Ashbury College - Ashburian Yearbook (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)

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6 THE ASHBURIAN A special prologue, written by Mr. Thompson was spoken by M. Grant. The first verses were : — Gentles, welcome all ! And first to you, my Lord, That comes to represent our noble King, Respectful salutations from our school. To you, first Lady of the State, we now Present our welcome too. May this our land be ever fortunate Thus to be linked with those we love the best By ties so noble, and so richly blest. This night upon the stage we shall enact A tragedy of Rome. O hearken well : For on this very day, (the Ides of March) Great Caesar fell. Again he bleeds in sport; and you shall hear The Bard of Avon tell the tragic tale; How Cassius taught the noble Brutus then To stab his friend! And Antony did stir the people up To mad revenge. The account of the performance given by the ' ' Ottazva Citizen ' contained the following appreciation of the acting : — It is no small task for boys to play Shakespeare, and too much praise cannot be bestowed on those of Ashbury College for their remarkable per- formance. To commit the lines to memory is a feat alone, and the rehearsals are of necessity long and tedius, yet these young gentlemen accomplished both in the time outside of school hours, and without their preparations of daily lessons suffering. They indeed are to be sincerely commended. Brutus was the only character played by one of mature years, the part being taken by Mr. W. H. Brodie, one of the masters of the school. Mr. Brodie gave a thoughtful and dignified portrayal of the noblest Roman of them all, which was altogether in keeping with the finest traditions of the role. Among the boys the chief honors go to Ronald Leathem as the lean and hungry Cassius, and with the exception of a little trouble with his hands, he gave a very fine reading of the part of that arch conspirator. John Rowley, in the title role made an imperious and commanding figure, and gave a true interpretation of Shakespeare ' s conception of Rome ' s immortal hero. The blunt Casca was well played by Malcolm Grant, who also recited the admirable prologue. The quick spirit which is Antony was portrayed by Robert Wodehouse, who, though a little hurried in speech gave a sympathetic and moving study of the friend of Caesar. His playing of the historic scene in the forum after the murder of the conquerer, and his rendering of the well-known speech being noteworthy. The playing of female characters by boys in keeping with Elizabethan custom and Herbert Hammond and David Mathias as Portia and Calpurnia. respectively, did well in their roles. Several of the boys doubled in parts, but Scarth Macdonell had three to play, his Artemidorus being especially good. By a singular and apt coincidence, Saturday was the ides of March, the anniversary of the action of the play. — K. McN.

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THE ASHBURIAN 5 The Society takes this opportunity of thanking all those who helped to make its first effort so successful. In addition to those named above, the members are : — Mr. W. H. Brodie, D. Mathias, C. Eliot, S. Macdonnell, B. Ritchie, R. Coristine, H. Fensom, M. Grant, A. MacCarthy, M. Menzies, D. Monk, G. Perodeau, P. Smellie, R. Wodehouse, J. Magor, W. Robertson, R. Stanfield, G. Wodehouse, G. WhitcBer, G. Abel, and J. Calder. The first Annual Dinner of the Society was held at the Chateau Laurier on May 7th. JULIUS CAESAR The Literary and Dramatic Society presented Shakespeare ' s ' Julius Caesar at the Little Theatre, Ottawa, on Saturday, March 15th, in the presence of Their Excellencies the Governor General and Lady Willingdon and of a large and distinguished audience. Dramatis Personae Julius Caesar J. Rowley Octavius Caesar— F. Macorquodale -Marcus Antonius Triumvirs after the death of Julius Caesar— ' K. Wodehouse Cicero ) P. Smellie Publius J Senators G. Whitcher Mr. W. H. Brodie R. Leathern M. Grant C. Eliot Conspirators against Julius Caesar D. Gillies J. F. Magor G. Perodeau M. Menzies : B. Ritchie MaruUus f Tribunes F. Macorquodale Artemidorus a Sophist of Cnidos S. Macdonnell A Soothsayer S. Macdonnell Messala friend to Brutus and Cassius D. Gillies Varro 1 . W. Robertson Clitus G. Perodeau Claudius [ G. Wodehouse Strato f servants to Brutus G. Wodehouse Dardanius | G. Whitcher Lucius J J. Calder Pindarus wife to Julius Caesar D. Mathias Calpurnia servant to Cassius M. Menzies Portia Wife to Brutus H. Hammond First Citizen a carpenter A. MacCarthy Second Citizen a cobbler H. Fensom Third Citizen P. Smellie Fourth Citizen S. Macdonnell Fifth Citizen : .. G. Abel Servant — . F. Sherwood Servant R. Stanfield D. Monk and R. Coristine replaced C. Eliot and R. Stanfield in the Montreal production. Marcus Brutus Cassius Casca Cinna Trebonius Ligarius Decius Brutus. Metellus Cimber Flavius

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THE ASHBURIAN 7 As many visitors from Montreal who saw the production at the Little Theatre hoped that we would be able to repeat it in Mon- treal, a second performance was given at the Trinity Memorial Hall, Westmount on Monday, March 24th. The criticism given by the Dramatic Critic of the Montreal Daily Star was as follows : — On the Thames ' South Bank true and well-tried actors (Ashbury College students), played Mr. William Shakespeare ' s tragedy ' Julius Caesar ' on the stage of the Fortune (Trinity Memorial Hall) . At the sounding of a trumpet the arras was drawn and these players did commence to act this tragedy of the noble Caesar. Montreal has not seen an amateur troupe produce an early English drama in the fashion of the period for a long time, and the effort these students put forth to adhere to the various seventeenth-century stage customs was very laudable. Here were the black drapes indicative of tragedy; the black and white flags denoting night and day respectively; the arras and traverses, the cloth wings and the inner stage. Only the lighting was carried out in the modern manner As though to assist the boys in obtaining the desired atmosphere the audience meandered in after the start of the play, roamed about, finally to settle down, — much as the rowdies did in the seventeenth-century pit The excursions and alarums, the crowds, the appropriate props, the correct costuming, all were as far as possible accurate; and the handling of the required mobs was most creditable in view of the available stage space. It would be unfair to distinguish between the thirty-six performers as the majority managed their speeches very capably. Even those boys who did Calpurnia and Portia after Elizabethan convention were thoroughly effective. Enunciation was, in all cases, sharp and clear, and the lines were delivered naturally and avoided the declamatory tendency. Some of the boys were wont not to make the best of some of the more important speeches; they found difficulty in disposing of their hands; and they were at times anxious to force the point. The main performance, however, overshadowed all these shortcomings, nor need they feel it necessary to ' buy men ' s voices to commend our deeds. ' The Success of the Montreal venture was in a large measure due to the very kind help given by our Montreal friends. Due to early Easter holidays, less than a week was available for making all arrangements ; yet within that time we had secured a suitable hall ; distributed tickets; and made our coming visit widely known. Arrangements were made through the kindness of Canon Almond and the Officials of Trinity Memorial Church for the use of their hall, and every possible help and accommodation given us. Mrs. D. Forbes Angus was active in our interests ; the Montreal Press did everything possible to ensure success by advance notices and good positions for our advertisements; Montreal Old Boys co-operated energetically; Messrs. C W. Lindsay not only gave us free use of their store for the sale of tickets, but allowed us prominent display space in their show-window. The campaign for the sale of tickets both in the store and city was in the hands of Mrs. Claude Thompson. Trafalgar Institute, Miss Edgar ' s School,