This summer you can travel to Rosebud and enjoy a family-friendly and thoroughly entertaining production of the Rogers and Hammerstein much beloved musical The Sound of Music. The story is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers and contains many popular songs including “Do-Re-Mi”, “My Favorite Things”, “Sixteen Going on Seventeen”, “Edelweiss”, “Climb Every Mountain”, “So Long, Farewell”, and the title song, “The Sound of Music”.
The original Broadway production won five Tony Awards including Best Musical and the play was adapted into the 1965 film starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer and went on to win five Academy Awards including Best Picture.
The story is set in 1938 Austria in the dark days leading up to the start of World War II and shortly before Germany annexed The Federal State of Austria into the German Reich. Against this backdrop we meet Maria who has taken a job as governess to the seven von Trapp children while she decides whether or not to become a nun.
Maria soon finds herself bonding with the children and eventually falling in love with their widowed father Captain von Trapp. Once Germany marches into Austria the Captain is ordered to report to the German navy but because of his opposition to the Nazis he and Maria devise a plan to flee Austria with the children.
In the Rosebud Theatre production, Cassia Schmidt as Maria and Ian Farthing as Captain von Trapp lead a talented cast that captures the joyful spirit of the show in a terrific production that will have you humming along to all your favourite tunes.
JAMES HUTCHISON
The Sound of Music was a huge hit when it came out and it has remained a much beloved musical and I was wondering what you think are the qualities that make it so popular.
CASSIA SCHMIDT
It’s a love story. Two love stories actually. It’s a story about someone that doesn’t belong, which is always good fun for a musical. And she finds a place where she belongs. And then the story is set in World War II which is such a dramatic time in our history, and it’s based on a true story. And I think at the heart of it we love Maria, and we’re rooting for her, and we want this family to win. At the core, I think we want people to find each other and find a place where they belong.
JAMES
You say we want people to find each other and in the story, Maria falls in love with the Captain and he her. Why do you think they fall in love?
CASSIA
I think it’s the same reason anyone falls in love. It just works for them for some reason. They shouldn’t fall in love because they’re from different classes and there’s an age difference between them and they’ve lived completely different lives. But for them, it just worked. There’s a kind of magic to falling in love. And it’s so personal, too, right? This is the big question, James. How do people fall in love?
JAMES
I read in an interview you gave to Louis Hobson in the Herald that there are parallels between your own story and Maria’s story. Maria is uncertain about whether or not she should devote her life to God or follow a different path. And you said you’d had a similar struggle. What was that journey like for you and how did you go about choosing a life of music and family and performance?
CASSIA
My biggest kind of discerning time was in my teenage years. I really felt a call and I was really attracted to the cloister. It’s a really romantic kind of idea to be contemplative and to be in community and to be separate from the world and married to God. But all these orders that I looked at never quite felt like the right place for me and I never quite got as far down the road as Maria does as actually entering a convent. I have stayed in some convents through travel and through friends and I loved staying with the sisters and there’s just something magic about a holy place. And I was really attracted to that.
And then I just thought I don’t think that’s quite where I’m called so where do I go now? And that’s when I ended up coming to Rosebud. I came here as a student. I did the program here. And the first mainstage show I did was Man of La Mancha. And we did something like ninety shows that summer. Ninety performances. And I remember about twenty shows in thinking this is awesome. If we close tomorrow, I would feel like I had a good experience. And then in my next thought, I realized that there are seventy more shows and I felt this calling because I realized this show isn’t about me it’s about what I get to offer to each new audience that comes to see it whether I feel like it or not on that particular day.
And I think there’s something about the self-sacrifice that the theatre asks for, as well as we’re in community together doing this show hoping to change hearts and hoping to inspire people. And, you know, a theatre does feel like a holy place a lot of the time. So, it was coming here that really affirmed for me that the theatre is the church I’m called to. And then I found someone that I love, and we have a family, and it didn’t feel like a big “Aha!” decision. Instead, it felt like I pieced it together and I followed a thread until it became so clear that this is where I belong.
JAMES
The play has several young performers playing the von Trapp children, and so it provides an opportunity to pass on musical knowledge and mentor up-and-coming theatre artists. In what ways do you think mentorship is important for helping young people navigate their own professional development and life’s journey?
CASSIA
I’ve benefited from it. It’s such an integral part of what we do here in Rosebud. We call our training the Mentorship Program. So, we really believe in it. It’s like the good old 4-H club I was in when I was a kid. The 4-H model is – learn to do by doing.
