N E W S L E T T E R

Workshop Theatre Society Newsletter - Come Play With Us! 1

The Editor’s RamblingsWelcome to the first Newsletter of 2014.  Christmas and the New Year celebrations are over and we look forward with optimism to an exciting 2014. 

Our next production is in rehearsals and is looking good.   This is an exciting play and a new work by an Alberta writer, Andrew Garland.  The play “… and Then the Lights Went Out”, starts on

February 14th and runs to February 22nd 2014.

The final production of the season is “Always Patsy Cline” by Ted Swindley which starts on May 6th and runs to May 10th 2014.  The play is based on the true story of Patsy Cline’s friendship with Houston housewife Louise Seger. 

The plays for next season are already under consideration, but before then then we have Trivia Night on March 29th.

 All this, and jokes and quotes in your Newsletter.

- Paul Brown, Editor

Calgary’s longest running community theatre since 1969 - Come Play With Us!

www.workshoptheatre.org FEBRUARY 2014 ISSUE # 8

Left to right: Jayson Therrien as “Jim” and Kayte Davies as “Claire” and Ross Hart as “Duke” in “And Then, The Lights Went Out”

W O R K S H O P T H E A T R E S O C I E T Y

2 February 2014 - Workshop Theatre Society Newsletter

“... And Then The Lights Went Out”February 14 - 22, 2014

Director: Shelby Reinitz

Written by: Andy Garland

Joyce Doolittle Theatre

A chilling saga of dames, deceit

and writer's block.  Staring down

an impossible deadline, Thomas

Levine is starting to unravel.  

Whether brought on by the heat or

the stress, the fictional characters

from his detective novel-in-

progress are dropping in on him in

his apartment, offering literary

advice and drinking all of his

liquor.   With the publisher

breathing down his  neck and the

landlady clamouring for the rent,

Thomas will have to find some way

to pull it all together and write

himself out of this mess... before

the lights go out.

Here is an article from the 40 in February 2006:

W O R K S H O P T H E A T R E S O C I E T Y

Workshop Theatre Society Newsletter - February 2014 3

Directed by Cynthia Salter-Audy, “Always, Patsy Cline” is based on the true story of Patsy Cline’s friendship with Houston housewife Louise Seger.

Having first heard Cline on the “Arthur Godfrey Show” in 1957, Seger became an immediate and avid fan of Cline’s and she constantly hounded the local disc jockey to play Cline’s records on the radio.

In 1961 when Cline went to Houston for a show, Seger and her buddies arrived about an hour-and-a-half early and, by coincidence, met Cline who was traveling alone. The two women struck up a friendship that was to culminate in Cline spending the night at Seger’s house - a friendship that lasted until Cline’s untimely death in a plane crash in 1963.

The relationship, which began as fan worship evolved into one of mutual respect. It is the kind of relationship that many fans would like to have with their heroes.

Our Next Production: Always, Patsy ClineMay 6 - 10, 2014 @ The Pumphouse Theatres - Evening performances @ 7:30 pm Tickets on sale now @ www.workshoptheatre.org

MUSICIANS WANTED!Workshop Theatre is seeking

musicians for “Always, Patsy Cline”Musicians needed who are familiar with country music or at least Patsy

Cline. Can you play the guitar, stand-up base, keyboard, fiddle or drums?

Individuals who are in a band are welcome to audition with their band.

Please contact Emily at info@workshoptheatre.org or

403-253-2002

Play includes many of Patsy’s unforgettable

hits such as “Crazy”, “I Fall to Pieces” and

“Walking After Midnight”!

