Volume I, Issue I - Bard to Broadway Theatre...

Name the Newsletter

APRIL, 2016

Volume 1, Issue 1

2016 Season Announced

nounced in the next newslet-

ter which will also feature the

new name on the masthead.

This is the first issue of the

new Bard to Broadway News-

letter hopefully to be pub-

lished quarterly. The follow-

ing are names that we have

been tossing around: STAGE

WRITE, IN THE WINGS, SPOT-

LIGHT and BACKSTAGE.

We would like to invite you to

become involved and win

fame and fortune...well, possi-

bly a coffee card from your

choice of Serious Coffee, Star-

bucks or Tim Horton’s should

you submit an original name.

Please email Kathy Harper

with your submission to

([email protected]) no later

than Sunday, May 1. Please

put Name the Newsletter in

the Subject Line. The submis-

sions will be narrowed down

to the top three which will be

presented to the Bard to

Broadway board for a deci-

sion. The winner will be an-

Inside this issue:

Double Feature -

Mike Moroz

2

Double Feature -

Lorna McLellan

3

Board of Directors

AGM info

4

Who Knew? 5

Spring Break-A-Leg

6

Crescendo 6

Humor

Contact Info

7

Volume I, Issue I

Best Play 2013 Tony Award

Farce

The bucolic bliss of siblings

Vanya and Sonia is thrown into

disarray when sister-turned-

movie-actress Masha returns

home with her new, rather

dimwitted lover Spike in tow,

sparking an unfor-gettable

weekend of rivalry and racket,

lust and opportunity.

Gary Brown Nicholas Atkinson

Lorna McLellan Susan Bradshaw

Susan Warner Sarah Mc Kelvey

Mike Moroz—Director

Fabulously Funny Fast Paced

Farce

One day the good Doctor

tells “one, teeny-tiny, hardly

noticeable little lie” and sets

off an escalation of mishaps,

misunderstandings, and mis-

taken identities amongst his

lovely younger wife, her

mother, his best friend, his

amorous patient and her

jealous husband, the butler

and the maid.

Rob Atkinson Cory Spence

Sheriden Collyer-Valens

Judy Hipkin Brian Lecky

Kate Krynowsky Paul Churchill

Heather Harris

Kelly Barnum—Director

Classic Beloved Broadway

Musical

Made up of all the memorable

moments from the "Peanuts"

comic strip, from Valentine's

Day to the baseball season,

lovingly chosen from the lives

of Charlie Brown and his

friends (both human and non-

human) from bright uncertain

morning to hopeful starlit

evening.

Joshua Holloway Chelsea Keene Nicholas Atkinson

Ben Loyst Jocelyn Dickson Belle Warner

Kathy Harper-Director Don Harper-Associate Director Hilary Whelton-Vocal Director

Donna Falconer-Musical Director Miranda Atkinson-Choreographer

Double Feature

Each issue of our newsletter we plan to feature two members of our 2016 Bard to Broadway family: one ”newcomer” and

one “old-timer” and we use the term old-timer in the best sense of the word - someone who has been a member of a

company or organization for a long time.). The newcomer may have lots of experience as well, but is new to B2B. We also

plan to ask each interviewee to complete the Bernard Pivot Questionnaire made famous by James Lipton on “The Actor’s Studio”.

Volume I, Issue I

MIKE MOROZ Mike is Guest Director for B2B’s 2016 show “Vanya

and Sonia and Masha and Spike”. I e-mailed Mike a

flurry of questions: What theatre did you do or see in

high school? Why did you do theatre at Grande

Prairie Regional College? Where did you do your

undergraduate degree? First teaching job? How do

you relax? Hobbies?” Here is his captivating re-

sponse.

Born in Spirit River, Alberta. I first became

involved in theatre in Junior High when a teach-

er came to teach for one year at the small coun-

try school I attended. When he left the follow-

ing year so did the program, but by then I was

hooked. I attended Grande Prairie Regional

College to take theatre classes and, as it turned

out, to play on the college basketball team -Go

Wolves”—before moving to Edmonton in

search of work as an actor.

Unable to make enough money as an actor -

Edmonton in the early 80’s was not really

The James Lipton Questionnaire

1. What is your favorite word? Prestidigitation

2. What is your least favorite word? No

3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? Honest human emotions - ideas/words

4. What turns you off? Entitlement

5. What is your favorite curse word? F**k, if I can use it......Fiddildy –poop if I can’t.

6. What sound or noise do you love? My children laughing.

7. What sound or noise do you hate? Whining

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Diplomat

9. What profession would you not like to do? Proctologist

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? “You’re early.”.......but Martin Short’s is still my favorite, ‘do you have a ballad?’

where one went to get rich as an actor—I took a

job as a political organizer. ‘The politics of art is

not very far removed from the art of politics’ and it

allowed me the opportunity to also return occasion-

ally to university to complete a B.ED. with a Major

in History, Minor in Theatre.

