THE LAST ROMANCE
JANE JANES, DIRECTOR
This show was a dream to direct. John, Liz, Charmaine, and Shawn were wonderful. They learned their lines and they took direction graciously and with professionalism They portrayed the characters perfectly. The audience seemed to love it as well and many hearts were touched along the way. Stage manager Diane worked tirelessly and you would never know it was her first show in this position Everyone in the crew worked as a team. There was absolutely no drama in this drama
Theatre is my passion and I am so grateful that Theatre Sarnia and the Imperial Theatre helped me live my dream!
Thank you to everyone who came out and supported The Last Romance, a smaller play but still mighty!
DIANE VIENNEAU, STAGE MANAGER
“It was a pleasure and a privilege to work on this outstanding production of The Last Romance As a first time Stage Manager, I really got a sense of the true community behind the Theatre Sarnia family So many people spending hours and hours contributing their awesome talents to bring a wonderful story to the stage I can’t wait to get started on the next project!”
BEHIND THE SCENES
MARY JO WEBBER, PROPS LEAD
It was an amazing show. We had a good time backstage. There weren’t any sets to walk over and around and I didn't have to duck to get out of the way of anything.
Mind you I do love it when it is busy backstage, keeps the adrenaline going. This show had a nice easy pace. The cast and crew were great. The audiences were wonderful, understood the jokes, and there were standing ovations each night
Joan Walker has a sweet little dog. Trixie (Peaches) was the best behaved little sweetheart and such a ham on stage.
CHARMAINE JACKLIN, ROSE
What a wonderful experience! Jane was a gracious and patient director with a wonderful vision and she also allowed us to bring some of our own ideas/interpretations to our characters. Diane and the cast were great to work with, and we all clicked as though we had been working together for years.
The best part was listening to Shawn and John (Young Ralph and Ralph) practise together. Everyone involved in the crew was there to support us, sometimes even when we didn’t realize we needed the extra help From the attention to detail to the encouraging words when I messed up, it was truly heartwarming. To reiterate, just a Wonderful Experience❣
I read Stephen King's 'Misery' when I was 9 or 10. It was my first King novel of many, after the avid reader in me needed to graduate from R.L. Stine's Goosebumps series, (though they still are the best). So after a lifetime of creativity, acting in the Theatre Sarnia pantos and stage plays of the 90s and 2000s, filmmaking, stand-up comedy, music, writing, and 11 years specifically dedicated to theatre - 7 of which were spent directing almost exclusively grand-scale musicals, I have returned to where all my inspiration and need to create things began: a stage play... And 'Misery'.
King's novel was published in 1987, with a feature film adaptation following in 1990 directed by Rob Reiner, featuring James Caan and an Academy Award winning performance by Kathy Bates. It tells the story of successful romance novelist Paul Sheldon, who is rescued from a car crash by his “number one fan,” Annie Wilkes, and wakes up captive in her secluded home. While Paul is convalescing, Annie reads his latest book and becomes enraged when she discovers the author has killed off her favorite character, Misery Chastain. Annie forces Paul to write a new Misery novel, and he quickly realizes Annie has no intention of letting him go anywhere. The irate Annie has Paul writing as if his life depends on it, and it does.
Doing straight horror on the Theatre Sarnia stage is not something we've done in a long, long time, if ever. In this capacity, and my excitement and gratitude are incalculable of the response I've received from so many talented artists who were eager to sign up to contribute to this project.
Our gracious Executive Director, Brian Austin greenlit the construction of an impossibly-involved, monstrously wicked set, based on a crazy idea I had to make Annie Wilkes’ farmhouse even scarier. Bill Soulliere is currently leading the hardworking set crew in bringing this wild vision to life at breakneck speed and with jaw dropping skill. I am feeling overwhelmingly spoiled as a director.
