Canada’stop drama groups l

seeking honors at festival

5 g E

who (donations

I SECOND SECTION

Charlottetown, Sat. May 16,1964.

in across VIEWPOINT

Few in world as flexible. Moore claims

By RALPH CAMERON “Its real characteristics

Mavor Moore, of the Centennial celebrations.l said enthusiasticaiy of the stage; in emorial Theatre. l Speaking from wealth personal stage experience and“ an international familiarity with the better theatres, Mr. Moore unhesitantly labelled thel new theatre as one of the fin-. est in the world from the view. point of an actor. “There are: few in the world as flexible asl this." he said, in speaking of al stage which he termed “a really ‘ expandable one." "With the fore the audience is given three - dimensional feel through a better sense of mo ment of the actors. And at the

stage in use

an almost ing ve-

feelmg of communication and intimacy with the audience." PROJECTED 1T0 AUDIENCE

Probably one of the outstand- ing features of construction in the theatre. the forestage will not always be in use. But when it is the performers are almost liter- ally projected into the audience since it forms a semi-circle around it.

Mr. Moore said this feature alone would compel actors 0 play directly to the audience. of which they almost become a part. and because this effect of oneness reaches even to the peo-

flexibility and v e r s a tility," i , artistic director ‘ '

ofl,

same time the actor receives a ‘

Trophies. $ are sought

a .

yang

DR. MacKINNON

1,000 cash by players l

The following is a complete‘ the best supporting female role.‘ listing of th trophies a n d . ZONEz—The Bessborough Tro- rawards now presented at the . pity—Awarded for outstanding

‘final Festival each year:

‘ e ‘ Final Festival

Trophy and cash prize of $1,000 : mated by nadian

iait'ion of Broadcasters. for best presentation in the

E:

e festival.

Festival Plaque—For the best :presentation in Engla , 'cluding the winner of the DDF lFinal Festival Trophy. ; Plaque du FestivaI«F0r the

best presentation in French. ex-

cluding the winner of the DDF

Final Festival Proph . Si

As- .

achievement in the presentation of full i‘nigth classical plays in le' ch of the zones of the Dom- inion Drama Festival.

‘ PRIZES l. A! the regional level. the festival‘s sponsor, the Canadian‘ Association of Broadcasters. of- ; fers 14 prizes of $100 each to the ;winning group of DD "5 14 rev ‘1 gional festivals. The C.A.B. also awards the cash prize of $1,000l

gr

cup of DDF's.

to the Winning l final festivals.

a directors and all

ftheir production to the i still believe

‘ will be a different play pre

’ urday. All eight of

PAGE 11

Memorial theatre described as one of finest anywhere

Eight groups vie for honor during week

While there is a solid schedule of work lined up for the week. the Dominion Drama Festival finalists will also have plemy of time for fun and entertainment. sight-seeing and visiting.

However, actors. actresses.

spend so much time

in the o adage “the play‘s the thing“ and much

1 of their waking time is devoted i to planning and improving.

BEST IN REGIONS Starting Monday night there sent- e every evening an in ad- dition there will be two after- noon performances—one on Wednesday and the other on Sat- the plays were considered the best in their various regions. All eight of the casts are hoping theirs will be considered best in the ' als.

Opening show Monday night will be that demonstrating a mixture of youth and experience, students and teachers. children and parents. It is the offering of the Kamloops. B.C.. group and ' in; eagerly anticipated particularly by the younger set in Charlottetown who want to soil: high school students in a new ro

e. The full schedule for the week is as follows: Monday night: “Chips With Everything”. by the PTA Tha— Wing. Kamloops, BC.

