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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1981-03-04, Page 17GLT stages Agatha hristie thri11er murders look real enough to frighten audience BY JOANNE BUCHANAN When a person is murdered on the movie or television screen, it is scarey enough. But when a person is murdered right in front of you on the stage during a live theatre performance, the effect is downright creepy. In Goderich Little Theatre's production of Witness for the Prosecution, an Agatha Christie murder -mystery staged last week in the MacKay Centre, there were two killings–one at the beginning of the play and one at the end. It was enough to make the audience go home and lock their doors. This bone -chilling effect was a credit to the cast and crew of the production. Christie, master of the 'who -done -its'; wrote Witness for the Prosecution in 1953 and set it in England in 1954. James Saar, the professional Toronto-based director of the GLT production, considers it her best theatrical work. The plot revolves around Leonard Vole (played by Paul Ross) who has been ac- cused of the murder of a rich, elderly woman who leaves him all her money in her will. Vole is defended by a clever lawyer named Sir Wilfrid Robarts (played by Garry 'Huhter). Vole's wife Romaine (played by Joyce Kuran) is the 'Witness for the .Prosecution'. Shehas the abilit-y-to- sway the jury one way or the other with her testimony. Hunter and Ross both gave strong • performances as lawyer and client. . Hunter convinced the audience of his in- telligence in legal matters and Ross convinced them of his complete innocence. Kuran, as the tough wife Romaine, gave the best performance in the whole play. Her versatility and flair for the dramatic ' shone through when she was required to use both a monotone German accent and a free speaking English accent. Another exceptionally fine performance was given by •Irene Bain as the rich vic- tim's faithful Scottish housekeeper. Her smug testimony . and insistance on speaking directly to the judge, gave the play its comic relief. Mrs. Bain's husband lain played the role of Mr. Myers, Q.C., Sir Wilfrid's court opponent. His irritating habit of clearing his throat every time he stood up to speak also added comedy to an otherwise serious play. I•t became quite clear that he was a great source of aggravation to Sir Wilfrid. Honorable mentions must also go to Mike Scott who played the bored -looking judge, to Kathy Jenkins who played Sir Wilfrid's loyal and attentive secretary, to Shelli Berlet who played Sir Wilfrid's junior secretary and to Richard Ottewell who played Sir Wilfrid's assistant. Bit ,parts were played by Eloise Thorne (she's the rich woman who gets killed at the start and therefore doesn't get to say a - line), Lockie Royal as Inspector Hearne, * Jim Thompson as a detective, Jennifer Black as a juror, Don Mason as the jury foreman, Stephen Longwell as a court usher, Wayne Lyons as a court clerk, In this scene from the Goderich Little Theatre production of Witness for the Prosecution, Leonard Vole (played by Paul Ross) reads about the murder he is accused of while Sir Wilfrid Robarts, Q.C. (played by Garry Hunter) and Mr. Mayhew (played by Richard Ottewell) look on. ( Photo by Colleen Maguire) kinesiologist proves his worth at the Bluewater Centre BY JOANNE BUCHANAN Kinesiology, the scientific study of human movement, is a relatively new discipline:–Jobs for kinesiologists are few and far between, especially in facilities like the Bluewater Centre. But Gordon Galbraith is out to prove that the services of kinesiologists are valuable to such a facility. Gordon graduated from the University of Waterloo in 1978 with his Bachelor of Science degree in kinesiology, majoring in athletic therapy. He joined the Bluewater Centre staff in November of 1980. While all residents are required to go through an exercise program twice daily at the Centre, Gordon` also works with 27 specific residents on a one-to-one basis. Because the Bluewater Centre is a fairly small facility, it is possible to provide more individual attention and Gordon feels that this is very important. He has worked in other facilities for the developmentally handicapped and says he feels that the Bluewater Centre has some of the best specialized programs around. Gordon says that the difference between a physiotherapist and a kinesiologist is that the former deals with acute injuries while the latter deals more with chronically disabled persons. He sees his job as trying to correct various human movement problems and helpingresidents to function more successfully in their environments. Kinesiology involves gross motor training (teaching residents to balance and walk properly) and fine and perceptual motor training (teaching residents to distinguish colors, shapes and sizes). Gordon assesses each resident and Works out individual programs for them. With exercise, he increases their overall ability to stretch their muscles and bend their joints. A major area of Gordon's work involves weight control. He has overweight residents on diet and exercise programs but one of his biggest problems is Bonita Miles as a court stenographer, Tony Lourenco as the court warder, Maureen Penn as Dr. Wyatt, Clarence Knight as Mr. Clegg and Shirley Hall as the Strawberry Blonde. Small as these parts were, they all served.. useful, . purposes-- in. the- play and deserve credit. To show up night after night at rehearsals only to utter a few lines or not even to speak at all, required great dedication. The courtroom scenes in the play were long and could have become boring if not for the clever writing of Christie and the skilled direction of Saar. Although the MacKay stage is a bit small for a courtroom set, best use of the space available was used. Sir Wilfrid's office was well designed to -0.