Sara Dunn and Frank Mastronardi are exploring delightfully quirky and creepy set decor designs, while the master of nextlevel props, Kelly Barrington is building things that go creak, tap-tap, boom and crunch. You can expect another Front Of House lobby display masterpiece from Amanda Jenkins along with the producing team of Denise McMillan and Eve Vritsios, and a groundbreaking, mind-bending video projection design from myself and cherished Imperial Theatre photographer, Emily Nutson, to complete the immersive and haunting atmosphere of Wilkes Farm. Marian Blonde and Martha Knight will be bringing the 3 characters to life through a rich and nuanced wardrobe that I'm very excited about.
Having been a director of musicals for so many productions in a row, being afforded the abundance of time to focus solely on character building, creative blocking and rich and edgy text has come as a real treat to me. This is only made more rewarding by getting to experience this with an out-of-this-world cast. Dallas Michaluk (the Wicked Witch from ‘Wizard of Oz’), Jeff Winter (from the 2017 drama ‘Willow Quartet’) and Norm Francoeur (seen last in ‘White Christmas’) are absolutely spellbinding as Annie Wilkes, Paul Sheldon and Sheriff Buster, respectively. I am, again, feeling so very spoiled as a director and can’t wait for audiences to see these performers in this light.
Coordinating this madhouse of my ideas, standout performances, shapeshifting, spinning and spatially disorienting set, decor, props and more is the outstanding stage management team comprised of Siobhan Mogensen, Brooke Lindsay and Tia Colborne lead by the mindful and mathematical precision, incredible patience and quiet genius of Cara Bootland.
From January 29 - February 2, a very cool and creepy thing will be on our stage and I couldn’t be prouder and more humbled by what our team will have built. We hope you become our “number one fan” as we break a leg. Or two. Tickets available now at imperialteatre.net
Ian Alexander Director
YOUTH GROUP UPDATE OCTOBER 2024
Our three fall youth programs are in full swing!
Our Fall Acting Program is looking forward to taking the stage this November to present a night of one acts including the short plays Supervillains Anonymous, Twelve Hangry Jurors, and Stone Dragon Stew. We are nearing the end of our rehearsals and getting ready to move into tech week! You can catch these talented young performers in their showcase on Tuesday, November 19th at 7:00pm. Tickets are just $10 each.
Annie Jr. tickets are on sale now as well! Our cast is ramping up rehearsals to finish all our big production numbers and getting excited as we start our costume fittings!
High School Musical Jr. is continuing working on blocking, music, and choreo in our rehearsals and eagerly anticipating adding in all the production elements to our show.
Our winter acting program, presenting the comedy action play, Space Princess Wars, will begin at the end of January and still has a few spots remaining. If you are interested in learning more information about the program or registering your child, please click on the include links.
As a reminder, here are all our performance dates for the season:
3 One Acts! (Fall Acting Program)November 19th
Annie Jr. (Jr. Musical Theatre Program)January 23rd & 24th
High School Musical Jr (Sr Musical Theatre Program) - March 27th & 28th
Space Princess Wars (Winter Acting Program) - April 24th
By: Jackie Burns
The opening night gala for Theatre Sarnia's The Last Romance was a night filled with laughter, love and a healthy dose of canine charm.
The last romance
Gala Recap
Taking place at the iconic Capitol bar, we were privy to the artistic talent of Community Engagement Committee volunteers who design and set up these events. One of the highlights was the adorable centrepieces, crafted by the dynamic duo Ruth Francoeur and Diane Szymaniak. These charming table displays featured different breeds of dogs perched on miniature grass patches which added a touch of whimsy and playfulness to the event.
Another stunning feature of the gala was the breathtaking sunset mural, painted by Amanda Jenkins for the front-ofhouse photo booth display The vibrant colours and imagery were a captivating backdrop that transported attendees to the era of The Last Romance. Jenkins's talent was evident in every stroke, and her mural served as a beautiful introduction to the evening's festivities
A new element was added to this gala the signature drink contest. The winning drink for this show was “It's All Peachy", developed by Craig Matthews. Matthews, a fellow Theatre Sarnia member, took home the prize for his delicious and refreshing concoction, inspired by the themes of Italy, peaches and romance. Members were treated to a complimentary glass of Matthews's refreshing cocktail upon arrival.
The opening night gala for The Last Romance was a resounding success The special details, delicious drinks, and dog-park themed atmosphere resulted in a truly unforgettable and fun evening.