“Always, Patsy Cline” features Kerrie Hart as “Patsy” and Jane Tetley Walker as “Louise”

W O R K S H O P T H E A T R E S O C I E T Y

4 Workshop Theatre Society Newsletter - Come Play With Us!

FROM WORKSHOP THEATRE’S PASTWorkshop Theatre is going to be turning the big ‘5-0’ in a couple of years.  Leading up to the big year, we are introducing “Flashback Fridays” on our blog. We are cracking open the Workshop Theatre ‘vault’ and unleashing some ‘gems’ from the past. Here’s a few:

Here’s an article from the 40th Anniversary brochure entitled “What Were You Doing 40 Years Ago?” written by the President that year:“I was riding my green Mustang bicycle, looking forward to summer holidays, and waiting with great anticipation for the upcoming mission of Apollo 11. I vividly remember the day man first set foot on the moon.  I suppose most anyone who was alive in 1969 remembers that day.Other notable events from that year include the last public performance by The Beatles, the Woodstock music festival, the first flight of the 747, John Lennon and Yoko Ono recorded “Give Peace a Chance” in their Montreal hotel room, Dave Thomas served his first hot and juicy Wendy’s hamburger, the halfpenny ceased to be legal tender in Britain, Monty Python’s Flying Circus aired its first show, the Caesar cocktail was invented at The Calgary Inn and a passionate group of community theatre lovers formed Workshop Theatre Society.Perhaps that last one is known by a somewhat smaller circle of people than many of the other events of the year, but for many of us who have been blessed to be a part of the Workshop Theatre Society, 1969 is certainly a notable year in our hearts.Workshop Theatre has an incredible history… many of Workshop’s alumni have gone on to have very successful professional careers on stage, on TV and in film, both in front of the cameras and behind the scenes.  Of course, for the majority of our volunteers, Workshop Theatre is

simply their ‘theatre home’, a safe place where they can explore and express their creativity and love for live theatre.”The earliest play on record in this brochure is “Witness for the Prosecution”by Agatha Christie and directed by Louis B. Hobson.  This play was produced in 1971 at the Allied Arts Centre in Calgary, a converted tractor showroom at 9th Ave and 8th St SW that later became known as the QR Centre.

Here is an article from the 40th Anniversary Season brochure entitled “In The Beginning” written by Jack Goth, Past President of Workshop Theatre Society.  Jack was a pioneer in the Calgary arts scene.  He passed away in February 2006:“In the early 1940′s a very talented and highly dedicated teacher taught drama in Room 14 at Western Canada High School.  Her name was Miss Betty Mitchell and her methods were decidedly avant-garde.  Her pupils were so inspired to continue in theatre after leaving high school that Miss Mitchell constituted for them an amateur theatre company  This was the birth of “Workshop 14″, the forerunner of Workshop Theatre.  Workshop 14 was inclined to the classics and “meaty dramas”, and year after year won coveted awards at the Dominion Drama Festival.From 1959 through 1965, Workshop 14 thrived.  It mounted the inaugural drama production (“Teahouse of the August Moon”) in the brand new Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium.  It later amalgamated with the “Musicians and Actors Club”, housed in the old Isis Movie House , across the railway tracks on First Street S.W., and became “Mac 14″.  Those were wonderful years with an excellent theatre upstairs and an exciting night club downstairs, and it became clear that Mac 14 was evolving rapidly into a professional theatre group in Calgary.  It was at the end of this era that we pick up the threads of Workshop Theatre.

When Theatre Calgary emerged from Mac 14, it was felt that an amateur arm should continue in the footsteps of what had been a noble constituent of Calgary’s community theatre scene.  The predominance of membership in this newly constituted continuation of Workshop Theatre 14 happened to be British in origin, so it was not surprising that the new Workshop Theatre embarked on a long and successful run of English plays, mainly farces with their typical sexual overtones and those famous British “Who-Dun-Its”.  I was privileged to direct and act in several of them.  In recent years, however, the choices have seen some modification from that pattern to a more eclectic fare.”

