The Citizen, 2003-06-25, Page 40BLYTH FESTIVAL SALUTE, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25, 2003. PAGE 15.
A couple on and off stage, Ted and Janet fan favourites
A team on and off stage
Ted Johns and Janet Amos portray Aylmer and Rose Clark
on stage. They’re married off stage too.
By Sarah Mann
Citizen staff
Last year’s sold out hit returns to
the Festival stage and husband and
wife Ted Johns and Janet Amos
couldn’t be more excited.
For anyone who missed
Bamboozled: He Won’t Come In
From The Barn, Part II, this is your
chance to see Johns’ most popular
creation.
“There were people who wanted
to come see the play last year and
didn’t get to because it sold out so
this is their chance to see it,” Amos
said.
No doubt there will also be
members of the audience who saw it
last year and have decided to see it
again.
Bamboozled is the sequel to He
Won’t Come In From The Barn, one
of the most popular shows in the
history of the Blyth Festival.
The play follows the story of
Aylmer, played by Johns, a farmer
who prefers the old way of farming
to the modem way of farming that
technology has brought forth.
The play centres around big issues
that confront people in the area
today and focuses on three areas: the
farming industry, computers, and
satellites.
“I was aware that I was playing
around with international forces set
in our tiny little village,” Johns said.
Firstly, Aylmer can’t believe his
son has a 10,000 acre farm.
“That is 100, 100-acre farms,
which used to be more than enough
to raise a family.”
To add to the confusion, Aylmer’s
son, Wayne, is a thirty-something
farmer caught between his father’s
ideas of farming and the pull to go
corporate.
“Aylmer and Rose’s son and his
wife join a hog loop,” explains
Amos. “Aylmer doesn’t like it but
his son thinks it’s great. His son is
also using genetically modified
grain, which his wife doesn’t like.”
“Ted is good at taking genetic
farming and hog loops and using
them in a dramatic way to inform
people,” Amos said.
Amos and Johns enjoy these roles
as much as they enjoy working
together.
“It’s fun to make jokes together.”
Amos said. “And the parts are nice
because we understand them and
like them.,” Amos said.
Amos portrays the character of
Rose, Aylmer’s wife who is enjoying
the newfound freedom of living in
Magic of theatre begins with a blank
piece of paper and inspiration
And so the magic begins again. A
blank piece of paper will be
transformed by inspiration into a
script which will be interpreted by
actors, directors and designers,
which will be performed in a
beautiful setting constructed by a
team of skilled theatre artisans. A
simple idea becomes a living piece
of art to thousands of people.
Such is the magic the Blyth
Festival has been creating for 29
seasons, turning the ideas of
playwrights into a living world all its
own. The Festival has done it so well
that it attracts some of the best
writers, actors, designers and
technicians in the country to work
for three months in the little village
in the country.
Theatre begins with the idea of a
playwright — it may be inspired a
memory of his or her past, a story
past down by generations or a
clipping from today’s newspaper.
Often a playwright will take that
idea and a rough outline to Anne
Chislett, the Blyth Festival Artistic
Director. If she thinks the idea nas
possibilities she may “commission”
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town, rather than on the farm.
“Rose is enjoying being in town,
especially the socializing. She just
loves that she can walk to the store
and buy clothes. She is really
enjoying the freedom of living in
town.”
Directing the play is Paul
Thompson, who also directed the
play last year.
“Paul is a farm guy who gets along
well with animals. It’s an adventure
and every night will be different,”
said Johns.
“Paul’s an old friend and I think
we work quite quickly together.
We’re both shrewd dramatists and
it’s nice to work with people who
a play, providing the author with up
front money to continue working.
Developing that idea into a play
takes skill, hard work and
dedication. Once a first draft is
submitted, Chislett begins to work
with the writer to strengthen the
work. Often workshops will be held
with actors reading the parts to let
the playwright hear the work. Often
actors can make suggestions to
strengthen character or plot
development.
If a play progresses sufficiently for
Chislett to choose the play for her
season, she will assign a director and
set and costume designer to the
project. They will work to come up
with a setting the helps express what
the play is about and gives the actors
an interesting platform for their
work.
The designer, once his or her
design is accepted by the director,
works with the set builders and
costume department to bring the
ideas to life. A lighting designer
looks at the set on stage and decides,
with the director, what lighting
effects should be added.
know your methods,”
According to Johns, they will
manage to get the play to the same
standards as last year.
“It will be short, informative, and
feature the best acting in Huron
County. . . There are huge issues in
farming. Corporations are wanting
to take everything over. Crazy stuff
is going on.”
The audience should walk away
from Bamboozled with a recurring
sense of identification.
“Aylmer and Rose are the Blyth
audience. And if they’re not, they
know someone who is,” Amos said.
“People here can identify very
strongly.”
The actors meanwhile have been
reading their scripts to find all the
little clues that will help them make
their character real. The director
helps them discover their character
and works to develop a common
■style for the play.
Both the actors and director work
with the playwright to make
revisions that will make the play as
strong as it can be.
All the elements come together in
the final rehearsals on stage when all
the technical and costume problems
are worked out.
And finally, on opening night the
audience shares the magic.
Check out the
reviews of
Festival plays
on the internet
www.northhuron.on.ca
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