Stage Door News
Stage Door News
ST. CATHARINES — Niagara theatre audiences are no strangers to the work of Norm Foster.
Community theatre
s across the region have been performing his plays for years — with more than 60 to choose from, they have plenty of options. While the region’s theatre community clearly has a soft spot for the Canadian playwright, it might come as a surprise to some that the sentiment is shared.
When Foster was approached about launching a theatre festival inspired by his work, he suggested Niagara as a possible destination.
Born in Newmarket, but now residing in New Brunswick, Foster has no immediate ties to the area – just an affinity for it. Having performed at theatres here before, he said he liked the area and noted it’s an ideal location for a festival of this sort.
“It’s pretty close to everything,” he said, adding it has the ability to draw from a large audience. “It’s a short drive to Hamilton and Toronto, Buffalo and then, everyone in Niagara.”
The idea for the festival was first formed by Emily Oriold. Her connection to Foster runs deep. While still a young high school student, she and her parents went to check out a production of the Melville Boys in Blythe, her hometown. She loved the play and began checking out some of his other productions. Fast forward a few years and she was living in Toronto, working in a job she didn’t love. In earnest, she created a logo for the Foster Festival – a festival inspired by the works of the playwright.
“It was just an idea then, I didn’t have any clue how to make it into a reality,” she said.
Then, a few years later, the fates conspired and suddenly Oriold’s dream was becoming a reality. She took on the role of executive director and teamed up with Foster as playwright in residence and Patricia Vanstone as artistic director to found the festival. After Foster suggested St. Catharines, Oriold worked to make it things happen. While he had originally suggested using the now defunct Port Mansion theatre, Oriold negotiated a summer residency in the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. Over the course of nine weeks, the festival will present three different productions. All works by Foster – one of them, has never been seen before.
On a First Name Basis had two days of previews this week and officially opens on Friday. The show runs through July 2, with eight shows a week including matinee and evening performances.
Foster will be acting in the play alongside Vanstone after touring on the production for the last four years. Despite repeat performances, Vanstone promises each show sees the actor taking a fresh approach.
“Every performance is different, no two are the same,” she said, adding that the audience plays a big part in any given performance. “I go out every time with the goal of doing a perfect show, I’ve had a few that were close but have yet to have that perfect one.”
The play tells the story of a successful, but cantankerous, novelist who discovers he knows nothing about his maid of 28 years despite the fact that she knows everything about him. One-part love story, one-part social commentary and one-party mystery, the play is surprising, funny and extremely moving.
The second offering, Here on the Flight Path, runs July 15 through 30 with previews on July 13 and 14. Directed by Blair Williams, the play stars Melanie Janzen and Jamie Williams, following back-porch philosopher John over the course of three years as he interacts with three different neighbours from his balcony.
The final play of the debut season is the world premiere of a new Foster play, Halfway to the North Pole, set in the small town of Stewiacke, Nova Scotia – a town that is exactly halfway between the equator and the North Pole.
Foster was inspired to write the play after seeing a sign on the side of the highway while he was travelling to visit his son. The sign read “Halfway to the North Pole” and inspiration struck.
“I thought that would be a good name for a play,” Foster said. And a little while later, he had a new play about a Toronto doctor who heads out East for a fresh start. He heads into the small town and meets four local women with some problems of their own. Kirsten Alter, Lisa Horner, Darren Keay, Sheila McCarthy and Helen Taylor star, with Vanstone directing. The production runs Aug. 11 through 27 with three preview performances taking place Aug. 10 and 11.
Oriold said the Foster Festival is the only theatre festival in Canada named after a living Canadian playwright. While some might see that as a pressure-filled situation, Foster said the opposite is true.
“It actually takes a lot of pressure off – now I know, whenever I have a new play, I have somewhere to debut it,” he said with a laugh.
For tickets or a full schedule, visit fosterfestival.com.
By Melinda Cheevers for www.niagarathisweek.com.
Photo: Patricia Vanstone and Norm Foster. ©2016 Foster Festival.
2016-06-15
St. Catherines: Foster Festival kicks off June 17 with "On a First Name Basis"