The Huron Expositor, 1996-03-20, Page 7Entertainment
Blyth Festival's 22nd Season
CKNX play highlights line-up
BY DAVID SCOTT
Expositor Editor -
The Blyth Festival returns
to its roots for its 22nd sea-
son with lour plays never
before staged at the theatre.
Artistic Director Janet
Amos announced the 1996
line-up on Thursday to a full
room oif local media and
s-ponsors_at the festival's
Rainton Gallery:
This season officially opens
June 21 and runs until
August 31 and- features a
mixture (I' music. love, yom-
cdy-and drama with three of
the plays hcing world pre-
mieres and thc-fourth origi-
nally staged on Cape Breton
Island.
. Amos perl-onncd colourful
readings from each -.play with
the exception of Blyth's first
show of the scason.-
Barrtdance Live!, which is a
collective directed by Paul.
Thompson featuring improvi-
sational singing and dialogue
that celebrates the great -tour-
ing radio show, The CKNX
Barn Dance. and docs not -
have a traditional script.
"Every Saturday night it
was .broadcast li.ve featuring
local talent as well as future
stars- like Gordis; Tapp and
Tommy Hunter. Barttdance -.
Lire! recreates -these times
togcthcr with the colourful
-characters who made it hap-
pen Doc Cruickshank.
Johnny Brent. Earl Heywood,
and Ernie King." according
to -a Blyth' -Festival .press
release..
- Director Paul Thompson is
calling- on people in- the area.
with special menu►ries of the
Baric Dance to contact him
through the Blyth Festival at
(519) 523-4345. These- mem-
ories could become part of -
thc -research which lurms the
show. Thompson is also look-
ing for memorabilia from the
show since a fire at CKNX in
1962 destroyed some of the
archives. If you can help out.
please call.
The second play in the line
up is Ma Belle Mabel by
Cindy Cowan, which opens
Wednesday. June 26. This
play tells -the story of tele-
PHOTOBBY DAVID SCOTT
PLAY READING - Blyth Festival Artistic- Director Janet
Amos and husband Ted Johns perform a reading from Ma
,Belle Mabel, just one of four plays featured in Blyth's 1996
line-up which was announced on Thursday. Here Johns
plays the part of Alexander Graham Bell and Amos reads
the lines of his wife Mabel Hubbard.
phone.inventor Alexander.
Graham Bell and his mar-
riage -to Mabel Hubbard. a
"high-spirited woman with
remarkable abilities, although
tieing deaf." In 1875; Bell
was hired to .teach his future
wife to speak
"Their home, Bcinn
Bhreagh (which means
"beautiful mountain" in
Gaelic.) in Baddeck. Nova
-Scotia, was a place of joy.
frustration. heartbreak and
triumph as they built a. life
together pursuing studies in
air and water travel and creat-
ing enthusiasts for libraries..
schools ,and the arts," states
the Blyth press release.
This play was first -per-
formed by the Mulgravc
Road Co-op Theatre in Cape -
Brcton and is the "moving
love story of two special peo-
ple."
- Colleen Curran, who
brought Cake Walk. and Local
Talent to the Blyth stage
returns again with a zany
comedy. Villa Eden. which
opens July 24.
1t is set in :i "ramshackle
hod and breakfast with a
ditty warns -hearted propri.-
etcir who can't cook. A week-
end rush of strange guests
includes. an obsessive
archaeologist. a mysterious -
movie star travclling.inccigni-
to. a budding architect and- a
"set of quarelling triplets.. A.
shocking death in the midst
of the fun raises the big ques-
tion: was it murder or was it a
mistake".Death by poison Or
death by dessert?"
The fourth and sinal play of
the 1996 Blyth season is
Fireworks which opens July
31. This story, written by
Ed►nonton • playwright
Gordon Portman. is about a
• broken family held together
by Wynn, an elderly woman
.. who is the "light of her hus-
hand's life, a solace to her
son, and a life -line for her
grandson Jamie."
Her death shatters their
world but her vivid presence
in memory lingers to guide
them. in their new lives. The
"fireworks" in the play are an
occasion of emotional tumult
where each character finds
the courage to step into the
future: 1-
The Blyth Festival Box
Office opens April 1 for
members only. The box
office is open to the general
public:as-of April 15. Ticket
prices range from $6 to• $20.
