Times Advocate, 1989-07-26, Page 6Page 6 Times -Advocate, July 26, 1989
Mutual affection .
Peterson popular at Playhouse
By Yvonne Reynolds
GRAND BEND - Shelley Peter-
son likes performing at the Huron
Country Playhouse. And Play-
house audiences like Shelley Peter-
son.
This year Shelley is one of the
two female leads in the rollicking
comedy Run for your Wife. Her
presence marks a number of firsts.
Never before gas the wife of an
Ontario premier been one of the
stars of a professional summer
theatre production. And never be-
fore has the Huron Country Play-
house had a 100 -percent sell-out
over the run of a non-musical
show. •
"Casting accounts for that," in
the opinion of business manager
Lynn Alderdice.
The bubbly blonde actress first
appeared on the Playhouse stage in
1973 in Bus Stop and Under the
Yumyum Tree. She was back. in
1976 in The Star-Spangled Girl, re-
turned in '83 in The Miracle Work-
er, and again in Bedroom Farce in
1984.
"Coming here is like coming
home. The audience is wonderful
and appreciative, and this is a very
creative place. It draws talented ac-
tors, directors and crews," Shelley
enthused during a hurried interview
squeezed in between lunch and an
aftemoon matinee.
When asked if being Mrs. David
Peterson made a difference as far as
her. acting was concerned, Shelley
• Was charmingly candid.
She can not avoid the fact "people
do look extra carefully" at the pre-
mier's wife.
"I don't, have to be good, I have to
be perfect sometimes, or else it is
noted 'Shelley Peterson dropped a
line.' I have to understand that and
face it," she confided.
A performer may please an audi-
ence of hundreds, but one critic
reaches thousands. And sarcastic
comments do hurt. But "I hate to
complain about what people say.
You have to satisfy yourself, your
director, and be part of the group
and pull your weight. If you do all
that, it doesn't matter about the crit-
ics. You have to rise above it."
Nor does Shelley expect special
treatment from fellow cast mem-
bers. From the first day the script
is read, she has to prove she can
hold her own.
"This play (Run for Your Wife)is
not a cake walk. Everyone has to
be totally concentrated. We all
work together as a team. It's lovely
to look at the faces and know I trust
every one of them," she noted.
Much as Shelley enjoys perform-
ing, her first priority right now is
her responsibilities as a mother.
She does not want to work full time
until Ben, 11, Chide, 9 and Adam,
7, are older.
Shelley has one other priority -
her husband. Our talk was inter-
rupted by a knock on the door. Po-
litical duties had kept the premier in
Toronto the night before, and he had
missed the opening night of Run
for your Wife. He had come to the
Playhouse with son Adam to give
his wife a belated hug.
For the next few moments, the
Petersons were oblivious to anyone
else. Then, with a final "I love
you" to her departing husband,
Shelley turned back to the inter-
view. Her expressive face was still
lit up like a theatre marquee.
"I can not imagine being married
to anyone else. David is the most
loving, giving -person. I am so
very lucky." .
The expression changed again, b r
came serious. It was time to head
for the dressing room to get read
for the afternoon performance. A fi-
nal gracious smile, and she was
gone.
Shelley Peterson moves effort-
lessly between the real world and
the world of make-believe. She has
the best of both.
A fast-growing f
d
Telephone tag- With Shelley Peterson (left) as Barbara Smith, Christopher Barry as Stanley Gardner,
lan Deakin as John Smith, Linda Mackay as Mary Smith, aricl Peter Pownall as the newspaper reporter
the confusion begins.
Never a dull moment in
Playhouse's latest farce
By Adrian Harte
' GRAND BEND - The Huron Country Playhouse
opened their annual bedroom farce last Wednesday
and it proved to be a delightfully funny, visually
interesting play that is certain to keep audiences laugh-
ing, or even rolling in the aisles:
John Smith (played by Ian Deakin) is a happy man.
He doesn't work too hard as a taxi driver. He has a
good family life. His only tragic flaw - he has two
wives. Smith manages quite well until the police
become curious about why they have him on file under
two addresses - and then his whole world begins tooall
apart. -
Smith enlists the aid of his friend Stanley (played by
Christopher Barry) to make sure neither the police nor
his wives find out he leads a dual life. It becomes clear
they will tell anyone anything except the truth.