You can go to a lot of classes, and you can read a lot about how to be an actor but standing on stage with an audience who will never lie to you because the audience is very clear about what they like and what they don’t like is indispensable. And you have a group of actors to support you and to be with you. And I think theatre can offer you a sense that you have value, and it builds confidence and it builds a sense of body and voice. And you don’t have to be the Gretel from the movie, you yourself are the perfect Gretel, and you yourself have so much to offer.
JAMES
Tell me what audiences can look forward to experiencing when they see the show.
CASSIA
I think this show is so beautifully cast and everybody is so well suited to their role. And what I’ve been seeing from our audience is a nostalgia in a way that no other show I’ve done before has had. I’ve done Anne of Green Gables – I’ve done Oliver! – and I’ve done some other musicals where people know them pretty well. But because The Sound of Music movie is so embedded in our culture people know this story and they remember watching it with their grandmother and they love this story in a way that’s physical and whatever their connection is to the story we can feel it in the show.
From the very first performance, we felt it as soon as we started the music because some people sing a little bit, or they repeat a line, and you hear them sighing or crying or laughing. And I was like, “Wow, people love this show.” And isn’t that wonderful that they get to come to see a show that they love and I’m happy to share it with them because I love the story too. It’s part of my childhood.
JAMES
I know you also produce original music with your most recent release called The Lullaby Project: Songs for the Sleep Deprived. Tell me a little bit about that project and how that came about.
CASSIA
It was my COVID project. I actually just wanted to do a writing project around parenthood and lullabies and to collaborate with people. And I’m a mom. We have three kids. We have a four-year-old, a two-year-old, and a four-month-old. And before I was a mom, I always thought what a romantic idea to rock your kids to sleep but instead it’s often frustrating and you’re tired and it’s not working. And so that’s why I call it songs for the sleep deprived. It’s more about songs for parents rather than songs that might put your baby to sleep.
And my favourite song I co-wrote with Lauren Hamm and Paul Zacharias we called “Time Go Easy”. We sat together and just talked about being parents and how there’s a saying that being a parent is saying goodbye to a child over and over again because the baby is gone now. You’ll never see that baby again, but now you’re saying hello to a toddler. And then you’ll never see that toddler again because now there’s this child, and now all of a sudden there’s this teenager, and then there’s this adult before me, right? So, we all had a good cry, and then we went off and we wrote this song that’s our pride and joy from the album.
JAMES
What do you think it is about music that makes it such an important part of people’s lives?
CASSIA
I think it’s something Morris Ertman our director said at the end of rehearsals about the show. “This show is about music changing people’s hearts and wouldn’t that be amazing if that’s what we get to do all summer for audiences.” It’s like a softening of the heart and I think it’s a physical experience for us. Music has rhythm – like our heartbeat. Like our mom’s heartbeat. Like our family’s heartbeat. And I think when we’re listening to music, we’re part of the music. There’s something physical about it that goes into our spine and into our memory and into our feelings in a way that nothing else really can. So, just like falling in love – it’s magic. (Laughs) Everything’s magic.
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Catch The Sound of Music at Rosebud Theatre until September 2nd. Tickets are available through the Rosebud Theatre Website or by calling the Box Office at 1-800-267-7553.
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder by Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak at Stage West Calgary is one of the most entertaining and fun shows I’ve seen on a Calgary stage. This production is outstanding, and I guarantee you’ll be delighted and amused and laughing at the exploits of Monty Navarro as he plots and murders his way into high society.
The Tony Award winning A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder tells the story of Monty Navarro whose mother was cast out and disinherited by the D’Ysquith family when she married for love. Monty and his mother are forced to live in poverty as the D’Ysquith family remains unmoved by his mother’s appeals for reconciliation. When Monty’s mother dies and Monty learns the truth of his birth and that he’s eighth in line for an earldom he sets about to avenge his mother’s death and take his rightful place as head of the family.
The book, songs, and music from a Gentleman’s Guide are smart, fun, and witty, but having great source material only works if you have an exceptionally talented cast to pull it off, and director Mark Bellamy’s production has assembled a stellar cast that works seamlessly together. Kate Blackburn as Sibella and Ellen Denny as Phoebe are pitch perfect and hilarious as the women in Monty’s life who tempt him, tease him, and manipulate him based on their own desires and ambitions. Tyler Murree shows he has a real gift for farce as he portrays every member of the D’Ysquith family with an air of comic pomposity and entitlement. And Sayer Roberts plays Monty Navarro with all the charm of Cary Grant and the elegance of Fred Astaire making Monty one of the most gracious and likeable rogues you’ll ever meet.
