The Goderich Signal-Star, 1978-08-03, Page 15r-
dave
Sykes
A substantial amount of ink and air
time. lately has been devoted to the
successful birth of the first test-tube
baby in Oldham, England. last
Tuesday. And justifiably so,
Mr. and Mrs. John Brown of Oldham
are now the proud parents of 5 pound 12
ounce Louise, a baby whose life was
nurtured in a test tulle before being
placed in the womb of. Mrs. Brown.
But following the,awaited arrival of
wee Louise, childless couples around
the world jammed the hospital
telephone lines, anxious for a test-tube
offspring -of their own.
It's quite sad really, that the intrinsic
human function of producing children,
has now suffered the final coup to the.
test tube,
As near as I can recollect, relying
solely ' on heresay information of
course, there was a certain amount of
enjoyment to be had making, babies.
That's assuming my ,sources are
reliable.
But if the world now. comes to rely on
the test tube for reproduction, it will
undoubtedly change many of our crafty
mating habits•
Realistically, there is little need far
romantic interludes with the life
partner. Those cozy little romantic
suppers, with the scented candles and
good china, the twinkle in the eye as
you exchange wanto-► glances, with,
your mate across the table, (nutfgl'" ''-
nudge, wink, wink) willnow just be a
pleasant memory.
And after supper there's no sense in
curling up on the couch with a glass of
your favorite white bubbly, snuggling
up to the better half and whispering
silly, s' eet nothings as your favorite
romantic balladeer croons love songs.
Gtoderich
in ,the background.
Now you don't have to bother to take
the time.
And in a raging fit of passion, having
nibbled playfully on your life partner's
ear, should she dare suggest that she
slip into her latest, lacy lingerie.
No need for that. With the work of the
test tubes the life partner can com-
fortably slip into bed in the old flan-
nelette night gown, without fear of any
leckerous advances or raised
eyebrows.
an this age of„convenience the test
tubes have provided the opportunity to
bypass all those annoying little
preludes and get right down to
business. Now if parents get a little
anxious or have a sudden urge' to hear
the patter. of little feet in the spare
bedroom, it will just take a small visit
to the lab to set things up.
• I -low conyOnient.
_And anytime eon,seniting adults have
visions of paeenthood thereis little
planning required and no hassles o
having to take the time out of a busy
schedule to work on these things.
Afterall there is golf to.. be played,
baseball to watch on television, the
laundry has to be done and any number
off things.
'Excuses no longer have to exist
either. Headaches, hard days at the
office, having to get .up early in the
morning or the old standard that the
kids in the, next room will hear us, just
won't apply.
Ah, yes things are so much simpler
now. But just in case the fad fizzles,
don't throw away those candles and the
new nightgown. 4t.least keep them for
nostalgias sake.
Barbara Murphy SIGNAL -STAR
beliQves in V T
am e s 131 YEAR -31 THURSDAY, AUGUST 3,1978 SECOND SECTION
woman.
Barbara Murphy could be called "the woman
behind the man". She is the wife of James Murphy,.
artistic director and founder of the Huron Country
Playhouse in Grand Bend, and works as Director of
Operations there. Her job encompasses a lot of
varied duties and she says she has come to love the
theatre. Every opening night is exciting to her and
she never gets bored s because there is always
something new to do. (Photo by Joanne Walters,)
ehind the .man
BY JOANNE WALTERS
The old saying,
"Behind every successful
man stands a woman",
-could - ve ry--w ell-••ap pl rto--•
Barbara Murphy, wife of
. James Murphy, founder
and artistic director of
the Huron Country
Playhouse in Grand
Bend.
It depends on how you
define .that, t.ord .suc-
cessful". If you define it
as meaning wealthy, then
you're not describing
James Murphy.
"It is a common
misconception that
James owns the
Playhouse and that we
are making money hand
over fist, when in fact it is
owned by a Board of
Directors,” explains
Barbara.
But, if you interpret the
word "successful" in
terms of accomplishment
or achievement, then
James Murphy has
success to his credit.
"He has incredible
drive, stamina and
energy," says Barbara of
her husband when
describing him, "And
.he's .got ..the ..-gift of the.
gab. He certainly got me
enthused and I truly
believe in what he is
doing."
