Pickering College - Voyageur Yearbook (Newmarket, Ontario Canada)

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eti ities the glee club 1953 HE rRixo1'1'1oNs or 'ri-ir: time f,'Iil'Ii go hack twenty-one years. Twenty-one operas require a lot of rehearsing, a lot of working, a lot of planning. From the first Trial By Jury in 1933, we resolved to reproduce the works of Gilbert and Sullivan as faithfully and as perfectly as the limitations of our resourees would permit. The years have shown how we learned to overcome the handicaps of at small stage, and to make capital out of the enthusiasm of youth and the wealth of information that is available for those who wish to study it. Pirates of Pcn,':r1nce This year we produced our twenty-first opera and our fourth Pirates of Penzance . The show was notable for a number of reasons, among them being the quality of the performance and the industry and skill of the new director, XVard Cornell, It is one thing' to have detailed information about production available. it is another thing' to make effective use of this information on the stage. Corky came tln-ough magnificently, Hf course, he is an old hand at Gilbert and Sullivan. But he deserves special credit for making the jump from actor to actor-director, and for maintaining a standard of performance that we believe belongs particularly to Pickering. Twen ty-five

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reflections on the death of .Stalin -DoN MACMILLAN Hi-:Ri-1 Ann MANY MEN wrio w11,L say that we are approaching an age in which we should be practical in our thinking and base our lives and actions on pure facts. To-day, however, more than ever before, we should also be attempt- ing to develop a new and stronger faith and hope in mankind. XVe must to a certain extent abandon the scepticism and uncertainty that impregnate our thought. This necessity is obvious in our present associations with the Russian powers. After a long and tedious cold war and a much more cruel hot war in Korea, a new Communist government leader has taken his position. At first people feared that he would be more aggressive than even his predecessor. But beneath this fear, many saw a chance for a new attitude, that of peace. Then we saw a new Russian policy which sent hope soaring in the hearts of millions. Russia was again anxious to bargain for peace and was willing to make settle- ments that before she had refused, one of them in connection with the prisoner exchange problem. There was every reason in the world for hope. At this time of writing, however, there is increasing scepticism and uneasi- ness because Russia desires some conditions which are unfavorable to us. People are once again looking for the skunk under the porch, and, unable to find one, are looking harder and harder. almost hoping to justify their suspicions. This is the attitude we must abandon because without faith, hope, and trust in one another, there can be no peace. There can be no democracy. There can only be toil and more bloodshed brought on by eternal fear of our neigh- hours. our partners, and possibly even of ourselves. DACHAU -HERB Cook Ugly Clouds whipped across the sky The drizzle, and misery This would never help them The chosen people Not chosen for this delirious death A sacrifice To a single man The odour of burned flesh arose Past the grey towers Ugly In the sky This was Daehau. Twenly-four

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The backbone of any Gilbert and Sullivan opera is the chorus, and this year's chorus was good. The routines had bounce, the formations were firm, and the large groups adjusted themselves admirably to the restriction of the small stage. Vocally, both boys and girls reflected credit on Frank Houston for his Work with them. Alice Rourke and Betty Beer would lend distinction to any Gilbert and Sullivan production. They are of professional calibre, and through the years at Pickering we may have taken them too much for granted. Let us now thank them for another superb show, they gave the roles of Mabel and Ruth polish both in dialogue and in song. Even a long memory would have trouble in recalling better student leads. Certainly we have never had a tenor with more to offer-'than David Evans who played Frederick. Add to this the good work of Bill Maguire as the Pirate King, the fine comedy and singing of Bill Atkin as Sargeant, and the truly excellent work of Don MacMillan as Samuel, and you have quite a cast. Nor were the minor female leads wanting. Marion Gibson tEdithD, June Thompson tKateD, and Nancy Sinclair tlsabelj added zip and sparkle. Finally, the director, NVard Cornell, took time off to evolve a convincing and highly enter- taining Major-General. All the foregoing took place against the background of two excellent sets by Dennis Burton. All in all, Pirates, 1953 version, can take its proud place in a long line of good Gilbert and Sullivan shows at Pickering. the dramatic club HE VLUB 'rms vmn presented Terence Rattigan's French XVithout Tears . This play is about a group ot' potential diplomats who are learning French at Miramar , a villa in a small seaside town in the south of France. The story centres around Miss Diana Lake, who does her best to entangle in her amor- ous wiles every student in striking distance. Mrs. Jackson, in a role rather different. from the others in her Pickering repertoire, created with polish and poise an attractive and predatory young woman with whom finally we could be genuinely sympathetic when she hersell7 became the happy victim of true love. Helen Harkness created a sympathetic role as Jacqueline, the daughter of M. Maingot, and his assistant in teaching French, Marianne, the maid of the house- hold, was played by Helga Forsberg. Twenty-six