I began teaching fulltime at Cowichan Secondary in

1994, where I revived the theatre program which

had not produced a play in over a decade. The

program is now the largest on the mid-island, and

is expanding next to include an advanced Perform-

ing Arts model that integrates acting, voice and

dance with Social Studies and English. In 1997 I co-

founded the Mercury Players, a community based

theatre company. In 2009 I returned to Central

Washington University to complete my Masters

Degree in Theatre. In 2010 Cowichan Secondary

became the first BC high school to be invited to

perform at the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Festi-

val.

My brush with greatness came in 2001 when I was

cast in ‘Insomnia’ with Al Pacino and Robin Wil-

liams - It was being filmed on Vancouver Island,

but the start of shooting was delayed several times.

When the hard dates were set, they overlapped

with the due date of my youngest daughter and I

withdrew from the film. My daughter loves that

story.

His resume lists some 36 productions he has di-

rected between 1996 and the present. As well,

Mike has accumulated some noteworthy awards and

the City of Duncan awarded him the Perpetual

Arts Award for contributions for the Arts in the

Valley. He was the winner of the 2010 North-

west Playwrights Alliance Screenwriting Com-

petition for “Fathers and Sons” which was pre-

sented as a public reading in Seattle that year.

Mike concluded “If I’m asked to describe the

creative side of myself I say I’m an actor, writer,

director—and I suppose I list them in the order

in which they feed my soul. More than anything

else, I love to act and I feel most alive and ener-

gized during a production. So much so that,

truthfully, I like rehearsal better than a perfor-

mance because during rehearsal there are no

limits to what is possible, and by the time we’ve

reached the run of the show, everything has

been decided.”

Co-editors Note: I met Mike in 1981 in Grande

Prairie—he was an annoyingly bright theatre student

who knew everyone’s lines. Little did I know that he

would take up theatre and teaching in such a big way

or that our paths would cross several times over the

next 35 years. He is the real deal—a creative force

but a normal human being too—he still curls, for

God’s sake! We are so fortunate to have him join the

B2B family for this our 17th summer season.

LORNA MCLELLAN

The first thing you notice about Lorna’s bios in Bard

to Broadway’s programs is how incredibly good she

must be at time management. On top of working

fulltime, regularly designing costumes for Nanaimo

Theatre Group, Schmooze Productions and Bard to

Broadway, she has also been associated with U-

Betcha, Bryher, Yellow Point and Ladysmith Little

Theatre drama groups AND she is also an actor!

Some of her stage credits include Agnes of

God, Blood Brothers, The King and I, and

Urinetown in addition to leading, supporting

and backstage roles in twenty or so other plays

for NTG, Western Edge Theatre, Schmooze

Productions to name but a few. This year,

B2B audiences will enjoy her presence onstage

in “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike”.

Her ten year relationship with Bard to Broad-

way began in 2006 when she joined the B2B

costume team for “Greater Tuna. In follow-

ing years she occasionally wore two hats

working on a production as well as appearing

in it. Oceanside audiences will remember

her creations for The Sound of Music, Leading

Ladies, Oliver!, Gypsy, Little Women. Always a

Bridesmaid and The Owl and The Pussycat.

Her costume designs have also been honored

with Outstanding Achievement Awards as

part of the North Island Zone Festivals, in

2006 and 2015 for Fortinbras and Bus Stop,

respectively. She is quick to acknowledge the

dynamic team of costumers for Bard to

Broadway over the years which has included

Caron Byrne, Ashlee Sales and most recently

Enid Jaques.

The James Lipton Questionnaire

1. What is your favorite word? Today, my favorite word is gobsmacked. I love onomatopoetic words.

2. What is your least favorite word? Just one? Invented business-speak words, like “actioning”.

3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? Creative, at least in costuming, I think the challenge of making something from almost nothing, or deconstructing something to make something new. I like the “bones” of old pieces.

4. What turns you off? Creatively micromanagement. I do a lot of work in my brain before I do anything visible, and that’s hard to quantify to someone else.

5. What is your favorite curse word? Is “bollocks” a curse word?

6. What sound or noise do you love? I love the sound of rain in puddles, on the roof, in the trees. And the sound of pebbles rolling as waves recede on a beach.