The play is filled with memorable and smart songs including, I Don’t Understand the Poor, Better With a Man, and I Will Marry You as Monty knocks off his relatives one by one on his quest to become the Ninth Earl of Highhurst. Will Monty succeed or will he get caught? Will fate lend a hand? Will he marry Phoebe? Will he always love Sibella? You’ll have to see it in order to find out.
This is easily a five-star production and worthy of two thumbs up. In fact, it’s so good I’m seeing it again, and I’d highly recommend you see it before it closes, because you’ll have a darn good time, and this production won’t be available on demand. Theatre and live performance is the ultimate “here for a limited time” experience.
I sat down with the director of the show Mark Bellamy and actor Sayer Roberts who plays Monty, the Wednesday before the finale of Game of Thrones, to talk with them about the play, musical theatre, and our predictions of who will sit on the Iron Throne.
JAMES HUTCHISON
How did you both get involved in the Canadian premiere of A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder here at Stage West?
MARK BELLAMY
I’ve loved this show from the minute I’d heard about it. I love the music and I’m a huge fan of this style of musical theatre. There’s a lot of old school techniques that have been put into the writing and the structure of it. So, I learned they were doing it while I was here directing Baskerville last year, and they announced their season, and I was like, “Ah you’re doing Gentleman’s Guide.” And Kira Campbell who’s the Artistic Associate said, “Yeah we’ll get you for Gentleman’s Guide or for this other show, and I’m not sure which one to put you on.” And I was like, “Oh God, please put me on Gentleman’s Guide.” And they did.
SAYER ROBERTS
I saw it ages ago when they did the performance on the Tony Awards, and for a lot of Canada that was the first time any of us had seen or heard anything about the show. And I remember watching it and asking, “What is this amazing show?” And then I got a chance to see the show a couple of years later on Broadway, and I instantly knew that this was one show that I would very much like to do. And the fellow doing it too – he wasn’t the original – he was a replacement – but he was incredible, and I thought, “That’s what I aspire to be as a performer.” So, when the audition posting came out that Stage West was doing this I know that myself and almost every other Canadian was, “What? They’re doing this. I have to be a part of it.”
JAMES
The stars aligned.
SAYER
Exactly.
MARK
Yeah, they sure did.
SAYER
So, I went into the audition with a healthy dose of the cynicism that you always have to have as an actor, “This isn’t my show yet. I’m just going to lay down what I can do and show them what I would bring to the role, and if it happens, it happens, and if it doesn’t you move on.” But as soon as I walked into the room and Mark was there and Kira and Konrad Pluta, the musical director, and we started working on material I really felt like Mark gets this show, and I really wanted to work on it. It was a really fun audition, and I just felt good about it regardless of if I got the part or not, and as an actor you have to take that as a win. It doesn’t matter if you get the show or not. That’s not in your control. So, I left the audition going, “That was really fun, and I had a good time, and I feel like I established a good relationship with the people who are in the room and if that gets me the job that remains to be seen.” It was just one of those things where I felt this could work really well.
JAMES
Mark, I’m curious about how much you look at the individual and how much you look at the chemistry between the actors when you’re casting a show?
MARK
That’s hugely important to me. I’ve always said that one of my superpowers as a director is that I cast really well. And you don’t just cast the individual roles. You have to cast the rehearsal hall. You have to cast people that are going to work well together and especially in a show like this that has a long run you have to cast people who are going to get along well, and after many years of doing this I have a pretty good sense of who a person is and how they’re going to fit the room. Like Sayer said, so many people were excited to do the show – we had over seven hundred submissions between Toronto, Calgary, and the West Coast, and we saw probably two-hundred of those people either in person or via video because everyone wanted to be in this show. So, I was really fortunate that I got to pick from an incredible pool of talent.
JAMES
Have you ever had that amount of choice before?
MARK
Never.
JAMES
Are you spoiled now?
MARK
Yes. (Laughs) I’m really spoiled. Especially after working with these guys because there are some really distinct requirements for this show. You have to have people who have legitimately trained voices. Who can sing without a pop sound and these guys all can – as you’ve heard. Especially Sayer, Kate, and El – that trio of voices has to be so clean and they’re extraordinary. And I can’t actually think of anybody else in Canada I’d want to do this show with other than these people. I’ve been saying this – even before rehearsals started – that I have the best cast in the country, and this will be the cast that you will have to beat from now on.
