The Citizen, 1991-10-02, Page 27THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2,1991. PAGE 27.
E ntertainment Huron County Playhouse
sets record for ’91 season
Blyth Festival names Gen. Manager
Ray Salverda
Corporate team helps Blyth
Festival's capital campaign
The Blyth Festival's current
"Catch The Spirit" capital cam
paign is being supported behind the
scenes by a hard working corporate
team from London, Kitchener, and
Toronto. The campaign is aimed at
offering naming opportunities to
corporations, foundations, and indi
viduals in the new facilities recent
ly completed by the Festival's
Board of Directors.
The Catch The Spirit naming
opportunities campaign has a goal
of $477,000, the remaining leg of a
total of $2.2 million project. Three
major donors have led the cam
paign to its first $130,000 along
with other local supporters, past
and present Board members and
theatre staff. The major donors
have been recognized in the nam
ing of the Bainton Gallery, the
David Hay Memorial Garden and
the June Hill Rehearsal Hall.
The corporate team is composed
of Grant Reuber, former Chairman
of the Bank of Montreal; David
McCamus, Chairman of Xerox
Canada; Jack Masterman, Chair
man & Chief Executive Officer of
The Mutual Group, Martha Black
burn, Chairperson of The Black
bum Group, and Richard O'Hagan
and Chuck Bartliff, Senior Vice-
Presidents of the Bank of Montreal.
These committee members are all
approaching a selected group of
corporations and individuals on
behalf of the Blyth Festival.
“It was extremely beneficial to us
to have a corporate committee to
augment the efforts of the Board of
Directors at the outset of this capi
tal campaign” remarked Lynda
Lentz, Development Co-ordinator
for the Blyth Festival. “We are
extremely grateful to again have a
committed corporate committee to
work on our behalf in this Naming
Opportunities Campaign, Catch
The Spirit.”
Recognizing the fact that the Fes
tival is geographically removed
from many national head offices,
Xerox Canada is sponsoring a
reception in Toronto on October 2
to introduce a Blyth Festival pro
duction, The Stone Angel, to people
in Toronto who haven't yet made
the trip out to Blyth. Attending the
After overseeing four of the
Blyth Festival's most successful
seasons, General Manager Joel
Harris is stepping down to return to
his home in the west Kootenays of
British Columbia with his wife,
Sherry Konigsberg.
“I enjoyed being here for the
expansion of these wonderful facil
ities and admire the vision of the
hard working Board of Directors
and staff of this outstanding organi
zation. I will miss the risk and
excitement of the Blyth Festival
and the friends Sherry and I have
made here,” Mr. Harris said.
The Board of Directors
announced recently the appoint
ment of Ray Salverda as the Blyth
Festival's General Manager effec
tive November 1. “After a lengthy
search, we felt that Ray's talents
and people skills would lead the
Festival into a positive direction for
the '90s”, said Board spokesperson
Gayle Waters. “Over his five and a
reception at the celebrated Epicure
Cafe and performance at Theatre
Passe Muraille will be Nancy
McNee, Bruce and Isobel Sully,
Cayley and June Hill, Helen and
John Goldsworthy, Mr. and Mrs.
Richard Dillon, Mr. and Mrs.
James Taylor, Mr. and Mrs. Todd
Howell, Mr. and Mrs. G. W. Walk
er, Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Heaslip,
Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Little, Ernest
McNee and Nancy Rowat, James
and Brenda McNee, Bill and Zora
Buchanan, Stephen Otto, Jane and
Jock McLeod, Peter Blaikloch and
Tracey Lawko, Jane and Terry
Popowich and Nalini Stewart,
Chairman of the Ontario Arts
Council.
While appeals to the corporate
sector continue, Board of Directors
member Marie McGavin is chairing
a major appeal to seventeen com
munities surrounding Blyth
throughout October and November.
For more information about the
Blyth Festival's capital campaign
and special fund raising events, call
Lynda Lentz, Blyth Festival at
(519) 523-4345.
Happy Birthday
on Oct. 3/91
Mom & Aunt Edythe
(Laura Lyon & Edythe Beacom)
half seasons at Blyth, Ray's
involvement in our tours, produc
tion administration, capital building
project and technical areas has
enabled the Festival to grow, while
meeting budgetary restrictions.”
