Upstage - Alice Munro Stories

A GREAT PLACE TO READ ABOUT GREAT THEATRE · APRIL / MAY 2017

“All you need to win the Nobel Prize in literature is to write brilliantly for a lifetime.”

T O R O N T O S TA R

VOLUME 3 / ISSUE 4

Hello!

Welcome to the Belfry and the premiere production of Alice Munro Stories.

We’re about to go on a new theatrical journey together - merging theatre and short stories into a whole new creation.

Take some time to read Michael’s piece Why I Chose This Play - in this edition of Upstage to really get a sense of this exciting new work.

Alice Munro’s longtime editor and publisher, Douglas Gibson, has contributed to this edition too - his article (on page 3) will give

B4Play

you some new insight into Alice’s work.

Thanks for being part of the Belfry and we look forward to seeing you soon.

SATURDAY, APRIL 15 AT 11 AM

Gregor Craigie · Photo by Don Craig

Belfry Theatre, Studio A, 1291 Gladstone Avenue Free Event. Join us in Studio A for a live talk show hosted by CBC Radio’s Gregor Craigie, featuring director Anita Rochon, actor Jennifer WaskoPatterson, Dr Jamie Dopp (Associate Professor of Canadian Literature at UVic)

BELFRY THEATRE 1291 GLADSTONE AVENUE VICTORIA, BC V8T 1G5

and Sheila Munro (yes, Alice’s daughter).

If you can’t make it to B4Play in person, don’t worry: you can listen to these always-entertaining interviews on our website or listen to our podcasts at soundcloud.com/belfrytheatre.

WWW.BELFRY.BC.CA

Join Us UPSTAGE is produced four times per year and can be found at branches of the Greater Victoria Public Library, the Belfry and online at issuu.com/belfrytheatre. If you would like a digital copy please drop us a line at hello@belfry.bc.ca.

Alice Munro Stories is generously supported by

Tickets 250-385-6815

facebook.com/belfrytheatre

youtube.com/belfrytheatre

twitter.com/belfrytheatre

issuu.com/belfrytheatre

vimeo.com/belfrytheatre

soundcloud.com/belfrytheatre

Upstage is supported by

Alice Munro — Word for Word BY DOUGLAS GIBSON

Photo: Kim Stallknecht

W H E N M I C H A E L S H AMATA F IRST CONTAC TE D M E

this. Everyone in the book world – other writers,

A BO U T H I S H O P E S F O R AN AL IC E M UNRO SHOW AT

booksellers, reviewers, and even publishers –

T H E B EL F RY, I WA S DEL IGHTE D, AND V E RY KE E N TO

was telling her that if she was ever going to get

H E L P. T H E RE W E RE T WO RE ASONS F OR THIS.

anywhere, she had to stop wasting time on short

Anita Rochon is one of

stories, and become a novelist. So she was trying.

the creators of How to

And she was finding that novels didn’t come easily

Disappear Completely, and

First, my editorial career with Alice Munro goes back a very long way. So far back, in fact, it was 1974 that we met in London, Ontario, when Alice

to her. So she was “blocked”, unable to write at all.

Story Highlights

the director of Through the Gaze of a Navel, and

had left Victoria and her marriage. I was a young,

I stepped in and told her, “Alice, if they’re all telling

beardless boy, an editor who sat in trembling awe

you to stop writing short stories….they’re all

across the lunch table from the pleasant author

wrong. You’re a great short story writer. You must

of three superb books of short stories. I knew that

keep on writing them. I’m a publisher, and I’d be

Actor Jenny Wasko-

her career was bound for great success. To my

very pleased if you came with me, and went on

Paterson opened the

astonishment, I learned that Alice did not know

writing short stories for the rest of your career. And

Belfry’s season in Mom’s

you’d never, ever, find me asking you for a novel.”

the Word and she returns

KISMET one to one hundred at the Belfry.

to close the season in Alice Munro Stories.

3

Well, since our first book together, Who Do You Think You Are?, in 1978, there have been 12 collections of short stories, and the results have been, as Alice might put it, “not bad.” That, I recall, was the low-key joke Alice and I shared when I phoned her in Victoria about her Nobel Prize. “Not bad at all,” she agreed, laughing. “Really quite good.”

Why I Chose This Play

The second reason for my support for Michael Shamata’s idea was that I had seen the fascinating version of two Munro stories put on in Toronto by the Word For Word group from San Francisco. This imaginative group, under the artistic direction of Susan Harloe, had invented a new form of drama, and Michael wanted to use it to create an Alice Munro production in Victoria.