And what is it exactly
that James Murphy is
doing?
He is setting the artistic
tone for the Playhouse as
he has done since
pioneering the first
season there in 1972. The
artistic 'tone is one of
popular classics, usually
comedies, sometimes
featuring national and
international stars.
As artistic director,
James also directs all the
'plays, rehearsing with his
casts from 10 until 6
daily, with the exception.
of one....production • per
season. which is guest
directed. This season he
directs all the plays
except--for.-'.`Two---Below''
which
`Two-•Below"which was directed by
guest director Lynne
Gorman.
It may be more im-
portant, however, to look
at what James Murphy
has done - past tense. He
conceived the whole idea
for the Country
Playhouse for one thing..
With notable assistance
from Bill Heinsohn, he
brought the Toronto Gate
Theatre Productions to
3.5 acres of an abandoned
farm near Grand Bend.
The idea had originally
been to get the theatre
company out of the city
for the summer so they
could rehearse and study
in peace and quiet .and
then return to. Toronto in
the winter to perform.
However, Barbara
says, a desire and need
for theatre right there in
the Grand Bend area
"just . developed" and
James felt he had to stay
and develop it further
which is exactly what he
did.
The 3.5 acres of land
along with a "great
barn" (which the foun-
ders hoped to convert into
a theatre) was sub-
sequently taken over by
the organization's non-
profit charter and its
Board of Trustees which
was made up of
representatives from
throughout the region.
As renovations and
conversion • of the,_
facilities into a summer
theatre complex began in
1973 (with the aid of a
Federal L.I.P. grant), the
idea of building a
separate ' tbeatre
structure was already
gaining favor. By 1975,
after three years of
constantly expanding
seasons in a rented tent,
the present barn -style
theatre -was ••er-ected.---I n•-
1976 the lighting system
and outdoor walkways
were added.
To date, over $270,000
have been raised from
throughout the region
toward the costs of
building and,renovations.
The acting company
has to its credit 412
performances of 44 major
productions as well as 71
one-night stands
throughout the area and
school tours in over 100 of
the area's schools. In 1977
Hollywood star John
Carradine graced the
Playhouse stage and this
year the Playhouse has
featured Jack Duffy,
Judy Savoy and other
well-krr wTs-o-in__-'per-
formances.
"It (the Playhouse) has
really come a long way,"
says Barbara," and I
credit it all to James."
To back up this point,
she speaks of the time
they were driving home
after one of the
Playhouse company's
tours when James
remarked to her,
"Wouldn't it be wonderful
if we had a building for
next sum rn r."
"I just §aid yes and
promptly forgot about it
again," she says. "But
James didn't." Up until
that time performances
were still bging staged in
the rented tent.
"I'm not exactly sure
how .it happened but by
that next summer we had
a building after all," she
exclaims.
The Playhouse
received an L.I.P. grant
to dismantle four local
barns and use the
materials from them to
build their own barn -style
theatre building.
"James was right out
there in the middle of
winter - with - those- -big-
beams coming down all
around him while helping
to dismantle those barns
and I was having a fit,"
says Barbara.
Right up until a few
hours before the opening
night., that., season,; :>rhe„
building was still being
built but somehow,
miraculously, it was
completed in time and the
show, as it must, went
on.
FIRST MEETING
Barbara, a tall, young -
looking woman with
shoulder -length dark
blonde hair, leans back in
her office chair, sips on a
pepsi and recollects how
she first became
acquainted with James
Murphy. He had been
with the Playhouse for
two seasons already
when Barbara, who was
from Toronto, journeyed
to the Playhouse to visit a
friend who was working
there and to see a show.
She . was introduced to
James at that time and
the following winter he
looked her up on a visit to
Toronto and asked if she
would help him with
auditions for the 1974
Playhouse season. Since
she was living in the city
and he was not, it was
easier for her to, call the
various actors and ac-
tresses living there and
set up appointments and
auditions, etc.
Barbara says she
jumped at the chance for
such work. Upon
finishing high school she
had decided she was tired
of school and continued
her education through
various jobs ar1L1
travelling. • She had just
finished hitch -hiking
through Europe with a
friend, saying it was one
-of- --th e......most....e-x-cit in.g _
things she had ever done,
and was in between
secretarial jobs and at
odds as to what to do next
when James called.
