Theatre Calgary house progamme - Blow Wind High Water

Blow Wind High Water

by Sharon Pollock

World Premiere September 5 to 30, 2017

#tcBlowWind

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A new energy

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Welcome friends.

I first became aware of Sharon Pollock when I discovered her electric play about Lizzie Borden entitled Blood Relations. I was in my early twenties studying at York University in Toronto. The play was on a reading list of materials for a class on Canadian playwrights. I had heard of Lizzie Borden because of that infamous skipping-rope rhyme (“Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks…”) but primarily because one of my favorite actresses at the time was Elizabeth Montgomery, best known for her portrayal of Samantha Stephens in the hit television show, Bewitched. Ms. Montgomery had played Ms. Borden in a made-for-TV movie called, The Legend of Lizzie Borden. As a six-year-old, I remember being transfixed watching ‘the actress from Bewitched’ play an entirely different character named Lizzie. The concept of an actor being able to transform themselves through the craft of acting, text, and narrative was definitely new to this six-year-old. Nonetheless, the haunting character of Lizzie Borden stayed with me for many years.

Jump cut, almost two-decades later, to the York University bookstore where I grabbed a copy of Blood Relations and ferociously began reading it. I was expecting a biopic play. Instead, I was taken on a ride of mystery and intrigue all wrapped up in a glorious character study about this captivating New England woman. What fascinated me was the way in which the playwright, Ms. Pollock, took her subject and re-told it in a way that found a theatrical doorway into the story of Lizzie’s journey. Through an imaginary meeting between Lizzie and a character named, The Actress, Sharon opened up the Lizzie Borden story in a way that incorporated theatrical devices such as flashbacks and the doubling of actors playing multiple characters. To experience a story that I was only familiar with via a TV-movie in an entirely alternative way captivated me. I knew, at that point, that I wanted to meet the woman whose words, ideas, and artistry made me re-examine how stories could be told.

I never got to meet Elizabeth Montgomery – to share with her how her performance of Lizzie Borden gave a young child some understanding of the art of acting; however, I’m thrilled as Artistic Director here at Theatre Calgary, I have had the opportunity to meet the woman who opened up a young university student’s mind to the art of storytelling. Thank you, Sharon Pollock, for writing Blood Relations and for your unique voice of poetry and magic in all that you write. Furthermore, I bid you deep congratulations on your compelling new play, Blow Wind High Water. You are truly one-of-a-kind.

STAFFORD ARIMA Artistic Director

Official media spOnsOr Of TheaTre calgary.

arTs aT yOUr fingerTips. calgaryherald.com

Message from Honourable Rachel Notley Premier of Alberta On behalf of the Government of Alberta, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the opening night of Theatre Calgary’s 50th season and the world premiere of Blow Wind High Water.

For a half-century, Theatre Calgary has rewarded audiences with a steady stream of great shows that continuously raises the bar of artistic excellence and is a vital part of our province’s thriving arts scene.

Through hard work and collaboration, the success of Theatre Calgary is a wonderful example of how people can come together, and through their dedication and passion, can start a tradition that continues to delight, inspire, and amaze audiences for decades.

My thanks to all the performers, organizers, and artistic team for making this production and the 50th season of the theatre a phenomenal success.

Congratulations as you celebrate this milestone.

Here’s to raising the curtain for another 50 years!

Rachel Notley

September 8, 2017

Sisters: The Belles Soeurs Musical October 10 to November 4

Tickets start at $35 LIMITED QUANTITY!

based on the play Les Belles-Soeurs

by Michel Tremblay Book, Lyrics and Direction by René Richard Cyr Music by Daniel Bélanger English Book adapted by Brian Hill English Lyrics adapted by Neil Bartram Music Adaptation and Additional Music by Neil Bartram Orchestrations by Chris Barillaro A Copa de Oro Productions Inc. and Segal Centre for Performing Arts production

A new Canadian musical that takes place in 1960s Montreal about a working-class housewife, who has just won the jackpot – one million trading stamps. But who can she trust when her jealous family and neighbours come over for a stamp-sticking party? This joyous windfall of humour, heart, and music is sure to pay off!

403-294-7447 theatrecalgary.com

Arts Commons Max Bell Theatre

The cast of Sisters: The Belles Soeurs Musical.

Photo by Andrée Lanthier.

Reaching a 50-year milestone is a special accomplishment for any company. It is a testament to the people who have contributed many years of artistry, strategy, support, and hard work. Theatre Calgary humbly thanks all of the thousands of individuals and companies who have helped us to reach this moment whereby we continue to create exceptional theatre for an exceptional city. You stood by us through good and bad times. You put your trust in our decisions to share stories from all over the world as well as stories from our own backyard. Our success is because of you!

We are now looking at the next 50-years with excitement and nervous anticipation.

We promise you a new future that is as bold and brave as anything you would expect of TC. We dream about growing, expanding, inspiring, and ultimately giving you all that you have loved over the years and more.

We wish to build a legacy of developing even more bold new works, nurturing more local, Canadian talent, and featuring that talent on the world stage.

To achieve our bold ambition we require bold support. Come October 16, 2017, we Calgarians will cast our ballot to determine the future of our city. We believe that this future is one that recognizes the critical role that arts and culture has in a world-class city. With municipal investment in the arts currently amongst the lowest of any major urban centre in the country it is time for change and as a sector, we not only bring intrinsic value to our community through the beauty and inspiration of the art we create, but we also employ thousands, support local businesses, and are a critical contributor to the global brand of a vital, innovative, liveable, world-class city.

We have 50-years of proof that the performing arts has been a viable and integral part of what makes Calgary special, and we are prepared to continue this commitment for the next 50-years. We thank you for your belief in us and ask that you think of us, as well as our artists and our fellow arts organizations, when you speak to your ward candidates leading up to the October election. With growth in arts funding realized, not only do we allow our flagship arts companies to continue to innovate and grow, but we allow the next generation of theatre companies and artists to dream about reaching 50. ‘Tis a wonderful thing.

COLLEEN A. SMITH Executive Director Theatre Calgary gratefully acknowledges the support provided by the City of Calgary through Calgary Arts Development, the Government of Alberta through The Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the Government of Canada through the Canada Council, Canadian Heritage and all corporate and private contributors.

Theatre Calgary is a member of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres, and operates within the jurisdiction of The Canadian Theatre Agreement.

Theatre Calgary employs technicians under a collective agreement with the I.A.T.S.E. Theatre Calgary is a resident company of Arts Commons, operating out of Arts Commons Max Bell Theatre.

FRONT COVER: PHOTO OF STEPHEN HAIR BY DAVID COOPER.

Vote for your Mayor, Councillor and School Board Trustee.

Learn more at electionscalgary.ca

Advance vote: Oct. 4-11, 2017 (except Oct. 9)

Election Day: Oct. 16, 2017

17-00699589

Your city.

Your vote.

DIRECTOR’S NOTES My connection to the work of Sharon Pollock goes back to the start of my post-secondary theatre training in Ontario, where I fell in love with her ability to tell captivating stories in unconventional and challenging ways. A decade ago, Sharon trusted the theatre company I had started, Downstage, to produce the World Premiere of her play, Man Out of Joint, which explored Omar Khadr’s situation in Guantanamo Bay. The play was a thrilling challenge for me as an emerging director, and producing a new play by a Canadian theatre legend was a boon for a fledgling theatre company. Sharon’s friendship and mentorship over the years has had a significant impact on my life in theatre, and so the opportunity to direct the first production of Sharon’s latest play was one I couldn’t say yes to quickly enough.

Once again, Sharon has created a captivating story told in an unconventional and challenging way. Elements of magic realism permeate the play and elevate the flood and the challenges facing the characters to mythic proportions, yet the play also provides a very real and beautiful snapshot of where we are as a province right now. I’ve witnessed the changing face of Alberta in the fourteen years I’ve lived here, and to consider the change that Sharon has witnessed, much less what Gampy would have seen, is remarkable. We’ve gone from being the great frontier to a leader in innovation, an increasingly diverse province that endures through good times and bad. I was evacuated during the flood of 2013 and was overwhelmed to see how Calgarians supported each other in deeply meaningful ways, pitching in to do the hard work that needed to be done. I felt it emblematic of the Alberta spirit – a spirit which permeates this play in so many ways. Sharing some of these themes and ideas as Theatre Calgary opens its 50th season speaks to the remarkable role that TC plays in the community – bringing people together to share experiences and instigate conversations like the ones that will emerge from this play, and I thank you for being a part of those conversations.

SIMON MALLETT Director

tc UP CLOSE big stories in intimate spaces

Forte Musical Theatre’s

Touch Me: Songs for a (dis)Connected Age

Presented in Arts Commons Big Secret Theatre – space is limited and seats won’t last long!

September 26 to October 7 Tickets $50

Photo by David Cooper

403-294-7447 theatrecalgary.com

Join us for this modern musical about refreshing true depictions of our most private technological transgressions. It’s bound to get you thinking about the connections in your life.

PLAYWRIGHT’S NOTES Theatre Calgary’s former Artistic Directors Dennis Garnum and Shari Wattling commissioned Blow Wind High Water in 2015.

They wanted something set in Calgary that touched on the 2013 flood. For me that location, date, and event held not literal but metaphoric meaning and significance. Floods are both natural events and the stuff of myths. They signify endings and beginnings, destruction and rebirth. An individual must go with the flow or attempt to stand against it. These thoughts planted the seeds of the play.

In the early 60’s I chose Alberta as home because of its spirit of independence, a maverick within a staid Canada. I saw Albertans as frank, honest, and forthright even in expressing unpopular opinions whatever the consequences. They didn’t give up whatever the odds. Community was strong but they highly valued and supported the rights of the individual. They were suspicious of federal governance (in my opinion rightly so) and wary of any governance or control from above or below. Individual responsibility ranked high. They were a courageous entrepreneurial people living life large and dreaming big.