I was approached almost two years ago by Susan Harloe,

I say that I had “seen” the show in Toronto. In fact, I was more actively

Artistic Director of Word For Word Theatre in San Francisco.

involved. At the end of each performance, there was a break, when

Since 1993, this company has specialized in putting short

many people in the audience chose to leave. Many others chose to

stories onstage, word-for-word. They had an Alice Munro show

stay, to follow the after-show discussion, which I chaired, which I

that they wanted the Belfry to bring to Victoria. This show had

found exciting and new every single night.

the endorsement of Douglas Gibson, Alice Munro’s editor and

What members of the Belfry’s audience are going to find – no doubt

publisher, who had seen it performed in Toronto.

to their surprise – is that they are watching an entirely new art form.

After numerous phone calls and much discussion, I told Susan

Everyone knows, to take another example, that Opera is not just a

that I could not bring an American company to Victoria to

play where some of the actors sometimes sing. In the same way, this

present Alice Munro short stories. However, I loved the idea of

is not like the simple reading aloud of a bedtime story, although

word-for-word as a form of theatre, and would Susan allow us

it shares some of those deep, long-forgotten pleasures. Nor is it a

to steal their idea, and would she perhaps serve as a consultant

simple, on-stage series of scenes, or sketches that amount to a play.

on a Belfry production of Munro short stories?

It is something in between, a fascinating new, blended art form that you’ll enjoy describing to your friends.

Susan was incredibly gracious, and happy for us to proceed,

I was glad to do what I could to help Michael and the Belfry bring

San Francisco with Ivan and Anita Rochon, who was on board

this off. I was also glad to give my advice on which Alice Munro

as director, confirmed Susan’s willingness to share her wisdom.

stories would work best here, in combination. I knew from my work

We attended their production of “Night Vision” by Emma

producing tapes of Alice’s own readings from her work, that listeners

Donaghue and “Silence” by Colm Tóibín, which crystallized a lot

were regularly surprised by how funny so much of her dialogue is.

of ideas for us around this hybrid of theatre and short story.

Great art is not always linked with solemnity. This is Alice Munro.

with the request that we not use the same two stories. A trip to

The show that Susan had proposed bringing to Victoria used the stories “The Office” and “Dolly.” Anita and I reread most of

Douglas Gibson was Alice Munro’s Editor and Publisher. She wrote the Introduction to his book of memoirs, Stories About Storytellers (2011). He also writes about her in his Across Canada By Story (2015). She is the final author in his 2017 Sesquicentennial show celebrating Canada’s greatest fiction writers between 1867 and 2017. The touring show will run in Victoria on May 29. For details, contact Munro’s Books or Bolen’s Books close to the event.

the canon of Munro short stories. A number of possibilities were chosen, and promptly discarded after a day of readings in Vancouver. It was Doug Gibson who suggested “Differently,” partly because of its Victoria setting (and brilliance!). Erin Macklem suggested that we look at “Save the Reaper,” which, given its engaging plot and atmospherics, appealed very much to Anita.

My gratitude to Susan Harloe and JoAnne Winter for cofounding Word For Word Theatre, and for giving us their blessing to produce our very own Alice Munro Stories.

MICHAEL SHAMATA,

Tickets 250-385-6815

Artistic Director

Cast & Creatives

LIVE EVENTS

—

Throughout Alice Munro Stories we’ll host a number of events that will deepen your theatre experience or just plain astound you.

AFTERPLAY Caroline Gillis

Arggy Jenati

Gerry Mackay

ACTOR

ACTOR

ACTOR

Facilitated discussions – audience member to audience member – follow every evening Mainstage performance of Alice Munro Stories (except Opening Night and Talkback Thursday). These are a great opportunity to share your thoughts and hear fellow patrons’ reactions to the production and the ideas it presents.

TALKBACK THURSDAY Michael Scholar Jr. ACTOR

Jenny WaskoPaterson ACTOR

Anita Rochon DIRECTOR

THURSDAY, APRIL 27

Meet some of the actors post-performance when they return to the stage to answer questions and provide insight into the play.

BOOKSMACK MONDAY, APRIL 24 AT 7:30 PM

Librarians go head-to-head as they race against the clock to speed review their favourite books in these fun and

Peter Hartwell DESIGNER

Alan Brodie

Antoine Bédard

LIGHTING DESIGNER

SOUND DESIGNER

competitive events, co-presented with the Greater Victoria Public Library.

VOCALEYE SUNDAY, MAY 7 AT 2 PM

For our patrons with low or no vision, we offer this VocalEye performance during Alice Munro Stories. Trained Audio Describers provide descriptions of the visual elements of the show, allowing people with low vision to enjoy the theatrical

Jennifer Swan STAGE MANAGER

Emily Mewett

experience without missing any of the details.

