Aylmer Community Theatre

Blithe Spirit
by Noël Coward

Cast (in order of appearance)

Edith, the Maid ...Chelsy R. Baker
Ruth Condomine ...Barbara Warnock
Charles Condomine ...John Allen
Mrs. Bradman ...Sue Evert
Dr. Bradman ...John Downie
Madame Arcati ...Colleen Sawyer
Elvira ...Judy Jacoletti

Crew

Director ...Ron Sawyer
Producer ...Dwayne Gagne
Stage Manager ...Laura Jean McCann
ASM/Props ...Mary Morin
Set Construction ...Pierre Marchand & Paul Evert
Set and Sound Design ...Ron Sawyer
Sound Operator ...Don Shepherd
Lighting ...John Bardwell & Peter Blaine
Costume Design & Construction ...Barbara Warnock
Followspot Operators ...Emily Heide & Maggie Thiessen
Production Assistants ...Maggie Thiessen & Ariel Sawyer
House Managers ...Dwayne Gagne & Vickie Kuipers
Catering ...Leslie Shepherd
Poster and Program ...Ann Shepherd
Publicity and Promotion ...Larry Jeffery

Special Thanks go to:

Aylmer New and Used Furniture
The Source – Rob Jans
Elgin Theatre Guild
Silverthorn Landscaping
East Elgin Secondary School
Miranda Sawyer
Al Leitch
Tim Lewis
Aylmer Express
Artie Shaw
Joanne Brown of Mary Kay

The Aylmer Rotary Club is proud to sponsor Aylmer Community Theatre.

Setting

The Condomine’s house in a small Kentish village in the 1940’s.

Act I Sc 1 Before dinner on a summer evening.
Act I Sc 2 After dinner.

Act II Sc 1 The next morning.
Act II Sc 2 Late the following afternoon.
Act II Sc 3 Early evening, a few days later.

Act III Sc 1 After dinner, a few days later.
Act III Sc 2 Several hours later.

There will be two intermissions of 15 minutes each.

Director’s Note

When Noël Coward’s London office and apartments were destroyed in the Blitz in 1941, he visited the Welsh resort town of Portmeirion (best known as The Village in the 60’s TV series “The Prisoner”). While staying in a cottage in the town, he got the notion for a play that would amuse and distract a war-weary public. The next day he started writing, in six days the play was finished and less than two months later, “Blithe Spirit” opened in the West End. Critics disparaged it, suggesting that death was an inappropriate subject during wartime, but the public, as Coward had foreseen, loved it. It ran an astonishing 1,997 performances and was Britain’s longest running comedy until surpassed by “Boeing, Boeing” in the 70’s.

Droll, witty and slightly naughty describes much of Coward’s work and there is certainly much of that to be seen in this play. He likes to take the mickey out of British society by exposing the moral ambiguity of the middle and upper classes. Every character in the play has, to some extent, a tinge of wickedness; no one escapes being tarred by Coward’s clever brush. Yet, would we be any more principled under these extraordinary circumstances?

I would like to thank the members of the company who scrounged their attics and storerooms to provide many of the unique decorative elements for the show. Props person extraordinaire Mary Morin and costume designer Barbara Warnock have performed marvelous feats of creativity to contribute to the “look” of this production. The task of set and furniture construction was borne on the capable shoulders of Pierre Marchand and Paul Evert. Kudos to Laura Jean McCann for sporting the Stage Manager’s mantle for the first time and also to Dwayne Gagne for the thankless role of Producer. Thanks. Finally, I must say that I have never worked with a more dedicated cast, who toiled through a very short rehearsal period to dazzle us with their performances. Their spirit, blithe or otherwise, shows though on stage.

Enjoy the show!


Meet the Cast

John Allen – Charles

This is John's third visit with ACT. He was last seen in Norm Foster's "Office Hours". He is the Artistic Director at the Elgin Theatre Guild in St. Thomas where he has been a member for 21 years. John is having a blast in Aylmer especially since he has two spirited women fighting over him.

Barbara Warnock – Ruth

The opportunity to revisit "Blithe Spirit" was too tempting to resist. Unfortunately, the director felt that Barbara was "too old" to do a repeat of her original role as Elvira in the 1973 production at EESS but instead, cast her as Ruth. And what a delightful experience it has been. A weekend course at the Shaw Festival learning how to "do" a British accent came in quite handy as well as having been brought up by a mother straight from the Old Country. Barbara thanks family and friends who have put up with her practicing Received Pronunciation for the past couple of months and assures them that she will soon return to her usual Canadian accent, eh?

Judy Jacoletti – Elvira

It has been said that every theatre has a spirit that lives within its walls. Judy has had a mischievously fun time playing with the cast and crew of ACT. She would like to thank her family for the sacrifices made this past summer which have allowed her to partake in this wonderful fantasy world known as theatre. Thank you, Ron.

Colleen Sawyer – Madame Arcati

Playing the role of Madame Arcati is a dream come true for Colleen. She would like to thank Ron for having faith in her. She would also like to give the cast and crew a heartfelt thanks for their support, guidance and most of all, patience.

John Downie – Dr. Bradman

John last appeared as a minister in LCP's production of "Shadowlands" and now he's playing a doctor. This is his first time with Aylmer Community Theatre. He has appeared at ITOPA, ETG and Stratford Community Theatre. He has found everyone supportive here and thanks Ron for the opportunity of being in this show.

Sue Evert – Mrs. Bradman

Sue was very excited to be a part of this production. She is absolutely thrilled to be working with such an extraordinary group of people. This is Sue's fourth show with Aylmer Community Theatre. She was last seen at ETG as Helsa in "Musical Comedy Murders of the 1940's". Special thanks go out once again to Natalie, Claire and Paul.

Chelsy R. Baker – Edith

Chelsy is a seventeen year old aspiring actress. Her first role was as Turtle Number Two in "Once Upon a Lily Pad" in Grade 1. Since then, she has been participating in many school plays such as "Macbeth" and "Seussical the Musical". Recently she received an Award of Excellence in the Sears Ontario Drama Festival for her role as an eighty-year-old widow in "Not My Cup of Tea".

Ron Sawyer – Director

This is Ron's second production of "Blithe Spirit". The first was in Grade 12 at East Elgin when he played Dr. Bradman alongside Miss Wellwood’s Elvira. He is pleased to be working with this gifted and hard-working cast to bring Sir Noël's "improbable farce" to life and, er, death. Ron donned his director’s hat most recently for "Twigs" in 2004 and last season's "When the Reaper Calls", which went to the Western Ontario Drama League's annual Festival in Owen Sound. He thanks one and all, particularly Colleen, for their unstinting support in the weeks leading up to this exciting show.

Laura Jean McCann – Stage Manager

It is rare that Laura Jean has "firsts" at her age, but this experience at stage management for "Blithe Spirit" qualifies as a first in her life. She is most grateful to Ron for his patience as she juggles responsibilities and to Mary for her diligence and endless resources. She is proud to be a part of this amazing team.

Mary Morin – ASM/Props

Mary has been involved with ACT for two years and is enjoying every aspect of it.  This play has definitely presented some new challenges to all of us.  What a great team this cast and crew has been to work with.  Thanks.