Time passes and things change. The Alberta spirit that appealed to me now manifests itself in different ways, not least of which is our awareness of the Indigenous Peoples of this place and what is owed them. I believe however, the essence of that spirit still hovers over the land. I wanted Blow Wind High Water to somehow touch on all this.

I hope you, the audience, will be engaged and entertained. I hope some of you find the characters and their story resonate in some way with your own lives.

I hope you’ll experience in some small way some small parts of history that have made the place you live in the place it is. I hope you’ll leave with a sense of celebration and optimism.

SHARON POLLOCK Playwright

the show, a pre-show workshop and pizza and pop before the show. Membership is open to students in Grade 9-12. Capacity is limited to 50 students.

interACTive Enhance Your Experience TALK THEATRE THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 7 – Playwright SHARON POLLACK – In the Upper Lobby SEPTEMBER 14 – Director SIMON MALLETT – In the Upper Lobby Get an insider’s perspective on the process of making theatre. Meet an artist from the production’s creative team before the show, in conversation with a member of Theatre Calgary’s artistic staff.

TALKBACK TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 12, 19, 26 – In our Theatre Join us for a lively post-show discussion with members of the cast.

SPOTLIGHT SATURDAY

Performance dates for our 50th season are:

SEPTEMBER 12, OCTOBER 17, FEBRUARY 6, MARCH 13 and APRIL 24

EDUCATORS CIRCLE Are you an educator? Do you love theatre and need a break from marking or planning?

Join our Educators Circle. Benefits include: Tickets to all five mainstage shows*, Ability to exchange tickets to another date and purchase additional tickets at 20% off. All members will be invited for two exclusive backstage tours throughout the year. Visit www.theatrecalgary.com to register today! *some conditions apply

GO BEHIND THE CURTAIN Go beyond being an audience member and see what else we have to explore. Theatre Calgary offers a number of additional theatrical experiences such as Backstage Tours, Skype in Schools, Workshops, Panel Discussions, Industry Nights and Play Guides.

GET ONLINE Find further details about our programming at www.theatrecalgary.com Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:

SEPTEMBER 16 – CONSTABLE JOHN ROTHEISLER, RCMP – In the Main Lobby

@theatrecalgary #tcInteract

Come listen to a member of the Theatre Calgary staff in discussion with a member of the RCMP who not only assisted with the flood relief efforts but was also personally impacted by the 2013 flood.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

SENIOR SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 23 – Actor DOUG MCKEAG – In the Upper Lobby Before the performance begins, Senior Saturday patrons are invited to enjoy some snacks followed by an engaging chat with a theatre professional or relevant expert, providing insight into the performance.

THE YOUNG ARTISTS WORKSHOP Are you a student who is interested in the performing arts? Join our Young Artists Workshop! Registration includes: tickets to

We are always looking for ways to engage with all citizens of the City of Calgary and surrounding area. If you have a community event, project or initiative that you think Theatre Calgary could partner with, contact us to start the discussion today!

For all of these programs, and any other learning or community engagement inquiries, please contact: Chris Stockton – Senior Manager of Learning and Engagement (403) 294-7440 ext. 1122 cstockton@theatrecalgary.com

September 5 to 30, 2017 World Premiere

BLOW WIND HIGH WATER

By Sharon Pollock Director Simon Mallett Set Design Narda McCarroll Costume Design Deitra Kalyn Lighting Design Michael Walton Original Music and Sound Design Andrew Blizzard Production Dramaturg Shari Wattling Voice Coach Jane MacFarlane Linguistic Consultant Dr. Heather Bliss Siksika Blackfoot Translator Natóóhkitopi Fred Breaker Siksika Blackfoot Translator Ikiómo’tstaan Noreen Breaker

Blow Wind High Water was commissioned by Theatre Calgary through FUSE: The Enbridge New Play Development Program.

Put your ticket purchase of this show toward a full season subscription and save on the price of each ticket!* You will also save up to 20% on any extra tickets, get free exchanges, and receive a discount to A Christmas Carol. Our 50th Anniversary season of celebration is the perfect chance to bring your whole family!

Sisters: The Belles Soeurs Musical

Twelfth Night January 30 to February 24

October 10 to November 4

Celebrate with us all season long!

The Humans March 6 to 31

The Secret Garden April 17 to May 19

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

Touch Me: Songs for a (dis)Connected Age September 26 to October 7

A Christmas Carol November 23 to December 24

Onegin January 5 to 13

403-294-7447 theatrecalgary.com Special presentations are not included in a regular subscription.

Discounts may apply, subject to availability. *Save up to 20% on a pro-rated 4-play subscription.

THE CAST (in alphabetical order)

Teddy

Tyrell Crews

Gampy

Stephen Hair

Maggie

Alana Hawley

Doug

Doug McKeag

Gwynt

Eva

Frankie

Kevin

Stage Manager

Assistant Stage Manager

Tuled Giovanazzi

Head of Lighting

Catharine Crumb

Head of Sound

Head Stage Carpenter

Wardrobe & Wig Master

Ron Siegmund

Assistant Head Dresser

Rachel Michelle Sheridan

Stage Hand

Julie Orton Valerie Planche Nadine Roden Marshall Vielle Naatoa’yotako

Patti Neice

Chris Jacko Scott Morris

Andrew Kerr

Cameras and audio/visual recording devices are not permitted in the theatre.

Video and audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited.

Blow Wind High Water has one 20-minute intermission.

MAGIC REALISM: THAT’S THE PAST BLOWIN’ BY

by Jenna Turk, Artistic Associate It may be easy to simply describe Blow Wind High Water as a “contemporary family drama” or a “real Calgarian story”, but if one were to do so a crucial element of its makeup would be missing: magic. This new play by the remarkable Sharon Pollock is a fascinating blend of comedy, tragedy, and magic realism.

The term coined in 1925 by German art critic Franz Roh in his essay, Magic Realism: Post-Expressionism, was originally used to discuss visual art, but soon evolved to include literature, and then theatre. He “wished to indicate that the mystery does not descend to the represented world, but rather hides and palpitates behind it.” While he may have been referencing the dimensions of a painting, the same principal is key for plays categorized as magic realism.

For it is not that a fantastical world has been created, it is that the world is in fact very real – but so too is the magic. Its elements grow organically out of the reality portrayed. Sharon Pollock expounds on Blow Wind High Water, “In the play you have the Ferguson’s real or natural world, a seemingly ordinary world, in which magical things happen and a supernatural character exists. Other ‘real’ characters do not acknowledge these magical aspects although they are affected by them.” For example, there is no questioning from Gampy that Gwynt (his friend only he can see and hear) exists, and in this, Theatre Calgary’s premiere production, set pieces appear and disappear as plain as day.

While magic realism is often associated with Latin American writers (like Gabriel Garcia Márquez and Isabel Allende), they do not have a monopoly on the genre – although they are deservedly known for their mastery. It is a style that creates space for diverse stories, unites history with the imaginary, and allows for political and cultural disruption. It is perhaps unsurprising then that magic realism is particularly popular in postcolonial contexts, and has been embraced by Canadian artists of all kinds from poet Robert Kroetsch to novelist Yann Martel to playwright Sharon Pollock. Blow Wind High Water confronts a collective history (Gampy’s long-lasting patriarchy), bears witness to our current age (no electronics on the weekend!) and reconnects a community with past traditions (family before funds says Kevin). In Pollock’s Calgary, magic is normalized and true transformation is made possible. There is a freedom to the form that mirrors our Canadian wilderness and seems to celebrate living on the margins. From that vantage point, Mexican author and critic Louis Leal believes “the writer confronts reality and tries to untangle it, to discover what is mysterious in things, in life, in human acts.” Sharon Pollock agrees, “My plays are my attempts to make sense of myself and the world I live in.”

It is worth noting that in the theatre magic is readily available (in Blow Wind High Water alone nature’s fiercest elements rage indoors and long lost loved ones are transported

back to life), and so magic realism is perhaps most accessible on stage.

Brian Quirt, Director of the Banff Playwrights Lab, says, “When I think of magic realism, I think it describes almost all theatre…theatre, of course, exists in the present and so invites all times to be present on stage simultaneously.” Therefore there is an essential liveness to the form which allows for the possibility of the impossible. While not all theatrical genres take advantage of this “magic,” it is always present. Blow Wind High Water travels through time

and space with Gampy, from his first day through to his last with ghosts of all kinds controlling the forecast.

Fortunately, he and we, the audience, are good hands with Sharon Pollock – and Gwynt leading the way. So, sit back, relax, and breathe in Blow Wind High Water. How many dimensions do you see?

Photos from past Theatre Calgary productions that played with magic realism (top to bottom): The Little Prince (photo Trudie Lee) 7 Stories (photo Trudie Lee) Beyond Eden (photo Emily Cooper)

CALGARY: COME HELL OR HIGH WATER Situated at the confluence of two rivers, Calgary has a long and storied history with rising waters. The first people of the land, members of the Blackfoot Confederacy, were nomadic bison hunters and trout fisherman. They lived their lives based on the way the rivers were flowing and learned the best trails for avoiding high water. Their origin story, as shared by Kevin in Blow Wind High Water, believes that their creator made the earth from mud pulled by a muskrat from the bottom of deep water that he then rolled out on his palm and into which he moulded hills, valleys and mountains, and dug grooves for rivers and lakes. From water the earth was born, and so it seems to want to return.

Since the founding of Calgary in 1875, there have been eleven significant floods that have shaped this city and its community. Gampy runs through them off the top of his head, but do you remember them?

