Village Squire, 1979-04, Page 26UPDATE
Janet Amos, coming to the country.
TOP ACTRESS -DIRECTOR TO TAKE
OVER BLYTH FESTIVAL
Janet Amos, one of Canada's top.
actresses and directors has been chosen as
the associated director of the Blyth
Summer Festival.
The appointment came after a lengthy
search by the board of directors of the
Festival. As associate director Ms. Amos
will work closely with artistic director
James Roy this season and succeed him as
artistic director for the 1980 season.
Mrs. Sheila Richards, president of the
Festival's sponsoring organization the
Blyth Centre for the Arts, said Ms. Amos
was picked from a list of 30 applicants
because of her familiarity with the region
served by the Blyth theatre. Though a
native of Toronto, Ms. Amos has had close
connections with Western Ontario since
1972 when she was one of a group of actors
that stayed near Holmesville and created
The Farm Show, the most successful show
for Theatre Passe Muraille which toured all
over North America. Since then she has
returned to the region with several touring
shows and in 1977 directed a show, The
Blyth Memorial History Show by Jim
Schaefer at the Blyth Festival. She is
married to writer -actor Ted Johns who is a
native of the Clinton area and attended
school in Mitchell.
Ms. Amos is probably best known as an
actress, first for a series of roles with
Theatre Passe Muraille from Toronto, then
last summer as Major Barbara in the Shaw
Festival production of the same name.
24 Village Squire. April 1979
But here widest exposure has been as
Clara on the C.B.C. hit mini-series of A
Gift to Last. She is entering her third
season of taping sessions for the series.
She has also performed in such productions
as The Masseys and Ada for C.B.C.
Still, despite her prominence as an
actress, it was primarily as a director that
she was chosen for the Blyth position. She
began her career as a director with
Alligator Pie, based on the children's
poems of Dennis Lee. Her most recent
project was Dreamgirls, an all -woman
show done in Toronto in January.
The policy of producing Canadian plays
of specific interest to the rural and
small-town audience of the region served
by the Blyth Summer Festival was set by
James Roy when he founded the Festival in
1975 and will be carried on by Ms.
Amos. "I feel that the Festival's
connection with the community and the
country makes it one of the most exciting
theatres anywhere," she said.
The fifth season of the Blyth Summer
Festival begins July 6. Mr. Roy will be
announcing the lineup of plays soon.
WINGHAM ARTIST CELEBRATED AT
ST. MARYS
1979 is Centennial Year in Wingham but
they're celebrating one Wingham native in
St. Marys.
For several years an old painting sat,
somewhat ignored on an easel on the third
floor of the St. Marys District Museum.
This year the same painting will have a
SPRING
SEWING
CENTRE
The latest Spring fabrics
are here. Sew your way
into fresh Spring fashion
with new woolens, cot-
tons and polyesters.
A full selection of new
Butterick patterns can
put sunshine into your
wardrobe for the warmer
weather. Also a complete
new line of buttons,
zippers and thread can
make your sewing re-
quirements complete.
Be sure to take a few
moments to see our new
line of Cannon towels.
This famous -quality lab-
el adds elegance to any
bathroom.
Larone's
SEAFORTH 527-1960