Stay tuned for the next contest which will be advertised in Stagestruck Read how to enter your signature drink idea for Theatre Sarnia's opening night gala Our next production is Misery by Stephen King. Please join us Wednesday, January 29th, 2025 in the Capitol bar, following the performance.
Eve Vritsios
Audrey 2: Electric Boogaloo
In recent years, Theatre Sarnia has broken into the set, prop, and costume selling market. Our products have become so high demand, we’ve had theatres reach out to inquire about purchasin before the sets have even been built!
In the past, we’ve been able to sell our Evil Dead set (which recently saw the stage again in London, ON), our Beauty and the Beast set, and The Little Mermaid set (including the GIANT ship).
Most recently, we were able to sell our set of Audrey Two puppets from our production of Little Shop of Horrors to Simcoe Little Theatre and our carriage and moving trees from Cinderella to Rochester High School in Rochester Hills, MI, USA.
After a brief stint of renting the Little Shop puppets, we decided it was finally time to part ways with the beautiful puppets, designed and built by our very own Kelly Barrington. They’ve lived in our workshop for over a year and it was high time they saw the stage again. If you’d like to see them eat even MORE people, check them out in Simcoe from November 21st – December 8th, 2024.
Our beautiful Cinderella carriage and moving trees, designed and built by the Theatre Sarnia set build and decor teams, have gone international. They will be living their best High School Musical dreams (shout out to the TS Youth Group) in Rochester Hills, Michigan, November 21st-24th, 2024. (P.S: If you go to the show dressed as a prince or princess, you could win a prize!)
A big thank you to all of the talented people who volunteer so much time to our organization. We couldn’t do this without you!
Rachelle Lacroix
Please email support@theatresarniaorg for more information Dates subject to change.
November15,16: AuditionsforMom’sgift
November22,23: AuditionsforRent
December7: SantaClausParade JoinusontheTheatreSarniaFloatinthe Parade!
January22: DeadlineforDrinkContest
GetyourdrinkideasinfortheMiseryOpening NightGala.Enterhere: MiseryDrinkIdeas
January23-24: TheatreSarniaJuniorYouth MusicalTheatrePresents:AnnieJr. Getyourticketsattheboxoffice
January29: OpeningNightGalaforMisery Joinusaftertheshowtocelebrate!Light Snacksprovided.AllTheatreSarniamembers welcome!
January29-February2: TheatreSarnia Presents:MiseryGetyourticketsatthebox office.
February6:TheatreSarniaTownHall 7pmattheImperialTheatre. Getanupdateoncurrenthappeningsatthe theatre,andhaveachancetohaveyourvoice heard!Joinusafterwardsforlightrefreshments
March26:DeadlineforDrinkContest
GetyourdrinkideasinfortheMom’sGift OpeningNightGalaEnterhere:Mom’sGift DrinkIdeas
March27,28: TheatreSarniaSeniorYouth MusicalTheatrePresents:HighSchoolMusical Getyourticketsattheboxoffice.
April2: OpeningNightGalaforMom’sGift Joinusaftertheshowtocelebrate!LightSnacks provided.AllTheatreSarniamemberswelcome!
April2-6: TheatreSarniaPresents:Mom’sGift Getyourticketsattheboxoffice.
April15: TheatreSarniaTownHall 7pmattheImperialTheatre
Getanupdateoncurrenthappeningsatthe theatre,andhaveachancetohaveyourvoice heard!Joinusafterwardsforlightrefreshments
April24: TheatreSarniaYouthGroupPresents: SpacePrincessWars.Getyourticketsatthebox office.
May16: DeadlineforDrinkContest
GetyourdrinkideasinfortheRentOpening NightGalaEnterhere: RentDrinkIdeas
May23: OpeningNightGalaforRent Joinusaftertheshowtocelebrate!LightSnacks provided.AllTheatreSarniamemberswelcome!
May23-31: TheatreSarniaPresents:Rent Getyourticketsattheboxoffice
Summer2025: TheatreSarnia:GalaforHOPECruiseontheDuc-Detailstocome!