1863 Icy waters take out the only pedestrian bridge, and the Calgarian entrepreneurial spirit is born when a ship owner begins offering his transportation services – for a small tariff, of course.

1884 The Elbow River flood breaks all of Calgary’s bridges, and worst of all their logs then act as battering rams and take out 10 or 12 of CP Rail’s bridges as well.

1897 Both rivers and surrounding creeks flood, causing over a quarter of a million dollars in damages to homes, businesses, and the city’s infrastructure despite the efforts of the City Fire Brigade and the Northwest Mounted Police. Generosity prevails though, when Mayor Orr gives lots of land from his own holdings in Inglewood to the 10 worst affected people, and a flood relief fund is started by Town Council.

1902 Two separate floods overtake the city stranding many as the varying water levels lead them to believe they are safe to stay put in their homes.

The power house in Eau Claire floods too, leaving the city without electricity, but City Council makes plans to construct a wall along the southern bank of the Bow from Prince’s Island to what is now known as Reconcilliation Bridge.

1915 Record amounts of rainfall mean river waters rising rapidly with high winds and even a tornado at Redcliff. Three lives lost and three bridges carried away, but the Calgary Industrial Exhibition still opens on schedule!

1923 After several years of drought, a flood arrives severely affecting those in Elbow Park. Mayor G.H. Webster orders all city trucks to bring boats to the area to assist with the rescue effort. Dirt roads, still the norm, wash away.

1929 The worst flood hits since 1902! Bowness Park and St. George’s Island are completely submerged and the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede horse barns flood. The decision is made to build the Glenmore Waterworks System to deliver clean water to Calgary homes.

1932 High water overtakes the Elbow, but the new Glenmore Reservoir and Dam contain the worst of the flooding. Because of advance warning, all of the animals at the zoo are kept safe. There are no more major floods between now and 2005…giving many Calgarians peace of mind that the Glenmore Dam will protect them.

1950 An ice jam near St. George’s Island causes a flood overtaking 435 homes, 4 apartment blocks including the Cecil Hotel, and the Dog Pound — the dogs are saved by the Fire Department.

Cold water and low temperatures make rescue operations difficult, but local residents pitch in supplying hot coffee and meals.

Dog pound rescue, 1950, courtesy of Glenbow Library and Archives NA-2869-181

2005 June brings the largest amount of rainfall in Calgary’s history, a state of emergency is called, and this flood becomes one of the costliest natural disasters in the province’s history. 40,000 homes are damaged and over 1,500 people are evacuated — including the moose at the zoo. The need for a new state-of-the-art Emergency Operations Centre is identified.

2013 The most destructive flood in Calgary’s history hits, displacing 110,000 people, closing all schools, shutting off all routes into downtown, and necessitates calling in the Canadian Army. The city unites under the rallying cry, “Come Hell or High Water,” and within a week of the state of emergency being lifted the LRT is back online, Shakespeare by the Bow trailer and dressing rooms under water during 2013 flood, photo by Christopher Loach. most damaged roads are repaired, and the Stampede goes ahead as planned despite severe destruction to the rodeo grounds and grandstand. Social media keeps people informed with everyone from the City of Calgary to Mayor Nenshi to the Calgary Police tweeting out updates as well as words of support. Costing approximately $1.7 billion, this flood is the costliest disaster in Canadian history up until the Fort McMurray Wildfires of 2016.

EDITORIAL SOURCES Parkinson Zamora, Lois, & Faris, Wendy (Eds.). Magical Realism. Durham: Duke

University Press, 1995.

Bird Grinnell, George. “Blackfoot Legends – Blackfoot Creation.” http://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-blackfootcreation.html “Flooding in Calgary 1883-2013.” Calgary Public Library. http://floodstory.com/

SPOTLIGHT ON 50

by Stephen Hunt

Throughout our 50th Anniversary Season, we take a look back at the storied history of bringing plays to our stage.

In 1968, Christopher Newton’s Stratford dressing room was piled high with old issues of The Calgary Herald. That’s because in addition to his acting duties at Stratford, Newton had just become the founding artistic director of Theatre Calgary, which was about to launch its first season as a professional company. The other members of Stratford’s acting company found Newton’s reading habits pretty funny.

“I’d have the Calgary Herald delivered four days late,” Newton says, “and they’d all laugh, because I’d read it in the dressing room to find out what was going on – what was happening in the city. It was a question of knowing what the city was about really,” he says, “because I wasn’t a (Calgary) resident.”

Soon Newton was running Theatre Calgary, casting the same Stratford actors who’d found those old copies of the Herald so funny.

“They all came out (too),” he says, “for a hundred bucks a week. And they stayed at the old Alberta Hotel in the old Foster’s Building (where they charged) $30 a week or something to stay there. Neil Munro, Eric Donkin, and Bill Hutt came out. Dana Ivey was part of the company.”

What Newton discovered in Calgary was a savvy theatre audience.

“We were very popular!” he says. “It was a very intelligent audience. It was prepared for the beginning of Theatre Calgary. Calgary had a tradition of interesting theatre, really established by people like Betty Mitchell, and I was able to take some advantage of that.”

Popular though the theatre may have been, Newton – an actor – was in a bit deep as an arts manager.

“I was an utter novice as an artistic director,” he says. “There weren’t very many artistic directors (anywhere in Canada) then, so I was flying by the seat of my pants for the most part - and didn’t get a great deal of help from people telling me how to do it.”

He never directed a show until he directed The Odd Couple, the first show of Theatre Calgary’s first season. The Canada Council broke its own guidelines to subsidize the theatre company’s first season, but nonetheless: six shows in, the company was more or less dead broke.

“We had just about enough to pay the actors,” he says. “Maybe. I thought OK, what do I do here? How do I raise money? We were terrible at raising money. People didn’t do that then. We didn’t have a proper development department in those days.”

That’s when Newton used his imagination.

“I wrote to Lorne Greene,” he says. “I said, look, we’ve started this professional theatre company in Calgary, and I’m at the point where we’ve done these plays, and we’ve run out of money. I have just enough to pay the actors for next week. I wonder whether there are Canadians and Albertans in Hollywood that you know that could do a wet round for us? And he wrote me back, and said, yes there are and we’ve got about $5,000 raised. Now $5,000 in those days was a lot of money! There was a wonderful scriptwriter The cast of You Two Stay Here, The Rest Come With Me bound – a woman – who was in for the National Arts Centre in Ottawa after being officially Hollywood at the time, who 'White-Hatted' (1970). Photo by Bill Herriot. contributed $1000. Lorne Greene sent $500. (Director) Arthur Hill sent $500. The rest came in bits and pieces - but $5,000 came from Hollywood and it was such generosity.”

The company made it to the 1969-70 season, their second, which is when Newton decided the time had arrived to create a new work, that told Calgary’s own story.

“It was (then) popular in certain places,” Newton says, “in the English speaking (theatre) world, to do these plays about the past... and I thought we could do the same sort of thing in Calgary.”

His homegrown historical musical was set in Calgary, between 1865 and the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. Newton wrote the script. Allan Rae wrote the score, with Newton and Wally Grieve writing the lyrics to tunes such as What Do You Do in Calgary? and Cold Winds of Loneliness. They called it You Two Stay Here. The Rest Come With Me. “That’s what they always say in westerns,” Newton says. “You two stay here. The rest come with me!”

Attendance at Theatre Calgary’s first season and a half, then staged at the QR Centre on 9th Avenue, had been reasonable - but not enough to keep the

company from sliding towards insolvency. For You Two Stay Here, attendance was spectacular.

“We sold out,” Newton says.

“Completely. It (attendance) was very good.”

The show was so popular with Theatre Calgary audiences, the company started selling overflow tickets so that people could sit on the stairs. That turned out to be a violation of the fire code, which Newton discovered one night when a fire marshall attending a performance took the liberty of informing him.

“But he only said that,” he says, “after he’d bought the stairs for himself and one of his children!”

The programme cover for You Two Stay Here. The Rest Come With Me (1970) .

You Stay Here went on to become the first regional musical presented at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. The experience creating a homegrown production was so positive that Newton and Rae set about creating a followup for the 1970-71 season, Theatre Calgary’s third as a professional company.

The twist was that this one, called Trip, was set in the dystopian future.

“It was about the last spaceship taking off from earth,” Newton says, “so it was set sometime after Armageddon. It wasn’t quite so successful as the (musical set in the) past,” he says. “A look at the future didn’t seem to work quite as well (with Theatre Calgary audiences).”

And if there is one thing Newton learned over the course of his illustrious, Governor-General Award-winning career, it’s that you learn everything you need to know about a show from your audience.

“But you have to know how to listen to them,” he says, “because sometimes the audience itself doesn’t quite know how to respond to something...so it takes time, and it takes encouragement on both sides.”

That third season was Newton’s final at Theatre Calgary, but it was only the start of a half century long adventure for both the company and the man who helped give birth professional theatre in the city – with a little help from old back issues of the Herald, some Stratford pals, and some Hollywood Albertans, who arrived

Elva Mai Hoover, Peter Brockington, Gary Files, Nicholas Simons, Rita Howell in Trip (1971).

Photo by Bill Herriot.

– like the hero in a satisfying Western – to save the day at exactly the perfect moment in the young theatre company’s history.

“People involved in the regional theatre should be aware of where they are and what they’re doing and that brings a kind of sensitivity to the work,” Newton says. “We were, at the very beginning, very aware that we were in Calgary. It was different from Edmonton. It was different from Vancouver. That, I think, coloured how we approached our work.”

“The musicals You Two Stay and Trip were the only ones that were explicitly about this city,” he adds, “although it was really interesting, one of the people in the company was an actor called Michael Ball, who at the time was married to Sharon Pollock, and she was writing material which was based on the west. The first play of Sharon’s in fact was a play called Walsh (which debuted as part of Theatre Calgary’s 1973-74 season), which was about the area and the relationship between the RCMP and local people.

