Pickering College - Voyageur Yearbook (Newmarket, Ontario Canada)

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Spring Festival A happy and light hearted crowd thronged the auditorium of Pickering College on May lst, 1964, in anticipation of an evening of superb dramatic entertainment. They certainly were not disappointed. For this was Pickering College's annual Spring Festival. The outstanding cultural event of the North York social season. All agreed that this year's festival had the best productions ever offered. The evening began with the Thespians of Firth House, under the direction of Mr. A. H. Jewell, presenting THE GREAT ALLOWANCE BATTLE. This play centres around the titanic struggle within the Jones family conceming the allowance of the older son CS. Carmonyj who tries to be something of a con man but whose evil deeds are thwarted by fate and his own cleverness. Without doubt, this play gave us the best acting of the night. All players knew their lines well and displayed a familiarity with stage movements. Bemard Hashmall gave an excellent perform- ance as the daughter, Mary. He has acting ability and should be encouraged in this pursuit. Other notables in this piece were J. Pitman as the stem father, R. Ambery as a delightful mother, and P. Hopkins as the kid -brother. NO HONOUR AMONG THIEVES a morality play based on one of Chau- cer's CANTERBURY TALES was Grade IX's choice. Director N. W. MacLean skillfully guided his men through the intricate thought pattern of this provoking and soul searching drama. The audience was aided in its' understanding of the complex theme by Les Snider as the Pardner who clearly enunciated his lines in a well modulated voice. Did anyone ever encounter such fearsome desperadoes as J. Noer, B. Wasser and J. Boville? Surely, the spectators learned a chilling lesson from their evil and selfish ways. P. Chesebrough gave a marvellous performance as Old Man Death. R. Hagan played the landlord, P. Freeman the Apothecary and 'Big Steve' Seath was the boy. As Pickering College's submission to the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, the 'Separatist Players' of Grade X under Director P. Schaus presented a short scene from LE BOURGEOIS GENTILHOMME by Moliere. One must admit a thrilling feeling at hearing a play in Canada's other language performed on the boards of Pickering College. The plot is quite simple. An ordinary man, M. Jourdain, aptly played by D. Hamilton, wants to become a gentleman. He engages four tutors to train him in the 'arts of quality'. However, these teachers, T. Ditchbum, A. Earle, H. Gilbert, and I. Kidd, cannot agree as to which of their individual subjects is more important. This leads to a grand conflict and Mr. Jour- dain does not become the man of quality. All the players knew their lines well and spoke with various degrees of accent. They were able to immerse themselves in the though pattern of another language. La piece de resistance of the evening C and it should have been resistedj was a production of G. B. Shaw's comedy, PASSION, POISON, AND PETRIFICA- TION staged by the senior players of Upper South Corridor, assisted by two of Newmarket's liner female actresses, Susan Sproule and Caroline Back. This elabor- ate melodrama is centred on the simple theme of the old love triangle. Lady Mag- nesia, played by S. Sproule, is enchanted with a young well-dressed dandy Adolphus Twenty-five