Run for Your Wife relies heavily on the use of
telephone conversations for dialogue; and actresses
Shelley Peterson and Linda Mackay as Smith's wives
do an excellent job of setting the stage while holding
the receivers.
A special mention does have to go ti Barry's per-
formance as the reluctant, incredulous, but corruptible
friend.
Perhaps the show's best effect is how both of
Smith's apartments share thc same space oh the stage.
While the rooms have different phones, windows, and
entrances, characters supposedly on opposite sides of
town can walk right past each other on stage, each
invisible to the other. It's an interesting use of the
stage, and one that seems to amuse the audience every
time it happens.
The good news about Run for Your Wife is not that.
it is just about sold out - director Tony Lloyd agrees
that many of the audience were attracted to the show
to see the Premier's wife on stage - but that it is much
better than last year's Playhouse farce, Key for Two,
also directed by Lloyd. This year's play has not only
a better script, but it is evident Lloyd enjoyed putting
this show together. Run for Your Wife is both visually
and verbally effective. It starts quickly and never
slows down. It's the kind of production the Playhouse
needs for getting back on track as a prime source of
lighthearted theatre in Ontario.
Take off - Lee Baker of Exeter is shown here
• vuaretwntie stit;et'sital'l'ot atuirrit'''•".'
By Michelle Ellison
EXETER - To the majority of
people, words like "ollie", "grind",
"nose" "grab", "hump revert",
"backside disaster" and "frontside
nose bone" would be quite foreign.
However, to many young skate-
boarders, these words are a way of
uic.
Such terms refer to different
tricks skateboarders perform right
on thc street or on specially con-
..#Arf# ...._
pipe ramp, the quarter -pipe ramp or
the launch ramp.
One may be able to recognize
these "Thrashers", as they are
sometimes referred, by their wild
T-shirts where a skull and cross
bones may be labelled, cut-off
shorts, Air Walker running shoes
and of course a "board" under their
arm.
Despite all the rage for skate-
boarding paraphernalia, Jeremy
Brock, an Exeter skateboarder says,
"All you need are running shoes.
Brock, however, doesn't hold
on his Santa Cruz skateboard as he "ollies" over a
back when it comes to purchasing
a skateboard. His board, ordered
through a speciality skateboarding
magazine, came from California
and is made by Santa Cruz, a popu-
lar maker of skateboards_ and other
skateboarding material.
The skaters are covered under a
parking and traffic bylaw in Exeter
and they are "always a problem."
according to Exeter Police Chief
Larry Hardy.
The -force woi`ks -t 7lep-the-kids-
off thc streets strictly for their own
safety and the safety of pedestrians,
explained Hardy.
Grand Bend's bylaw officer, Keith
Crawford, agrees with Hardy that a
main concern is the safety of the
skateboarders.
"They've been better than last
year, even though there are more of
them." said Crawford.
Grand Bend's bylaw in respect to
skateboarders, states they are not
permitted on the roadways, side-
walks and curbs, but Crawford says
it is more or less the parent's re-
sponsibility to encourage this for
the safety of their children.
Since there are no facilities or ar-
eas set up for the sport in the im-
mediateacea, s o11en.difficult.-for
the youngsters to find a suitable
place to practise.
Lee Baker, another Exeter skate-
boarder, feels that he hasn't had
much trouble with the police but he
knows some friends who have been,
alp hed.
Street skateboarding "just for fun"
has becpme a rising phenbmenon`
among young dare -devils. Howev-:'
er, most skaters seem to feel it's
simply passing fancy.
Travis Schmidt, a Stratford skater
looking for some "good curbs" in
Grand Bend last week, feels it is
just a fast growing fad but says,
"It'll die someday."
But for now, the trend is still
very hot, meaning pedestrians must -
continue to share the sidewalks and
roadways with the Thrashers.
Original - Artist Jack Reid, Huron Country Playhouse board member Cass Bayley and board president
Peter Phillips admire the watercolour Reid was commissioned to paint as a fund-raiser for the theatre.
Painting commissioned as fund-raiser
GRAND BEND - Artist Jack Anne Bannister and Aline Paul.