JAMES
This needs to go on tour.
MARK
I would put this production on any stage in Canada.
JAMES
This is one of my favourite shows I’ve seen at Stage West in the last ten years.
MARK
I think it’s one of the best things I’ve ever seen here. And not that I’m biased because I directed it – but I am. (Laughs) I love the show, and because it was the Canadian premiere we worked really hard, and I was able to get these incredible performers. I was like, “We have to make this good. We can’t compromise anywhere. We have to push and push and push to make it as good as we possibly can.”
JAMES
I’ve been telling people about it and saying you’re going to like it – young or old you’re going to like this show. What do you think are the elements in this play that make it work so well?
MARK
I think there is something about a charming villain that we love. He’s like the antihero. But he is supremely charming, and we root for him. It helps that all of the people he offs, for the most part, have a slightly despicable edge to them or are deserving of their deaths in some way. But I think we love to see someone who’s an underdog and a bit of an outsider succeed in spite of all the odds, and it satisfies that part of our soul that goes, “I know he should get caught but he’s not going to and that’s so great!”
SAYER
The writing is why it appeals to me. It’s the book and the lyrics and the melodies. And it’s like a mixture of Oscar Wilde and Noel Coward and Noises Off and the classic British farce and Gilbert and Sullivan. It’s just such a perfect marriage of all of the mediums coming together to create such an exquisitely written piece. And I think, just like Mark was saying, the antihero charmingness – the fun farce side of it – he’s murdering people and yet this is fun, and there’s the underdog story, and it’s all bouncy and light from the beginning. It’s an entertaining show.
MARK
And there’s a lot of great humour in it. So, there’s that aspect and also the aspect that we have one actor, Tyler Murree, playing all of the D’Ysquith family. That’s a fun little tour de force. And it plays into that theatrical convention, and it gives the audience a bit of that, “Oh we know what’s going on. We’re in on the joke.”
SAYER
As if the show isn’t funny enough already it just bumps it up so much more once the audience starts to catch on that that’s the same guy…
JAMES
…and he’s playing all the parts…
MARK
…and it’s really clever, and it starts out really slowly, and as you escalate towards the end of act one you just suddenly start to rip through these people. Like literally in scene eleven – which is the ultimate finale of act one – there are four times where he changes characters and comes in and out.
JAMES
Well, on a show like this just how vital is that backstage crew for you?
SAYER
This show would not be possible without a dynamite costume crew and running crew.
MARK
There are two crew members who are dedicated to doing nothing but changing Tyler Murree into all the D’Ysquiths. And all of those costumes had to be constructed.
SAYER
So, he might be wearing a full suit, but it’s all connected with a zipper in the back.
MARK
So, shirt, tie, vest, jacket it’s all one thing.
JAMES
One piece that he can step into and out of.
MARK
Because for some of his costume changes he’s literally got fifteen seconds.
JAMES
That’s part of the magic for the audience. Didn’t he just leave and then he comes back.
MARK
I think we’re so good at it that sometimes people don’t realize what just happened, because it’s so seamless and he’s coming out so calmly that sometimes you don’t realize he’s just made an immense costume change.
JAMES
So, in terms of the production, how do the costumes and the set add to the overall experience of seeing the play.
SAYER
Well for me as an actor whenever I put on a costume it instantly amps up by twenty percent whatever the character was before in rehearsal and that’s particularly true when you’re doing period dramas. Costumes give you the aesthetic, and it definitely adds to the British sensibility of the show, and it changes how you move, how you sit, how you stand. I know for the women wearing those kinds of dresses and with their trains behind them it completely changes things for them. I didn’t have to deal with that as much because I simply wear high waisted suspender pants which I could live the rest of my life in very comfortably. (Laughs) And Monty goes from poor to slowly getting richer and the changing of the jackets really helped with that. That’s a real juxtaposition from starting with a rather old well-loved jacket that literally has pockets that are falling apart to ultimately finishing in a tux.
MARK
I think the set and the costumes are so vital to this show which was another challenge for Stage West because we need these Edwardian costumes, and that’s not something Stage West has a ton of sitting in their storage room, because they don’t do a lot of shows like this. So, a lot of this had to be created. Leslie Robison-Greene who is our costume designer is a genius. It was just incredible what she came with, what she was able to construct while she was here, and what she was able to adapt.
JAMES
Are there any particular songs that you just love and why?
MARK
I’ve Decided to Marry You, I think, is the pinnacle of the show.