“So we were getting closer and closer,” he says, “to writing about our own.”

Theatre Calgary’s Spotlight on 50 is generously supported by BMO Bank of Montreal.

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Theatre Calgary would like to recognize the following artists for their participation in the development of Blow Wind High Water: FUSE 2016

tyrell crews , stephen hair , alana hawley , telly james , doug mckeag , simon mallett , laura parken , valerie planche , shari wattling , katharine zaborsky

FUSE 2017

jolene anderson , andrew blizzard , devon dubnyk , stephen hair , deitra kalyn , simon mallett , narda mccarroll , julie orton , chantal perron , arielle rombough , kevin rothery , bernard starlight , shari wattling

RAISE A GLASS! we would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our head of wardrobe, michelle latta on her 100th production at theatre calgary. this season, michelle was also awarded the dean ot t / debbie boult award for achieve ment in technical production with her longtime friend and work partner , elizabeth sutherland .

t h e g r e at gats by . photo by trudie lee

QUALITY IS OUR TYPECAST THE BEST PEOPLE BUILDING THE BEST PROJECTS. WE’RE PROUD TO SUPPORT THEATRE CALGARY.

Tyrell Crews

Teddy For Theatre Calgary: King Lear, One Man, Two Guvnors (Betty Mitchell nomination), Pride and Prejudice, Much Ado About Nothing, Our Town (Betty Mitchell Award), Major Barbara, A Christmas Carol (2011). Select Theatre credits include Wait Until Dark, The Hollow, Calamity Town, The Game’s Afoot, Murder on the Nile, The Mousetrap and Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime (Vertigo); Benefit (Calgary Critic's Choice Award) The Dishwashers (Downstage Theatre); The Merchant of Venice, The Three Musketeers (The Stratford Festival); Vincent in Brixton, playRites '08, Unity 1918, Treasure Island (ATP). Film and Television credits include Horses Of McBride (CTV); Hell On Wheels (AMC); Wynonna Earp (Sci-Fi); Heartland (CBC). Next, Tyrell can be seen in Vertigo Theatre's The 39 Steps. So much love and gratitude to my wife and daughter.

Stephen Hair

Gampy Stephen has been a member of Calgary’s professional theatre community since 1973. He has been involved in more than 280 productions as an Actor or Director in major theatres across Canada.

He first appeared at Theatre Calgary in 1976, at the tender age of 25, in the inappropriately titled gem My Fat Friend. Since then he has performed here in 72 more productions, including 23 years starring as Ebenezer Scrooge in Theatre Calgary’s annual presentation of A Christmas Carol. He has innumerable film and television credits and from 1990 to 1995 he was the Artistic Director of Vertigo Theatre.

In 2008 he received the Martha and Harry Cohen Award for his Significant and Sustained Contribution to Theatre in Calgary, and in 2006 he was honoured with the Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding Contribution to Theatre. In 2007 Theatre Calgary established the Stephen Hair Emerging Actor Award, a $2500 prize given each year to and up and coming young Calgary theatre artist.

Alana Hawley

Maggie Alana is thrilled to be making her Theatre Calgary debut. Select theatre credits include Venus In Fur (Citadel Theatre); Coriolanus (Shakespeare Theatre Company’s ACA); I’ll Be Back Before Midnight (Vertigo); Closer (Ground Zero); Sequence (Downstage); Drama: A Pilot Episode (ATP); A Picasso (Shadow Theatre); The Three Musketeers (Citadel Theatre); Bartholomew Fair, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Julius Caesar (Stratford Festival); Joyful Noise (Theatre North West). Select film credits include The Valley Below (North Country Cinemas); Probability (Arun Lakra Productions). Alana is a graduate of the Academy for Classical Acting (MFA), the Citadel/ Banff Centre Professional Program, the Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Acting, and University of Alberta BFA Acting. She works as a theatre educator throughout North America, previously collaborating with the Stratford Festival, Citadel/Banff Centre Professional Program, Artstrek, and Edmonton’s The Speech Studio.

Upcoming productions include The Humans at Canadian Stage/ Citadel Theatre. Sincere thanks to her family, Sharon, and Simon.

“We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.”

– Martin Luther King Jr.

Doug McKeag Doug Doug is an award-winning actor who appears in all manner of live performance, around the globe. Favourite shows include the Canadian Premiere of Chimerica (RMTC/CanStage); Late Company (RMTC); Enron, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Into the Woods, The Drowsy Chaperone, God of Carnage (Theatre Calgary); Follies, A Man of No Importance (Dry Cold); The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Little Mercy’s First Murder, Our Man in Havana (Vertigo); his one-man show DOOM 2012; The Alan Parkinson’s Project (Betty Mitchell Award: Outstanding Performance) (Ghost River Theatre); Arcadia, Glengarry Glen Ross (Theatre Junction). Doug has received the Greg Bond Award for Outstanding Contribution to Musical Theatre, and in 2013 he directed Requiem for a Lost Girl in New York City, with a cast of 40 local singers and musicians. His company Dandi Productions creates Symphony Concerts for Young Audiences that have toured the world. Doug will return to Theatre Calgary later this season in Twelfth Night, and The Secret Garden.

Julie Orton

Gwynt Julie is a Calgary-based performer who has been recognized with three Betty Mitchell Awards, two Calgary Theatre Critic Award nominations, and an AMPIA nomination. Selected credits include: for Theatre Calgary - One Man, Two Guvnors, A Christmas Carol (201316). Elsewhere – Shakespeare’s Dog, Intimate Apparel (ATP); As You Like It, Macbeth (The Shakespeare Company/Hit & Myth); Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) (The Shakespeare Company/ Handsome Alice Theatre); Queer Blind Date (Spontaneous Theatre/ Buddies in Bad Times Theatre); Blind Date (Spontaneous Theatre/ North American Tour); Evelyn Strange, Calamity Town, Our Man in Havana (Vertigo); Scarlet Woman, Speed Dating for Sperm Donors (Lunchbox); Speed-the-Plow, Kung Fu Panties, Reasons to Be Pretty, Reasons to Be Happy (Ground Zero Theatre/Hit & Myth Productions); Cocktails at Pam’s (Teatro La Quindicina). Julie is also a guest star on Dirty Laundry, Calgary's only improvised soap opera. She is eternally grateful for blue shift.

Valerie Planche

Eva For Theatre Calgary: Liberation Days, The Crucible, A Christmas Carol (1992 – 98, 2011), Much Ado About Nothing, Timothy Findley’s The Wars, Cyrano DeBergerac, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Amadeus. Elsewhere: Equus, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Crucible (Citadel Theatre); Becky’s New Car, Half Life, Age of Arousal, Treasure Island, Marion Bridge, Down the Main Drag, Perfect Pie, Red Lips (ATP); Little Elephants (Shadow Theatre); Jekyll and Hyde, Blood Relations, Mouse Trap, Snake in the Grass, Lord Arthur Saville’s Crime (Vertigo); Dreary and Izzy (Theatre Northwest); Music for Contortionists, Frozen, Scorched (Sage); Elizabeth Rex (Mob Hit); and many more across Canada. Film and Television: Blackstone, Burn Your Maps, It’s Not My Fault and I Don’t Care Anyway, InControl, Broke Back Mountain, The Reckoning, Right Side of Wrong, In Cold Blood, Shanghai-Noon, The Jack Bull, Heartland, Terminal City, Tom Stone, Caitlin’s Way and Honey I Shrunk the Kids. Awards: Elizabeth Sterling Hayes Award for Little Elephants, Betty Mitchell Award for Communion and The Good Life, Best Director for Bad Jews Theatre Calgary, Betty Mitchell Award Nominations for Music for Contortionists, Elizabeth Rex, The Constant Wife, Perfect Pie.

Nadine Roden

Frankie Nadine is excited to be back at Theatre Calgary. Credits include Trix in The Drowsy Chaperone (MTC co-pro); Sylvia in All Shook Up (Stage West Mississauga and Calgary); Motormouth Maybele in Hairspray (Rainbow Stage); Tanya/Rosie understudy in Mamma Mia (Canadian Premiere, 1st National Tour, Broadway and Las Vegas). Film and Television credits include Private Eyes, Designated Survivor, The Good Witch, Baroness Von Sketch, Working Moms, and Ransom. Love to my family and friends especially my mom for all their support.

Twitter: @NadineRoden

Marshall Vielle Naatoa’yotako

Kevin Marshall is an Indigenous actor, director, podcaster, and drag performer from the Kainai Nation in Southern Alberta. He is a graduate from the University of Lethbridge where he received his Bachelors of Fine Arts in Theatre Performance. He is especially interested in using theatre for community development, having been involved in various projects both locally and internationally aimed at using artistic practices to encourage social change. Marshall would like to thank his family, friends, and artistic mentors for their endless love and support. Select acting credits include: Dreams, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Unlimited: A Collective Creation, Sauce for the Goose (University of Lethbridge); March of the Red Coats (The Fort Museum); and The Ugliest Girl Meets Elvis (Empress Theatre).

Sharon Pollock Playwright Pollock’s stage plays are produced throughout Canada and abroad.

She writes for radio and television, has directorial credits at theatres across the country, and has led playwriting and theatre workshops within and outside Canada. Her awards, among others, include a Canada Australia Literary Award for her body of work, Nellie Award for National Radio Drama, Golden Sheaf Television Award, Japan Foundation Award, and is an Officer of The Order of Canada. She is the recipient of two Governor General’s Literary Awards for Drama and is a three -time winner of the Gwen Pharis Ringwood Drama Award. From 2006 - 15 she served as Dramaturg and Librettist with the Atlantic Ballet Company of Canada. Previous productions at Theatre Calgary: Walsh, Blood Relations, Whiskey Six Cadenza, and Doc. Her play The Komagata Maru Incident is presently playing at The Stratford Festival’s Studio Theatre, in Ontario.