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Gilbert and Sullivan, depicted a stern but compassionate Fairy Queen who was quite capable of succumbing to the charms of the dashing Private Willis who, alas, was a mere mortal. Caroline Back really looked as if she were a fairy princess, and, although her voice was often weak and thin, she gave an extremely effective per- formance as Iolanthe. Indeed, she carried much of the show. Peter Stephens, stage performance continues to improve. He often was able to communicate a light touch which was needed in his role as the half and half shepherd boy. His baritone voice was rich and warm and projected very well in his duets with his love Phyllis. Doris Baulch's interpretation of Phyllis was absolutely tremendous. Her voice was magnificent and united with her acting ability and stage presence laid the foundation for the most stimulating piece of stage-craft of the evening. It was fortunate that Pickering College was able to lend one of its own clowns to play the role of the Lord Chancellor. The director, Philip Schaus, is to be highly commended for his imaginative choice of Philip Schaus to play this nonsensical character. Role and player were blissfuly united in a matrimony of bulfoonery, comedy, and foolishness. Schaus' considerable talents and abilities were given ample opportunity to develop a part so congenial to his temperament. Happy is the man who can portray himself on stage and survive the crisis. Peter Almquist and Mike Stevenson depicted the two noble suitors for Phyllis' hand, the Lords Mountarat and Tolloller. Although their voices were not always strong enough to carry the high notes, they did give the right degree of snobbishness and haughtiness to their roles. As Private Willis, Leon Simmons was a dashing and handsome sentry in his brilliant scarlet tunic and busby. It was wonderful to hear his lovely baritone again, especially when he rendered his solo When all night longv. The two choruses, the fairies and the British peers, were quite superior this year. Obviously much time and effort was expended on their training and these efforts paid off handsomely. The quality of their tone and pitch were excellent. They added much strength and liveliness to the production. They certainly appeared to be enjoying it. The sets were designed by Mr. A. H. Jewell and the make-up was also handled by Mr. Jewell in his usual extraordinary fashion. Too often not enough credit is given to this essential department. Lighting was handled by Dave Newcome assisted by his staff, while the costumes were under the care of Mrs. Willard Fish - in utrumque paratus. In the time honoured cliche - it was a splendid show. -J. D. Purdy. THE ANNA BELUGIN MEMORIAL PRIZE This prize is awarded each year to a student or students who were considered to have shown a thoughtful approach to academics and lively intellectual curiosity. This year the award was made to Allan Scott, whose home is in Liberia. Twenty-four

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Bastable, R. Grande. This, of course, enrages her husband George, P. Stephens, who plots to eliminate his rival. After several discouraging and blundering attempts he finally achieves his purpose while his wife pledges her undying love. Sometimes the details of the plot did elude us, but on the whole, it was a noble effort. Caroline Back depicted a very shrilly maid. P. Almquist was the essence of a secretive detec- tive. A. Birmingham did a wonderful 'croak' as the doctor and D. Acheson doubled as the annoyed landlord and as the director of this sparkling gem of dramatic art. Pickering College enjoyed a remarkable and memorable soiree. I. D. Purdy. Social Activities This past year saw us involved in several exciting though varied social activities. These diversions provided us all with much needed relief at points throughout the year and all were exceedingly successful. Our social season got into full swing early this Fall with the Annual Initiation of the New Boys. The day officially began at 7:30 a.m. with eager Old Boys taking full advantage of their Meek and eifeminatew New Boys. The day was successfully concluded in the evening with several fine skits and an exciting movie. All New Boys demonstrated patience and good humour throughout the long, long day. The first dance of the year was a traditional affair with the Ontario Ladies College. Mr. Schaus accompanied us to Whitby and perhaps he provided the climax of the evening when he performed his rendition of the Tragedy of Formaldehyde . For many of us, the night ended too soon, but we were consoled by the fact that these same girls would soon come to Pickering College as our guests. Our annual football and soccer dance was held on a Friday night, November 15th. We had a very good turnout for this dance and most seemed to enjoy the music provided by the Collegians. On February lst we hosted the beloved girls of O.L.C. This return dance was a smashing success and Ralph Simons reports that a large number of lasting friendships developed. Another evening well remembered was our Chairman's Ball of February 22nd. The theme this year was the Beatles . Bob Big Time Beatle Duder is to be commended for his fine job as Master of Ceremonies. Yea, yea, yea!! The evening of May 8th will long be remembered as the occasion of our Spring Formal. Many of the Staff Members polished up their 'old dancing shoes' and had themselves quite a time trying to outdo the younger generation. Remember Don Menard doing the limbo? A South Seasn atmosphere was created by the appropriate decorations, with a large fountain in the centre of the floor and the 'native boys' serving punch in the 'lean to' provided a touch of realism to the scene. Mr. Jewell's assistance to the decorating committee was invaluable. Twenty-six