JAMES
Is that the one with the two doors where he has Sibella in one room and Phoebe in the other room and he’s trying to keep them apart?
SAYER
Yes. I think with the exception of the bench scene from Carousel between Billy and Julie there’s no better example of musical theatre than the doors. I shouldn’t say of any musical theatre because there are lots of different genres but going for musical comedy there’s nothing better than that door scene.
MARK
It so hits the peak of the farce that the show is and that kind of encapsulates the whole thing. I think one of the things that’s beautiful about the music is that even though it echoes the British Music Hall and it echoes Gilbert and Sullivan it does it in such a way that it’s a homage that doesn’t copy it, and it doesn’t feel antiquated.
SAYER
It’s accessible.
MARK
It’s accessible and very modern and every single song carries the story forward and that to me is the hallmark of a really good musical.
JAMES
It reminds me a lot of My Fair Lady.
MARK
Yeah.
SAYER
It’s very Lerner and Loewe.
JAMES
I Don’t Understand the Poor really reminds me of…
SAYER
Why Can’t the English
JAMES
Yes, but it feels fresh and original.
MARK
I’m a huge fan of the Golden Age Musicals of the late fifties to mid-sixties, and this really does echo back to that era when all the great American musicals were being produced.
JAMES
So, what is it about musical theatre that adds to a theatrical experience? What does the music bring?
SAYER
Well, there’s an old saying, or a piece of wisdom, or whatever you want to call it, that says, “When you have something to express you speak it. If you can’t speak it – you sing it. If you can’t sing it – you dance it.” And the progression of that so perfectly encapsulates what musical theatre is. And in good musical theatre there is a reason the character is singing. I love speaking Shakespeare. I love speaking monologues and straight plays, but there is nothing quite as deep as you can get into, in my experience, as you can in musical theatre when you sing words that are accompanied with some kind of soaring melody that is an expression of the turmoil or the joy or whatever is going on inside the character. Scientifically music evokes a different part of our brain so the audience tunes into it on a different level. So when you mix the emotion that you can gain from poetry and the emotion you can get from a piece of orchestral music and you put that together that’s double the amount of emotion you could have alone by itself.
MARK
Music is visceral. It just is. It affects you in a different place, and I think it carries emotion in a way that a scene – I mean not that scenes can’t – but it just heightens everything, right? Which is what I think that saying is about. As you continue to heighten and heighten and heighten – the song heightens the scene and the dance heightens the song. And I think it’s thrilling to watch, and I think it’s also thrilling to watch really talented performers who can sing the way that these guys sing, and when you hear these voices it’s stunning, and it’s beautiful. So, I think that’s part of it because I started my career as a performer doing musicals, so they hold a special place in my heart because I think you can move an audience in a way with a musical that you can’t with a straight play.
JAMES
Well speaking of moving an audience, why should an audience come see this show?
SAYER
I think it’s probably because they’ve never seen a show like this before. And if you like British Farce, if you like musicals, if you like comedy and drama – you’ll like this.
MARK
It’s got a bit of everything. And I think it’s probably one of the most entertaining evenings you’ll spend in a theatre for a very long time. It’s ridiculously fun. It’s ridiculously entertaining.
JAMES
Okay, quick question for both of you – off topic – do either of you watch Game of Thrones?
MARK
Oh, God yes.
SAYER
I haven’t started yet.
MARK
Not any of it?
SAYER
No.
JAMES
I’m interviewing you now, but by the time this gets published the finale will have aired this coming Sunday. So, Mark who do you think is going to end up on the Iron Throne?
MARK
Oh, God.
JAMES
I’ll tell you who I think.
MARK
I don’t know. If you asked me that two weeks ago I would have had a different answer, but now after seeing what just happened…I think it’s going to be Arya.
JAMES
Oh, interesting.
MARK
I think she’s the only one who isn’t conflicted in some way who can actually do it.
JAMES
Interesting choice. My choice is Tyrion in the South, Sansa in the North, and Jon goes back to his direwolf.
MARK
I read a whole article comparing it to Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and how you know Frodo doesn’t stay – he ends up going to the Gray Havens and that Jon Snow is Frodo and he won’t stay. He wouldn’t be happy on the throne. But that’s an interesting theory – that it splits. That might be it.
JAMES
Who knows? I’ve been wrong about so much.
MARK
Who saw any of this coming? Who saw that last episode coming? It will be interesting to see what happens. I had this random thought the other day that the only other person it could possibly be is Gendry because he’s actually been legitimized.
JAMES
Oh yeah.
