Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre welcomes Elmwood Theatre

On Wednesday, June 26 at 7:30 p.m. the cast and crew of Head Over Heels performed their 65-minute play before a warm and receptive audience of about 200 at the Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre. This opportunity to perform on the main stage was made possible through the wonderful generosity of Eric Coates, Artistic Director of the Great Canadian Theatre Company and his wonderful production team, including Rachel Fancy, production manager and Jan Grant, special events co-ordinator. Our deep gratitude goes to these individuals for supporting us the moment we arrived at noon on that same day. The actors began their day by practicing the musical stomp with Brian Boychuk on the upper level of the theatre (so as not to deafen any members of the public who might happen to enter the lobby for a light lunch); afterwards they went out on to Wellington Street, armed with a handful of flyers to distribute to the lunch time crowd in Westborough, a marketing approach that they will have to practice a lot in Edinburgh.

The afternoon was spent on the stage, under the supervision of GCTC’s lighting and sound directors, who helped us to set lighting and music cues and to permit us the opportunity for a full technical rehearsal followed by a photo call. The excitement built as the students prepared for the 7:30 p.m. curtain. In the lobby there was equal activity, as parents prepared a reception by bringing in a wonderful array of food and flowers to dress the upper and lower lobby. We are also grateful to Rinaldo’s and Mood Moss Flowers for their generous donation of raffle prizes that were given out at the reception.

Prior to the start of the show, the lobby witnessed the arrival of friends, family members, teachers, administrators and members of the alumni. Angela Boychuk (Director), Nhanci Wright (Chairman of GCTC’s Board of Directors) and Eric Coates (Artistic Director of GCTC) welcomed the audience, and the show began. It was a delight to watch the intricate choral work of the cast - choreography that reflected the hours and hours of rehearsal time spent working out artistic details, now come to fruition. The standing ovation at curtain-call was in recognition of the wonderful show the cast and crew presented. 

‘Head Over Heels’ is now ready for the upcoming tour to Scotland. We will fine-tune it again at the end of July and then we will be off on our next big theatre adventure!  Thank you to all those who came out to support our efforts last week!

To view more photographs from the show on Wednesday, visit this link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.169603403210704.1073741825.124586297712415&type=1&l=4b1c1c5a68

'Head Over Heels' Premieres At Manor Park Public School

Despite the extreme humidity Monday morning, the doors to the auditorium at Manor Park Public School were flung open with enthusiasm and in bounded about 40 young theatre patrons eager to see our presentation. The students started to sing to our pre-show music -‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’- and though they looked a little dejected when it was pointed out to them that the show was not ‘Wizard of Oz’ but about ‘shoes’ (Dorothy’s red ruby slippers being one of the most famous pairs of shoes, of course), they quickly accepted that they were about to view something quite different from anything they might have seen before. The children were very attentive throughout the 65-minute performance and afterwards asked excellent questions. For example, ‘do the actors think differently about shoes, having done a show about them?’ One child raced off and came back to proudly show the actors a book entitled ‘Those Shoes’ by Maribeth Boelts that she had read and loved. Another child crept back as we were gathering our props together to shyly present a ‘thank you for the play’ letter that he had quickly prepared. We felt very welcomed by the children and their teachers, including their wonderful principal, Mrs. Shari Brodie. Thank you, Manor Park Public School for inviting us to spend our morning with you!

Classical 'Tails' Costumes

Today was our official dress rehearsal for a small, select audience. A Q&A followed the 65-minute show, and the feed-back we received was most encouraging and useful. It feels wonderful to have our show well on its way.  

Our young actors sported their custom-made tailcoats, generously donated by Elmwood School parents, Mark Liu and Nancy Tu. We wanted something in classical black that would be easy to move in and very stylish - rather ‘Downtown Abbeyish’, n’est-ce pas?

Mask Making

Last Saturday, amidst much production activity, we made masks for a scene entitled 'Masque Etude'. The two actors, who will perform this piece of physical theatre, sat patiently while plaster was applied to their faces so as to capture a 'mould' of their features - the sculpting of the masks will take place afterwards. The girls then went outside to enjoy the warm sun while awaiting the drying process of the plaster. A few weekend visitors to the school came and went but did not seem surprised by the sight of masked models sunbathing on the picnic benches. So much goes on at Elmwood that one more example of a creative undertaking is just par for the course here at this busy school! 

Practicing The Stomp

This rehearsal marks the first time the actors rehearsed with their musical props. We are including in the show a stomp using shoes that have been transformed into percussion instruments. This number will be the show's grand finale!

The Genesis Of A Poster Image

Karenna Boychuk, of KEWB Design (www.kewbdesign.com) has put her photo illustration talents to good use.  A recent graduate of York-Sheridan’s Design Program in Toronto, she has worked many hours to create a charming and youthful poster for Head Over Heels.  Above are the preliminary images of the young actors, as originally photographed by Karenna.  Then, tweaking the images through a unique editing process, the magic-realism of the poster took shape, as is evident by the final copy of the poster shown below.

A Poster Featuring An Old-Fashioned Swing Set

Every theatre company needs a poster.  In fact, in Scotland, publicity is still delivered the old-fashioned way – by hand (as well as through social media).  Members of theatre companies cheerfully distribute to passers-by a small postcard version of their poster, that features all the information about the show.  The festival, you see, is not without some sense of competition.  At any given time, audiences have an opportunity to choose from over 300 shows; naturally, each company wants their theatre seats to be full.  So, we thought long and hard as to how best to deliver our message - one that would capture the essence of our title – Head Over Heels.  The show is playful.  We thought about using swings (picture heads flying high over heels!).  Then we thought of a place across the Ottawa River that has the perfect swing set.

If anyone has ever been to Les Fougeres restaurant in Chelsea, Quebec, you know how beautiful the setting is for this internationally-renowned restaurant.  The proprietors, Jennifer and Charlie Part, have created - in the back of their restaurant - a charming oasis.  Once the spring rains had stopped and the sun came out, the five swings in the gardens of the restaurant went up.  What an exquisitely beautiful setting to choose for a photo session of our young actors.  So, one afternoon after school, we drove up to the Gatineau and the girls kicked off their shoes and ‘played on the swings’ – barefoot. Shoes lay strewn at their feet as they soared in the air; their laughter ringing through the distant hills, while the click of the camera captured the joyous expressions on the girls’ faces.