gift Centre Blyth • 523 -4440 -- Congratulates the Blyth Summer Festival WELCOME ALL VISITORS in film or television, you really have to know what you're doing. "You have to really con- centrate, you have to know what you're doing and when they give the cue you have to perform." "There is a sense • of reaching a larger group of peoplewith film," she added explaining its advantage. In the last five years, Anne said she hasn't travelled around the country for work as oTten as she did when she first started acting. "I'm too old for all the moving around," she said. You establish yourself in a city like Toronto or Vancouver with enough work to keep you going,". she added. Best Wishes to The Blyth Summer Festival Come out 'and play a riiund' anytime, • SEAFORTH GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB Phone 527-0985 nors yeteri • Tike the theatre"s •dramatic present, the Blyth hienUtrial Hall, has had a•NOrill# and interesting ,past. Erected in P7.0 as a memorial to veteran.s who fought •lin the First World War,"the hall has been serving the , community for -60 years. According to an article in the }Myth . Standard • ;Centennial issue, when first built the hall was used , mostly forytiudeville shows and touring plays. Daring , those early years, dances and meetings were held in the • basement of the hall. At that time, the ,Firemen's Dance, held once a year, was one of the biggest events. • One of the more famous shows to travel.to Blyth was called the Jimmy Fax troupe. Held iii connection with the annual fall fair, Jimmy Fax performed a one than show playing all the parts in his production, The troupe - continued to perform in Blyth from 1920 to ap- •--•firtiiirTtately 1950. - • the 1920's when the theatre was bat upstairs at the hall, the stage, measuring 40 feet wide and 20 feet deep was the Most modern and largest in the area, known for its, comfortable teats, modern design and excellent acoustics. • TV TOOK OVER • With the growing popularity of television_ in the early 1950's, the interest in live theatre in Memorial Hall fell: • As a result, the building fell into a state of disrepair. The basement floors no longer shook with the • excitement andifervouidaenualidances and the halls and theatre no longer echoed the voices of minstrels on stage. • However, in the 1970's one woman who saw the potential in old Memorial Hall came t� its rescue. Helen Gowing, atthat tinae owner of a local women's wear shop and presidentof the Blyth Board of Trade, .initiated a meeting with the local recreation comniittee • • to start renovations. Donations were, . made to 'buy supplies, while volunteers climbed ladders, scrubbed woodwork and repainted.. By early September the hall, they thought, was ready for tuse. The firstevent to be held in the -newly renovated hall was to be ,a variety nighf and fashion show sponsored by the Board- of Trade. Although they thought the hall wsa ready for use, thelocal fire chief, who inspected the building declared the fire eseepes unsafe and closed the hall until they were replaced. itet this time it was Blyth council who came to the rescue, agreeing to pay for the new fire escapes. Before the fire escapes were installed however, one councillor noticed a sag in the roof bethought should be checked before any money was spent. BELOW STANDARD A local engineer was hired to examine the structure. He found the roof below standard and unable to support. snow loads._ He added the.theatre should not be used until repairs were made, but that the lower portion of the hall would be safe. As the. question of renovations continued, some councillors were having eloubts about the project and the costs involved. One councillor suggested the building be torn dewn, but instead,' a small questionnaire was placed in the Standard ssking readers' opinions on whether the Memorial Hall should be torn down ,or left standing. Only one reply suggested the hall be demolished. " At a following September Council meeting, council- lors re-examined the engineer's report. The report recommended a minor strengthening of the floor, the stage and auditorium and a total replacement of the roof. The roof cost S50.000, 510,000. of which would come from the village and the rest from grants from the government. During the winter of 1975-76, figther renovations were made by the Blyth Centre for the Arts under a Local Initiatives Project grant and with the support of continued locaninterest. It was during the spring of 1975 that James Roy came to Blyth and talked with Keith Roulston about summer theatre. James, then a recent graduate of theatre at York University who grew up near the village, worked to create the first season's productions as artistic director. For the first season's productions, James selected The Mousetrap, an Agatha Christie mysteiy that had • been playing in London, England, for 27 years and • Mostly in Cover, a play based on the writings of Harm County native Harry .1. Boyle. It was in that first year that policies were set. Because Mostly in Clover outdrew the British play The Mousetrap, by two to one, Blyth Festival Theatre potky was set for Canadian plays and Canadian actors.