Money saving voucher packs
are available now by calling
the box office at (519) 523-
9300. -
Dutch play coming to Clinton
The Woodstock butch
Theatre will he coming to
Clinton to present "De
Kerkestraat Is Lett Keurige
Siraat." a Dutch language
comedy.
The Woodstock Dutch -
Theatre is .the only Dutch-
languagc' theatre in Canada:
The play. which translates to.
Church Street is a Beautiful
Street. is about a family
. which tries to fit in- to their
new upscale neighbourhood.
-The performance.ot the
play will - be held at the
Clinton 'Town Hall on
Saturday. March 23 at 7 p.m.
The price at the door is $10.
•
Proceeds from this event •
will he divided among the
Children's Hospital,: of
Ontario -and thc Clinton and
District Christian School.
For more information •c:on- -
tact.Sue Guctter at 482-92.57
or Cory Haak at 482-7190.
Over $132,000 raised
Huron United Way campaign successful
Huron United Way's 1995
campaign was an unqualified
.success as campaign chair
man Pon Tedford of Grand
Bend and a diligent group of
county -wide volunteers •
raised just over 5132.000.
. The funds will help 19
charitahlc organizations in
the county who arc part of •
United Way's family of agen-
cies and count on its financial
support to sustain valuable
programs and services.
The 1995 campaign total
represents a slight increase
over the $126.229 raised in-
1994utnd while it falls short
of the campaign goal of
$150,000 it will help igen- -
cies continue to provide ser-
vices in spite of fiscal
restraint and government cut -
hacks.
,Each year, the United
Way continues to expand on
its previous campaign, prov-
ing that the United Way of
fundraising and distribution
of funds to those in need. has
caught'on in Huron County.
This year's campaign total
represents a live per cent
increase over last year. a 10
per cent increase over the
$118,931 raised in 1993 and
a whopping 62 per cent hike
over the $%3.000 raised in the
1992 campaign. -
"The success of thc cam-
paign is certainly dile to the
untiring efforts of hundreds
of volunteers across the • .
county and donations come
from towns and villages from
one end of the county to the
other.' Tedford said. "People
have discovered that donating
to United Way is the tidiest
way to help the people in
Huron .who most nccd assis-
lance."
More than 3,000 people •
depend on thc.services of
United Way agcncics to
- maintain their quality of life
and another 3.000 will not
get required services duc'to
lack of funding. On a typical
day. United Way agcncics,
reach out to nearly 300 men.
women and children and
throughout the ycar, dona-
tions help make life hotter for
500 seniors. 1.200 youth. 600
people who arc physically or
mentally challenged and 700
. others with specific needs. .
Now that the funds have
been collected. Huron United '
• Way has assembled impartial
panels of local voluntccrs to
analyze in detail. member
agcncics requests for funds.
Based on a needs analysis. a
sharing formula is developed
for each to reflect current .
conditions and donations are
distributed according to pri-
ority.
United Way was estab-
lished in Huron County in
1991. A non-profit, volunteer
organization. it conducts an
annual community -wide •
fundraising canvass on behalf
of 19 charitable organizations
in the county. In that first-
year. it serviced 14 agencies
and raised $40.000. -
- Campaign funds raised.hy
United Way stay in Huron
County and only a small per-
centage of funds can be used
for administrative purposes.
Volunteers raise the funds
and only one part-time sup-
port staff is paid.
Any charitable organiza-
tion may apply atbecome a
United Way agency. An
impartial panel of volunteers
reviews each application to
assess need and effectiveness
of services and, if accepted,
an agency must agree to ccr- -
tain conditions. such as : no
separate canvassing; elimi-
nating duplication of services
with other agcncics and
ensuring that United Way
funds are used in Huron
County.
Dairy farmers. meet
At its 30th annual meeting in
Toronto in January, Dairy
turners of Ontario reported
marketing 2.361 -billion litres of
milk in its fiscal year, ending
Oct. 31. This translates into a
two per cent increase over the
year before, or two per cent.
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