Pickering College - Voyageur Yearbook (Newmarket, Ontario Canada)

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amatics thello OR THE THIRD TIME IN I1'oI'E YEARS the Pickering College Dramatic Club ehose a difficult and exacting play for its annual production - Shakespeares OTHELLO. This play is extremely difheult to portray owing to the intense emotional aeting and interpretation demanded from the two leading Inale roles, Othello and Iago. There must be a, sharp Contrast, between these two eharaeters. Both Bob Bloomfield, as Othello, and .BH-I'I'.lf Ilyoub, as Iago, portrayed their parts extremely well. Both possess fine aeting abililty and had the neeessary emotional qualities. They generally spoke their lines elearly and distinetly, especially Ayoub's soliloquies when he allowed us to share his devilish plans in an intimate manner. He was evil inearnate. Ile looked evil aIId he spoke evilly. lle was eertainly the intellectual superior of anyone in the play. He was eunning and intriguing. Despite his revolving jaw, whieh was often very distraeting and sometimes made l1is performanee melodramatie, Ayoub conveyed to his audienee his sense of purpose. This was a very demanding role and it was well played. However, it is the interplay of Othello and Iago that forms the texture of this play. Othello superbly apparelled, was noble, honest, and above jealousy - essentially a simple eharaelter. But he was also naive and foolish. This ma.de it very easy for Iago to mould Othellos thoughts and aetions to his designs. Bloomfirtrl gave us all of these qualities, and, indeed, depieted the tragie fiaw in Othello's eharaeter. Among the other male parts, Roderigo played by Jim liver, was easily the best. He indieated his griet. hurt, and anger from the very first seene with Iago. These two players established a good relationship xvhieh was sustained throughout the play. Vassio tErl Snifl.-ol was very dashing in white, adettuately portrayed his part but he didn't reaeh his heights until his first encounter on stage with the eourtesan, Bianea, ti.lI1'f'lwl1e Dulzigl, While Jilin .llelfzie looked the very part ot an outraged tather and leading eitizen, he eoultl have been even better if he had intieetetl his voiee more often. XVhen he shouted Strike on the tinder, ho , he should have bellowetl it and, equally important, there should have been NfllPf4Jf77'I

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O O O k O Pllgrlmage and Plc erlng T smiius THAT PILGRIMAGE MEANS T0 MOST or Us, a specific goal, hardship, and trial, and a spirit convinced of the worth of the goal - convinced that some great good is achieved by such self-denial. These factors, I believe, go together to 1nake up one of the major elements in our personalities - a major thread in the fabric that becomes an individual. Pilgrimage is a part of our very being and personality. Our ability to make use of this factor in our personalities, this factor of self-denial and suffering for some future good, determines to some extent our abilities to find purpose and satisfaction in life. But only few spirits are so convinced of the worth of the goal thalt it becomes something absolute, for which everything unrelated to the goal is to be swept aside and ignored. For the rest of us, our quest is made far more difficult because we are prone to be tempted to follow other courses, to seek other goals when the going gets rough. Now you are all pilgrims in a sense. Some of you have chosen the search for truth already, or if you have not you have within you the potential which will soon blossom into dedication. Some of you may have what We might call inftermediate goals - to find a. solution to life's problems which is satisfactory enough to live by. Others are going to be leaving here with nothing in their hearts or minds but a yeaining to have a good time. Pickering speaks to you all. VVe can pick out three separate voices if we Search carefully the experience we are having here. First of all, as in every school, one of the greatest influences is your teachers. They have their own quests, and that may be the reason they are here. Many of these men have given their lives to teaching, and that means that they have given at least a part of them to you. You will look back on the work these men have done for you with thankfulness and gratitude as I do. Most of you will never forget these men, and you will carry with you the influence of their dedication and their per- sonalities for the rest of your lives. Then of course there are the friends you have here. How powerful this voice is, and how often mistaken. You have heard repeated warnings to beware of the induence of this voice, to be strong and loyal to what you believe to be right in the face of this very powerful force. Lastly there is the voice of Pickering herself - a blending of philosophy, and of the action of Headmaster and staff. Being so much a part of the wonderful Quaker tradition, foiuided is put into force by the with the most distinctive not direct you - it does heights as some voices do. on the sound Quaker philosophy of education, which Headmaster and the teachers - she speaks to you voice of all. Oddly enough this voice of hers does not by itself carry you along to greater and greater Rather it speaks to you for a very short time and then is still. The only time she will speak to you after you leave this place is the time you stop to think about her, and you hear the echo of her voice in your heart. While you are here you must listen to the voices of your teachers and friends, and Pickering understands this, and for this reason her voice is gentle and quiet. You can only hear her if you listen. But always her voice is there, and she knows that sooner or later, if only through that echo in your heart she will be heard. From a Chapel Talk by PETER NEWBERY, B.A. Eighteen

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a. noisy response made inside the house. Richard Blaelfstoelf, by lowering his voiee, became a very grave and serious duke. The others, Heal: Blcmlfesztija, Ron Verde, Stephen Bunge, and Uruig Moore, all contributed mueh to the play. Among the female roles the first plaee naturally belongs to Desdemona. Mean SlH'I 1i!llll1l. .lliss Slll I'1lIIIlH was a sweet and gentle maiden, deeply and truly in love with the Moor. This was made apparent all through the play by her quiet and soft voiee although sometimes it was too quielt. This Dart was Well played although, again, there was an absenee of bodily movement which was needed. Emilia is very different from her mistress. She is eoarse, unimaginative, and earthy - humdrum. Carolyn Sltropslizre gave us this type of a. person. She played her part enthusiastieally and with vigour, finally reaehing her glory in the iinal act. Often, however, her voiee was too sharp and shrill which grated upon one's nerves. In many ways, .lltielzelle Dulziy gave the best female pertormanee. She very definitely depieted a brazen eourtesan. But, again, as with Emilia, her voiee often lacked the neeessary piteh and power. However, these girls acted well. Two seenes eall for speeial mention. The first was the drinking scene. One felt as if one wanted to jump on to the stage and join in the singing and .good fun. The other - to go to the other extreme - was the murder of Desdemona. A really high and sustained dramatie effect was achieved here by Bloomfield. The properties and sets prepared by Jlr. Vim and Stzulrt Blaber were strik- ingly simple and gave a ealm baekground to this intense emotional elash. The make-up by Jlr. Jeu-fill, assisted by .l1r. Brelmwr and Slmron Tattrie, was exeellent as were the lavish eostumes. The director, Jlr. Ifcirlekop, is to be heartily eon- gratulated lor a very line perl'ormanee. 1 p J. D. PURDY