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The Citizen, 1994-07-27, Page 15X X Past members of the Blyth Festival company will return to Blyth for two special performances on Sunday, Aug. 7 (1:30 & 7:30 p.m.) to recreate some of the magic moments of 20 seasons at the Festival. Finding former company members huge task By Bonnie Gropp How do you go about contacting 600 people when you're planning a party? For over a month Marion Doucette has been doing little else than spending time on the telephone and at the computer to try and touch base with all the people invited to be part of the special 20th anniversary festivities at Blyth Festival, during the first week in August. The first step for Ms Doucette after the Festival's present Artistic Director Janet Amos approached her with the idea of co­ ordinating this event was to contact the three other former artistic directors. The purpose was to have each select a scene from a play produced during their tenure at Blyth Festival, she said. These are to be presented at the culmination of the anniversary, Aug. 7 as a retrospective show. "Each director also provided me with a cast list," said Ms Doucette. "By making contact with other people I was able to track down various phone numbers to see if some of these former actors would be available to bring those scenes to life once again." Ron Barry and Jim Schaeffer, memorable from their roles in the production Mostly in Clover, were so excited about the retrospective that they have apparently been busy rehearsing the infamous "buggy race" by phone, Ms Doucette said. The task of finding former Festival members which began with some 20 names has grown to a daunting 600. They have all been contacted and though Ms Doucette is uncertain which of the actors, technicians, board members and directors are planning to attend, it has been an exciting project. "We arc hoping we can get as many of the people who have been part of Blyth Festival seasons over the years back for the celebration. And from the community as well," she said, noting that scenes from the community play, part of the 1993 season are included in the retrospective. "Il should be fun for everyone," she said. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 1994. PAGE 15. Retrospective show will feature great moments from 20 seasons By Bonnie Gropp Take 20 years of Canadian theatre, pull out the highlights, wrap it all together and you've got an entertaining celebration of Blyth Festival history. Artistic Director Janet Amos, with help from some friends, has been working diligently to put together a retrospective show as the culmination of its anniversary celebration, Aug. 7. "Miles Potter (actor, director), Marion Doucette (project co­ ordinator) and I have been digging out scripts and talking to people to put together some entertainment involving bits and larger scenes of past Festival productions," said Ms Amos. Favourite scenes and songs will be performed by familiar stars from the past performances at 1:30 and 7:30. The scenes have been pulled together into a small story of two young actors coming in to the theatre to be visited by ghosts of the future. The former artistic directors over the theatre's history helped select some of their favourite scenes from plays during their tenure to be used in the retrospective. The audience will take a walk back with featured performances from Mail Order Bride by Robert Clinton, The School Show, by Ted Johns, Another Season's Promise by Anne Chislett and Keith Roulston, Mostly in Clover adapted from the works of Harry J.S. Boyle, Country Hearts by Ted Johns and John Roby, The Dreamland by Raymond Storey and John Roby, The Tomorrow Box by Anne Chislett, Quiet in the Land by Anne Chislett, I'll Be Back Before Midnight by Peter Colley, The Death of the Donnellys by Theatre Passe Muraille and Ted Johns, Cake-Walk by Colleen Curran and Beau Gestes and Beautiful Deeds by Marie-Lynn Hammond. "We tried to choose self-explanatory scenes," said Ms Amos, "so even if people hadn't seen a particular play before they'll understand it." Consequently, she said, some of scenes long-time theatre goers may expect to see haven't been included. "We have chosen things for different reasons, but the end result exemplifies the work that has been done here over the 20 seasons." Music for the retrospective is being co­ ordinated by John Roby, who has had so much involvement with Blyth Festival over its history. Lining up the large group to be involved was an arduous, but enjoyable task. Renowned Festival alumni expected to appear in the gala retrospective performances includes Ms Amos, Anne Anglin, Diana Belshaw, Jack Blum, Paul Braunstein, Angie Gei, Thomas Hauff, Ted Johns, Denise Kennedy, Seana McKenna, Mr. Potter, John Roby, Steven Rowe, Jim Schaefer, Peter Snell, Kale Trotter and Patricia Vanstone in addition to many other surprise guests. Though a lot of people who were contacted were unable to make it due to previous commitments, Ms Amos said everyone was excited about the anniversary retrospective. "There are some we won't know about until the last minute, but everyone who is available seemed eager to be a part of it." Araby Lockhart and Margaret Barton starred in the 1986 premiere of Another Season's Promise, about the farm crisis of the 1980s. — Photo by James Hockings l^r-* The Township of Morris p- ■ extends its best wishes ■MORRISJUW NSHIPH to the Blyth Festival on 20 successful seasons*4=--------------------------------------- ConaratuCations to the Blyth Festival on their 20th Season ‘Wishing you many more, successJuCyears! Jim & Thelma Wilson congratulate the Blyth Festival on their 20th Anniversary, and wish them all the best for the coming years At Wilson’s you'll find health and beauty aids, natural health supplements, office supplies. Jewellery, greeting cards and gifts for all occasions. Wilson’s Health & Gift Centre Blyth Sears Blyth 523-4440 Tl'c'/Tcontinue to grow together Radford Auto Farm and Industrial Parts Ltd. 523-9681 1-800-276-4163 887-9661Brussels George Radford Construction Ltd Blyth 523-4581 Radford Truck Repair Blyth 523-4581