One thing- led to
another, and shortly after
Christmas in 1975, James
and"' Barbara were
married in Jamaica.
They now have a son,
Nevin, who will be two
years old in October.
The first summer
Barbara worked at the
Playhouse, she was an
administrative
assistant, a title which
really encompassed a
wide variety of jobs,
including doing the
payroll.
"I had , never done a
payroll before in my
life," admits Barbara.
"It certainly was 'on-the-
job' training."
'She • had to learn
quickly and eventually
she earned herself the
title of Director of
Operations.
UNIQUE
COMBINATION
"She's an unique
combination of wife,
mother, nurse.,
psychologist and business
manager," quips
publicity director . Alan
Raeburn from the outer
office.
"There's no such thing
as 9 to 5 in the theatre
business. You work long
hours and it's a constant
job," says Barbara.
Although the Playhouse
productions themselves
are seasonal, the office is
open 12 months of the
year. It is less strenuous
in the winter, Barbara
Turn to page 8A •
I
The other night I was just sitting
around watching a little tele' ision and
I happened to catch the Class of '65.
The show I guess is a TV spinoff of- the
movie Summer, of '42 except that it is
updated. The creator of the show,is a
teacher who returns to work at the
school he graduated from as a teenager
and the man takes a great ,delight
tracing the lives of his former
classmates to see what they are doing
with their lives now and what happened
to them in the 13 years since he last saw
them.
'The show was -entertaining enough,
but as .I thought about the idea of
tracing one's school 'buddies with the'
idea of writing a book or developing a
,television series, I began to wonder
about the economic benefits of such a
'movie. I figured if'I sat through an hour
of television to find out how someone's
life developed after they ' graduated
from high school I might make some
money doing the same thing With my
old class..
I began to wonder what some of my
old classmates are up to. I remember
some of my more flamboyant school
chums whose lives, if they remained as
they were in high school, would make
the basis of a dramatic Gong Show.
I had no difficulty in figuring out
which of my classmates I would
highlight in the series'. first shows.
Kenny 0 may be a likely candidate to
prove that a jock that relies on his
physical prowess to make a life for
himself can run into 'difficulty. Ken,by
now has to have the first semester's
studies of Grade 12 down pat if only by
osmosis. ken was high on football and
for several years he returned to Grade
12 in September to play school football
and maybe do a little school work on
the side. Every season Ken showed up
for class and did just enough work to
keep the coaches and principal from
cutting him from the ball team. Every
Christmas his marks would plummet
and Ken would find a job to keep him in
cigarettes until the following Sep-
tember. He was finally deemed too old
to play football . but may still be
showing up for class in September, just
to coach football.
I saw one of my classmates a little
while ago and he told me that Jim K
was working for a credit ,company and
was responsible for trying to collect
bad debts for the. firm. Jim was one of
the class comedians and never took
anything seriously. I couldn't figure out
how he managed to get'into such un-
pleasant work but knowing Jim he'll
find some huniour in taking the station
wagon away from a' family whose,
father just lost his job and whose
mother is in a sick bed. Jim will
probably have them laughing un-
controllably as the tow truck .hooks
onto the bumper of the car to 'repossess
it.'
Bruce , ,y „4guld very well be chief
negotiator for the United Steeworkers
by now. Bruce was the class president
and prided himself on his ability, to
negotiator for the United Steelworkers
antics of the class. An irate English
teacher once got fed up with the class
and told everyone they were losing 10
marks on their average and Bruce was
at his best. He has a job lined up for
early in June and was counting on
exam exemptions to take the job at the
end. of May. Realizing he may be forced
to write one exam and not be able to
start the job he -immediately began to
negotiate. Finally losing his cool he told
the teacher if he didn't get his exem'=
ption he would kill the man and was
sent to 'the office” to continue
discussions with the principal. I don't
know if he ever had to write the exam
but I sincerely doubt it.
The class of '70 was a collection of
personalities that may lend itself -to
some entertaining television but I just
can't believe there are enough people
in living rooms to make it a success.
But who knows. After -all everyone is a
member of some class and may be
entertained by members of the Class of
'70.
jerr
ddon