St Johns Ravenscourt School - Eagle Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

Page 63 text:

B- On Friday the 26th and Saturday the 27th, Billy Budd was presented to large and receptive audiences. The cast who had all worked through long and tedious rehearsals are to be congratulated on the calibre of their performances. Many of those who had parts in the play were newcomers to the stage, but by the final performance, all members of the cast gave very polished performances in a very challenging production. The success of the play is due to all those who gave so much time and effort towards it: to Mr. McLeod who worked so hard to make it possible, to Mr. Shepherd, the sound-effects man, to Mrs. Maurer, the costume- mistress, and to Miss House, Mrs. Hebert, Walter, and Harold, all who co-operated and assisted. OL C ast Edward Fairfax Vere .Aaron Schwartz Philip Michael Seymour, First Officer, Colin Moncrieff John Ratcliffe, First Lt.Rick Matthews Wyatt, Sailing Master .—.....Clark Fraser Gardiner, a Midshipman ...Muir Meredith Ktfcgpts OWJdrfSfjtFSdtfiVniSCflUJllJSCMQOJ-Simon Truelove Surgeon .r.C.v...... Denis Riley John Claggart, Master-at-Arms .Craig Lamb Squeak, Master-at-Arms ' Man .Neil Duncan The Dansker, Mainmast Man .Bill Cottick Jenkins, Captain of the Maintop .Peter Hunter Kincaid, Maintopman .Michael Trew O’Daniel, Maintopman .... ........Philip Dodd Butler, Maintopman .i i.„Bill Everett Talbot, Mizzentopman .Robert McCaskill Jackson, Maintopman .„M. V .David Sprague Billy Budd . fO-xCS id Purdy Hallamj St Marine .Randy Paul Messboy .George Gosko Stoll, Helmsman .Hugh Swan Duncan, Mate of the Maindeckv...Doug McDonald Byren, Relief Helmsman .Stewart Searle Drummer .Doug MacKay Other Sailors ...n.i,;.}..JS§C-.Paul Schmidt Doug Arnett ..., Bil ! £f oy Michael Elliot Prompter ....AJ.I-OU .Blair Carlson Make-8pf P.QX.Qf iSf...OtiL.Kelly Stage Sets .Mark Glasgow W. Hartwig and Staff Lighting .Bill McWilliams Properties .Paul Wilson Costumes.Mrs. K. W. Maurer and Assistants ' Malabar ' s Director .Gordon D. McLeod The Cast. Why, sir, he ' s dead!” God knows I ' m sorry . God bless Captain Vere!”

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. . least of all a rum-soaked footpad.” This is a night for secrets.” The Accusation. This year the school presented its fourth play in seven years. “Billy Budd” proved the most successful yet. Written by Louis O. Coxe and Robert Chapman, and based on the novel by Herman Melville, it was the most challenging pro¬ duction undertaken by the school thus far. Billy Budd is a modern morality play concern¬ ing the conflict between good and evil, and at the same time is an exciting tale of life in the British Royal Navy in the 18th Century. Its many good points include its depth, the opportunity it gives for artistic expression in many aspects, and not of least importance, its all-male cast. Having chosen the play, in October, Mr. Mc¬ Leod, with the aid of Mr. Gordon and Mr. Hammond, set about the task of castings. Within a few weeks, the roles were all filled, and rehears¬ ing had begun under the direction of Mr. McLeod. By Christmas most of the lines were firmly em¬ bedded in the actors’ minds, and they were begin¬ ning to get the feel of their parts. Meanwhile, all had been quiet in the technical aspects of pro¬ duction. Mark Glasgow was busy with pen, brush and artistic talents designing sets, and Bill Mc¬ Williams had already started planning the compli¬ cated lighting schemes. Mrs. Maurer had started collecting white sweat shirts, white ducks and blue ink. In one week early in January, Mrs. Gordon, Mrs. Kiddell, Miss House and Mrs. Stewart put the ink and shirts together, to produce the now- famous Billy Budd Shirt. In January, rehearsals began in earnest, and the pace of production was stepped up. Rehearsals were longer, and more trying, but also more productive. Evening rehearsals were common, and the day-boys in the play became a curious mixture of boarder and commuter. Attending rehearsals as well as Mr. McLeod and the actors were the set designers and lighting technicians. All worked hard in their respective fields as February pro¬ gressed. As the performance dates neared, new faces appeared on the scene. Paul Wilson had taken over the job of organizing properties from Mr. Glegg, who had fallen ill. Volunteers for make-up were instructed by Miss Kelly one night at the school. Finally the 25th had come. The actors were word-perfect and confident. The sets were com¬ plete and gorgeous; the lighting was carefully planned; the props were gathered and organized; the costumes were made or rented. The dress- rehearsal at the Playhouse went well on Thursday night. 58

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' ances The reverend’s daughter? This year we held a number of informal dances with a small admission charge, from which the proceeds went to reduce the ticket prices of the Cadet Ball, or rather the formal which was held in place of the Ball. The first of these dances was a record hop, held on Oc¬ tober 3rd in the Dining Hall. Purdy’s beachboys provided most of the entertainment. A second dance, the Football Dance, was held on October 31st in Thompson House. As the warmth of the evening increased, couples slipped out¬ side into the chilly air,. and watched Hallowe’en rioters being quelled on the dyke. A third dance was held in the Dining Hall on January 16th, and a fourth was held in conjunction with the Winter Carnival on January 30th. It was at this last dance that the school’s home-made Spectres put in their first appearance, but since then, they have risen to fame. Plans are being made for a formal dance on April 23rd, and perhaps after that, we may have a repeat of last year’s exciting Grad. Dance-Barbecue. JdLadi les Qui u 9 e. f port 1964-65 has been another busy year for the St. John’s-Ravenscourt School Guild. Our Christmas Dance was once again a tremendous success, with the recep¬ tion being held in a very festive Camsell Wing. Plans are underway for our annual Spring Function — this year to be a coffee party — held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. George Heffelfinger. Our general meetings have been well-attended, and after a great deal of lively discussion, we have decided to spend our funds in the following manner: We are having a kitchen installed in the Sick Bay, which will make it possible for Miss House to prepare tempting meals for her patients. We have completed the equipping of the Rifle Range which is being used extensively and to good advantage by both the Upper and Lower boys. The Lower School has been given a donation of money for camping equipment and judo mats are being bought for use by both the Lower and Upper Schools. The library has also received its annual donation for the purchase of books. It is hard to realize as I am writing this with so much snow on the ground that the time has come to wish our graduating class every success; we shall follow with interest their careers. Mrs. C. Ian D. McDonald President.