The Citizen-Blyth Festival 2001, 2001-06-13, Page 3312J1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111E
THE FAMILY FRAMER
01WW
Old family photos, needlework, stitchery
and family heirlooms
P4aracfreviltet
291-2303
360 Main St. E. 1,1 ,,t(mcl =
.11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111E
McDonald's your
II Picnic Tables
n Pressure Treated
Spruce & Cedar
II Lattice
n Paint, Stains, Rollers,
Brushes
n Water
Sealant
II Shovels & Rakes
n Mini Ties
n Hardware
• Peat Moss
McDonald
Home Hardware & Lumber
Turnberry St., Brussels 887-5277
Ask about the
new CWS deckin
material now
available
Thanks to The Blyth Festival for providing
great entertainment for the past 26 years.
Mac
P
34 Newgate St., (519) 524-7532
Goderich, ON
N7A I PI
Fax (519) 524-1168
hotography
• FAMILIES
• ANNIVERSARIES
• AERIAL
C ampbell • WEDDINGS
• PORTRAITS
VIII IF V
Don't Sweat It A
•'
•-• /if •
A
A
A
A
A
A
I.
L 1A1A1A1A1A1A1A1A1A1A A A A ANANA1A1A1A114141A1ANA
unless gou're on stage!
WE Do CENTRAL AIR CONDITIONING
Goderich Teeswater Clinton Kincardine
524-8386 396-6100 482-7381 396-8841
FUELS - LUBRICANTS - HOME COMFORT
BLYTH FESTIVAL SALUTE, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2001. PAGE 9.
Cappy Onn's still fiddlin' but planning career
Cappy Onn: She grew up at the Festival.
By Mark Nonkes
Citizen staff
Cappy Onn calls herself a constant
companion to the Blyth Festival.
It might be bold for this young
woman of 20 to say such a thing, but
Onn was practically raised at the
Festival.
• Growing up, little Cappy Onn
frolicked in the two week summer
workshops. When she reached the
age of 11 she joined the Young
Company, spending her summers
immersed in theatre_ with other
youths.
At the Festival she's acted in child
roles on the main stage and during
high school she performed in the
Festival shows for young audiences
each fall.
This year Onn plays her trademark
violin in The Outdoor Donnel!vs. As
a musician in the show Onn will be
involved directly in the core
production.
I'll be fiddlin' it up," Onn joked.
It may be the first time Onn has
officially played with a production
but it is not the first time she's
played the violin around the theatre.
Onn and her sister used to busk in
front of Memorial Hall to make extra
money.
"Those were the days. I'd make
$20 a night for one hour's work," she
said triumphantly.
The Donnellys is a show that Onn
herself is very familiar with. Last
summer, as the Young Company
stage manager, Onn worked with
director Paul Thompson on a smaller
version of The Outdoor Donnelly
with the area youth.
"It was the baby show," Onn said.
The show has grown so much
since last summer, and it is an
inspiration to -work with so many
talented people, she said.
This summer Onn will be co-
ordinating the children's workshops
and the Young Company. She is
working with director Gil Garratt on
a Japanese show called Funny Face
Ogre.
More people have called about
joining the youth players this
summer than ever before, Onn said.
Onn has made herself known as a
reliable resource around the Festival.
In 1998. one of the main characters
for the play Jobs, Jobs, Jobs was in a
minor car accident and couldn't
perform in the opening night's show.
With only three hours before curtain
Onn was called as a replacement.
"It was hectic, I didn't have time
to think:: Onn said.
When she was growing up on a
country home in East Wawanosh the .
five-minute drive to her Festival
activities was never a problem.
Onn's parents, both retired school
teachers, have placed a strong
emphasis on the arts since Onn was
a child. Onn's mother, Jeannette
Harris, is a member of the Blyth
Festival's board of directors,
currently on leave of absence. Both
Onn's older sister and younger
brother have performed on the Blyth
stage.
At Blyth Public School and
Central Huron Secondary School in
Clinton, Onn was always involved in
the drama productions.
It was only a natural progression
when Onn enrolled in performance
arts at University of Toronto last fall.
In the future Onn plans to keep
returning to the Festival.
"I'll just keep coming back until I
die," Onn smiled.
Robert Kennedy plays tough Jim
Donnelly, head of hated family
Actor Robert Kennedy can
appreciate the hard work that was
put into farming back in the
Donnelly days.
In The Outdoor Donnellys the
actors use just about every type of
farming tool that was employed in
the late 1800s.
Growing up, Kennedy spent
summers working on his uncle's pig
farm.
"I got to get down and dirty in the
feeding and all those types of
things," Kennedy said.
The technology in machinery has
jumped so much for farmers in 100
years, Kennedy said.
"Then they used horse power with
actual horses, now they have the
power of engines," Kennedy said.
It was a time when there was half
an hour work, with saddling up the
horses and equipment before a
farmer could even get started. Now
the farmer can just jump on the
tractor, turn the key and go,
Kennedy said.
In The Outdoor Donnellys one of
the characters Kennedy plays is
James Donnelly senior, the father of
the clan.
James Donnelly had a real love for
the land, Kennedy said.
The father of the Donnellys was a
hard-nosed man who believes in a
man's word. James Donnelly is the
type of man who believes a
handshake is a good enough contract
for anything.
"If anybody breaks that contract
then there's hell to pay," Kennedy
said.
James Donnelly was not afraid to
let people know that if they cross
him, there will be physical
consequences, Kennedy said.
Working on the show has proven
an education for Kennedy. He had
always heard of the infamous
Donnellys but didn't really
understand what happened.
"I had just always heard of the
Donnellys, the Black Donnellys, of
Lucan," Kennedy said.
Through research Kenn,edy has
figured out the series of events that
led up to the Donnellys' murders and
has tried to figure out the difference
between the fact and fiction about
the Donnellys.
The show isn't just based on
complete fact, Kennedy said. The
actors have added some fiction for
the sake of the drama.
"We're trying to deal in an
emotional vein of the story."
Kennedy said.
The tale of the Donnellys will be
Kennedy's Blyth debut.
After The Outdoor Donnellys is
finished Kennedy will direct a show
at the Sterling Festival near
Belleville. Though Kennedy has
been directing for a number of years
he does more acting.
Five months ago Kennedy's wife
gave birth to their first child, a boy.
The Outdoor Donnellys