Simon Mallett Director Simon is a Calgary-based theatre director and has been the Associate Director for Theatre Calgary’s A Christmas Carol since 2012. His other directing credits include In the Wake, Good Fences, My Family and Other Endangered Species, Crime Does Not Pay and Sharon Pollock’s Man Out of Joint (Downstage); The Mousetrap, Travels With My Aunt and Wait Until Dark (Vertigo); and This Is A Play and Under the Bright Sun (Lunchbox). He is a recipient of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta’s Emerging Artist Award, was named to Calgary’s Top 40 Under 40 and has been nominated for the Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding Direction three times, winning the award in 2014. Simon is the Executive Director of the Rozsa Foundation, which supports Calgary’s vibrant arts community. Much love and thanks to the entire team who brought this show to life and to Kendra for her unending love and support. Twitter: @SimonYYC

Narda McCarroll Set Design Narda is thrilled to make her Theatre Calgary design debut collaborating on this Sharon Pollock premiere. She designed a production of Pollock’s Doc as part of her MFA at U of A. Selected credits include Slipper, Cockroach, The Circle, Red, Mary’s Wedding (ATP); Peter and the Starcatcher, Venus in Fur, As You Like It, Extinction Song, Vimy, The Penelopiad, God of Carnage, Julius Caesar (Citadel Theatre); Vigilante (Catalyst Theatre); The Drowning Girls, Turn of the Screw, The Haunting, Sweeney Todd (Vertigo); Gracie, The Trespassers (Belfry Theatre); The Mikado (Calgary Opera), Othello (The Shakespeare Company). Narda designed the costumes for the Freewill Shakespeare Festival in Edmonton for sixteen seasons.

She also designed costumes for the feature film Cut Bank. She is the recipient of four Sterling Awards, two Betty Mitchell Awards and a Calgary Critter. See her work at narda.ca.

Deitra Kalyn

Costume Design Deitra resides in Calgary and has been designing theatre, dance, film, and TV across the prairies for well over a decade. She is an awarded designer who was educated both at Grant MacEwan University and ACAD, where she holds a B.F.A. She is honoured to be a part of Theatre Calgary's 50th Season! Her career in design has allowed her to work with some of the best companies in the country with notable selected credits including: Shakespeare by the Bow (2012-2016), The Crucible, One Man, Two Guvnors, King Lear (Theatre Calgary); Calamity Town, Sherlock Holmes, Sweeney Todd, The 39 Steps (Vertigo); Intimate Apparel, Legend Has It, playRites 2013 (ATP); Evil Dead: The Musical: ’09, ’10, ‘12 (GZT/H&M); and Farewell My Lovely, The Penelopiad (Arts Club). Congrats to the cast and crew and biggest love to a.b. for all his love and support!

Michael Walton

Lighting Design For Theatre Calgary: The Little Prince, Mary Poppins, Hay Fever, Next to Normal (Citadel co-pro). Elsewhere: 13 Seasons with the Stratford Festival including Guys and Dolls, A Chorus Line, Tartuffe, School for Scandal, Macbeth, Hamlet, The Sound of Music, Oedipus Rex, Love’s Labour’s Lost, King Lear, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Antony and Cleopatra, Othello, Fiddler on the Roof, Henry V, The Matchmaker, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, As You Like It; Cosi Fan Tutte (Canadian Opera Company); A Word or Two with Christopher Plummer (CTG/ Stratford, Los Angeles); Maria Stuarda (Pacific Opera); Anne of Green Gables, Million Dollar Quartet, Mamma Mia (Charlottetown Festival); Evangeline (Charlottetown/Citadel); Million Dollar Quartet, Mary Poppins, The Rocky Horror Show, Little Women, The Three Musketeers (Citadel); Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Sideways (La Jolla Playhouse, California); Glenn, A Tender Thing (Soulpepper); Liv Stein, Julie, Harper Regan, The Other Place, Venus in Fur (Canadian Stage).

“Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Andrew Blizzard

Original Music & Sound Design Andrew is thrilled to be collaborating on Blow Wind High Water and part of such an amazing team. Selected credits include Sound Design and Original Composition for Hamlet (Shakespeare by the Bow); Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily, The Haunting, The Game’s Afoot, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Travels with my Aunt, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Woman in Black, Noirville (Vertigo Mystery Theatre); Macbeth (The Shakespeare Company/Hit & Myth/Vertigo); In On It, The Surrogate (Lunchbox); The After, aWay (ANCHOR|RED Theatre); Shakespeare’s Dog (Alberta Theatre Projects); Lieutenant of Inishmore (Ground Zero Theatre/Hit & Myth); Blood: A Scientific Romance (Sage Theatre); Le Gros Spectacle (The Wind-up Dames/ATP playRites 2006); PARANOiA (The Wind-up Dames/Ground Zero Theatre). So much love to my incredible wife Brieanna, my little boys, and my Steakface.

Shari Wattling Production Dramaturg Shari is a Calgary-based actor, director and dramaturg, and has previously worked at Theatre Calgary as Literary Manager, Associate Artistic Director, and most recently as Interim Artistic Director. Selected Theatre Calgary credits as a dramaturg include Beyond Eden (coproduction with Vancouver Playhouse), Lost – A Memoir, A Christmas Carol, Pride and Prejudice (co-production with the National Arts Centre), Liberation Days (co-production with Western Canada Theatre), Much Ado About Nothing, King Lear (co-production with Bard on the Beach) and adaptation credits for the Shakespeare by the Bow productions of Romeo & Juliet and Hamlet. She has also worked as Resident Dramaturg at Alberta Playwrights’ Network, and as a freelance director/dramaturg for a variety of projects with companies including Bard on the Beach, Quest Theatre, Vertigo Theatre, Swallow-A-Bicycle and Lunchbox Theatre. Acting credits include productions with Forte Musical Theatre, Vertigo Theatre, ATP, Theatre Calgary, Quest Theatre, Lunchbox Theatre, Shadow Productions and Dirty Laundry.

Jane MacFarlane

Voice Coach More than 45 productions since 2000 including: The Audience, Skylight, Bad Jews, The Crucible, Liberation Days (WCT co-pro), One Man, Two Guvnors, The Mountaintop, Pride and Prejudice, Enron, To Kill a Mockingbird, Much Ado About Nothing, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, 6 seasons of Shakespeare by the Bow and 15 years of A Christmas Carol. Jane has also worked for ATP, is the Voice & Dialect Consultant for Vertigo Theatre and the Voice & Text Coach for The Shakespeare Company. She has taught at such institutions as York University, Harvard University, Southern Methodist University, MRU, U of C, and U of A.

Dr. Heather Bliss

Linguistic Consultant Dr. Heather Bliss is a linguist, a Banting Fellow at the University of Victoria, and an Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia. She has worked with members of the Siksiká and Kainai Nations on Blackfoot language documentation projects since 2003, and her linguistic research has been presented and published in a range of international venues. Born and raised in Mohkínsstsis (Calgary), Heather is grateful to the Indigenous stewards of this land, and proud to be an ally to Blackfoot language and culture preservation and revitalization. Heather is excited to be collaborating with her Siksiká friends and teachers to share and promote the Blackfoot language in Blow Wind High Water.

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Natóóhkitopi Fred Breaker Siksika Blackfoot Translator Fred Breaker Natóóhkitopi of the Siksiká Nation is the holder of the Beaver Pipe and Bundle and a Sundance Man, and he has been transferred the rights to sing the Thunder Pipe Songs. He is a Horn Elder, a Member of the Horn Society, the Brave Dog Society, and the Prairie Chicken Society. He has owned eight holy painted tipis, three of which he has transferred to others. As a fluent first language speaker of Blackfoot, Fred is excited to be part of this production. In addition to his language work, he participates in many traditional activities including hunting, beading, hide-tanning, pipe-making, and drum-making.

Ikinómo’tstaan Noreen Breaker

Siksika Blackfoot Translator Ikinómo’tstaan (Noreen Breaker) from the Siksiká Nation is a Sundance Helper, a Beaver Bundle Member, and a Member of the Prairie Chicken Society. She is a fluent first language speaker of Blackfoot, who has taught Blackfoot language courses for the University of Calgary and has collaborated with linguists on language documentation projects for over fifteen years. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Canadian Studies from the University of Calgary.

Ikinómo’tstaan is pleased that Sharon Pollock and Theatre Calgary are acknowledging the Siksiká language in this production, and she is proud to be a part of it.

Patti Neice

Stage Manager For Theatre Calgary: Stage Manager – The Audience, A Christmas Carol (2015-16), ‘da Kink in my Hair (NAC co-pro), Bad Jews, The Shoplifters, Dear Johnny Deere. Assistant Stage Manager - One Man, Two Guvnors, The Mountaintop, A Christmas Carol (2012-14), Anne of Green Gables – The Musical, To Kill a Mockingbird. Elsewhere: Stage Manager – 1979 (ATP); Calamity Town (Vertigo); The Surrogate, Shopaholic Wedding Bells, Whimsy State (Lunchbox); The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Other Eric Carle Favorites (Mermaid Theatre tours of Canada/USA/Ireland/ South Korea & Singapore); How it Works (Mulgrave Road). Assistant Stage Manager – The Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst, Dust, The Valley, Intimate Apparel, Drama: Pilot Episode, Thinking of Yu (ATP); Marion Bridge (The Company Theatre); Calgary Stampede Grandstand Show (2012-17).