MARK
She made him a Lord. He’s actually been acknowledged as a Baratheon. Spoiler! He’s the last and technically the Baratheons are kind of still on the throne. Anyway…
JAMES
…we shall see.
SAYER
I just love that.
MARK
People are so invested.
SAYER
And it just shows you that people need this stuff in their lives so much so that here we are talking about something fictitious and completely meaningless in the rest of the trajectory of our life and our world and politics and everything and yet it matters so much to us what happens to these characters and that’s why we’re engaged, and that’s why entertainment is not frivolous.
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
Book and Lyrics by Robert L. Freedman Music and Lyrics by Steven Lutvak Based on the novel by Roy Horniman
CAST
Mark Allan – Ensemble, The Magistrate, Mr. Gorby & others Alicia Barban – Ensemble, Miss Evangeline Barley & others Understudy for Phoebe D’Ysquith Kate Blackburn – Sibella Hallward Emily Dallas – Ensemble, Tour Guide, Pub Owner’s Wife & others Understudy for Sibella Hallward Ellen Denny – Phoebe D’Ysquith Katherine Fadum – Ensemble, Lady Eugenia D’Ysquith & others Understudy for Miss Shingle Sarah Gibbons – Ensemble, Understudy for Female Ensemble roles Jeremy LaPalme – Ensemble, Understudy for The D’Ysquith Family Luke Marty – Ensemble, Tom Copley, Dr. Pettibone, Guard & others Understudy for Monty Navarro Tyler McKinnon – Ensemble, Detective Pinckney, Pub Owner & others Tyler Murree – The D’Ysquith Family Sayer Roberts – Monty Navarro Elizabeth Stepkowski-Tarhan – Miss Shingle
THE BAND
Konrad Pluta – Musical Director/Keyboards Rob Hutchinson – Bass sub Jonathan D. Lewis – Violin Jim Murray – Trumpet sub Keith O’Rourke – Clarinet Sean Perrin – Clarinet sub Jason Valleau – Bass Andre Wickenheiser – Trumpet
CREATIVE TEAM
Mark Bellamy – Director & Musical Staging Konrad Pluta – Musical Director Howard Pechet – Executive Producer David Fraser – Set Designer Leslie Robison-Greene – Costume Designer Norman Macdonald – Wig Designer Anton de Groot – Lighting Designer Michael Gesy – Sound Designer/Head of Audio Shane Ellis – Scenic Artist Kira Campbell – Production Manager Artistic Associate Sean D. Ellis – Technical Director Ashley Rees – Stage Manager Darcy Foggo – Assistant Stage Manager Jennifer Yeung – Apprentice Stage Manager Taisa Chernichko – Dresser Chris Cooper – Followspot Operator
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
“Everything I do is to survive. What’s going on out there, and what’s going on in here. You think I’m not counting down the days? I can feel my mind unravelling at the seams. Waking up in the night, cold sweats, my heart pounding so hard I think my ribs are gunna’ crack. I can’t tell what’s fucken’ real anymore there’s this banging and drilling on the walls like someone’s hammering away – is it real? I don’t know.”
CONNER from the Play Come Home by JC Charlton
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Living in Australia and working on the oil rigs far from home Connor Evans a young Calgary man finds himself falling deeper and deeper into a life of drug abuse and criminal activity. Come Home is a raw and honest play about addiction, the importance of friendship, and second chances.
The play is based on the real-life experience of Christopher Scott who along with his friend JC Charlton presented the play at the 2017 Calgary One Act Play Festival and the 2017 Alberta Provincial One Act Play Festival where it won several awards including Best Overall Performance and Best Original Script.
Now two years later the play has been workshopped and expanded and is being presented by Urban Stories Theatre from May 1st to 11th in the Motel Theatre at the Arts Commons. Tickets are $20.00 for adults and $15.00 for students, seniors, and artists and are available online at www.urbanstoriestheatre.org
I sat down with JC and Chris, while they were in rehearsals, to talk with them about how the play came about and what message they want audiences to remember.
JAMES HUTCHISON
Come Home is inspired by your real-life experience of becoming involved in the drug trafficking world in Australia when you were there and eventually being given a second chance. Why did you want to tell your story?
CHRIS SCOTT
For the longest time, it was like a dark spot on the soul. I still held it deeply internally and it just started to eat away at me. I didn’t talk about it to anyone but when this opportunity arose to tell this story as part of the Calgary Regional One Act Play Festival I thought what better way to make something creative and positive come out of something dark and negative.