7. What sound or noise do you hate? I might say my alarm clock, though I think I dislike the sound of arguing more.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? I’ve always thought that being a travel write would be pretty cool – combining history, current events, social anthropology, languages, and of course, travel. (Airports are exciting places.)

9. What profession would you not like to do? Oh: I’m terrible with numbers, so anything bank-ish or financial wouldn’t be a good fit for me.

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when arrive at the Pearly Gates? “There you are. We’ve been waiting for you.”

Volume , Issue

I asked Lorna where she was born

and where she attended high

school. “A Vancouver Girl, I went to

Point Grey Secondary. I had a wonderful

drama teacher, Mike Denos. I’d love to

see him again. While the rival school did

big popular musicals, we did Pinter scenes

for lunchtime entertainment, Chekhov for

after school fun, and classic comedies and

modern plays for public performances.

Why costumes? “I fell in love with

costumes as a child. My mother was in

the Vancouver Opera as a chorus soprano

for many years, and sometimes was un-

derstudy to some great stars. I would go

along with her to fittings when the cos-

tumes arrived in huge crates from Malabar

–huge ball gowns, exotic fabrics, incredi-

ble details. I’d go home and play among

mum’s crinolines, just imagining.

Did you always sew? Learned as a kid.

Do you sew your own costumes?

Yup. It’s hard to describe what’s in my

head to another person.

Board of Directors

Volume I, Issue I

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

SUNDAY, APRIL 24, 2016

3:30 p.m.

SHELLY ROAD CENTRE

PARKSVILLE, B.C.

CURRENT BARD TO BROADWAY

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Laurel Johannson President

Gary Brown Vice President

Eileen Butts Secretary

Jay Norton Treasurer

Vacancy Past President

Joanne Bush Director-at-Large

Kathy Harper Director-at-Large

Diane LeBlanc Director-at-Large

Brian Lecky Director-at-Large

Sarah McKelvey Director-at-Large

Belle Warner Director-at-Large

This is your opportunity to get involved. A new board will be elected at the AGM.

Come and see what drives B2B and find out how you can contribute to the contin-

ued success of this exciting organization. For more information, contact Gary

Brown at [email protected].

Who Knew?

Volume , Issue

The co-editor Joanne Bush has been involved with local theatre

groups for about four years. Like many people in community thea-

tre, she wears many hats. In 2012, she was in the cast of “Hello

Dolly”. The following year she took on set dressing for B2B’s pro-

duction of “Sexy Laundry:, co-produced, crewed, sewed, and set-

dressed for ECHO Player’s “Be My Baby” directed by Eileen Butts.

Next came onstage roles in ECHO’s HMS Pinafore and “Nana’s

Naughty Knickers”. In 2014 she agreed to let her name stand for a

two year term on the B2B board and that year she also was a villager

in the zany production of “The Young Frankenstein”. Last fall

Joanne ventured into the world of stage managing as ASM for

“Calendar Girls”. But would it surprise you to learn that she is also

a world class athlete? She left on March 21 for Adelaide, Australia

to participate in the World Club Crew Championships. So how

does a self-described non-athletic music nerd become a world class

athlete?

“Out of adversity comes opportunity” said Ben Franklin. In 2002

Joanne was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent treatment

for a year. It was during this time that a customer of Joanne’s in

Ontario brought her a book “How to Ride a Dragon: Women with

Breast Cancer Tell Their Stories.” The first dragon boating team in

Toronto had been started for survivors of breast cancer and Joanne

soon made contacts in Hamilton - one, a chemo nurse was actually

on a local team. By January 2003, Joanne was attending pool prac-

tice and started paddling consistently as a form of physical therapy.*

Relocating to Nanaimo in 2007, she connected with another dragon

boat breast cancer team “Angels Abreast” out of Nanoose Bay and

was with them from 2007—2013. She then took on another chal-

lenge - weight and fitness - and after being tremendously successful

at this venture, started to look for more of a paddling challenge.

She transitioned to a regular women’s team (unaffiliated with

breast cancer survivors) called Nusa’Lon Dragon…..”to tell the

story of the dragon.”

In February last year, she tried out for a high performance com-

petitive team “The Gorging Dragons” based in Victoria. Yes,

Virginia, she made the team!!!! At the Canadian Club Crew

Dragon Boat Championships in Welland, Ontario in June 2015,

this team, competing with teams from across Canada qualified

for the World Cup Crew Championships in Adelaide in April

2016. And now you know the rest of the story.

These teams receive no funding provincially or federally. To

make the long trip to Australia, the team members raised all the

required funds through personal donations plus fundraising

events. Following her races April 1-3, she has a month to travel

around beautiful Australia. We will welcome Joanne home

around May 9 with no doubt many more stories to tell, and

more challenges on the horizons. Well done, Joanne.

