GERALDINE ANTHONY
The publication of papers read at the Symposium on Theatre in Atlantic Canada held at Mount Allison University, 4-5 April 1986, is a welcome addition to the growing number of articles and plays coming out of Atlantic Canada. The coordinator, Richard Knowles, is to be congratulated for initiating the Symposium, for inviting stimulating speakers, for providing the ambience for group discussion and encouraging a sense of regional identity and close camaraderie among the members.
The published papers are gathered under six headings: Keynote Address, Atlantic Canadian Drama, Theatre History, Theatre for Social Action, An Original Script, and Panel Discussions. John Gray's keynote address, 'Learning How to Fail,' is disappointing, perhaps because, as its title suggests, it is a pessimistic look backward at the heavy influence of British and American culture on his early life, education and initial experiences with hard-nosed Canadian entrepreneurs, weak cultural organizations, and intransigent regional theatre directors. Gray laments Canada's unwillingness to provide adequate funding for Canadian plays. But this has all been said before and Gray's audience of theatre specialists have been well aware of these facts for many years. As a creative and successful playwright Gray would have made a better contribution to the Symposium had he offered some positive advice on the education of young Canadian playwrights in the writing of first-rate Canadian plays.
'Atlantic Canadian Drama' is the first heading under which are grouped three papers on Newfoundland, Nova Scotian and Acadian dramatists. Terry Goldie's paper, 'Where Are We and Whither Tending?' is a summary of Newfoundland's past accomplishments, helpful for the newcomer to theatre in Canada but not for an audience of specialists long acquainted with the works of Tom Cahill, Michael Cook, Al Pittman, May Walsh, Andy Jones, Cathy Jones, the Mummers Troupe, Codco, Rising Tide, and Resource Centre. Better to have taken one new young Newfoundland playwright and explored in depth his or her work.
Denyse Lynde does just that in her paper, 'Christopher Heide: Canadian Playwright of the Nineteen-Eighties.' This is an excellent, in-depth study of an emerging Nova Scotian playwright about whom little had been written as yet. Lynde offers a new and exciting analysis of Heide's early development, his radio drama, his preoccupation with character interaction, his ear for dialogue and comic shaping, and his integration of music as he demonstrates his growing mastery of dramatic techniques. Her conclusion is that young playwrights need training, workshop productions, a community for which to write, and producers willing to take a risk. This is one of the better papers given at the conference.
Michèle Lacombe's paper, 'Evangéline Deusse: l'exil du theatre contemporain en Acadie,' maintains that Maillet's play is representative of the problem of the exile of Acadian theatre because this work, and indeed all of Maillet's plays except La Sagouine (1971), premiered in Quebec. A parody of Longfellow's Evangeline on the levels of language, geography and dramaturgy, it re-creates the national myth by opposing it-a good point! This paper explores Maillet's work, its influences, and the cultural differences between Maillet and Longfellow, but it is unclear what central point Lacombe is trying to make.
'Theatre History' is the next topic, with three papers on Henry W. Preston, William Rufus Blake, and Community Theatre in Saint John. Edward Mullaly offers a paper on 'The Life and Hard Times of Henry W. Preston: An Actor Manager.' Though curious and interesting, only five of the fifteen pages are devoted to this Irish American's career in Canada. Since Mullaly says that 'Preston remained active in the Maritimes longer than in any other area' (p 58), one would wish that the author had concentrated his scholarly efforts on those six years (1839-1845) when Preston developed a touring circuit of the four Atlantic Provinces, sometimes successful, sometimes disastrous, but always developing audiences for theatre. Mullaly's paper whets one's appetite for more information on this actor-manager.
Denis Salter's long and scholarly paper, 'William Rufus Blake and the Gentlemanly Art of Comic Acting,' though not given at the conference, replaces Laurent Lavoie's (published elsewhere). Salter's is a colourful recounting of a Haligonian's theatrical career in Halifax from 1816 to 1819 and from 1831 to 1833. Of twenty-seven pages, half are devoted to Blake's theatre ventures in Halifax, the remainder to his work in the West Indies, the U.S.A. and England. This paper demonstrates that Haligonian's can be justly proud of an actor who 'bequeathed to posterity a whole gallery of comic portraits' (p 96).
