Gros Morne Theatre Festival
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| Western Brook Pond, Gros Morne National Park Photo by D. Gordon E. Robertson |
Gros
Morne National Park is a natural paradise, composed of numerous
biomes, from desolate mountains and sandy dunes to freshwater fjords, tundra mats,
landscapes of exposed mantle and forests of balsam fir. The region in and
around this UNESCO World Heritage Site also boasts a rich culture and history;
and Theatre Newfoudland Labrador (TNL)’s Gros Morne Theatre Festival annually shares
this anthropological beauty to locals and visitors alike.
Gaylene
Buckle, TNL’s General Manager, has been with the organization since 1995. She
says, “There's not much I don't love about the organization,”
sharing that TNL’s artists, staff, Board of Directors, audience, patrons and
partners have been phenomenal throughout the years. Recently Buckle talked to Arts
East about this year’s Gros Morne Festival.
When did the Gros Morne Theatre Festival
begin?
GB: The Festival began in
1996, but essentially began with the creation and performance of the Ethie dinner
theatre during the summer of 1995. Nineteen years later, the Ethie
dinner theatre remains the 'anchor' of our Gros Morne Theatre Festival. Drive
20 minutes from Cow Head to Sally's Cove and you will find the rusted remains
of the actual S.S. Ethie coastal steamer where she ran aground in
December, 1919. The Ethie tells the story of the
crew and passengers and the legend of a Newfoundland dog who some newspaper
reporters of the time credited with the safe rescue of all passengers and
crew. But was there really a Newfoundland dog or just the creative writing
of an early 20th century reporter? A number of books, a poem, a hero's collar
and a Ripley's Believe It Or Not cartoon say the dog did indeed save
those souls! Hmmmm…
For
those who have never attended the Gros More Theatre Fest, what would you like
them to know?
GB:
The
Gros Morne Theatre Festival produces a six-play repertoire theatre festival -
everything from drama, comedy, music and dinner theatre. Our plays are
presented in two venues: a 96-seat black box theatre, The Warehouse Theatre,
and our second stage venue, the Ethie Room, located next door in the
Shallow Bay Motel. The festival runs from May 31-Sept. 14 and
from mid July to the end of August you can take in two shows each night
from Tuesday to Sunday. Monday nights feature guest musical &
theatre artists in our Who's Darkening Our Door Tonight Series. There
really is something for everyone at the Gros Morne Theatre Festival. Our performance
venues are small and intimate and make the audience feel very much a part of
the action on stage.
"Our performance venues are small and intimate and make the audience feel very much a part of the action on stage."
What
are some highlights at this year's festival?
GB:
So
many highlights! We're super excited to bring our play, With Cruel
Times in Between by Sara H McDonald, which is based on the works of Al
Pittman, to our professional stage. We created this play in 2011 as part of a
Youth Theatre Island Exchange Project with Second Storey Theatre Company of
Launceston, Tasmania, and toured it along with a play from Second Storey, to
Tasmania and Newfoundland. Last year we hired an emerging artist company - The
Apprentices (thanks to the support of RBC Emerging Artists Project) and
performed it a number of times in Western Newfoundland on its own and in
conjunction with celebrations commemorating Al Pittman. This year we have
included it in our Gros Morne Theatre Festival repertoire and will be
showcasing it at Contact East in St. John's on Sept. 29, with hopes
of touring it provincially, nationally and internationally.
Another
highlight is Newfoundland Vinyl-The Flip Side, directed by
Jeff Pitcher with musical direction by Allison Crowe. The play is a musical comedy
featuring the music of Newfoundland & Labrador's singers from the 1960s,
70s and 80s. As a pretty cool offshoot of this play, Allison Crowe has
recorded a Vinyl LP - Newfoundland Vinyl - of 10 of the songs performed
in the show. The LP also comes with a digital download option for those who may
no longer have a record player in their living room.
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| Ethie Dinner Theatre Photo by Peter Buckle |
What
makes the Gros Morne Festival different from other theatre festivals?
GB: The Gros Morne
Theatre Festival's vision is to present plays that reflect the lives of rural
Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. Our Festival provides our visiting audience
with a glimpse of the culture, lifestyle and history of our part of the
world; and provides our local audience with plays that are relevant to
their lives, culture and history. Many of the plays we produce, we also
commission and create. Other plays we include in our season come from other
parts of the world, but are relevant to who we are. This year's season
includes two plays from English playwrights: Two by
Jim Cartwright, a comedy set in a rural English pub, features two actors who
take on dozens of characters, many of whom you would probably recognize from
your own community pub; and Belle of Bonavista Bay by
Philip Goulding, a comedy/drama (with lots of music) about a young modern-day
Newfoundland woman who makes the trip to Poole, England to find out more about
her ancestor Eliza Bennett, who was forced to immigrate to Newfoundland in the
1800s.
“We're super excited to bring our
play, 'With Cruel Times in Between' by Sara H McDonald, which is based on the
works of Al Pittman, to our professional stage.”
How
does Theatre Newfoundland Labrador foster regional talent and culture?
GB: Theatre Newfoundland
Labrador's mandate is to develop and maintain a
growing arts community on the west coast of Newfoundland & Labrador. We take
that very seriously and never lose sight of who we are. The majority of
professional playwrights, actors, directors and designers we contract are from
Newfoundland & Labrador and Atlantic Canada. We always leave room in
our Gros Morne Theatre Festival company for emerging artists, most of whom are
currently studying theatre at Grenfell Campus of MUN in Corner Brook. Our
technical staff come from across Canada and include students of post-secondary
theatre programs in Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia and Ontario.
Our 'story' is the centre of what we do. We
have developed a number of plays over the years and some have gone on to tour
provincially, nationally and internationally. Tempting Providence by
Robert Chafe is probably our best known production. We commissioned the
play in 2000, premiered it in 2002 and since then have performed in more than
600 times, taking it to more than 160 communities throughout Canada, the UK,
Australia and the US. Other notable commissions
and creations have been The Double Axe Murders & The
Oracle of Gros Morne by Berni Stapleton and Isle of
Demons & One Foot Wet by Robert
Chafe.
And, of course, Neddy Norris Night is a
prime example of fostering regional talent and culture. This musical show
has been part of our Gros Morne Theatre Festival since 1996, and while it takes
on a different theme each year, it always celebrates the music and stories of
our past—songs and stories that have shaped who we are today. Stephanie
Payne, a talented musician from Cow Head, has been a performer and musical
director of Neddy Norris Night for many of those years,
including 2013. She brings an honest and passionate flare to this
production. Audiences leave feeling as though they've just spent 90
minutes at a kitchen party in some small community on Newfoundland's northern
peninsula.
“It’s
about preserving our rich history through the stories we tell. It’s about
providing valuable work for talented theatre professionals and students of
theatre … the Gros Morne Theatre Festival is about keeping a community alive.”
Is
there anything you would like to add?
GB: TNL is an active
member of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT). Founded in 1979 by the late Maxim Mazumdar, Theatre
Newfoundland Labrador (TNL) operates a year-round professional theatre company
from its home base in Corner Brook. From September to May, TNL produces
professional theatre, community and youth programming in Corner Brook, a
repertory summer festival in Cow Head, Gros Morne National
Park and regular national and international touring of plays like Tempting
Providence by Robert Chafe and Stars in the Sky Morning by
Rhonda Payne. TNL is about quality theatre. It’s
about preserving our rich history through the stories we tell. It’s about
providing valuable work for talented theatre professionals and students of
theatre. And as a bonus, the Gros Morne Theatre Festival is about keeping a
community alive.
To learn more about the Gros Morne Theatre Festival, visit:
