Elmwood School - Samara Yearbook (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)

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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.

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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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30 SAMARA JUNieRS UNCLE FUSSER AND THE BROKEN HYDRANT Uncle Fusser jumped out of bed, dressed and tore down the stairs. Mrs. Fusser was just putting his breakfast on the table. I ' m late, he yelled. It ' s only eight o ' clock. How could you be late ? You don ' t have to be at work till ten! said Mrs. Fusser. I know, I know! screamed Mr. Fusser. But I have to be there at seven today because I have to do more work than usual. So please, please get me my breakfast and don ' t stand there gawking. Half an hour later Mr. Fusser clashed out the door. Mrs. Fusser called something after him but he was in too much of a hurry to listen. If he only had listened he would have had no trouble getting to work. There was no bus for half an hour and when one did come it didn ' t stop. So Mr. Fusser walked. He was walking along when he suddenly fell over a hydrant. There he lay on one side of the broken hydrant. All at once a lady came out of a house and took him into her house. It was an hour before he could get out of her clutches. And when he at last reached the office, it was shut. Then he fainted. When he opened his eyes he was in bed, his own bed. Mrs. Fusser was standing by his side. My dear Mr. Fusser, she said. When you rushed out of the house this morning I called after you that it was April Fool ' s and that you didn ' t have to go to work and when your employer said you had to be at work at seven he was only joking. Mr. Fusser stared at her and there we will leave him staring at Mrs. Fusser with his eyes open wide. MoiRA Nolan, Aged 10 I AM FLUFFY TIM I am a little white kitten. My name is Fluffy Tim. I live with a kind little girl. One day she went some place. I got very lonesome, so I made up my mind that I ' d go and look for her. So I went out and looked for her. But I got lost. Soon it began to rain. It began to thunder too. Poor me! My coat got wet. I had a terrible time. But just then something strange happened. Can you guess what ? I saw Mary Ann, my kind little owner. When she saw me she was amazed. Why how in the world did you get out of the house ? She couldn ' t under- stand my language. So I couldn ' t tell her how it all happened. But she didn ' t care and she took me home. I had a saucer of warm milk and had a bath and got all dried and warm and I never looked for my mistress again when she went out. Jill Woods, Aged 8