JAMES
How much of the play is based on real life and how much is poetic license?
JC CHARLTON
We’re saying it’s inspired by a true story. We’re not saying it is a true story. For example, we combined two different people from Chris’s life into one character that became our antagonist. The events we show were events that happened to Chris but at different times and with different people and we just lumped them together so we changed the timeline, so we could tell a story that had a solid beginning, middle and end.
JAMES
I know it’s a personal story but was there some sort of moral message you wanted to convey in the telling of the story?
CHRIS
Yes, you always have to stay positive because there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel it’s just sometimes you have to tough it out to get there. Looking back one thing kind of led to another and I’m surprised by how deep and dark it went. You just have to hold onto your friendships and stay away from nefarious people.
JC
You often watch a movie about drug addiction or drug trafficking or crime and it’s going to have a depressing ending. It’s solely a cautionary tale where you see the characters suffer and lose it all, and in this story – yes there’s suffering – yes there’s loss – but in the end – it’s the belief in this person by his friends and family that pulls him out of it, and I think that’s what separates our story from other stories.
CHRIS
The bonds that we have for each other can save us.
JAMES
The play has a whole soundscape that accompanies it. What was the process like for creating the music and sound for the production?
CHRIS
It was a lot of trial and error. We’d try to capture the feeling of what section we were working on and then we would tweak the soundscape and the music to try and enhance that feeling or that mood.
JC
There’s one section where the main character is having a panic attack envisioning all the terrible things that are going to happen to him, and the only thing that pulls him out of it is his girlfriend and, we’ve got this lovely piano melody that comes in there that’s very separate from anything else we’ve heard in the play up until that point. And then that melody keeps coming through the remaining pieces until we lead to the climax of the play.
JAMES
So, how different is the production that you’re presenting at the Motel compared to the one you did a couple of years ago at the One Act Festival?
JC
The script was in its infancy at the one-act festival. Since then we got in touch with Helen Young from Urban Stories, and I was blown away the first time I talked with Helen, because we wanted to get it into their play festival, and she told me couldn’t because the play was more than twenty minutes, but straight off the bat she said, “From the sounds of it we might want to do this for a mainstage show.” So, we sent her the script and went for a coffee with her, and the next thing we knew it was all in the works. We had them producing it. We’re going to be at Motel. We had a dramaturg come in, and we were fortunate enough to be given enough time to work on the script and develop it further.
JC
We workshopped the script with Caroline Russell-King, who is a very talented dramaturg, and we completely changed the vehicle for the narrative. Before it was in the form of somebody telling their story to a friend, and now it’s all happening in the moment. And we’ve changed what the play is really about. Before it was focused on a single friendship and this friendship progressed the narrative, but now we’re focusing more on the individuals that Chris knew in Australia. The ones that kept him going when he was completely isolated. We get to know more about them and that changes the outcome of the play so now we have a new emotional climax – which I’m not going to spoil – but the main difference is that we’re including so many more characters and people responsible for bringing Chris home.
JAMES
So, why should people come see it?
JC
It’s a unique show that combines theatre, electronic music, text and it’s inspired by a true story that happened to a local Calgarian here. Helen’s given us a lot of freedom to develop the play and to assemble a pretty talented production team. Our director is Nova Lea Thorne, and our lighting designer is Neil Fleming. Alexandria Inkster is designing the set, and Justin Many Fingers has come in and been a guest choreographer for us on a couple of occasions.
CHRIS
It’s an excellent tool for healing and also a way for us to express and showcase ourselves theatrically and artistically.
JC
When we did the show two years ago we were lucky enough to have a police officer come and see it, and what he said to me after the show was, “You know in my job it’s real easy to get jaded doing what I do, but after seeing this I’m going to remember that the next time I’m arresting a crack head or a drug dealer is that everyone has a story.” And I was surprised by how many people came up to me after the show with tears in their eyes and said that they had a family member that’s gone through the exact same thing. And that’s really what we’re trying to accomplish here. We’re trying to give an entertaining performance, but we’re also trying to do something that’s going to change the way people see people who are going through a hard time.
