Elmwood School - Samara Yearbook (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)

Page 29 text:

SAMARA 27 the heroine, Princess Kukachin, and she has our congratulations on a wonderful performance. We were all thrilled to hear that it had taken second place in the Finals, being awarded the trophy for the best presentation in English next to the Bessborough Trophy. We are proud to feel that our dramatic work is in the hands of such a highly talented actor-producer — who is also one of our Old Girls — as Miss MacBrien by these two outstanding achievements has proved herself to be. THE SENIOR DRAMATIC ART CLASS presents SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER BY OLIVER GOLDSMITH Under the distinguished patronage of Their Excellencies The Governor General and the Countess of Bessborough Cast Kate Hardcastle: Act 1 Act 2 Act 3 Acts 4, 5, 6 Marlow: Act 1 Barbara Barrett Act 2 Mary Hampson Act 3 Joan Fraser Act 4 Moira Leathem Act 5 Mary Kingsmill Hastings: Acts 1, 2, 3 Acts 4, 5. . . Miss Neville: Acts 1, 2, 3 Acts 4, 5 . . . Hardcastle: Acts 1, 2, 3 Acts 4, 5. . . Mrs. Hardcastle: Acts 1,2 Janet Hutchison Act 3 Betty Hooper Acts 4, 5 Miriam Cruikshank Elizabeth Symington Hope Gilmour Virginia Copping Genevieve Bronson Mary Baker Peggy Waldie Barbara Alan Brown Katherine Dunning Ethel South am Dawn Ekers

Page 28 text:

26 SAMARA s ON March 2nd, we had the honour of presenting our Senior dramatic production She Stoops to Conquer, in the presence of Their Excellencies, the Governor General and the Countess of Bessborough, and Lady Moyra Ponsonby. His Excellency ' s interest in the drama is well known, and we were proud to have such a distinguished critic in the audience. The play was voted a great success, and certainly each girl played her part, however small, to the best of her ability, which added greatly to the uniformly high standard of the performance. We hope the audience enjoyed it as much as those taking part. In both the Senior and Intermediate plays this year the cast taking part in the final performance has been chosen by elimination. Each part has been studied by two or more girls, and the one giving the best interpretation of it was selected for the final presentation. Those girls taking part in neither will give scenes from the play they have studied later on in the term. Henry VIII , the presentation of the Intermediate Dramatic Art class, will be performed on May 8th; the Junior play, Toad of Toad Hall will take place on May 18th ; and the Lower School Euchorics and Mime on May 22nd. There has been real keenness in our dramatics this year, and it can be truly said that we have made good progress, the greatest im- provement perhaps being in the tone and flexibility of the girls ' voices. Miss MacBrien herself has set us a fine example of the heights which real dramatic talent can reach by her magnificent inter- pretation of the part of Juliet in Romeo and Juliet . It was produced last December by Rupert Harvey, with Lord Duncannon as Romeo, Miss MacBrien as Juliet, Miss Barrow as Lady Capulet, and several other Elmwoodians including Old Boys, in the cast. We must congratulate Miss MacBrien also on the success of her production of Marco Millions Act II in the Dominion Drama Festival Competition. In this play Miss Barrow took the part of

Page 30 text:

28 SAMARA Tony Lumpkin : ' Acts 1,2 Esme Thompson Acts 3, 4, 5 ......... . , : Sheila Skelton Innkeeper Mary Malloch Sir Charles Marlow. Helen Collins Diggory I Eleanor Leggett Maid Elizabeth Alguire Roger Hope Wattsford Servants Elaine Ellsworth Alison Cochrane The Action of the Play takes place in the Hall of the Hardcastle house except for Act I, Scene II, AN INN. Act V, Scene II, THE GARDEN. Reproduced from The Citizen March 3rd, 1934 ELMWOOD SCHOOL ' S SENIOR DRAMATIC ART CLASS presents SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER Distinguished Audience Includes Their Excellencies The Governor General and the Countess of Bessborough. Play Produced Under Direction of Miss Julia MacBrien and Work of Her Pupils Reveals Splendid Manner in Which Their Talent Has Been Developed. EFORE a distinguished audience, which included Their Excellencies the Governor General and Countess of Bessborough, the young ladies of the senior dramatic art class at Elmwood School last evening presented Gold- smith ' s best known comedy, She Stoops to Conquer. These annual presentations at Elmwood School are always a distinct pleasure and that of this year was no exception to this rule. They have always been extremely interesting, not only for the high standard of histrionics achieved and from the point of view of good entertainment but also for the way in which the producer has endeavoured to bring each student out of herself and to throw herself wholeheartedly into the part she assumes. As in previous years, the producer, in casting the play, did not take as her primary consideration the natural ability of the student. The principal roles were divided in order to give as many girls as possible a part of sufficient length to show the progress each has made in voice and expression during the year. However, the natural ability of many of the students was self-evident and the producer, Miss Julia MacBrien, is to be sincerely congratulated on the manner in which this ability was developed and brought out.