Ray Salverda has worked in the
atres of every size and locale: as
Technical Director for Theatre
Plus's first repertory season in
Toronto; as Production Manager
for Stage West Windsor, quickly
transforming a 1920 vaudeville
house to a modem theatre facility;
as Technical Director and Resident
Lighting Designer for two seasons
at Sudbury Theatre Centre; and as
Production Manager and Lighting
Designer for two seasons at Huron
Country Playhouse in Grand Bend.
An experienced lighting designer
and technical director, Salverda's
work designing for Stage West,
Mississauga and touring across
Canada with many of the Blyth
Festival's and Manitoba Theatre
Centre's shows. He received his
theatre training at Sheridan College
in the technical theatre program.
“I'm looking forward to the chal
lenges and exciting programme that
Peter Smith has planned for 1992,”
says Salverda. “Just as Peter is
launching the season, my wife
Crystal and I will be expecting our
first child. It's great to be working
and living in Blyth.”
(Zountru
invites you to our
5th Annual
OPEN HOUSE
Wednesday, October 9
thru
Saturday, October 12
10 am - 9 pm
We are decorating many rooms of
the house with quality, handcrafted,
floral gifts.
Watch for our signs between Varna
and Bayfield
263-5367
EVERYONE WELCOME
HALLOWE'EN
OPEN HOUSE
OCTOBER 4th & 5th
(Friday & Saturday)
"FREE"- make it and take it
- Great Ideas for Costumes
and Decorating
- Buy a Simplicity Hallowe'en
Pattern and receive 20% off
your entire purchase.
The Sewing Box
Lucknow 524-2000
Figures recently released from
the Huron Country Playhouse show
that the 1991 season was even more
financially successful than the
unprecedented 1990 season.
Box Office figures show rev
enues in excess of $680,673.23 for
attendance figures of over
55,OOO.This is an increase over last
year. "We played to very full hous
es this summer with our average
house size being 84.6 per cent.
Anne of Green Gables which
played to 97 per cent capacity was
our highest attended play" reports
Business Manager Kate Burnett.
The British farce, 2 + 2 Make Sex
had the second highest box office
with 95 per cent, followed by The
Wizard of Oz at 86.1 per cent, Edu
cating Rita played at 73 per cent
and Harvey at 72 per cent.
"With Tony Lloyd as Artistic
Director, we have hit on a winning
combination. He has a real ability
for picking the plays and casting
and directing them successfully,"
Ms. Barnett said.
"With family entertainment as
"Happy "50th"
Anniversary"
MOM & DAD
A LONDESBORO LIONS
CLUB
OLD TYME COUNTRY BREAKFAST
LONDESBORO HALL
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6
9 a.m
Adults
$4.00
Under 12
$3.00
Sausages, eggs, pancakes
& bacon
THURS., FRI. & SAT. NITES
PIZZA
5 P.M. - MIDNIGHT
EAT IN OR TAKE OUT
Love: John, Nancy,
Sandra, Joyce,
Norma, Mary &
families
Huron Country Playhouse's man
date and Federal and Provincial
funding bodies declining to fund
this theatre it is ironic that other
theatres receiving funding are now
stressing entertainment. If pre-sea-
son sales are any indication, 1992
is going to be a real winner as well.
"We must do something right",
stated Artistic Director Tony
Lloyd, "because we have sold over
2700 subscriptions for next year's
season already. In dollars, that's
over $180,000 in pre-season sales."
Lloyd announced the 1992 sea
son in early August. After the suc
cess of the five (5) play 1991
season, he plans to continue with
this format. The playbill consists of
Sound of Music, The Mousetrap,
Don't Dress For Dinner, Jitters and
Camelot.
Blyth IW
523-9381
THURSDAY NIGHT IS
WING NIGHT
5 P.M. - MIDNIGHT
WINGS 35€ EACH
MINIMUM ORDER 10
a variety of sauces available
SORRY NO TAKE-OUTS
Thurs., Frl., 4 Sat.
5 p m. - midnight
CHICKEN WINGS &
CHIPS $5.45
EAT IN OR TAKE OUT