Out With the Old & In With 2013!!!

What a magical and eventful year for theatre and life!

I can't wait to see what the New Year has in store.

In 2013

I had the honour to play the role of Anne in "Goodnight Children Everywhere"

I was blessed with a friendly and talented cast in "the TWIDDLE PLAYS"

I began volunteering at the local art gallery "the Arts Project"

I started my own business

I began working with a friend on a top secret theatre project for kids

I was accepted as 1 of 7 members of the new GAB program at the Grand Theatre

I began volunteering and now sit on the board for "Artistically Speaking Out Against Bullying"

I've made some wonderful new friends through the Source, Theatre and Arbonne

I attended my cousin's wedding

I am directing for the Palace for the first time ("Swing Dance" - Feb 2013)

I've continued working as an actor for Murder for Hire Murder Mysteries

I was the maid of honour at my mum's wedding

I reconnected with a penpal in the UK from my childhood

I have planned the next Maybles' Poductions ("Six Funny Ladies" - May 2013)

Darren and I got a dog together

and I'm sure there's many more excited things I'm forgetting.

I thought I would share with you why I do theatre and why I think it is an important part of life...

~ ~

I have been involved with independent theatre across Southern Ontario and India for almost 15 years now. My discipline of theatre would be Comedy as a Director and Comedy/Drama as an actor.

I founded my own theatre company in 2009 called "Maybles' Productions, Because Funny Feels Good" because I saw there was a gap in the local theatre community - Comedy.
It wasn't just Comedies that this city was lacking but also a theatre company which truly worked together, was 'drama'-free and helped each participant to learn as much as they can and give the best performance they can. I have always been a believer in "two heads are better than one" and this is true for theatre as well.

Theatre has been an outlet for people to grow, learn and build on skills that can flow into areas of daily life. Through theatre, I have seen individuals overcome stage fright, reading and speech impediments as well as become self-assured after accomplishing something as great, wonderful and magical as a play.

To me, Theatre means an escape or break from "life", a safe space where people can explore what it means to be human and a place where individuals can be a part of something wonderful.

Through the years, I have had many inspiring Theatre experiences. I have built a drama club in an all-girls' school in India, I have worked as a director with blind actors, I have seen actors overcome with joy because they "didn't fail" and had someone who believed in them. I have seen a room brought to tears because a 12-year-old girl (who found a love for herself through drama and music) stated "she didn't want to die anymore". I would say my most inspiring life experience has BEEN theatre.

When I direct or produce theatre, I create comedies with real and believable characters because it feels good to laugh. I create a space that is supportive, all-accepting and trusting between the cast & crew.  Sometimes as an audience member, we don't want to think or rack our brains for references and we just want to sit back, relax and laugh.

When I am performing as an actor, I try to create a character that has had their own experiences and that the audience can relate to in some way. I also try to find something in each character I portray that explores a specific part of myself.

When I am teaching a workshop (Culture Days, Concordia College or Artistically Speaking Out Against Bullying), I try to inspire my students to challenge themselves and their comfort zones. It is magical to see someone, who thinks they cannot do something, work towards it then finally do it. A sense of accomplishment is one of the greatest gifts one can give to a child or adult who has self-doubt and I can do this all the time through theatre.

My general philosophy on theatre is this: Theatre is not a hobby, it is a way of life and if we can teach individuals how to be supportive and accepting of each other on a stage - maybe we can teach the world to so the same.

I will end by saying that though theatre can teach people many things - it cannot teach people passion and it is Passion that I have. I have been told that I eat, breathe and sleep theatre and that I may be on the borderline of "obsessed". Theatre can do so much ~ let me show you what I can do with theatre.

 STAY TUNED FOR AUDITIONS FOR "SIX FUNNY LADIES"!!!!!

"Goodnight Children Everywhere" comes to London, Ontario!

~ a post World War II play about lost childhood, familial roles and human nature ~

Goodnight Children Everywhere

written by Richard Nelson

coming to the Palace Theatre in London, Ontario

October 4-13, 2012

Cast (clockwise from top left): Tim Condon, Kevin Curnette, Whitney Bolam,

Heather May & Kalina Hada-Lemon (absent: Chris Albert & Clara Madrenas)

Elizabeth Newman (Director) & Heather May (Anne)



This play is not for the faint of heart or the easily offended.

Goodnight Children Everywhere takes the audience into the home of Anne, Vi and Betty (3 sisters) and Anne's husband Mike in Clapham, South London England during the Spring of 1945. These four have been living together in this small flat for some time and have become accustomed to the way of life in such small quarters.

The play starts on the day these three sisters are reunited with their brother Peter who was sent away during the Operation Pied Piper Evacuation to live in Alberta, Canada in World War II. Peter is now returning to England to live, once again, with his three sisters.

How does a family put back all the pieces? What do the words "Mother" and "Father" mean to children who were robbed of a propper childhood? How do siblings cope with the loss of both parents in war? How does one differenciate between "right" and "wrong" when so much of what has happend to them has been wrong? What happens between a brother and sister who were parted when they were children and reunited as young adults?

Each of these characters have a back story that is (by far) abonormal and challenging by today's standards. 

Mike, Anne's husband, met her through her sister Betty. Betty worked with Mike and had a crush on him. She brought him home to meet her sisters. So how did Anne end up being his wife and pregnant with his child? How does Anne cope with the ongoing flirtations between Mike and Betty?

Betty is a nurse. She is strong and responsible. She would make the perfect wife. She cooks, she cleans - so why did Mike choose Anne over Betty? Why does Betty fall for someone...like Hugh?

Hugh works with Mike at the surgery. He's loud, obnxious and like his whiskey. He sings too loudly, talks too loud and never seems to say the right thing. Are these the reasons why his wife left him for someone else or is there more to Hugh than meets the ear?

Rose is Hugh's daughter. She's pretty and obedient and "loves to go to the pictures". She is polite and always seems to say the right thing. She's realistic and has a plan for life. Peter would be crazy to pass her up - or would he be?

Peter is Anne, Betty & Vi's little brother. He has been separated from his sisters for years and is finally being reunited with them. All this time he's spent living in Canada. His accent has changed, his clothes have changed and...his body has changed. He's not the little boy he was when he left.

Vi is Anne & Betty's sister. She's young, fun and an actor. She could be considered the light in this family's darkness. What ends is she willing to go to in order to make a better life for herself? What past experiences has made her able to push through so many obstacles? What will it take to push her over the edge?

Anne, Vi & Betty's sister is, amongst other things, five-six months pregnant. She's tired, exhausted and never in the mood to 'go out'. You would think such a happy occassion as being reunited with her little brother would make her happy and jump for joy and yet, she remains quiet and still. It appears Anne is shy or afraid of saying the wrong thing. Maybe she's afraid of her husband or maybe it's just hormones. Then again, perhaps it's something deeper, that words cannot begin to describe.

~

"Goodnight Children Everywhere" promises to challenge it's audience. It is the kind of play London, Ontario has not seen for a long time. This is NOT a play for children and patrons should be warned of the mature subject matter and shocking moral content.

May this production be a reminder of a time passed that we (thankfully) do not live in or have to endure on a daily basis. May it be a tribute to all the lives affected by war in the past, present or future.

"Goodnight Children Everywhere" opens at the Palace Theatre on October 4th & productions are as follows:

October 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 11th, 12th & 13th in Procunier Hall at 8pm.

For more information or for tickets, please call the Palace Theatre Box Office at (519) 432-1029.
Tickets are $15