Animal Farm (Lawyers on Stage Theatre) - Act I

So... my inner actor got LOST in flight this term (by LOST I mean Lawyers On Stage Theatre, of course).

The Poster

This was my third time hanging out with this most marvellous group of people.  During the COVID and post-COVID years, the LOST folks responded by doing Radio Plays (which meant that the actors could be 'socially distant' on stage)  It also meant that folks could do their work with the script in hand.  That made it perfect for someone like me!  :-). I managed to get a spot in Dracula (as Van Helsing) and then in the Great Gatsby (as Meyer Wolfsheim).  That was fun!

The beautiful handmade book for The Storyteller

This year, the decision was to do a theatrical version of George Orwell's  novella Animal Farm.  This year, folks decided to return to theatre in the usual way (as in, off script, and staging the whole thing).  I will confess that I was a little sad about that.  I was not sure my brain was up to taking memorization seriously (and I was raised in a family of Readers Theatre afficianados). Ah well.  An adventure!  And a chance to get the body moving again. 

 

Me (Snowball) in my piggy attire/makeup

We did have lots of discussion about the choice of this play. Certainly, it is not the usual kind of feel-good-holiday season fare, but there is something about the story that seems relevant for our times.  At the very least, it is a story capable of generating a number of conversations about power, labour, distribution, propaganda, truth, violence, facsism, and more.  Initially I had thought to take on the role of the Storyteller (and thus be able to rely on the script), but ended up with the role of  Snowball, "The Pig of the People!" ( the 'Trotsky" of the pigs, who are of course, "the smartest animals on the farm").  

There are so many stories to be told about all the amazing work done by so many people (lighting, costuming, props, music, fight choreography, stage management, production, actors, directors, etc) to bring the play to fruition.  For here, I am just going to share a bunch of images (taken for us at the dress rehearsal by the wonderful Uumati Kisoun-Inurak! check out her instagram: @oozrii)

First off.... the set design folks were astonishing.  They used the existing set of "The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberly"  (which had a manour house), and just turned it around so we were using the backside of the set to create the space of a farm yard.  And they did this in the one evening between that play closing and us getting access to the stage; the one play closed on Sunday, and our dress rehearsal was on Wednesday.  That gives you a sense of the amazing team, so you can get a sense of how much magic had to happen in such a short time.

Opening scene, Old Major dreaming

Farmer Jones lurching drunkenly through the barn

Old Major summoning the animals to a meeting

Singing "Beasts of England" (a dream of revolution)

Old Major dies, and leaves the next generation to struggle on.  Meanwhile, Moses (Mr. Jones' special pet) tells the animals to comfort themself with dreams of "Sugarcanday Mountain" (where linseed cakes grow on trees).

Mr. Jones' neglect finally brings on the Revolution ... and Jones is chased off the farm!

'give us food!'

the pigs (who have been secretly organizing) join in

the animals go on the attack

Napoleon grapples with Jones

The Revolution has succeeded!

Revolution completed, the three pigs having taught themselves to read and write. The 7 Commandments of Animalism are consolidated (and the writing is on the wall!). Snowball (me) is down in the field sharing the commandments with the 'people', Squeeler (Moira) is writing them on the wall, and Napoleon (Jake) is surveilling from above. 

"7th, All animals are equal!"

But, there are challenges.  Molly the Horse is not quite willing to give up on Sugar or Ribbons (which "should be considered as clothes!"), and the other animals are having difficulty learning the alphabet.  

"A....B....C.........."

In response, the 7 Commandments are reduced to a single easily remembered maxim ("4 legs good, 2 legs bad").

explaining the maxim in simple terms

Can the sheep remember it?  yep!  "2 legs baa-aaa-aaa-aad")

With news that Farmer Jones is returning with reinforcements to fight them for control, the animals go into action (No worries!  Snowball had studied an old book of Julius Cesar's campaigns, and coordinates the Battle of the Cowshed)

Don't worry.... we got this!