IN MEMORIAMJames Smythe passed away February 3, 2014 in Nanaimo, B.C. He was born in Gateshead on September 30, 1925, grew up in Doncaster, England and served for 4 years in the R.A.F. as a radar technician. He immigrated to Canada in 1953, and after a year in Montreal moved to Calgary where he met his wife Jean at Stanolind Oil Company (Amoco Petroleum, now B.P.) Jim and Jean moved from Calgary to Nanaimo after his retirement in 1986. Jim’s grieving family - Jean, children (Steve (Ingrid), Anne (Marco) and Hilary (Allard), and grandchildren Sappho, Camille, Rigel, Evan and Dominic will always remember a wonderful loving man. His lifelong avocation was the theatre as actor, stage manager, set designer / builder in Doncaster, Montreal, Calgary and Nanaimo, receiving accolades for many performances in particular his role as Bill Sykes in “Oliver”. A stroke in 2011 had Jim and Jean moving to Nanaimo Seniors Village. James was Workshop Theatre’s board Treasurer in the 1970’s and is fondly remembered. Workshop Theatre will make a donation to the Alzheimer Society in his memory.(Obituary courtesy of Calgary Herald)

W O R K S H O P T H E A T R E S O C I E T Y

Workshop Theatre Society Newsletter - Come Play With Us! 5

The Actor’s Vocabulary

ETERNITY:  The time that passes between a dropped cue and the next line.

PROP:  A hand-carried object small enough to be lost by an actor exactly 30 seconds before it is needed on stage.

DIRECTOR:  An individual who suffers from the delusion that he/she is responsible for every moment of brilliance cited by the critic in the local review.

QUALITY THEATRE:  Any show with which one was directly involved.

TURKEY: Any show with which one was NOT directly involved.

DRESS REHEARSAL:   The final rehearsal during which actors forget everything learned in the two previous weeks as they attempt to navigate the 49 new objects and set pieces that the set designer/director has added to the set at just prior to the DRESS REHEARSAL.

MONOLOGUE: That shining moment when all eyes are focused on a single actor who is desperately aware that if he forgets a line, no one can save him.

BIT PART: An opportunity for the actor with the smallest role to count everybody else's lines and mention repeatedly that he or she has the smallest part in the show.

ACTOR [as defined by a set designer]:  That person who stands between the audience and the set designer's art, blocking the view.

STAGE RIGHT/STAGE LEFT:  Two simple directions actors pretend not to understand in order to drive directors crazy. (e.g. "...No, no, your OTHER stage right!!!!")

CREW:  Group of individuals who spend their evenings coping with 50-minute stretches of total boredom interspersed with 30-second bursts of mindless panic.

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR:  Individual willing to undertake special projects that nobody else would take on a bet, such as working one-on-one with the brain-dead actor whom the rest of the cast and crew (including the director) has threatened to take out a contract on.

And finally, remember this: "It's only theatre until it offends someone...then it's ART!"

Quotes from Oscar Wilde

“Work is the refuge of people who have nothing better to do”.      “The old believe everything, the middle-aged suspect everything,  the young know everything”. “A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.” “I am not young enough to know everything”. “This wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death.  Either it goes or I do”.  (famous last words)

“Alas, I am dying beyond my means”       

Follow Workshop Theatre on Pinterest for more funny theatre images and quotes!http://www.pinterest.com/workshoptheatre/

W O R K S H O P T H E A T R E S O C I E T Y

6 February 2014 - Workshop Theatre Society Newsletter

Our Last Production

Miracle on 34th Street has become a firm Christmas favourite.  It started out as a Christmas film starring Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn. The story takes place in New York City, and focuses on the impact of a department store Santa Claus who claims to be the real Santa. The film won Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Edmund Gwenn), Best Writing, Original Story (Valentine Davies) and Best Writing, Screenplay. It was also

nominated for Best Picture.  

 Performing such a well-known play on stage has its challenges, because of comparisons with the original, but Workshop Theatre certainly pulled it off.  This was an enchanting evening that with some memorable performances, cute elves and carolers.  Just the thing to get you into the Christmas mood.   In fact, a performance to please the entire family.  If you started off the evening as a bah humbug grump, you finished the evening as a believer (or at least wanting to believe)The audience enjoyed the evening and the cast seemed to enjoy the experience. – Paul Brown

