Elmwood School - Samara Yearbook (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)

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28 SAMARA But in the action that followed, the stealthy stabbing scenes on the wall and in the tent, the suspense waiting upon the discovery of the bodies of the victims, the sudden realiza- tion of tragedy, these youthful artists showed spontaneity and naturalness. In She Stoops to Conquer, the characters were: Mrs. Hardcastle, Ruth Osier; Mr. Hardcastle, Elizabeth Wyatt; Tony Lumpkin, Pauline Coulson; Miss Hardcastle, Anna Cameron; Miss Neville, Phillipa McLaren; Hastings, Lois Davidson; Marlow, Betsy Allen; Sir Charles Marlow, Janet Caldwell; Landlord of The Three Pigeons, Peggy Huestis; Diggory, Ann Patteson; Roger, Stephanie Hale; Miss Hardcastle ' s maid, Annabelle Godfrey. The members of the cast entered into the spirit of this eighteenth century comedy, playing their respective parts with verve and gusto. To say the very least, each did her best not to let Goldsmith down. They have undoubtedly grasped th e funda- mental principles of the art they are studying and their success on this occasion may be measured by the fact that no part of the fun of the act in which Marlow mistakes Hard- castle for the landlord of the inn, and makes love to Miss Hardcastle, believing her to be the barmaid, was lost. They merited the congratulations their friends offered, as also did Mrs. Julia Murphy, their director. In welcoming the guests, Mrs. C. H. Buck referred to the former director, Miss Miriam Graham, who, after five years ' service at Elmwood School, returned to England with a St. John Ambulance Brigade at the begin- ning of the year. She has been succeeded by Mrs. Julia Murphy, a former member of the staff. — W. J. H. This year, for the first time, members of the Elmwood Senior Dramatics Class took part in the Ashbury plays. Under the patient guidance of Mr. N. M. Archdale, the play, Shall We Join The Ladies ? by J. M. Barrie, proved to be a success and was much enjoyed by an appreciative audience. The following account of the play is an excerpt from the review of the Ashbury plays in The Citizen. Ashbury and Elmwood Combine in Two Excellent Presentations On Saturday evening, to a large audience in the Technical School auditorium, the students of Ashbury College and Elmwood School collaborated in presenting two plays, the performance of which held the interest and won the admiration of an audience that included His Excellency the Governor General, H.R.H. the Princess Alice and members of their staff. The first, a comedy-drama, Hassan, by J. E. Flecker consisted of four scenes with the setting in Bagdad. These were played before a curtain only, the imagination of the specta- tors being left to supply the Oriental color and exotic accessories. To this end, Michael Shenstone ' s comments between the acts were of great assistance. Hassan, a confectioner, falling in love with a veiled widow, persuades a friend to secure him a love philtre. But the friend, proving false, his overtures are rejected and, heart broken, the pastrycook falls asleep in the Street of Felicity by the Fountain of the Two Pigeons. Four disguised adventurers coming along, he is transported by basket into a doorless house, where a plot against the Caliph is divulged, and frustrated by a suggestion of the lovelorn sweetmaker, for which he is rewarded by exaltation to a very high position. A definite standard of excellence was maintained by all the members of the cast

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SAMARA 27 DRAMATICS DRAMATIC NOTES THIS year, the Senior Dramatics Class, deviating somewhat from the usual procedure of presenting a three-act play, gave an abridged version of a long play and, in addition, a one-act play, — She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith and X equals O by John Drinkwater. We would like to give our sincerest thanks to Mrs. Murphy who took over the position of dramatics teacher when Miss Miriam Graham went overseas with the St. John Ambulance Brigade. She gave much time and effort to make these plays a success. We should like also to thank The Citizen for allowing us to print their report of the plays. Excellent Plays Presented by Pupils of Elmwood School Parents and friends of the pupils of Elm- wood school filled the assembly hall of that institution yesterday evening to witness the presentation of two plays by members of the Senior Dramatic Class. These were X = 0: A Night of the Trojan War, by John Drink- water, and a telescoped version of Goldsmith ' s classic, She Stoops to Conquer. In past years Elmwood has built up a reputation for amateur dramatics and last night the present students of that art fully maintained the tradition established by their predecessors — and won laurels of their own. In the Trojan War scenes, the characters participating being Pronax, Janet Edwards, Salvius, Jane MacKeen, Greeks; and Ilius, Pat Balantyne, with Capys, Suzanne Mess, Trojans, and Peggy Huestis, Greek sentinel, the Homeric atmosphere was definitely brought on the stage and communicated to the audience. In the rendering of the soliloquies and the dialogue in which Drinkwater stresses the futility of war for such a cause as the beauty of the face that launch ' d a thousand ships and burnt the topless towers of Ilium savored somewhat of classroom recitation, it must be remembered that many older and more experienced performers never wholly succeed in ridding themselves of the selfconsciousness that is responsible for it.