– - Eerie music helped set the mood for the ,play and the final death scene came across - as quite believable. Perhaps a bit too believable for those who are easily frightene d. Leonard Vole (played by Paul Ross) meets a nasty end when he is stabbed hi the hack by his wife Romaine (played by Joyce Kuran) during the Goderich Little Theatre production of Witness for the Prosecution_ (Photo by Colleen Maguire) theoderch SIGNAL sTAF; motivation, he says. There is a strong co - relation between intelligence and motivation and sometimes it is difficult just to get residents moving. Activities have to be fun, rewarding and not too strenuous. Another area of Gordon's work involves consultation services and prescribing equipment such as braces and' proper fitting wheelchairs. One resident, he ex- plains, actually had a dislocated hip from years of sitting in a wheelchair that was improperly fitted to her body. These are things his training allows him to detect. Gordon will soon be starting a physical fitness program at the Centre for em- ployees during the lunch hour and in the evenings. Each employee's physical state will be assessed first and then, after six weeks of the program, will be assessed again. Prizes will be given out for progress. Gordon is now awaiting some equipment which will help him do assessments. These include a skinfold caliper to measure a person's percent of body fat and an electrocardiogram to monitor heart beats. He also has new water accessories ordered for the hydrotherapy program. If the physical fitness program goes over well with the employees, it may also be opened up the public in the future and Gordon welcomes any inquires regarding this. Gordon hopes to expand the hydrotherapy and other therapy programs at the Centre has soon as°possible. With the hiring of co-op kinesiology students from the University of Waterloo, he has been able to double the number of residents taking specialized therapy programs. With the assistance el volunteers, he could help even more residents. These volunteers would be trained by him and would be under his supervision in applying therapy to residents. The reward is a feeling of ac- complishment and happiness. 133 YEAR -9 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 1981 Warm water setting relaxing SE COND SECTION Hydrotherapy aids the disabled BY JOANNE BUCHANAN Tuesday is a special day for eight residents at the Bluewater Centre. Each week, on that day, they are loaded into the Centre's van and whisked away to the pool at the Vanastra Rec Centre for hydrotherapy treatment. , • Hydrotherapy refers to a specific exercise program in a warm water setting.. The Bluewater Centre's hydrotherapy program was initiated by residential counsellor Jim Francis in July of 1980. Since that time, the program has been refined with structured exercise routines designed by Gordon Gailbraith, a kinesiologist who joined the Centre staff in October. of 1980. The residents chosen for the hydrotherapy program are those who have impaired balance and physical co- ordination skills. Several of them have cerebral palsy. Outside the water these residents are all very stiff or spastic or both. In the water, they are transformed. Their muscles are relaxed and this allows Gordon to put them through a series of bending and stretching exercises that they would otherwise not be able to do. Another advantage is that the -residents are working against the force of the water and this makes them stronger. The program consists of both passive and active exercises. Passive requires Gordon and the other staffers to do 'the pushing and pulling and active requires the resident to respond by pushing and pulling himself while held by a staffer. In some cases; the resident wears 'two life jackets–one frontwards and one back- wards -so that the entire chest and head are well supported and bouyant in the water. The' ankles are held while an in- tensive push and pull series of exercises extends and then bends the legs. Following • this, a staff member walks the resident around the perimeter of the shallow end of the pool. . Hydrotherapy is not all work. fere is also time for games. In this aspect, staf- fers are greatly aided by volunteers, mostly teenagers from Clinton high school who a are let out early on Tuesday af- ternoons to do community service work. Student volunteer Mary 'Peckitt says working with the handicapped is teaching her how to deal with people and is providing her with a good background for her eventual career as an occupational therapist. Pat Wheeler, volunteer co-ordinator at the Bluewater Centre, says volunteers are one of the most important aspects of the hydrotherapy program and others like it at the Centre. Without volunteers, many of ' these programs would not be possible, she explains. ' There is a lot of. work involved for staffers and volunteers in the hydrotherapy program.. The lifting, carrying, dressing, • undressing, showering, and getting residents in and out of life jackets and in and out of the pool are all strenuous tasks. But the squeals of delight'from residents as they play in the water makes •all these tasks worthwhile. • Most of the residents involved in the program are non-verbal but they show their pleasure by making happy sounds and smiling. Gordon says hydrotherapy has im- proved the behaviour of some of the residents because the warm water makes them more relaxed. And after a day in the pool, they all sleep very soundly at night. Ideally, the water temperature for hydrotherapy should be 98 degrees–body temperature–to promote deeper relaxation. However, residents are quite. comfortable in the Vanastra pool with a water temperature of between 80 and 90 degreesfor a one hour period. Wheelchairs are also available at the Vanastra pool and this makes things much easier for those residents who can't walk. -- • At –present <a.., new- ,40 -foot -long heated therapeutic pool is being constructed at the Bluewater Centre under the super- vision of Government Services. This pool should be completed by spring and will allow more residents to become involved in hydrotherapy sessions several times a week.. Once -a -week sessions will also continue at Vanastra. Gordon tries to ensure that residents in the hydrotherapy program are worked with on a one-to-one basis. He is helped in this by a kinesiology co-op student from the University of Waterloo and several residential counsellors and volunteers. More volunteers would allow the program to be expanded. If you are interested in volunteering for this program or any others at the Centre, contact Gordon or Pat Wheeler. S -t -r -e -t -c -h those muscles Kinesiologist Gordon Galbraith works with Aide, a Bluewater Centre resident who has impaired co-ordination. During hydrotherapy sessions at the ,Vanastra pool, Alfie's muscles are stretebedJr a series of passive exercises. Ele is supported above the water by two lifejackets and really seems to relax and enjoy himself. (Photo by Joanne Buchanan)