* Dr. Don McKenzie from UBC had launched the first dragon

boat team in 1996 as a means of studying repetitive upper body

exercise or paddling and the development of lymphedema—a

painful swelling of the arm that can be experienced by breast

cancer patients and survivors.

SPRING BREAK-A-LEG—Pepys’ Show

CRESCENDO March 20, 2016

Once January 1st rolls around

each year, Bard to Broadway

swings into action. Plays are

chosen, auditions are followed

by call-backs in February and in

March, we hold CRESCENDO.

It’s our boot camp where we

gather together the actors, direc-

tors, costumes, stage managers,

musicians-generally anyone in-

volved in our three productions.

Introductions are made, con-

tracts are signed, headshots are

taken for the program, and

publicity shots of each play are

created. Our costume team

measures everyone, and pulls

together temporary costume

pieces appropriate for each

play. Don Emerson, our pa-

tient and talented photogra-

pher, captures it all on film. It’s

like the first day of school

where excitement is high and

we can’t wait to start. It con-

tinues to build until we open

early in July.

Volume I, Issue I

Twenty-six children ages 6 to 13

turned our Shelly Rd facility into

17th century London during Spring

Break, March 14th –18th. “Pepys’

Show takes us back in history and

recalls with humour the hardships

experienced during the Restoration

of Charles II, the Bubonic Plague

and the Great Fire of London”. The

children learned about history as well as

language, literature, music , dance and dra-

ma. We had urchins, lords and ladies, rats,

Puritans, fleas and flames and a Town Crier

who kept the bursting-at-the-seams audi-

ence focussed on the action. Hilary

Whelton and her staff of Miranda Atkin-

son, Allison Shaw and Gabrielle Wratislav

are to be congratulated on the miracle

they seem to pull off every year. They

hatch a 45-60 minute costumed musi-

cal production in just five short days.

WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG???

Newsletter (as yet un-named!)

Kathy Harper, co-editor

(250) 752-3502

[email protected]

CONTACT INFORMATION

Welles picked up the phone, said

hello and pretended to listen for

a second. Then he turned to the

actress next to him, held out the

receiver and said, “It’s for you.”

Because he needed the money,

Orson Welles signed to appear

in a play where the rest of the

cast was, to put it politely, inex-

perienced. He was the only real

pro involved so on the first day

of rehearsal, he made a little

speech to the other players……

He said, “We’re going to be

doing this play for several weeks

and the law of averages dictates

that at some point, some egre-

gious mistake will be made.

Someone will miss a cue, some-

one will forget a line, something

will happen. Do not panic. I am

onstage for almost the entire

play and I have decades of acting

experience. So when something

goes wrong,” he continued, “do

not attempt to ad-lib Just leave

it to me.” Things went well until

opening night. In the middle of

Act Two, the prop man acci-

dentally rang a telephone in the

wrong scene. All the actors on

stage froze, wondering what to

do. Fortunately, Mr. Welles

announced, “I’ll get it,” and they

all relaxed, confident Orson

would handle it. They knew he

would ad-lib some sort of con-

versation and then work his way

back to the text of the play.

Bard to Broadway Theatre Society

P.O. Box 427

Qualicum Beach, B.C. V9K 1S9

Telephone: (250) 752-4470

Email: [email protected]

Website: b2btheatre.com

“Mr. Clarke played the King all evening as though under

constant fear that someone else was about to play the

Ace.”

A review of ‘King Lear’ by Eugene Field of the Denver Post.

Volume , Issue

The Community

Theatre Dictionary

Quality Theatre - any

show with which you were

directly involved.

Turkey - every show with

which you were not directly

involved.

Prop - a hand-carried ob-

ject small enough to be lost

by an actor 30 seconds be-

fore it is needed on-stage.

Monologue - that shining

moment when all eyes are

focussed on a single actor

who is desperately aware

that if he forgets a line, no

one can save him.

Joanne A. Bush, co-editor

Unavailable—rowing in Australia until early May!

COMMENTS? STORY IDEAS?

SUBMISSIONS? Please e-mail Kathy Harper at

[email protected]

Julie Christie (in a Birmingham Rep. Revue)

had to sing a blues song alone on stage. The

local daily paper said the next day: “Julie

Christie should never, ever be allowed to sing

unaccompanied on stage again!”

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