Snowball coordinates the attack on the farmers  

"We have won a great victory!"

"All animals must be prepared to die for Animal Farm if need be!"

All Animals must be prepared to die?!?!?!?!   A bit of foreshadowing?  Uh oh.  

Plus, the imagined solidarity amongst the animals is begining to fray.  One big problem is that there are no means of producing sugar on the farm (I feel the pain!).  Molly is spotted letting a neighbour farmer feed her sugar!  And the prohibition against clothes/ribbons is harder on some than others [ed note:  if clothes included earrings, I would also be in trouble]

"Molly!   Tell me you did not let him stroke your nose!"

the pigeon reports that Molly has flown the coop!

Bigger disagreements begin to emerge between Napoleon and Snowball.   Napoleon wants the animals to increase food production, while Snowball dreams of using science to reduce animal labour.

"Its the perfect place to build a windmill..."

"...which could be made to operate a dynamo..."

"...and supply the farm with electrical power!"

"This could light our stalls and keep us warm at night!"

"We will only have to work 3 days a week!"

Napoleon calls for a vote.  Both Napoleon and Snowball present their arguments to the people (Napoleon from above, and Snowball again down amongst the animals/people).  The animals are excited by Snowball's dreams of forging the future in "the white heat of technology!" until Napoleon gives the sign to release the hounds!  

the animals dreaming of technological change until....

...they notice the two growling dogs enter from the side.

Snowball, focused on the dream of the future, doesn't see the danger...

Napoleon gives the sign and the dogs go in for the attack

And there you have it.   My "ignominous explusion" as I run squeeling from the stage, being attacked by the two terrifying dogs!  

Napoleon then seizes control, declaring that there will be "no more meetings!"   And, by the way, the work WILL proceed on the windmill (which Squeeler declares to have been Napoleon's idea all along).  WTF?!

Ah well.  As Boxer says, "Napoleon is always right".

And thus, the end of Act I.   My little piggy ears are not seen again, though as it happens, I am certainly very much discussed in Act II (and held responsible for all the evils of the world, of course).

Photos from the very exciting Act II to follow.

Day trip to Revelstoke (trains and cows)

lunch time at the park

Alex and I took a day trip to Revelstoke.  First observation?  The Tim Horton's just at the highway might be the busiest one we have seen in our lives!  We managed the line up, but might stop at a quieter Tim Horton's on  our way back there tomorrow.

On our lunch break, I was a bit worried about where to charge the car (the challenges of having an electric car).  

A bit of research told me there was a charging station close by - at the Railway Museum (a block or so away from our appointment).  So, off I headed.   

They have a lovely Museum there, and it was just across the block from the amazing pastry shop they have there (La Baguette).  

I walked across the street while waiting.  This meant having to cross the tracks.   I love the sign they have there.  Nothing like emphasizing that a railway crossing in the middle of town is serious business. I will also confess that, walking across the tracks, I was struck by the ways it "smelled" like home to me.   What do I mean?  I mean that railway crossing ties are always covered with Creosote, and so the smell of Creosote (I agree that objectively it is a nasty smell) is one I love... it reminds me of so many happy memories of crossing the tracks at the lake!  :-)

I did have to laugh at how small the world is.  I had driven from Victoria to spend the summer at Annis Bay (which is close to Salmon Arm). And then I drove an hour to spend the day in Revelstoke.  How is it that, crossing the street from the Railway Museum, I run into Bonnie's friend Marla and her daughter Noella?! (who happened to have taken a day trip there to shop for shoes?!)

The other fun lunch time moment was finishing the car charging, trying to drive my car over the tracks to meet back up with Alex, and having to wait for the train to pass.  Of course the train slowed down and then came to a stop, leaving me trapped on the other side of the tracks. (what could be better?!  I loved that reminder of the need to be ready to wait for life when it wants you to wait)

At the end of what was a hard day, Alex's request was that we stop at D Dutchman Dairy in Sicamous to get some time with the cows.  How could I say no?