Tuled Giovanazzi

Assistant Stage Manager This is Tuled’s first show with Theatre Calgary and she is grateful to be working with the dream team. Select stage management credits include Love Lies Bleeding, Alice in Wonderland (Alberta Ballet); Juliet & Romeo, Gravity Players, Year of the Horse and Turn Up the Get Down (Decidedley Jazz Danceworks); My Family and Other Endangered Species, Goodness (Downstage); Lover, Oh! Christmas Tree (Lunchbox); Year of Wonder (The Young Canadians). As an assistant stage manager, Tuled has worked on Dracula (Alberta Ballet); The Grandstand Show, Tails (Calgary Stampede); Last Dog of War (ATP); and The Highest Step in the World (ATP & Ghost River Theatre). She would like to thank the Theatre Calgary team for welcoming her in.

Special Thanks & Acknowledgements Michelle Thrush; All artists and audiences who participated in the FUSE 2016 & 2017 workshops.

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OUR TEAM LEADERSHIP

PRODUCTION

STAFFORD ARIMA, Artistic Director

AMELIA MARIE NEWBERT, Production & Operations Manager

COLLEEN A. SMITH, Executive Director ADMINISTRATION & FINANCE KRISTEN DION, Director of Finance & Administration BRENT FALK, Accountant TAMMIE RIZZO, Accountant JOCELYN PHU, Executive Assistant, Government Relations Coordinator ARTISTIC LESLEY MACMILLAN, Producer

ADAM SCHRADER, Technical Director GRAHAM KINGSLEY, Assistant Technical Director LOUIS BEAUDOIN, Head Scenic Artist CATHARINE CRUMB, Head of Lighting CHRIS JACKO, Head of Sound MICHELLE LATTA, Head of Wardrobe LILLIAN MESSER, Head of Props SCOTT MORRIS, Head Stage Carpenter

SUSAN MCNAIR REID, Company Manager

STEVE PILON & ANDREW RAFUSE, Co-Head Scenic Carpenters

JENNA TURK, Artistic Associate

RON SIEGMUND, Wardrobe & Wig Master

JANE MACFARLANE, Resident Voice Coach

FRONT OF HOUSE STAFF – MAX BELL THEATRE

COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING

LEE BOOTH, Front of House Manager

CHRISTOPHER LOACH, Director of Communications

KIRSTIE GALLANT, Bar & Guest Services Coordinator

LISA MACKAY, Director of Marketing & Audience Development

NORMAN COOK, Front of House Volunteer & Guest Services Coordinator

KRISTINE ASTOP, Audience Services & System Manager

BARBARA BOOTH, SHIRLEY COSTLEY, NORMA HANSEN, SIENNA HOLDEN,LAURA KWAS, JULIA MEEDER, MITZI METZGER, TAMSIN MILES, KIM SIMMONS, DEBORAH SYDORCHUK

TRYPHENA FRIC, Advertising & Promotions Manager SARAH LAMOUREUX, Digital Communications Manager VIRGINIA REMPEL, Audience Services Supervisor JENNIFER KINCH, Audience Services & System Administrator JAMIE TYMCHUK, Audience Services Associate RYAN FRISCHKE, Audience Services Associate EMILY PARKHOUSE, Box Office Audience Services Associate EV BELL, Box Office Audience Services Associate DEVELOPMENT TRISH MATHESON, Director of Development SHIRLEY YURCHI, Manager Individual & Planned Giving

Bartending Staff KEVIN BAILEY, ATTRINA BLYTHE, RAYNAH BOURNE, NATALIE BUCKLEY, MARY CHISHOLM, CONNER CHRISTMAS, PAM DOWNEY, ALEXA ELSER, ELIZABETH FERGUSON, DANIELA HEJRALOVA, MANDY KOCH, KELLY MALCOLM, LAUREN MARSHALL, CARLY MCKEE, MATT MOGHADAM, STEPHANIE MORRIS, GRACE OLIVER, DAVID SKLAR, MEGAN STEPHAN, TOM WOOD, JASMIN ZENCHYSON BUILDERS FOR BLOW WIND HIGH WATER SET STEVE PILON, Co-Head Scenic Carpenter ANDREW RAFUSE, Co-Head Scenic Carpenter CLARE PROSSER, Scenic Carpenter

RONALD PETERS, Business Development

CARLEE VOLLHOFFER, Scenic Carpenter

SARAH HUGHES, Senior Development Associate

PROPERTIES

JASMINE ASLAN, Development Associate, Events & Stewardship

LILLIAN MESSER, Head of Props

CIANI MUZA, Development & Office Coordinator ROSEMARIE JOHNSTON, Bingo Volunteer Coordinator LEARNING & ENGAGEMENT CHRIS STOCKTON, Senior Manager of Learning & Engagement JENNIFER TAYLOR, Learning & Engagement Apprentice

CELINA BAHARALLY, Assistant Head of Props PAINTERS LAURA HILL, Head Scenic Artist WARDROBE MICHELLE LATTA, Head of Wardrobe KAELEAH SPALLIN, Cutter KATIE KLINGVALL, Wardrobe Coordinator

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS Leaders in our arts and cultural community BOARD EXECUTIVE CHADWICK NEWCOMBE, Chair Kahane Law Office

MARGO RANDLES, Vice Chair,

CATHERINE SAMUEL Partner, McCarthy Tetrault LLP

DR. NORMAN SCHACHAR, M.D. University of Calgary Department of Surgery

Chair Governance & Nominating Committee Active Community Volunteer

MAGGIE SCHOFIELD

MARY E. COMEAU, Secretary

ALI SHIVJI

Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright

Managing Director, Optima Living

KELLY BERNAKEVITCH,

EDITH WENZEL

Vice President Audit & Finance Executive Vice President, MNP, LLP

President, International Results Group

KATHRYN HEATH, Chair Artistic Committee

Business Development Executive – National Accounts, Van Houtte Coffee Services

CRAIG D. SENYK, Chair Fundraising Committee Director of Portfolio Management, Mawer Investment Management Ltd.

RICHARD S. HANNAH, Chair HR Committee Vice President, Information Services, Gibson Energy

PAUL POLSON, Chair Facility Committee Vice President, Stuart Olson Construction

JAMES READER Managing Director, Corporate Financial Services, ATB Financial

BOARD MEMBERS

Executive Director, Calgary Downtown Association

TRECIA WRIGHT

WARD ZIMMER Partner, Deloitte

THEATRE CALGARY ENDOWMENT FOUNDATION BOARD EXECUTIVE BRIAN HOOK, Chair Investment Advisor, BMO Nesbitt Burns

CHADWICK NEWCOMBE, Vice Chair Kahane Law Office

JOY ALFORD

MARY E. COMEAU, Secretary

MICHELE BEITEL

Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright

President, Star Land Consulting Ltd.

PETER EDWARDS Vice President, Human Resources and Relations, Canadian Pacific

JIM FLOYD President, PowerOn Ltd.

BRUCE GRAHAM STEPHEN HAIR Artistic Consultant

GORD HARRIS P. Eng., M&A Consultant

BARRY R. KENLEY Financial Services Agent, Euler Hermes Canada

TRICIA LEADBEATER Director Wealth Management, Richardson GMP

RIAZ MAMDANI CEO, Strategic Group

IAN McAULEY President, American Hotel Income Properties REIT LP

DOUG PAGE Director of Government Relations, TransCanada

BOARD MEMBERS IAN BEDDIS Former Director & Branch Manager (Retired), Scotia McLeod Inc.

ELLEN CHIDLEY Consultant

GORD HARRIS P. Eng., M&A Consultant

TRICIA LEADBEATER Director, Wealth & Management, Richardson GMP

DR. NORMAN SCHACHAR, M.D. University of Calgary Department of Surgery

HERE’S YOUR CUE with Patti Pon of Calgary Arts Development Excerpt of Patti’s speech at the Mayor’s Lunch for Arts Champions 2017: This weekend I attended a play featuring born and raised in YYC artist Bruce Horak, about Tom Thomson and his relationship to the Group of 7 and his mysterious disappearance. Bruce shared a story of why Lawren Harris initially funded the Group of 7...Harris believed that Canada will be known by its words, its deeds and its arts...but mostly its arts. And so the story goes, he built the Studio Building to house this new Canadian art movement and paid the artists to undertake their craft. And now some 100 years later, we are all aware of what those images and those stories tell us and the world about who we are as Canadians at a time when perhaps it is needed more than ever.

My understanding of what it means to be Canadian is through my own lived experience, — mostly through arts.

And in Calgary, it’s through the work of countless artists.

Alberta Education is undergoing a curriculum review where for the first time in 23 years, arts will be reinstated as a core subject. And it’s not because that’s a good thing for Artists! It’s because it’s a good thing for Albertans and our future prosperity and well-being!

Canada 150 reminds me that there is a history to this place that predates confederation by thousands of years.

Patti Pon, President and CEO of Calgary Arts Development

“I will continue to champion for increased investment for the arts because it’s not only a good thing for artists and organizations, but it’s a GOOD THING for our communities, for our city, and for our people!”

And as I learn more about the lives and values of the Indigenous Peoples of this land, it is their stories — Shared by Elders, expressed through music and dance, through visual art and film that touch our hearts and minds.

Through the arts, we will continue to learn from each other and to share our stories and to inspire others for not only the next 150 years but well beyond.

And on that note, here are my 3 Things for Canada and I return to Harris’ three things — Word, Deeds and Arts: I will use more words that come from my heart and not my head. My deeds will be inspired by the artists and arts I have the privilege of working with every day. I will continue to champion for increased investment for the arts because it’s not only a good thing for artists and organizations, but it’s a

GOOD THING for our communities, for our city, and for our people!

You are all arts champions, and I hope will continue to do things that helps make this a more connected, prosperous city for all Calgarians, not just some Calgarians, through the arts.