[pie in the balcony through crea-i r Ba k __ 2. La ond-ation Les Amis de. a .. -. w tion of an ' usion of muc r or the [gist ggfeggwtionpgga i’Ant also offers a cash award; “3129ng Lglsgmézm La _ V . . A \ ‘ ? H . Emu.“ I} ‘ IV ‘ 3 0‘ m a clloser contact on the physrcal 3 play written by a Canadian ofu‘flio to “a going actor or; Gm Mogtreal Q38 pagnons A 4” Ene' . Ttlra Al Challenge Tm l 30 955 at 'e I" festival' Wednesda afternoon “T FLEXIBLE THEATRE STAGE PROVIDES WHAT EVER NEEDED non EITHER PLAY on . cron .T° me “‘9 “tall-V WW?“ 1 town» the best visuai preseo-l 3:“ “Wage Canadian 1"” s of Honey" yby Freelancas: thing is that the performer will 1 tat-ion at the final fesfivaL wrights. the festival asked the 1 P13 Véwf m not be forced to distort lllSl Low-s Jouvet Challenge Tm_l Roy i " ' b0 ike al wyémnegda (fight .ITaste of o e 0 performance in order to “reach' 5 ph.y__pm. “he best director at the 3 medal. the Massey Award. which ‘ Hone n b yme Barn mm 11101161119 Proves ormer e stival are. i of y " provr e w a ever is nee e or Henry Osborne Qhale. Tn», 0ya i. the finest- ", V ‘- .. , . . either the play 01‘ the “tor-H ‘ Dilly—For the best perftligrinance l medal Produced by “he mim- Th‘“ Wirnll‘lllFSdifyl] Slight. o ' o o 0 EXTRA SEATING _ . lby an actor playeing a leading‘ has been awarded ‘0 New Brunswick S e 1' 1 O u S Perhaps the “island” “1mg lr01e~ Names Remy 5°? “The “deer ’l Friday night? “Rape of o. s 1 abou‘ it from h manis’ Nella Jefferis Challenge Tro-im Marcel Dube for “ChambresiBel ” a Theatre - point of vilew is that when this \phy—For the best penfomnance L019?" and in Claude Jesnfln‘ducuén 55151;”:me . . . . ' moveabie ‘apron‘ forestage is b am act v ' adj“ 0r “ e Veau Dont.” The award '. . mam I “BM-m. “mm the festwal hast“ Monm' me trophies we“? Thai {inure lame and lP°5‘l Anomer former DDF P91"L not required it can be lowered rg’le. or mawlng 8 1e g‘ was created in 1960 to honorlsififlfillfdaiiv the Nggndla Plim- aiiways been a problem. each; 9mm in dich wood and sible fortune may result from former widely known for her hydraulicany to the floor levell The Canadian Association Milton. Vincent Massey who haslers ofimfio region. from the start. being re-l m Wm of “ms u_ their efforts is frequently 0 stage and television appear- an 5 area used to provide‘Frenc Radio a n d been a governor of the festival! Sam “My W 2nd mint? pismgowlinddvmusipecm of MM 8“ Mwue‘ tmotivetirégnforce bfhind the ac- ancesd 1? Anna Camerotili1 wtflo extra seating capacity. Television Whigs—For one since its in Dew-m and who 15; Angels” by the. l ‘. . ' W1 es 0 059 W 0 appear on 0W9 01‘ a season WI 0 Mr. Moore recalled the idea best so ontim' g do 1101 d (h only ‘fe vennot . i ' -. entry fees to the national bmly.idesigned in consultation With a great Katherine Come“ before was first tried Pp m e an e h go of DDF. Players, Hamilton. Ont.

Each final festival operates on a budget which is separate from the national one. donations from ‘ ‘ and provincial gov from

addition to receipts from of tickets. The final festival committee‘s hudigefi includes llilt‘ cost of hotel oommoda per

a meal allowance of $3 diiem for each member of the competing companies:

items alone average 36,000 for each festival.

FACE!) CRISIS

When the central office was opened. a e of re ionia contributions to the national body was drawn up and a sys- tem of oraiy governors established. these honorary gov emors who agreed to donate $100 per snnum. How- ever. in spite of this additional revenue, the corporation faced a financial crisis in 1952 which threatened its exstence it was decided to seek business sponsorship on a‘ large scale.

The corporation was most for- tunate in securing an annual

grant of $150» from Calvert f

Distillers Ltd. Alt the same time as making its donation. Calvert Distillers Ltd. conmiissioned three leading Canadian sculptors to create regional and final festival trophies to be awarded annually to the will!!ng grows

The sculptors were Miss Flor-

; special committee of the DDF ‘and have become distinctive

. contributions to Canadian art as i

‘well as trophies worthy of the .highest honour in Canadianl

l l DONATES $2i.000 i In 1960 Calvert discontinued

l

itheir support and the Etrophies to the festivalthey ares

t'hesel now known as the DDF regional

land final festival trophies. The lfestival was most fortunate in obtaining a new mjor sponsor.l the Canadian Association of.‘ lBroadcasters and its affiliated lstations across the country. The lassociation donates $21,000 an. I lnually from which amount a; :prize of $100 is given to each of‘ Who 14 regional winners and $1,000 to the winning group at i the final festival. “ DDF. which is a nonprofit lmaking onganizafiion. is financ- ‘ed entirely from donations or contributions and en s ro ting groups which it receives from year to year. C.A.B.‘s unitributiion of $21,000 'mately 0

Q

“ C

MR. HOP

English critic

E-WALLACE is the famous father of , ames are among tiiose of past .r mg bum into the as yet uncom. Cartwright family in ‘Bonanza.’ national iresidents of the Dom- l pleied Lincoln Centre in New . He is Lorne Greene who play- inion Drama Festival, with a l York and 51mm“- 1deas have

true for many performers down through the years. The frequent vehicle for a successful ride ‘

all. to millions of TV View/ers,

ed in ‘ xo Drama Festivals with

e stage in various roles. And such dreams have come becoming hostess on th program “Open House" is now called “Take Th

list of such

irty in l anada has been the Dominion l Kaplan Major. .loan Miller and of others.

Some of Canada‘s best. known

. I ’a hos Perhaps the best known of

former governor general in-

l

I I his Queen’s University drama cluded in the distinguished list.

to d d t group. an 00 long a o in ‘3 Since inception of the festival

a e ,speaking at a theatre confer- l in 1933 the presidents have rence in connection with ‘ n:

Richard MacDonald, nationall director of the Dominion Drama ‘I ‘6 Festival has announced that l Phillip Hope-Wallace. renowned i hi British drama critic. would ad-! judicate the D. D. F. Final com-

petition. whidi will inaugurate.

festival paid tribute to

was responsible for

g and Tide. appointments which L Ontari he still hold D

bee

it br‘ Rt. Hon. Sir Robert Borden

lling his audience the festival; lobtl Ottawa. Ontario

launching l Rt. Hon. Vincent Ma

E Hope. Ontario. D. Park Jamicson.

m on his career. Sarnia. o. ald C. Cromie. Vancouver.