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Urban Stories Theatre presents Coming Home by CJ Charlton May 1st to 11 in the Motel Theatre at the Arts Commons. Tickets are $20.00 for adults and $15.00 for students, seniors, and artists and are available online at www.urbanstoriestheatre.org
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Come Home By JC Charlton
CAST JC Charlton Christopher Scott Sally Cacic
Directed by Nova Lea Thorne Set Designer by Alexandria Inkster Sound Design by Christopher Scott Lighting Design by Neil Fleming Guest Choreographer – Justin Many Fingers
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JC Charlton
JC is an actor and theatre creation artist based in Calgary, Alberta. JC is a University of Lethbridge alumni with degrees in education and fine arts. He has dedicated his career to acting and the development of new Canadian works. He has trained in advanced direction under his mentor Gail Hanrahan. Selected theatre credits include; (Kaahsinnoniks, dir. Justin Many Fingers), (Moon, Moon, No Moon, dir. Blake Brooker), (Come Home, dir. JC Charlton), (Okotoks, dir. Justin Many Fingers), (The Bear, dir. JC Charlton), (509, dir. Justin Many Fingers). 2016 Calgary + Provincial One Act Best Male Actor.
Christopher Scott
Christopher is a musical artist based in Calgary, Alberta. With a passion for melodic and bass heavy electronica he aims to create unique soundscapes and exciting experiences in a combination of theatre and sound design. He is a part of the new electronic duo, Mannequin. Chris has worked in a variety of fields from the drilling rigs in Canada and Australia to landscaping and construction here in Calgary, he has completed his training and holds certificates in the Fundamentals of Firefighting and Hazardous materials/ WMD incidents.
Sally Cacic
Sally Cacic is a West Australian actor. She is a graduate of Company of Rogues Actors’ Studio Master Class Program and StageMilk Drama School, and an ongoing member of StageMilk Drama Club in Sydney, Australia. She apprenticed in the Meisner Technique under her mentor Stacie Harrison, which she applies across her work in both theatre and film & television. Select theatre credits include Laughter (Urban Stories Theatre), How To Almost Be An Adult (Urban Stories Theatre), Late Night At The Plaza (Late Night Productions), and Australian productions A Chorus Line (The Old Mill Theatre), and Beauty & The Beast (The Ballet Company). Select film credits including Bright Hill Road (Nevermine Films), The Little Things (Shotlist Films), Joy To The World (SAIT Film Productions) 2017 AMPIA Rosie Award Finalist, and The Hundy (SAIT Film Productions) 2017 AMPIA Rosie Award Winner.
Nova Lea Thorne
Nova Lea is excited to be working on her first show with Urban Stories Theatre. She is grateful for the opportunity to direct this exceptional piece created by JC Charlton. Although much of her career, of late, has been in the area of stage management, she began her career as a performer, with Theatre New Brunswick, and has been involved in performance training and directing artist in residence programs, in Alberta, since the late 1990’s. She has instructed young performers with Quest Theatre, Theatre Calgary, Triangle Theatre School, as well as Theatre Works School of the Arts, a musical theatre school that she co-owned for twelve years. Nova Lea is the proud recipient of the Duval Lang Theatre for Young Audiences Award, a Betty Mitchell Juried Award.
Alexandria Inkster
Alexandria is a Calgary-based artist comes to performance through visual arts. She obtained her BFA in Sculpture in 2014 from the Alberta College of Art + Design (now the Alberta University of the Arts), and her MFA in 2016 from the University of Calgary. In her creative|research practice, Alexandria investigates the activation of agency and collective mobilization by enacting experiences of ambivalence, intimacy, freedom, and magical ideation. These investigations most often take the form of live performance and/or sculptural installation, where somehow her body always seems to become enmeshed in the work. Come Home is Alexandria’s first stint as a “set designer,” and she is absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to work with its amazing cast and crew.
Neil Fleming
Neil is delighted to be part of the Come Home artistic team helping Chris and Jeff bring this story to life. Primarily a playwright, Neil sometimes likes to stretch his theatrical design muscles. Some past design credits include: Okotoks (Niitsitapi Dance, MT7), Gruesome Playground Injuries (Ground Zero, Hit & Myth), A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream (CYPT), The Vajayjay Monologues (Urban Curves), Shopaholic Husband Hunt (Lunchbox Theatre), Almost Perfect Thing, Kitchen Witches, In A World Created By A Drunken God, The Attic, the Pearls, & Three Fine Girls (New West Theatre), And So It Goes, Goodness, Bone Cage, Arm’s Length Embrace (Downstage).
Urban Stories Theatre supports local playwrights writing about social justice and humanity issues by nurturing their ideas from first draft to finished production. The company is made up of a core group of local artists who will oversee all productions and workshops. Budding actors, directors, stage managers and designers will be encouraged to share their ideas by becoming part of the team on a show by show basis.
Vision: To give local artists a voice in creating theatre that tells stories about real life.