The Citizen, 2018-05-17, Page 19THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2018. PAGE 19.
Entertainment Leisure
Garratt, King return from PACT invigorated
The art of storytelling
Blyth Festival General Manager Rachael King was part of a panel over the weekend at the
Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT) that discussed the art of storytelling
and its future from the perspective of theatre professionals who aren't theatre artistic directors.
She lauded the relationships the Festival has cultivated over the years, including with The
Citizen. (Photo submitted)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Gil Garratt and Rachael King of
the Blyth Festival are back from the
annual Professional Association of
Canadian Theatres (PACT)
conference in Ottawa invigorated
and encouraged.
Garratt, the Blyth Festival's
Artistic Director and King, its
General Manager, were both
instrumental in the conference, the
theme of which was "The Future of
Storytelling". They both sat on
panels in the nation's capital to
discuss telling stories both on and
off the stage.
Garratt, alongside Lindsay
Delaronde, the Indigenous Artist in
Residence for the City of Victoria,
British Columbia, hosted a panel on
the future of Canadian theatre.
There were three groups, Garratt
First of its kind
Renowned musician Alan Rhody was in Walton earlier this
month to perform a special concert at the Walton Kirk, the
former Duff's United Church. The show was presented with
a special meal and was organized by Jim Lee, who was
known for his stellar concerts at Cinnamon Jim's in
Brussels. (Denny Scott photo)
said, which debated the future of
Canadian theatre. One group looked
ahead five years and another looked
a decade into the future. Garratt and
Delaronde, however, were asked to
look 20 years into the future of
theatre.
He says that after a few
discussions with Delaronde, they
decided to take an unorthodox
approach to their panel, welcoming
everyone to sit around them and tum
it into more of a discussion, rather
than a seminar.
Garratt said it was a "special
conversation" about Canadian
theatre.
He said that the goal should be to
celebrate and the opportunities
within Canadian theatre and
celebrate telling Canadian stories,
but also recognize the challenges
and destruction that is also part of
Canada's history.
Garratt said that both he and
Delaronde felt that there would be an
ongoing theme of reconciliation and
healing in Canadian theatre in the
years to come.
The Blyth Festival is currently the
national organization' s
representative of Region 4, which
includes every theatre in the
province that isn't in Toronto.
In addition, the theatre is an
integral part of the PACT Rural
Caucus, which Festival
representatives helped to found three
years ago.
As a result, both Garratt and King
were involved in a number of
discussions over the course of the
weekend, which also brought them
together with familiar Festival faces,
former Artistic Director Eric Coates,
now of the Great Canadian Theatre
Company in Ottawa, and John
McHenry, now of the Sudbury
Theatre Centre.
King's big contribution to the
weekend was on a panel on
storytelling. She was a key member
of a panel that discussed a theatre
telling its stories, but from a non-
theatrical aspect.
The panel was comprised of non -
artistic directors and King said that
she focused on the relationships at
the heart of the Blyth Festival.
Whether it's with a local organic
community -supported agriculture
(CSA) farm or with The Citizen,
King said that the theatre is unique
in Canada and its relationships,
heritage and storytelling are at the
core of what the theatre delivers.
Over the course of the weekend,
Garratt said, one of the foci was on
analytics relating to theatre
customers. Getting to know your
customers, where they come from
and why they come to the theatre, he
said, it integral to getting to know
your audience.
Garratt, however, said that the
Festival already hits the ground
running when it comes to that type
of analysis. Knowing audience
members, donors and sponsors,
Garratt said, is crucial to what the
Festival does and its place within the
community.
In addition, in regards to
storytelling, Garratt said he felt
invigorated when he heard other
theatres talk about the need to
connect with their communities. He
said that it's important for a theatre
to craft a season that will connect
with the community and tell stories
that will be of interest to the locals.
Garratt said that the Blyth Festival
doesn't often have to make those
considerations, because all of the
stories produced on the Memorial
Hall stage are of interest to
community members, in accordance
with the Festival's mandate.
The Festival's season opens with a
remount of The Pigeon King on
Friday, June 1, followed by the
opening of The New Canadian
Curling Club on June 22, Judith:
Memories of a Lady Pig Farmer on
June 29, 1837: The Farmers' Revolt
on Aug. 3 and Wing Night at the
Boot on Aug. 10.
For more information on the Blyth
Festival or its 2018 season, visit
blythfestival.com.
The future...
Blyth Festival Artistic Director Gil Garratt and Lindsay
Delaronde from British Columbia were charged with
looking 20 years into the future of Canadian theatre at last
weekend's conference in Ottawa. (Photo submitted)
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