The Brussels Post, 1978-07-05, Page 22Pat Flood is a jack-of-all.trades
and it is necessary for her to be
that way in her position as set and
costume designer for the Blyth
Summer Festival.
Among her duties Pat had to do
drawings for all the sets, all the
costumes and all the props even
things that have to be found and
made. She also has to he able to
draft things for the people
building the sets, and to have a
knowledge of different paints.
She also has to know how to
talk to the carpenter, using terms
which are familiar to him as a
carpenter so he will know how she
wants things built and her job
also involves some engineering at
times.
Peter Snell worked
in English theatre
It seems when talking with
Peter Snell an actor with the Blyth
Summer Festival that he's done
every aspect of theatre work,
including pulling the curtain.
Peter spent some time in
England where he got some of his
,theatre training at Birmingham
and West End Theatres where he
spent some time working on the
various backstages. He has also
worked for the Persephone
Theatre In Saskatoon, Theatre
London and Theatre 5, in Kings.,
ton where he did improvisational
shows for both children and
adults. He also worked for The
Just Society, a Revue, in Toronto
and worked with artistic director
James Roy in Orillia.
He has done odds and ends of
television, including com-
mercials. Peter is mainly in-
terested in the,acting side of the
theatre.
"I like that aspect of per-
forming--the spirit of it," he said.
Asked for more comments on
his acting method, he says. "I
think there's a lot of it that is
inside but you've got to have the
vehicle and technical know-how. I
don't think there's a hard and fast
formula especially for different
things.
Sugar
Bush
Inn
Welcomes You
PETER SNELL
Yj
The doors of the
Wardrobe open
each morning.
Inside you will find
multiple choice
co-ordinates
which combine into a
wardrobe for today's
sportive look.
More of everything
to make
hot weather dressing
a pleasure
day or night,
whenever, wherever ...
117
, iill II
II I
I
1
I
I
111
'IT
' ,
fill
1
II' 17.1
I
"7
Main Street
.BAYFIELD, ONTARIO
Open seven days a Week
Phone 5654588
Pat Flood,designer
is jack-of-all-trades
PAT FLOOD
Pat thinks there are a lot of
things that people don't realize
about the theatre and the work
that goes into putting a pro-
ductipn on. She said there arc
four sets and people don't reltlize
that while one set is on stage
three others are being stored
behind it. She also thinks that
people don't realize the amount of
knowledge that theatre people
have to have.
She cites as an example. Bjarne
Christensen, the production
manager, whom she says is a
wizard in electronics. He also has
to be able to talk to the men about
putting air conditioning in the
theatre, he has to know about
sewing so he knows what kind of
machines to get and he has to
know what the actors need.
"We're not an amateur
theatre. We're all professional,"
PM said.
Pat has her Bachelor of Fine
Arts (BFA) degree which she got
in Alberta and her Master of Fine
Arts (MFA) degree from the
University/of Minnesota.
The program in Alberta was a
strictly theatre course. While she
was there Pat took courses in
drawing, drafting, and painting.
"It was a fully professional
course, she says.
The courses in Minnesota were
practical courses where she took
things like major scene painting,
comparing European lighting
instruments with American
lighting instruments studying the
various furniture styles and then
building models of a hypothetical
set in which all the furniture had
to be right on for that time period,
supervising a section of show and
working and designing sets for a
play.
Pat apprenticed at the Tyrone
Guthrie Theatre, worked as an
assistant designer in Toronto at
the St. Lawrence Centre, at the
Stratford Festival as assistant to
tile designer and then decided to
strike out on her own as a
designer.
Some of the other places she
worked include The National Arts
Centre in Ottawa, Halifax;
Witinepeg, Calgary,
Mihneapolis. the Citadel Theatre
Oli and the Tarragon
theattc.,. in Toronto Which is where
she met Bjarne chrtstnsen,,
production manager of the Blyth
Summer Festival.
People probably wonder just
how Pat functions as a set and
costume designer.
"When I design a show, I read.
a script over many many times to
see what kind of characters are in.
the play. I read it for a feeling and
I also read it for details. "Pat
says.
Then she makes a,scale model
of the set so that the actors,
directors and technicians can all
see what it looks like. Then she
drafts it up gives the plans to the
carpenter who builds the set.
Then she does drawings of all the
props for the production
assistants, and gives them a list
of an the props. She also has to do
a draWing of every costume from
the show as well as doing a lot of
research on what people wore in
the different time periods: -
And this 'is where the design
people really appreciate the
cutters, she said because • the
• character's dresses arc not copies
of anything, and the cutters have
to make, them up from nothing
and they've got to fit.
"They've got to make cheap
material. look really good," Pat
said.
Next year is the first. year that
Pat will be a resident designer.
She usually likes to travel around
a lot but she_ will be working at
Theatre Calgary as their resident
designer. •
Pat has no desire to be up on
the stage acting. "I much prefer
to be behind-the-scenes. It's
much more interesting.".
Of the Blyth theatre she says,
"In a big city you never know
your audience but here you know
them. Here they give you
critiques. Here I know if I put
something on stage, they don't
like, I'm going to hear about, it,"
she said,
Join
the Canadian
minority group.
The Fit.
Art works
exhibited
The Blyth Centre for the Arts
Art Gallery will be in the building
immediately south of the Blyth
Memorial Hall. Two art exhibi-
tions will be held this summer
through the CONTACT program
of the -Art Gallery of - Ontario
Extension Department.
The first exhibit July 1 July 25
will be wood engravings of G.
Brendcr a .Brandis. The exhibition
includes examples of wood blocks
and engraving tools as well as a
selection of his fine wood prints of
the Ontario countryside.
From July 26 until August 30,
the water cofaurs and oils of Doris
McCarthy—pal ted during her
trips to the Arctic regions--will be
displayed.
CONTACT has been realized in
direct response to the needs of
communities which in the past
have not had the space or
facilities to house exhibitions'
circulated by Extension services.
This title encompasses a number
of small-sized exhibits of works
by Canadian artists.
CONTACT is made possible by
assistance from the National
Museums Corporation, Ottawa,
with additional funding from
Outreach Ontario (Ministry of
Culture and Recreation). The
Blyth Art Gallery is funded by the
Ontario Arts Council.
Gallery hours are Monday -
Saturday 10 a.m. - 8:30 •p.m.
10—THE BLYTH STUMMER FESTIVAL ISSUE, JULY 5,,1978
A complete year round resort for your
leisure pleasure.
FAMILY CAMPING
Pool . . Beach
MOTEL RESTAURANT
PROPANE FILLING STATION
TRAILER SALES
2 miles South of BAYFIELD
on Highway 21
[519] 565-2450