Reid was the guest of honour at a He produced three small paintings -
reception at the Huron 'Country an old farm house, a blacksmith
Playhouse on Sunday afternoon. shop, and the beach scene - to let
Reid's paintings hang in major art the fund-raising committee decided
galleries, corporations and private which they wanted for the larger
collections, including those of Pre- work, "Huron Country" was their
micr David Peterson and Queen unanimous choice.
Elizabeth. "We felt this particular work
The famous watercolourist's would have universal appeal," Bay -
painting "Huron Country", com- ley noted.
missioned by the Playhouse's board Reid generously donated the
of directors, is the focus of a novel three original miniatures to the
money -raising project. Playhouse. They, too, will be -
The original painting is being come part of the 1989 fund-raising.
sold at a silent auction. Bids will In the "Huron Country" waterco-
be accepted in writing until August lour, Reid has captured the essence .
and the top has been set at $8,000.
However, 1st v/p Aline Paul ac-
knowledged that bids over that
amount would certainly be consid-
of warm, inviting sunshine and
gently moving water that makes the
viewer want to go down to the
beach. As a skilled painter of
snow, Reid was fascinated .with the
wind -sculpted dunes along the Lake-
shore.
Rcid confessed he has used the li-
cence granted to all artists to incor-
porate an interesting piece adrift -
wood from another piece of
shoreline, and add some sun -warmed
rocks from still another. Although
most of his paintings arc scenes, in
this one Reidhas added a solitary
human figure "just because I felt
like it ,,,
��e ..—..
•
harlie's show a hit
't.•::
eig -qu icy repro�Z, `A
ductions have been made. Twelve
of these are remarques, each given
an added, individual touch by the
artist. These aro.available at $400
each. The remaining 188 are of-
fered at $200 each. All arc subject
to the 8% provincial _Saks..tax.,All
are signed, numbered and authenti-
cated by the artist.
All Reid's past limited editions
series have been sell-outs. This is
the first time a private organization
has used this for fund-raising.
The idea of commissioning a
painting was first broached to the
board by Aline Paul, who had at-
tended a workshop given by Rcid at
Bear Creek Studios in Petrolia.
Another board member, Cass
Bayley, took the project a step fur-
ther by suggesting that prints also
be made.
Reid visited this part of the
country for the first time in April.
Included in his tour were a visit
to the Lambton Heritage Museum,
and a walk along the shore in Pin-
ery Park, accompanied by Board
president Peter Phillips, secretary
•
•
N, t► BEND-- Chnilte -Far
harson and Company offered a very
different version of the Old Testa-
ment in two Sunday concerts, "Olde
Charlie Farquharson's Testament
• and Magic Lantern Show. The ef-
fect was hilarious, side-splitting fun
....and-laughterros li d '_
lie) was joined byfBill Carr as his
son Orville, Mary Trainor as his
wife Valeda Drain Farquharson, and
funny Rosemary Radcliffe as crazy
old Aunt Letitia Drain.
Jane Luk was "The Voice of
God". Lynn Johnston (For Better or
Worse" Cartoon Comic Strip) creat-
ed the original drawings for 'the
"magic lantern" show adding an ex-
tra dimension of humor. Her pic-
tures of "Adam and Eve" or Jonah
• being spat up on the beach by the
whale, are pnceless.
The set is a Sunday school room
in a small rural church, as Charlie
and his wife try to convince their
"agnostical" son Orville about
God's presence in the world through
the stories of the Bible. They run
from Creation to Christ, using pic-
tures, music and songs by Jimmy
sett People. ,
Harron's special wit is evident
through various pungent comments
and political asides on the state of
affairs in today's world. Mary
Trainer has an excellent singing
voice for the gospel ballads, and_
KoscmaryJtadcliffe played the tip-
sy old Aunt, plunking away on
the ancient church organ as their
musical accompaniment.
Bill Carr welcomed the audience
as they came in for both first and
second acts, and teased those com-
ing in late. Carr got the funniest
lines, since he played the widest
variety of parts, from a stuttering.
Moses to a surly Jonah, using dif-
ferent voices, wigs and manner-
isms - a very talented actor. The
funny props and costumgs also add-
ed to the story line - quTe imagina-
tive too.
Valerie Moore directed the
lengthy performance, condensing
4000 years of history int, two and
one half hours of sheer enjoyment.
Quite a feat. The entire cast and
company deserved the wild ap-
plause - it's a great show!
•