Inspiring Stories Are Good for our Community As Theatre Calgary commences its 50th Anniversary Season, we are appealing to you, our patrons, to demonstrate your support for the arts. Theatre Calgary has reached this milestone thanks to our family of donors who have invested in us. Please consider an extraordinary donation this season to pay tribute to the rich history of Theatre Calgary and to help build on possibilities for our promising future.

Your support transforms into compelling and inspiring productions, talented artists, and superior craftsmanship—and a stronger community!

This is a wonderful year to experience Theatre Calgary close up, by joining the Dress Circle or the Artistic Champions. Allow yourself to be captivated by artists and artistry at special behind-the-scenes events. Share your interest and enthusiasm with fellow theatre lovers. At the theatre, enjoy complimentary beverages in the warm atmosphere of the W.O. Mitchell Room*.

However you decide to support Theatre Calgary, be proud knowing that you are helping to shape a strong and vibrant theatre company, today and for our next 50 years! *The W.O. Mitchell Room is sponsored by Stategic Group.

For more information on how you can support this extraordinary season, please visit theatrecalgary.com

Polar Bear Safari One day tours from Calgary, Edmonton or Saskatoon October and November departures www.classiccanadiantours.com

Ph: 403-295-1415

THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS Celebrating 50 years of extraordinary support.

ARTISTIC CHAMPIONS PRODUCER’S CIRCLE ($25,000 +)

Joy Alford & Dan Magyar Michelle O’Reilly Foundation Craig D. Senyk, Mawer Investment

DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE ($10,000 +)

Frank & Diane Babienko Chadwick & Jillian Newcombe Alex Osten Margo & Brant Randles Rod & Betty Wade Edith & Cal Wenzel Tanya Zumwalt

DESIGNER’S CIRCLE ($5,000 +)

Brent Allardyce, Allardyce Bower Consulting Michele & Paul Beitel Dave & Roxanne Dunlop Don & Joan Greenfield Brian & Barbara Howes Chris & Tracy Lee Dennis Nerland & Jennifer Pollock C.A. Siebens

ACTOR’S CIRCLE

Doug Page & Christine Rogerson Susan & Jim Reader Vera Ross Janice & James Sanford Salima & Ali Shivji Colleen A. Smith Darwin Smith & Erica McBeth Roger & Lorna Smith The Tisdall Family Williamson/McAuley Family

CORPORATE DRESS CIRCLE ($3,900 +)

ARC Financial Corporation Jeff Boyd, Royal Bank of Canada Canadian Natural Resources Limited Franklin Templeton Investments Brian French, Where Magazine Terry Gale, Standard General Ray Limbert & Associates, BMO Nesbitt Burns Mackie Wealth Group/ Richardson GMP Stantec Consulting Ltd. Western Management Consultants Trecia Wright, Van Houtte Coffee Services

($2,500 +)

Anonymous Stafford Arima, in memory of Daisy Arima Christine Armstrong & Irfhan Rawji Bruce & Mary Comeau Peter Edwards & Maxine Leverette Jason W. Hadley Stephen Hair Brian Hook & Kathryn Heath Ryan & Kate Hoult Laurie & Barry Kenley Tim & Alana Kitchen Tricia Leadbeater Riaz & Zai Mamdani Keith & Gwen McMullen, Fireside Property Group Ltd. Geri & Alan Moon Janis & Bruce Morrison Jock & Diana Osler

DRESS CIRCLE ($1,000 +)

Anonymous Gary Agnew & Debra Johnstone, Tigerback Resources Ltd. Marguerite & Rene Amirault Bill Armstrong, Norton Rose Fulbright Janet Arnold & Gayle Hayes Diane M. Auld Eric & Diane Axford Maryann Ayim & Jim Mullin Banff Aspen Lodge Robin & Ian Beddis Clare Beers & J. Timothy Buehner James Bergeron & Aileen Delaney Louise Berlin Kelly & Celeste Bernakevitch George & Colleen Bezaire Margot Black Blue Sky Services Inc. Dave & Marilyn Bradley

Michael Broadhurst Jeanne Bulger Jim & Pat Burns Tom Byttynen & Janet McMaster Christina & Mark Caldwell A.S.L. & Wendy J. Campbell Lorna Carlson & Lloyd Good Ellen & Bill Chidley Carlene & Bruce Chrumka Lois Cole Steacy Collyer & Bryan Pinney Mary Comeau, Norton Rose Fulbright Denis Couturier Frances & Bob Coward DIALOG Patrick & Cheryl Doherty James Doleman & Dori Wood Greg & Tara Draper David Eeles, Norton Rose Fulbright Dr. Reuben & Amy Eng Frances Ferguson, Norton Rose Fulbright Lorie & Mike Flynn John & Audrey Fry S/S James Rob Geremia & Bonnie Kowaliuk Ricardo & Betti Anne Giammarino Gibson Energy Warren & Kristine Gieck Bruce Graham & Kathy Falla Richard S. Hannah Gord Harris & Nancy Dalton Dean & Trish Harrison Bruce Hartley & Michale Bonn Dick & Lois Haskayne Kevin & Kathy Hildebrand Lynn & Vern Hult Clarke & Adele Hunter, Norton Rose Fulbright Larry & Carolyn Hursh Andrew & Stephanie Johnson Glenna Jones & Michael Sherman Bill & Elspeth Kirk Barb & Yukio Kitagawa John & Vici Kortbeek Sandy & Parnell Kowalski Bob & Mary Lamond Cameron Lang, Carpet Superstores Rick & Val Lautischer, Awin Insurance

Dr. Laurie Lemieux & Dr. Wayne Rosen Elaine Lo Ray & Bernice Mack Bob & Peggy MacLeod Danielle & Jason Maksimow, Norton Rose Fulbright Stephen & Wendy Mason Dr. Lloyd & Tracy Maybaum Dr. J.E. Mccruden Christopher & Vicki McPhee Mauro & Brenda Meneghetti Rob Mitchell & James Pearson Tony Morris, Norton Rose Fulbright Gradon & Dorothy Morrison Mortgage Connection Stuart & Catherine Mugford John & Karen Murphy Jana & Lacey Neal Alan & Shelly Norris Barry & Sharon Northfield David & Linda Noruschat Bill O’Kruk & Alison Clift Bob & Rhonda Osness, Osness Insurance Ltd. C. Gordon & Joan Packer Donald & Leslie Park Allan & Allison Pedden Paul Polson, Stuart Olson Construction Aaron Potvin & Naomi Merkley Bonnie Ramsay & Richard Leslie Al & Margaret Rasmuson Sheila & Reno Redenbach Donna Riback George Rogers & Cathy Christensen Bob & Jean-Ann Rooney Susan & Richard Roskey Allan & Denise Ross Juli & Paul Sacco Norm & Kathy Schachar Byron & Marnie Schmidt Maggie Schofield Kelly R.H. Shannon Jeffrey & Karen Spiers James M. Stanford Dr. M. Steele & Dr. A. Daly Strategic Group Vera Swanson O.C. Lynn Tanner & Margaret Graw Harry & Linda Taylor TransCanada Corporation Michael & Susan Tumback Randal & Pam Van De Mosselaer

Gordon & Annie VanderLeek Paul Ventura Jud Virtue, Norton Rose Fulbright Alida Visbach & Paul Corbett Diane Volk Greg & Lori Waslen Rob & Candace Waters Shari Wattling & Trevor Rueger Patti Weldon & Kevin Taylor Ken & Stephanie Wilson Ward & Denise Zimmer

ADOPT-A-PLAY ($2500 FOR THE SEASON/ $500 PER PLAY)

FULL SEASON Dave & Marilyn Bradley Lynda Dunfield Stuart Olley & Myra Diaz Joanne Schaefer James M. Stanford

BLOW WIND HIGH WATER Karol Dabbs Dr. Donald Gladman & Irene Shewchuk Ted Jablonski & Monique Courcelles Howard & Janet McLean Mike Stillwell

OTHER 2017-18 PLAYS John Armstrong & Karyn Leidal Roy & Roberta Barr Sandy & Neill Coad Brian & Yvonne Conway Robert D.D. Cormack Demiantschuk Burke & Hoffinger Darin & Belinda Dunlop Louise & Mark Lines Alan & Shelly Norris Carolyn S. Phillips Robert & Andrea Sartor Norm & Kathy Schachar John & Peggy Van De Pol

LEGACY CIRCLE LEGACY LEADERS Martha Cohen Estate Jo-Ann De Repentigny Estate Barbara Peddlesden Estate

LEGACY VISIONARIES Paul & Michele Beitel Denis Couturier Alex Osten

Norm & Kathy Schachar Allen & Valerie Swanson

INDIVIDUAL DONORS INVESTOR ($5,000 +)

Edmonton Community Foundation The Flanagan Foundation

SUSTAINER ($1,500 +)

Gord & Eva Hoffman1 Barb & Yukio Kitagawa McCarthy Tetrault Foundation Norm & Kathy Schachar Family Legacy Fund, Shakespeare by the Bow1 1

Friends of the Bard

BENEFACTOR ($1,000 +)

Anonymous Diana & David Ballard Nolan & Carol Blades Stacey & Dale Burstall Cakeworks Michael Mezei & Andrea Hopps Alan Moon, United Way of Calgary, Donor Choice program Graydon & Dorothy Morrison Susan O’Brien Osten-Victor Fund, at the Calgary Foundation Bernice & Thomas Raedler Colleen & William Tobman Jody Wood & Quentin Pittman Dr. Douglas Rix & Deborah Ferguson

ASSOCIATE ($400 +)

Anonymous Baher Family Fund at the Calgary Foundation David & Gwen Baker Gary & Tracey Boehm Chris Brooks & Daniel Heng Bruce & Heather Brunette Ian & Gwen Burgess John & Monique Buysschaert Barrie & Joan Cameron Bill & Laurie Clay CW4W Afghan, Calgary Chapter Edward & Jean Czaja Gloria J. Davis Kristen & Denis Dion DLA Piper (Canada) LLP G.M. Gillette