5. on

at: ers of Confederation l He past president of the I Brim“ COIumbla‘ . Memorial Theatre. Ecmics Circle of Great Britain'i tll/Irsantlguis T. White. 0t- Mr. Hope-Wallace's studies in l is on the rota of chairmen for awa' D 110’ “Niven mm“ the theatre have taken him from 3805 program. “The Critics" I R 93' ‘k‘ ‘ L‘ ‘ London to Moscow. N ap 1 es. ‘ and has wide experience as al SglJa'On‘fieV'. Toronto (mt Florence and Sallblfl‘g. broadcaster. in French and Eng- Mrs' D” ‘ ' McGibb'on 71“). During the 1930's. he served l liSh- rohto Ontario. A . as correspondent for The Mr. Hope-Wallace has lectur-l LL'Colonel Yves G. Bourassa.

Times. covering outstanding the- atrical events Frankfurt. Paris and Switzerland. Later he was appointed drama Critic . for The Guardian and for Time l

in

00W

ed for the British counctl in Sweden and for the War Office

Montreal, Quebec. Roy A. Stewart. Toronto. Ont. Africa. ‘ In making the announcement. I

(Barrie) Miss Vida H. Peene. Toronto, (Continued on page 13) ‘

Ontario.

m3 rmor ms 56%

which

ssey. Port .

iconsultant for the Memorial

Leon l Foundation committee. acted in

l this same capacity for the open. ‘ ing of the Guthrie ’l‘heairei.

The same type of stage is be- .

.I been incorporated in theatres in

l Europe. “However, 3 not man of them. he am ‘when he expressed his opinion that few of even this small l number were as flexible as the ; one now ready for use here. . t the same time Mr. Moore ‘i flatly stated the movcable apron type was not suited to either F opera or musical comedy I both require use of an orchestra j pit where performers can watch l the leader. UNUSUAL FEATURE . However. when the apron is down and extra floor space use

I for sealing the effect then is to l

reproduce the old proscenium jstage on which a majority of plays. particularly the so-callcd classics, are necessarily per-

appear to Dominion Drama Fes- tival audiences as all plays to

l

experimentally i in the Loeb Theatre in Bostonl and later featured in the Guthrie . Theatre in Minneapolis. (in this 1 e 1’" . connection he noted that Miss eludes such widely known stage i Mary Jolliffe. public relations 1 Drama Festival with some of l personalities as Kate Reid. Eric those taking part going on to l House. Henry the heights

there are ‘ .. .d .

as.

. formed. This is the way it will

Commission has praise

for Canadian festival

Belief in the value of bring- ‘ ing people together in theatre not confined only to those who 1 take part in the activities.

.' be presented call for this type.

When this is done another un-

usual feature of the new theatre is called into play.

The large side \\ all panels are. l also movcabie and can be lifted

n huge hydraulic jacks. mov- ed |~odily over the tops of the

iseats on the side aisles and

set down with exactitude. 'l‘hisi

v exclusion of seats along the i side is necessary when the ; smaller stage is in use in order .

a clear view of all the stage ‘ the performe .

Mention of - tics brought an smile from Mr. Moore and just two words of reply: “absolute- ly tops." He pointed to the con-

productions here in Canada is ‘

Back in 1951 the Royal Com< ‘

' proceedings and movements of‘

rs. the theatre acous-; enthusiastic ‘

mission on Arts. Letters and Sciences had this to say in its re rt: ‘

“Nothing in Canada has done so much for the amateur thea- tre as the Dominion Drama

l

crete coffered ceiling with its _ “Baldaquin' o r n a m e n tations

which in reality are sound re- flectors. These oddly-curved. iriangu-V

ular-shaped. reflectors are susn upended from the ceiling of the' stage in such an ingenious man- ner send sound effects diffusing through the entire ‘ audience area of the theatrei from the front. row seats to the balcony.

HEAR A WHISPER

Said Mr. Moore "this ought to be a theatre in which you can literally hear a stagci ‘ whisper. There should be no

to give everyone in the audience '.

. Festivals . the war years. have

apart from been held since 933. his nation-Wm movement has created and has sustained interest in the thea- tre and has been directly re- sponsible for the ap anca of hundreds of theatre W; it has also been a powerful agency in bringing together. in understanding and in the sharing of common unposes. companies of players from all. pairs of Canada who differ. it may be. in language, in back- ground and in resources. but who are joined in the strongest of unions, an enthusiasm for a common and a pleasurable objective. We have been im- pressed by the wamth and the extent of evidence agreeing that the minion Dnamn Festival is now established as an important national move- ment and as a valuable unify-

; (Continued on page 13)

1"“ ~< ,

ing force in our cultural life.“

no