The Citizen, 1996-05-15, Page 21THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 1996 PAGE 23.
E ntertainment
Story tells romantic side
of inventor and his wife
fills top admin. spots
Country Playhouse
of a theatre. "It's a nice feeling" he
added. McKay will succeed
previous Playhouse artistic
director/general manager, Max
Reimer on July 18 and will direct
Ray Cooney's Funny Money!, the
hit musical Me and My Girl and
star in his one-man show Come By
The Hills this season. The Days
have already begun theij duties and
are busy preparing for the year
ahead.
The playwright visits
Cindy Cowan, who penned the Blyth Festival season's
second offering Ma Belle Mabel, poses with the maquette
of the play. The set design is quite different from any of
the others done for the play and Cowan says she is quite
excited to be seeing her script from another perspective.
capable of speeds of 72 miles an
hour. "I was awed," she said. "To
imagine this skimming over the
waters around little Nova Scotia in
those times. It was just such an
incredible vehicle."
Another inspiration was a book
written by Lillian Toward, Mabel
Bell, Alexander's Silent Partner. "It
is a wonderful story that brought
together a lot of things."
"It has often been said that Bell
did his best thinking in Baddeck,"
said Cowan. "This is a man who,
though he loved the quiet rural life
was sought after by politicians and
royalty. Yet, he needed to be in
Baddeck. This is where he did his
best work. It is the same story as
here in Blyth. We should not dis-
parage or erode the essential rural
character that is Canada."
Cowan thinks Blyth's audiences
will feel an affinity to the charac-
ters and their sense of community.
"Mabel's secretary and assistant is
much like the eyes of the communi-
ty. When you live in a community
and love it, it becomes the centre of
the world for you. It's knowing the
value of a place, and for this
woman, the fact that Bell lives in
her community, confirms that
belief for her."
Cowan also feels audiences will
appreciate the play as family enter-
tainment. "It is about joys and
struggles and the importance of
commitment."
If Cowan seems to have an
understanding of small town life,
it's because she's lived it for most
of her life. Though she grew up on
a farm outside Ottawa, then spent
her adolescence in a rural town, she
has with her husband and two girls,
ages 14 and 10, spent the past
seven years on Baffin Island.
Except for the fact that they exist at
times in 24 hours of daylight or
darkness, life in the far north isn't
so different from anywhere else,
she says. "People there live their
lives, sharing the same concerns
and worries of anyone. They love
community and work hard."
A picturesque land of glaciers
and mountains, Cowan has enjoyed
seeing her first Ontario spring in
years. "I've been back for Christ-
mas, but there is not such much dif-
ference between Ontario in
December and Baffin Island."
She arrived in Montreal on May
1 after a four hour flight, before
travelling to Blyth. She has spent
the time since reworking the play
for the Blyth stage and providing
background to Artistic Director
Janet Amos, who is directing it.
"It has been tremendous. I am
really pleased that someone with
Janet's vision is directing my play,"
said Cowan, adding that though she
will not be in Blyth during
rehearsals she is confident in the
outcome. "Janet's got (the play)
inside her now and will be able to
communicate it." Cowan will return
to Blyth to catch a performance of
her play in August.
Ma Belle was discovered by
Amos when it was performed at
Theatre New Brunswick. "I think
she recognized her own marriage
somewhat. She often told me she
could see a lot of Ted (Johns,
Amos's husband, who will play the
inventor in the Blyth production) in
Bell."
"I think Janet felt it would be a
good vehicle for Ted and it would
perform well for Blyth audiences. I
hope it can be part of the rebuilding
process here."
25th Wedding
Anniversary
The Children of Jack and
Shirley Johnston (nee Snell)
invite you to an Open House
at Royalview Pentecostal
Church, 218 Clarke Road,
London on Saturday, May
18 from 2 to 4 p.m. to honour
their parents on their 25th
Wedding Anniversary. Best
Wishes Only.
Shirley McIntyre, president of
the board of directors, announced
April 30 the appointments of three
new positions at Huron Country
Playhouse: Brian McKay, artistic
director, Gloria Day, executive
producer and Simon Day, general
manager.
In announcing these positions
McIntyre said, "I am very proud to
have these three very talented
people in charge of taking Huron
Country Playhouse into the next
century. Their enthusiasm is
infectious to be around and their
expertise knows no bounds."
In his response McKay said, "I
am, needless to say, thrilled to be
appointed the new artistic director
of Huron Country Playhouse. I
have worked for this theatre as an
actor and director and my
experience in both capacities has
been an absolute joy. I would be
remiss if I did not admit a certain
relief and thankful security in my
knowledge that the community is
vitally supportive and involved in
the life of this theatre. I feel I have
been given the 'jewel' of artistic
director appointments in the
country at this time. I will do my
best to serve as it deserves." Gloria
Day said, "It is gratifying to know
that someone can still come up
through the ranks. Coming to this
theatre with Tony Lloyd in 1989 as
stage manager then production
stage manager, then assistant to
Max Reimer and now executive
producer is a dream come true. I
am forever grateful to the board of
directors for giving me this
opportunity." Simon Day echoed
these sentiments adding that he too
would not have thought when he
started out in this business that he
would one day be general manager
We goofed!
In the review of the F.E. Madill's
Drama Guild's production of Guys
and Dolls published in last week's
edition of The Citizen, the name of
one local student was inadvertently
omitted from those mentioned.
David Armstrong of the Brussels
area was with the percussion sec-
tion of the orchestra.
We apologize for the oversight.
By Bonnie Gropp
Real progress, real creativity
need not be inspired by urban
excitement. Real progress, real cre-
ativity can happen anywhere. It
happens every summer in the Vil-
lage of Blyth with the Festival,
which this season is fittingly stag-
ing the story of a man whose great-
est work was achieved while living
in rural Nova Scotia.
Ma Belle Mabel is the romantic
tale of Alexander Graham Bell and
his wife. The couple met when Bell
was hired to teach the hearing
impaired Mabel to speak. A spirited
woman, with whom the inventor
fell deeply in love, she was the first
person to lip read. She shared his
interest in science and philan-
thropy. She was a full member of
the Aerial Experiment Association,
founded by Bell, J.A.D. McCurdy,
F.W. Baldwin and others, under-
took her own horticultural experi-
ments and with their two daughters
lobbied for women's right to vote.
Playwright Cindy Cowan, who
was commissioned to write this
play for Expo '86 in Vancouver,
said the story, which deals with
Bell's work in transportation and
communication, is really about the
strength of this couple's relation-
ship. "She supported his work; she
was quite wealthy in her own right;
and he helped her overcome her
own isolation. It was a very bal-
anced, healthy wonderful relation-
ship."
Cowan, who had been married
for seven years at the time of
researching the play, says, "I fell in
love with both of them. The deep
affection and respect they had for
each other is something that for
many today seems hard to find. It is
a great romantic tale. "
The idea of a story on the Bells,
actually began in 1984, when
Cowan was working with a theatre
company in Nova Scotia. They per-
formed in the museum in Baddeck
and afterwards wandering through
the building, Cowan found a scale
model of Bell's hydrodrome, which
had been built in 1917 and was
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