Of equal interest to theatre historians is Mark Blagrave's paper, 'Community Theatre in Saint John Between the Wars.' Based on solid scholarship, it refers to touring companies and amateur dramatic societies covering two phases: 1918-31 on casual and recreational plays, and 1931-39 on serious productions of the classics and new local plays. Leaders (Charles Kee and Major H. G. F. Christie) and educators (Elizabeth Sterling Haynes and Charles Rittenhouse) are highlighted for their considerable contributions to theatre in Saint John.
'Theatre for Social Action' includes four papers on Acadian theatre, the Mummers Troupe, Popular Projects Society, and Latin-American theatre. Zénon Chiasson's paper, 'Le Théâtre en Acadia et Les Aengus d'une société minoritaire,' demonstrates the route of Acadian Theatre from entertainment to social and political consciousness. Chiasson feels that historical and political theatre may be viewed in Acadia as social action. In future, theatre in Acadia will have to show a renewed humanism to overcome both its economic and cultural problems. This is a very clear picture of theatre in Acadia, past and present.
Alan Filewod's paper, 'The Life and Death of the Mummers Troupe,' not only clarifies the history of that company but formulates some intelligent as well as controversial conclusions on its demise. The troupe, created to bespeak Newfoundland's culture and social problems in the authentic voice of the Newfoundlander, was intended by Chris Brookes to become Canada's foremost political theatre in the period 1972-82. Filewod concludes 1) that neither the funding bodies nor the theatrical establishment in Canada understand political theatre; and 2) that political theatres must examine politics from the angle of the subject to be investigated, the relations within the troupe, and the company's situation in the theatre establishment. He says:
The Mummers challenged the basic formation of the theatre as a professional institution in Canada, and revealed it to be built on assumptions that are both aesthetic and political. Had the Mummers Troupe been an alternative theatre in the shadow of a large 'mainstream' company it might have survived; as it was, the economic and ideological structures of Canadian culture could not enable a political intervention theatre to evolve as the primary theatre of its region. (p 141)
Rose Adams' paper, 'The Popular Projects Society: A Personal Account,' is a rambling history of this Halifax-based popular theatre, its dramatic activities, goal of social change and lack of professional experience. The subjects it chose to dramatize are surprisingly brave: labour relations, downtown Halifax and its social and political problems, the oil industry, Canada's role in Central America, Revenue Canada's victimizing of artists, Nova Scotia's defense industries and Canada's cultural policies. Adams' paper reveals what amateur collectives can do, if given training in popular theatre.
'Theatre for Social Change' by Judith Weiss contains some insightful ideas on Latin-American theatre, equating it with Canadian popular theatre for social change as an international phenomenon evolving in response to changing political and economic climates. She concludes that it is theatre's responsibility to encourage criticism and analysis in a community, in order to control the future of a country.
Published for the first time in this volume is Marshall Button's two-act play, Lucien: A Labour of Love. Obviously influenced by Maillet's La Sagouine, it is a one-man show presenting an uneducated Acadian millworker who comments on every aspect of life in northern New Brunswick. Amusing references to the human condition give energy to this monologue, but the subject is not weighty enough to warrant two acts.
Three panel discussions conclude the volume: 'Theatre and Funding,' 'Theatre in Education,' and 'The Next Decade.' Of the twelve speakers (four on each panel), three made excellent contributions. Ed McKenna, General Manager of the Mulgrave Road Co-op, pleads in 'Theatre and Funding' for an independent arts council run by peer groups and operating out in the open to avoid political interference. It would not only focus attention on theatre activities but provide a forum for the exchange of ideas. Tim Borlase, Coordinator of Fine Arts in Eastern Labrador, gives a wonderful account, in 'Theatre in Education,' of Labrador students involved in playwriting collectives on historical and social issues. Janet Amos, Artistic Director of Theatre New Brunswick, speaks on 'The Next Decade,' when, one hopes, first-rate critics will be invited to review plays in the various provinces; when the goal of playwrights will be production in Toronto or Montreal; when funding will be provided for longer rehearsals, original music and bigger productions; and when free tickets will be distributed to those who cannot afford theatre.
The Symposium on Theatre in Atlantic Canada endeavoured to address every aspect of theatre in the region-an impossible task. The value of its published Proceedings lies chiefly in their contributions to English-Canadian theatre history, to the work of one Nova Scotian Playwright and, in a lesser degree, to Acadian drama and to theatre for social change.