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER

Belfry Librarian

Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage: Stories by Alice Munro

The wonderful librarians from the Greater Victoria Public Library have compiled a list of books to help you get even more out of our production of Alice Munro Stories.

Lives Of Girls And Women: A Novel by Alice Munro Lives Of Mothers & Daughters: Growing Up With Alice Munro

by Sheila Munro

Alice Munro: Writing Her Lives: A Biography by Robert Thacker Alice Munro’s Best: A Selection Of Stories by Alice Munro Stories About Storytellers by Douglas Gibson

The Progress Of Love: Stories by Alice Munro Across Canada By Story by Douglas Gibson Writing Short Stories: A Writers’ and Artists’ Companion

Away From Her [DVD Video] by Sarah Polley

by Courttia Newland

The Best Of Writers & Company by Eleanor Wachtel

Compiled by Sarah Isbister, Public Service Librarian, Greater Victoria Public Library 5

SPOTLIGHT ON SUPPORTERS

Alec Scoones When we caught up with Alec Scoones, he was preparing for his wedding in May to his longtime sweetheart and theatre companion, Marion. This sounds like a wonderful continuation of a full life, which has led this father of three to gravitate to both the ocean and the stage.

Alec, who is a “master” or Captain with BC Ferries, spent a number of years performing in community theatre, before he took on his busy career. He enjoyed drama in Victoria high schools, studying with Mike Stephens at Mt. Douglas High School. Later, while an English student at UVic, he participated in a directorial workshop of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. He went on to play Barnaby in Hello, Dolly! among other roles for the Victoria Operatic Society.

He also appeared in Abelard and Heloise at Langham Court Theatre.

Alec, who happily lives aboard a sailboat moored in Sidney, says he supports the Belfry because the “arts are critically needed in a world with too much emphasis on competition and not enough on cooperation.” For last season’s production of Joan MacLeod’s The Valley, Alec and Marion attended both B4Play and Afterplay, free audience engagement programs which Alec refers to as a “great gift.” He finds that sharing the questions and perspectives that resonate with other theatre-goers to be yet another thing he likes about the Belfry, as theatre is such a shared experience that promotes a sense of community.

Alec has long supported a number of causes both local and international, and decided in recent years that supporting the Belfry would be a great way to contribute to his local community.

By becoming a yearly, then a monthly donor, and by further increasing his monthly support, Alec is just the sort of supporter that the Belfry thrives on.

To become a monthly donor, or for any questions about supporting the Belfry’s artistic and educational programs or Capital Campaign, please contact Development Manager Susan Stevenson at development@belfry. bc.ca or 250-385-6835 ext. 229.

Tickets 250-385-6815

Calendar

20 r u O

17–18 Seaso

n

Alice Munro Stories PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

April 18 – May 14, 2017 Tuesdays – Thursdays at 7:30 pm Wednesday Matinees at 1 pm (April 26, May 3 and 10) Fridays + Saturdays at 8 pm Saturday Matinees at 4 pm Sunday Matinees at 2 pm Audience Engagement Schedule B4PLAY · Saturday, April 15 at 11 am TALKBACK THURSDAY · April 27 AFTERPLAY · Following all

evening performances* VOCALEYE · Described performance

Sunday, May 7 at 2 pm * Except opening night and Talkback Thursday

Please renew your season

Plus you’ll receive

tickets before May 31.

discounts and priority

Your season includes:

booking privileges for: Summer Fun

THE CHILDREN’S REPUBLIC September 12— October 8, 2017

by Hannah Moscovitch

ONEGIN

How to buy tickets By telephone 250 385 6815

Please have your credit card ready, as well as the date and time of the performance you wish to attend.

Online

Visit belfry.bc.ca/tickets and buy your tickets online, anytime.

In person

Drop by our Box Office.

We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, debit card, cheques, and, of course, cash.

October 17— November 12, 2017 Book, Music & Lyrics

by Veda Hille and Amiel Gladstone

FORGET ABOUT TOMORROW January 23— February 18, 2018

by Jill Daum, with music by John Mann

SALT BABY April 17—May 13, 2018

by Falen Johnson

BED AND BREAKFAST August 8—27, 2017

by Mark Crawford Holiday Classic

A CHRISTMAS CAROL November 28— December 17, 2017

by Charles Dickens, adapted by Michael Shamata

2018 SPARK FESTIVAL WHO KILLED SPALDING GRAY?

by Daniel MacIvor Ray Bradbury’s TOMORROW’S CHILD

by Eric Rose, Matthew Waddell and David van Belle Visit our Box Office when you are here to see Alice Munro Stories or call us at 250-385-6815 to renew your season tickets.

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