Danelle Hames James Hughes IBM Canada Employees’ Charitable Fund Cindy Johnson Royer Fund at the Calgary Foundation Bill & Kit Kennedy Roy Klassen Lee’s Picture Frame Warehouse Jean Macnab C. Marshall Joan & Robert Martin Leslie & Roger McMechan Brian Mills & Susan Tyrrell Leyton Morris Nancy & Glen Charitable Gift Fund C. Gordon & Joan Packer Bill & Erisa Penner Jeff Pivnick & Jayne Thirsk Repsol Oil & Gas Canada Inc. Richard Kennedy P.C. The Schmitz Family Foundation Malcolm Turner & Barbara Black Linda & Gord Vogt Willis Winter Robert Woodrow

FRIEND ($100 +)

Anonymous Sherrill & Robert Allan F. Garfield Anderson David & Bev Andrews Stephen Arsenych Bernice & Ken Baher C. Baker Don & Carol Baker Jane Barlet Hessdorfer Jane Baxter The Belangers & The Mix Tom & Bev Benson Allan & Donna Black Gerry Bowland Diane & John Boyd Dave & Marilyn Bradley Brian Brausen Barb & Alex Brough K.R. Brown Mike & Judy Brunner R. Bryant Helga Budwill Sharon & Royal Burritt David & Sebina Butts Richard & Eleanor Byers Brenda & Gordy Cannady

Marlys & Ted Carruthers Cenovus Energy Inc. Marjorie Challand Donna Chapman Jim & Eleanor Chinnick Margaret Churchill J. Clapson CNL Resources Ltd. Maureen Cook Ira Cooper & Erin Storey Greg Coupal Tom & Carol-Ann Cox The Craig Family & The Willis Family Thomas & Winifred Day Luigi & Joyce De Somma Elizabeth Dixon Willa & Don Dumka Gay Dunlop Tricia Durkin Jane Ebbern & Kevin Johnston Steve & Shawan Edworthy Len & Fran Esler Dwayne & Rita Ewanchuk F. Ferguson G.J. Filyk B. Flood Beverley Fujino

When the arts need our support, we’re there.

Norton Rose Fulbright is proud to sponsor Theatre Calgary, as they take to the stage for their 50th season.

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Jan Geggie Bob & Carol Gerein Barb & Dan Giba Gordon & Dorcas Giesbrecht John Gilpin Jane & Alan Glover Ronald & Helen Goodman Pauline & Don Gray Dennis & Ardele Gregory Irene & J.G. Grier Kent Haidl Elizabeth Hamel Barbara Hay Catherine Heaton John Heffer Laurie Hillis Brent & Tammy Hironaka Louis & Penny Hogan Aldyth Holder Gillian & John Hopkins Neil & Sue Huckle Carolyn & Henry Huisman John Humphrey & Laura McLeod Carol Jensen Janice & Barrie Johnson Glen & Joan Johnston Edward Juarez

Evelyn Keddie Brian & Darlene Kelly Annalise King Phyllis & Larry King John & Maureen Kirby Helle & Juri Kraav Herb & Kathy Kroeker Ruth Kroon George & Suzannah Kurian Lorne & Pat Larson Diana & Roger Leach Robert & Linda Lesoway Larry & Corrie Loomes Frank & Donna Losoncy Barb & Jack Lough Cathy Loughlin Al & Sandy Lucas Andrew & Emily Lukacik Debbie MacDonald & John Sojak Mary & Don MacLeod Jean Macnab Karen MacPherson Evelyne & Harvey Martens James & Donna McDonald Ron & Sylvia McIntosh Tonya McKechnie Marilyn Mcelheran

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Shirley McNamara Medley Family Annette M. Messer Dr. Julian Midgley David & Maureen Mitchell Jean L. Mitchell Margaret Montgomery Barbara Morin Muir Family Forbes & Margaret Newman Todd & Jean Nickel Chuck & Daphne Nicolle Wayne & Marilyn Niddrie John & Dianne O'Rourke The Paddon Hughes Development Co. Ltd. Bev Palko John & Karen Palmer Murray & Corlienne Pennell Mike & Lorie Pesowski Louella & Wayne Pethrick Ross & Robin Phillips William Phillips Ronald & Marjorie Potts James & Gabriella Prette Sue & Wayne Ramsden Del Rath RBC Foundation

Wendy & Dan Reid Cindi Reopell & Don Watt Mary & Ernest Rewucki Ian & Cheryl Richmond Gay Robinson Howard & Karen Roppel Dr. Peter Roxburgh Robert & Rosalie Rudolf Doreen Sandercock Christine Sargeant William Scheidt Jo-Ann Schwartzenberger David Severson Rob & Cheryl Sheppard Barb & Don Sibbald Tim & Doris Sidlick Dr. Wilma Slenders & Victor Didkowsky Monty Slim & Sylvie Monfette Kelly Smith & Dan Fichter Ken & Barb Smith Paulette & Rick Smith Penny Smith Susan Spratt Barb Squires & Robert Elsworthy Kelly Stacey Ray & Pat Stauffer

Elizabeth Stock & Alistair Shepherd-Cross Douglas & Laurie Strother Dave & Darlene Swanson Valerie & Allen Swanson Aliya Tafber James & Roberta Taylor R. & M. Tebo L. & M. Tenzer Kathryn Thomas Mark & Linda Thomas Dianne & Owen Thomson Lynne J. Thornton Helene Tonnisen Bill & Carol Twasiuk John & Elizabeth Varsek Jane Virtue & Sean McMaster Jan & Robert Walsh Glenda & Keith Wellon Dennis & Sylvia Wheatley Bob & Wendy Whyte Robert V. Whyte Ken Wiens Val & Larry Wolfe George Woodings Lora & Terry Wyman Herrat Zahner Helen & Paul Zeman Doris Zellweger

SENATORS William R. Blain, Q.C. Don Boyes Derek Bridges Joyce Doolittle Kay Grieve David Haigh Harry Hartley Margaret Hess, Q.C. Les Kimber Jan McCaghren Victor Mitchell Barbara Morin Gerry Nichol Fred Scott Lynne J. Thornton Derek Warren Nomi Whalen For more information on donating to Theatre Calgary, contact Shirley Yurchi at 403-294-7440 ext 1002 or donations@theatrecalgary.com.

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Tuesday thru Friday 11am to 7pm • Saturday 10am to 5:30pm Sunday Noon - 5pm • Closed Monday.

OUR LEGACY VOLUNTEERS We are tremendously fortunate to have over 400 volunteers who give so freely of their time to help Theatre Calgary come alive. As we celebrate our 50th season, we want to honour their commitment. Our Legacy Volunteers are those with 30+ years of service.

Italian. But everything that I’ve been through, coming here, I remember, the world was taken away from me, basically.

I always say that I don’t wish that on my worst enemy, but it made me what I am today.

Why do you volunteer with Theatre Calgary? What has kept you coming back year after year?

A: I really love the community that is here.

I’m always with the same group basically, and I come only on Fridays.

Has anything unusual has ever happened while volunteering?

Angela Apuzzo

31 years ago, Angela Apuzzo began volunteering her time here at Theatre Calgary – and we could not be more grateful! With her love of theatre and her desire to connect with the English language, Angela is a treasured volunteer.

Our Artistic Associate, Jenna Turk, spoke with her about her life and experience with Theatre Calgary.

I love your accent, may I ask where you are from originally?

Angela: I am originally from Italy.

When I got married I had no choice about coming here (to Calgary). My husband had already been here for ten years and was a citizen. He came to Italy to get married. I was only eighteen, and came over, married and lost, because I didn’t know the language at all.

How did you learn English, then?

A: By ear. And with my little dictionary, you know, where I would write any word in English the way it sounded to me in

A: One time they started the play, I don’t remember which one, and an actor comes out with a suitcase, puts it down, and then you hear ‘Choo, choo!’ I thought, is the train is supposed to be coming? But that was the fire alarm! And then they say, “Fire in the House!” so we go to meet outside and it was 32 below. It turned out that there was no fire; it was some car taller than what it should be that had parked, and it triggered the alarm. So, we kind of froze a little bit, but we went back in and they restarted the play!

If there’s anyone who’s interested in volunteering, would you encourage them to do it?

A: If they like the theatre in general, yes, for sure. For me, I always liked it, I was always involved. When I was seven, I went to see La Traviata - I loved that. And I cried, of course. I still do, every time I see the opera.

Thank you so much to Angela Apuzzo for 31 years of service!

If you are interested in volunteering with Theatre Calgary or would like to learn more, please contact Norm Cook via email: ncook@theatrecalgary.com

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS & PARTNERS Making outstanding productions possible BLOW WIND HIGH WATER MEDIA PARTNERS

PRODUCTION & SEASON SPONSORS

ACCESSIBLE ARTS SPONSOR

SPOTLIGHT SPONSOR

FUSE – NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT SPONSOR

W.O. MITCHELL ROOM SPONSOR

STR ATEGIC

INTERACTIVE LEARNING PROGRAM SPONSORS

DRESS CIRCLE SPONSOR

EMERGING ARTISTS PROGRAM & SHAKESPEARE BY THE BOW

GALA SPONSORS

STR ATEGIC

OFFICIAL SUPPLIERS

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

MEDIA PARTNERS

For more information on sponsorship opportunities, please contact Trish Matheson, Director of Development: 403-294-7419 tmatheson@theatrecalgary.com.

WITH YOU

RAIN OR

SHINE (or flood or snow, tornado, hail, fog, blizzard, heat, wind or avalanche)

@cbccalgary