Christmas Open House

What a wonderful way to celebrate the Christmas season with our Workshop family and friends. With the hard work of Santa’s Elves, the rehearsal space was transformed into a sparkling Christmas Party Land. With an abundance of tasty treats and libations a festive time was had by both Old-Time and New Workshop participants. Many thanks to Santa’s Elves and Brent Brennan, Jeremy Mackenzie, Emily Brennan, Amanda Brennan, Christine Probert, Kathleen Giffin and Angela Giffin. I could not have done without your talented and enthusiastic help. - Jacquie Brennan (Santa’s Lead Elf)

Kris Kringle and some of the cast of “Miracle on 34th Street” in November 2013

W W W . W O R K S H O P T H E A T R E . O R G

February 2014 - Workshop Theatre Society Newsletter 7

Social EventsFilm NightOn Friday, January 24th 2014 we resumed the popular Film Nights at the Space. The featured film was “Touching the Void” an amazing true story of courage and endurance photographed with stunning mountain scenery.

In 1985, Simon Yates and Joe Simpson attempted a first ascent of the West Face of Siula Grande in Peru. They successfully reached the summit, but that was the easy part. They descended via the North Ridge, but disaster struck on the way down. Simpson slipped down an ice cliff and landed awkwardly and broke his right leg. The light was failing and the weather deteriorating. They needed to descend quickly to the glacier below.

Yates proceeded to lower Simpson. The storm conditions got worse and it was dark. Yates inadvertently

lowered Simpson off a cliff. Yates could not see or hear Simpson; he could only feel that Simpson had all of his weight on the rope somewhere below him.

The pair were stuck in a terrible situation. Simpson could not climb up and Yates could not pull him back up. The cliff was too high for Simpson to be safely lowered down. Because they were tied together, they would both be pulled to their deaths. Yates finally made the tough decision to cut the rope in order to save his own life.

When the rope was cut, Simpson plummeted down the cliff into a deep crevasse. Exhausted and suffering from hypothermia, Yates dug himself a snow cave to wait out the storm. The next day Yates climbed down the mountain alone. When he reached the crevasse he saw the situation that Simpson had been in and what must have happened when he cut the rope. After calling

repeatedly for Simpson and hearing no reply, he assumed that Simpson was dead and continued down the mountain.

Amazingly Simpson was still alive. Despite his broken leg, he had survived the 150 foot fall and landed on a small ledge inside the crevasse. When he regained consciousness he saw that the rope had been cut and realized that Yates presumed that he was dead. He was on his own. His only option was to lower himself deeper into the crevasse and hope that there was another way out. He found a small entrance and climbed back onto the glacier.

Simpson spent three days without food and with almost no water, crawling and hopping the five miles back to their base camp. Exhausted and almost completely delirious, he reached base camp only a few hours before Yates planned to leave- Paul Brown

Workshop Theatre ContactsBob Cooper — President - pres@workshoptheatre.org Alan LeBoeuf — 1st Vice PresidentJeremy McKenzie — 2nd Vice PresidentChristine Probert — TreasurerDoug Koroluk — SecretaryKayte Davies — Artistic DirectorAnita Dodd — Media Coordinator - media@workshoptheatre.org Jacquie Brennan - Administration - Member at Large - info@workshoptheatre.org Paul Brown - Newsletter Editor - Member at Large

Workshop Theatre Society Office & Rehearsal SpaceBay 10, 415 - 60 Avenue SECalgary, AlbertaT2H 2J5

Administration: 403-253-2002Box Office / Tickets: 403-246-2999Website: www.workshoptheatre.org Blog: http://workshoptheatre.wordpress.com Facebook: workshoptheatresocietyTwitter: @WTheatreInstagram: workshoptheatrePinterest: workshoptheatre

Biography - Bob Cooper, President of Workshop Theatre SocietyI think I have been involved in theatre as long as I can remember. I was 13 when I was in my first movie. My first show with Workshop Theatre was in 1983 and working on the board

since 1986. Since then I have enjoyed working on almost every show for WTS.

Favourite Music: Anything I can dance toLove to play games: balderdash, things, etc.Favourite movies: Too many to mentionFavourite car: Cooper ... of course

Mark Your Calendars!Quiz Night - March 29, 2014Willy Awards - June 7, 2014

Please note that Oscar Night on Sunday, March 2, 2014 is cancelled