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SAMARA 29 throughout, and, in the title role, William Eliot created the kind of Persian of the humbler class that James Elroy Flecker probably had in mind when he conceived the character of Hassan. The court poet, John Hooper, and the King of the Beggars, Ian Elliot, supported him admirably, as did all the other participants. The cast of Hassan was as follows: Hassan, W. Eliot; Selim, G. Fischel; porter, M. Macpherson; Yasmin, A. Price; Masrur, S. Pegram; Vizier, I. MacGregor; Caliph, E. Castello; Ishak, J. Hooper; Rafi, I. Elliott; slave, T. Kenney; Ali, J. Eliot; Abdu, A. Smith; chief of police, G. Read; chief of the military, J. Fleck; and soldiers and policemen, M. Gault, J. Gibbs, R. Keyes and M. Roome. Second Play The effectiveness of the way in which these Ashbury-Elmwood students put on Barrie ' s one act play, Shall We Join the Ladies, was proved by the fact that at the close members of the audience were heard asking their friends, Who did it ? Having entertained a happy house party for a week, Sam Smith announced to his guests that one of them murdered his brother two years ago. The players did justice to Barrie ' s subtle hints in dialogue and action. For example, the passing round the table of a pair of handcuffs on a silver salvor lost nothing of sinister threat in the hands of these young performers. Michael Shenstone, Ashbury, and Suzanne Mess and Anna Cameron, Elmwood, had leading parts in Shall We Join The Ladies. Michael Shenstone took the part of Sam Smith, Miss Mess was the Lady Wrathie while Miss Cameron played the role of Miss Islt. The other players and their parts were: Lady Jane, P. Archdale; Mr. Preen, M. Birchwood; Sir Joseph Wrathie, W. Nelles; Mrs. Preen, P. Coulson; Capt. Jennings, R. Sablin; Mrs. Castro, L. Davidson; Mr. Valie, J. Smith, Mrs. Bland, R. Osier; Mr. Gourlay, D. Matthews; Miss Valie, J. Caldwell; Dolphin, E. Pilgrim; Lucy, P. Maclaren, and policeman, P. Richardson. In the course of the evening, two extra comedy touches, one planned, the other unpremeditated, roused mirth. In an opening speech, Norman Archdale, headmaster, Ash- bury, purposely extended his remarks to give a waiting player behind the curtain a chance to yank him out of sight and into silence — a humorous warning to prolix chairmen. In Hassan, one of the men, on being put into the basket for hoisting, did not balance himself quickly enough for one rope for hoisting jerked too soon or unevenly. He came near to pitching out on his head. Ashbury-Elmwood provided an evening of entertainment and, in the process, a revela- tion of the dramatic talent possessed by students of these two valuable educational institutions. The proceeds were in aid of the Red Cross. — WJH As usual three House Plays were given this year. Although Keller won the competi- tion with Perchance to Dream it was decided that Nightingale ' s House Full, by Esme Barringer, was more suitable for pre- sentation at the Bazaar. Fry came a very close third with an amusing play called, The Rehearsal. The Junior School gave a charming Nativity play at the Christmas Bazaar, under the able direction of Miss Graham. It was parti- cularly appealing, as the children were very well cast in their respective parts. The year as a whole has proved to be one of considerable activity in the field of drama- tics; interest in this art has been shown by us all, from the youngest to the oldest.