Elmwood School - Samara Yearbook (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)

Page 13 text:

SAMARA 11 DRAMATICS TE House plays were presented in De- cember. Fry was the winner, with the first act of Thornton Wilder ' s Our Town, which was particularly well acted. Keller ' s first play, The Valiant, came sec- ond, with the Nightingale play Guest House, Very Exclusive third. Keller ' s second play The Rehearsal , which was very amusing, ranked fourth. On Thursday, December 17th., the Junior forms entertained an audience of parents and friends. Forms IVc, IVb, and IVa gave a Nativity play directed by Miss Briggs, while the Kindergarten, Transition and Form I act- ed Blackbird Pie and gave a performance with their rhythm band. On March 11th., the Ashbury-Elmwood play, directed by Mr. Belcher, was presented at the Little Theatre. This year Noel Cow- ard ' s bright and sophisticated comedy Hay Fever was the play chosen. It is not alto- gether an easy play for young actors since the whole action must run smoothly, with apparent casualness. In particular Judy Mc- CuUoch, with the role of Judith Bliss, the re- tired actress who is considering returning to the stage, and whose moods lead her from one pose to another, had no easy part to play. Yet she carried it off with distinction. Sallie McCarter as Sorel, the daughter, was equally successful. Sorel is a frank and unconvention- al young woman who sees the faults of her family — particularly her mother — and com- ments on them freely. Usually offhand in manner, she is more inhibited than the rest of this unusual family, and amazes their guests by suddenly indulging, with Judith, in an im- passioned rendering of one of that actresses favourite scenes. The scene of the intelligent party game that failed — one of the most suc- cessful in the play— depended very much on Sallie ' s acting. Jackie Nothnagel acted convincingly the part of the somewhat sophisticated woman for whom the young son has conceived a passion. Jackie ' s lines were always well timed, and particularly natural and spontaneous was her scene with Robin MacNeil, as the novelist father, and her breakfast-time scene with the visiting diplomat. Betsy Alexandor and Judy Nesbitt had smaller parts, but filled them very compe- tently. Betsy played the long-suffering maid, who is almost as free in showing her opinion of the guests as the family themselves, and Judy the part of the sweet and innocent girl who is invited only that David may study her for a character in his novel, and who soon

Page 12 text:

CANDID CAMERA SHOTS

Page 14 text:

12 SAMARA finds herself lost and frightened in this out- spoken family. There is no doubt about the audience ' s en- joyment of the play. Very soon they were laughing freely at a witty line, or a dramatic pose from Judith. As we left the theatre, all the comments we could hear around us as friends compared notes, conveyed how much everyone had enjoyed the play, and how much they felt the cast deserved very high commendation. For the following account of Pride and Prejudice , the play of the Elmwood Senior Dramatics Class, we are indebted to the Ot- tawa Citizen : By Carl Weiselberger At Shakespeare ' s Globe Theatre the parts of women had to be played by young men and the female charm of Julia, Ophelia or Rosalind often enough depended on the more or less white and smooth cheeks of the young male actors who had to portray them. The Senior Dramatic Art Class of Elmwood School, who acted out Pride and Prejudice last night did the opposite: With only girls on hand, the elegant gentlemen Darcy, Bing- ley, Wickham, Rev. Collins from Jane Aus- ten ' s novel, were portrayed by young ladies who in picturesque, late i8th century frock- coats with embroidered sleeves and frills, looked convincingly masculine. I should hardly like to live with her ladies and gentlemen in their elegant but confined homes, said Charlotte Bronte of Jane Eyre ' s Demon Lover . . . The fundamental theme of Pride and Preju- ' dice, which has been turned by Helen Jerome into a charming, witty sentimental comedy ' is that old tradition by which hero and hero- ine must either marry wealth or at least in- herit it, and Mrs. Bennet shows her undis- guised anxiety to make good matches for her daughters. Charming Play Produced by Betty Briggs (Central School of Speech Training; London University Di- ploma in Dramatic Art), the charming play developed at a lively pace, and the large audience enjoyed fully the witty dialogue and fluent action. There was hardly a dull or dragging moment; the grouping of the characters on the stage was natural, and with their elegant, courteous, rounded gestures the charm of Rococo pictures was achieved. Beautifully designed, colorful period cos- tumes, the lovely stage-sets of the Bennet home and Lady De Bourgh ' s drawing room, added to the i8th century atmosphere of the gay-sentimental comedy. It would be unfair to single out individual players for particularly gifted performances. The emphasis was obviously placed on team- work and smooth co-ordination. Considering the youth of the players and the fact that some of them had to portray their opposite sex, surprisingly good characterizations were achieved. We liked the clear diction and in- telligent phrasing of the students, results of careful speech training, which is usually one of the weakest points with amateur produc- tions. As in previous years, the principal roles were again divided in order to give as many girls as possible a part large enough to show the progress each has made in voice and ex- pression during the year. Warm applause, and many chuckles and hearty laughs thanked producer and players for a splendid evening, which revealed talent and artistic taste far beyond the level of an average school play. In addition to this play by the Senior Dra- matics class, Forms VA, VB, and VC are putting on Shakespeare ' s Merchant of Ven- ice and IVA, IVB, and IVC are to give Rip Van Winkle by Herman Ould. Both these plays are to be presented after Easter. Also after Easter, the ballet class is to give a demonstration, which we look forward to with interest. '