I definitely had an interest in
working with the Portrait Players. I had no real background and no training or
special skill. I just liked the idea. I considered myself a visual person.
Plays and skits are visual things, right? That should work, shouldn’t it?
I wasn’t completely without
experience. I wrote a mission’s play Columbia
in Revolt while a student at CBC. I wrote Connie’s Choice in Saskatoon for a missions week show
I had preformed in skits while in
high school and college. I had directed a couple of plays. I already knew I
liked directing better than acting. I am terrible at remembering the lines. I
want to ad-lib all the time. That does not help the other actors.
What I had never done was hold
auditions. The thought of selecting some and rejecting others was depressing. I
had not written a play for tour yet, but I knew what I was going to write. I
knew I would need four women and four men. Now all I had to do was select them.
I have been trying to remember
where auditions were held. I know it was a small out of the way room. There were
only ten or eleven who showed up. I decided to pull out all the old Peanuts
scripts I had used in Saskatoon. I wasn’t sure what I would learn, but I wanted
both dramatic and comic actors. I had everyone do several skits and try various
roles. I wanted to see if any could change characters and figured everyone was
familiar with Charlie Brown, Lucy and the gang.
It was obvious that two girls were
going to be terrific: Jeri-Lynne Hougestol and Norma Frentz were definitely in.
Norma had a better sense of comic timing, but both could easily handle drama.
Leon Throness was without doubt the comedian. These were the first three
selected. Then I took Judy Linnen who could do anything and Christine O’Reilly.
The girls seemed easy compared to the guys. I took Eric Greenway, Duane
Patterson and a gentleman I did not know was on academic probation, He had to
pull his grades up by the end of first semester or he would not be allowed to
tour. I worried about my choice so approached Garry Tollefson with a strange
proposal. I wanted him to begin practicing and if my first choice was removed
from the group, he would be in. Even more strangely, he accepted.
I felt like I could not remove my
first choice. I wanted him to have the challenge of tour to get his grades up.
He did not succeed and Gary was in.
The previous years group did a
great number of short skits and we worked on our own set. Our coming out party
was Christmas. We did short open-ended skits. We may have done the program at
the college, but we definitely performed at the Alliance Tabernacle.
While we were having a good time
with short skits and getting ready for Christmas, I was writing The Maze. The play was based on a
concept in Watchman Nees book The Calvary
Road. He said no one comes to the cross except on his or her knees and that
there are many normal, everyday things that block our freedom to communicate
who Jesus is. My idea was a waiting room where people passed on their way to
the normal things of life. A maid would be hostess to the room getting them
coffee or tea and trying to make sure they were comfortable. We will help
people, but not tell them about the Saviour.
The premise was set. Gwendolyn would
wear a maid’s outfit and serve off a teacart at the front of the stage. The
idea was that the cart had to be moved out of the way to see Jesus. Then
characters wandered through with their problems. We did some reading, but
casting was not set until second semester. The cast would rotate roles to give
them a little variety and cover us in case of illness.
The team was finalized and Garry
was in. Boy was in. Garry worked with the group all four years at CBC and one
year at CTS. He became the go to guy who had the heart, patience and skill to be
a guide to the rest. By year two he was my right hand man.
SOME PORTRAIT PLAYER PHOTOS APPEAR IN THE NEXT ENTRY
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