The Citizen, 1997-07-30, Page 18PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 30,1997
Blyth Festival goes ‘Overboard’
Overboard! a one-woman
comedy written by and starring
Deborah Kimmett, opens Aug. 13
on the Blyth Festival's second stage
at the Dinsley Street Garage.
Kimmett has been involved with
Canadian theatre for more than 16
years. She started with the Second
City comedy troupe in Toronto,
writing and performing on the
Main Stage at the Firehall {Little
Wanted: talent
for ‘Barndance’
Can you sing, dance or play a
musical instrument? Perhaps you
have a family act? Maybe you're a
comedian or a dogger?
If you have any of the above
skills, you are invited to audition
for a guest appearance in the Blyth
Festival's play Barndance Live!
The hit of the 1996 Festival
season, this show is being brought
back by popular demand from Aug.
26 to Sept. 10. It celebrates the
great touring radio show, The
CKNX Barn Dance. Every
Saturday night it used to be
broadcast live from various
locations featuring local talent as
well as future stars like Al Cherny
and The Mercey Brothers.
Last year's play featured
wonderful local acts, some of
whom will be contacted about
appearing again in this year's show.
However, new acts will also be
considered. All ages, male and
female, are invited to audition for
director Paul Thompson on the
evenings of Aug. 12 and 13. Phone
(519) 523-4345 to book a 10-
Fest, issues invite
to play readings
The Blyth Festival has produced
more than 80 new Canadian plans
since its first season 23 years ago.
In fact, two of this season's
productions - There's Nothing in
the Paper and Overboard! - were
workshopped at the Festival last
year.
In keeping with its mandate to
produce original Canadian scripts,
the Festival will once again hold
new play presentations and
readings for scripts-in-progress.
Health Class, written by Robert
Morgan and David Craig, will be
performed by Morgan and Craig on
Saturday, Aug. 2 at The Garage
following the mainstage
a You Can Make
Na Difference
HUNTINGTON'S
\ DISEASE
HUNTINGTON SOCIETY
OF CANADA
13 Water Street North, Box 1269
Cambridge, Ontario N1R 7G6
Love your brother Ed
Hostile on the Prairie and Two
Minutes for High Schtitcking) and
then went on to write and direct
shows in London and with Second
City's Touring Company.
Seven years ago after the
premature birth of her second child,
she was inspired to write the play
Miracle Mother, which was
produced in Toronto, Calgary and
Vancouver and nominated for the
minute appointment, prepare a
short piece to perform (Thompson
recommends that it have "a sense
of the old style" reminiscent of the
Bam Dance days of the 1940s and
’50s) and show up for your
audition. If selected, you will be
contacted about which shows you
are to perform in. If it is more
convenient for you to be in the
show when it tours to Shelburne,
Sept. 16 to 21, let us know.
"By auditioning local performers
of the region to participate in this
production, we are imitating what
(CKNX founder) Doc Cruickshank
and (emcee/manager) Johnny Brent
used to do. They, too auditioned
local acts for their Barn Dance
shows," says Thompson. "We will
be involving these people in the
play in much the same way people
of the area were included in the
original Bam Dance shows."
So, put on your dancin' shoes,
tune up your instruments and vocal
chords, and call the Blyth Festival
for an audition.
performance of The Melville Boys
(approximately 10:30 p.m.). This
play is about two very different
male teachers delegated to prepare
a joint lecture on "love and
intimacy" - subjects on which they
can initially find no common
ground. The public is welcome to
attend this "late night show" free of
charge.
A public play reading will be
held for Every Dog (Has Its Day)
by James W. Nichol on
Wednesday, Aug. 13 at 3 p m. in
the Festival’s Lower Hall. Every
Dog tells the story of Harry, a good
man with a loving wife, two
Continued on page 20
1995 Governor General's Award.
Her second play, Last Respects,
enjoyed a successful run at
Tarragon Theatre in Toronto.
Kimmett says Overboard! was
inspired by her sister-in-law Vicky
and is dedicated to the countless
women who manage to do 10
things at once. In the production,
Kimmett plays Dot Lawton, a
funny, exasperated woman juggling
marriage, children and a successful
career in advertising.
When she suddenly wins a
Caribbean cruise as a reward for
her work, she can't wait to escape
the hectic demands of her life. She
looks forward to a few days in
sunny isolation but instead, she is
corralled on the trip by bizarre
characters loaded with advice,
criticism and warnings. Their
presence triggers an inward journey
of hilarious self-analysis and the
voyage becomes a search for
deeper meaning beneath the debris
of everyday life.
Overboard! was workshopped as
Dorothy Lawton, Unplugged at the
Blyth Festival in 1996, supported
by the Roulston Roy New Play
Development Fund. The play is
being directed by Annie Kidder and
stage managed by Amanda Holmes
with set and lighting design by
Stephan Droege and costume
design by Jennifer Triemstra.
Sponsored by Bainton's Old Mill,
with, id Magazine as media sponsor,
Overboard! previews Aug. 12 and
runs until Aug. 23 at 8 p.m. with
matinee performances at 5 p.m. on
Aug. 16, 20 and 23. For tickets, call
(519)523-9300.
Pedros exhibit opens
at Bainton
The work of St. Thomas social
activist artists Gerald Pedros will
be featured in The Bainton Gallery,
Blyth from Aug. 12 to Sept. 13.
Reaching out of the frame to talk
to the viewer, Pedros' still-life and
landscape abstractions reflect the
influence of Mexico where he has
studied and shown. His assertive
mixed media pieces will linger long
with those who see them.
Fun sailing
Deborah Kimmett is Dot Lawton in the Blyth Festival's
one-woman comedy, Overboard, playing at The Garage,
Aug. 12-23. (Photo by Alex Beveridge Photography Inc.)
Gallery
The Bainton Gallery, located in
the Box Office link between Blyth
Memorial Community Hall and the
Blyth Festival Administration
Office, is open performance days
Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to
8 p.m. and non-performance days
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed
Sundays). It is also open during
theatre performance intermissions.
Admission is free.
HAPPY 40TH
HOOTY
TEEN QUEEN CONTEST
still our choice
Happy 50th Birthday Jane