The cows are always a hit, but it is the calves that really bring Alex some happiness.

The cows, says Alex, arehappy to have you pet them.  but the Calves?!   They are more like puppies (really WANTING some good scratching time).  And if one calf is good, two calves are better.

We will be heading up there again tomorrow.   Hopefully it is just as interesting as today was.

The Great Gatsby (the radio play) - a photo essay

The big event of last year was participating in the LOST (Lawyers on Stage Theatre) production of "The Great Gatsby"    Our Great Gatsby was a 1.5 hour radio play version adapted by Joe Landry.  We started work in September, headed towards a 4 show run in December.   Yes, it is done as a fundraising event (We pulled together about $13,000 for our two charities).  Below are a bunch of photos of cast and crew, taken by Megan Krauss (a professional photographer who volunteered her services for the show).

While I didn't enjoy the novel when I first read it as a teen, it totally grew on me over time.  I have seen two of the three film versions, and Arta and I saw an amazing staged version in London in 2011 called "Gatz", which took a full day (as they read the whole novel outloud, with characters taking on the parts of the novel with dialogue) 

Here is the cast list, from the Program notes:

The big roles in this story (despite the importance of Daisy, Myrtle and Jordan) are really for the men.

Liam, Jake and Benson (as Nick, Tom, and Gatsby)

Or rather, they have lots of heavy lifting to do.  Liam in particular (as Nick Caraway, the narrator of the story) was on stage for nearly every scene in the play! 

"We'll be right back..."

The rest of us played multiple roles.  An indeed the big women's roles -- Daisy and Jordan -- were split between actors on different evenings (kind of like Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller in Danny Boyle's Frankenstein!) 

One of my roles in the play was Freddie Filmore, the host of the radio show, and thus I was also the person who got to put my radio-voice to work.  Thanks Dr. Leona Paterson for all those years of speech arts classes! :-). Who knew that I actually would have a chance to play at being a radio star (we all know how many times i answer the phone and people think I am an answering machine hahaha).  

wearing grandad's tuxedo jacket

According to the playright, we were not allowed to genderflip the characters (ah well...), so it meant playing Freddie in a more masculine form.  The awesome part of that was the opportunity to play the role wearing my grandfather Doral Pilling's actual tuxedo jacket!? My mom had saved it after he passed away, and then after she also passed away, it fell into my hands.  I never imagined that a. it might fit me or b. that i might have an occasion to wear it.  I can't really tell you what a pleasure it was to 'wear my granddad' through the rehearsals and into the performances!

The radio-play format is a sort of hybrid, something staged and with costuming, but using the form of a radio play (thus all the actors are working with script in hand in front of microphones) with a live musicians (keyboard and singers) and a foley crew on stage.  The foley are the people who make all the 'soundeffects' for a radio play [cars, trains, doors slamming, mixing drinks, rainstorms, car crashes, etc]. They are a riot to watch. 

the taxi pulling up outside

the sounds of a gentle rain shower

Foley capturing the sounds of Jake and his mistress Myrtle in the bedroom

  

Foley producing the train

cars racing down the road

Because we are riffing off the radio play, we also have commercials, and the commercials are done live.  We had a great group of singers (the 'Mellow Dees') to do musical part of the jingles.  A big shout out to our sponsors who paid for the ads, which also have an element of parody to them, like "I'm Dreaming of the great Floyd's Diner" [sung to the tune of I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas].  The play gets interrupted for 8 ads in total. We had tons of fun doing them.  Here are some shots of the commericals crew in action (Alex on keyboards, the 5 Mellow Dees and me). 

Ruari giving us the "5 seconds" cue  

Alex on keyboards, the 'on air' sign in the back

The radio play also had some staged dance scenes [big parties, charleston, tango, tap-dancing etc], and fabulous costuming to capture the feel of the roaring 20s.  How did Alison Roberts manage to wrastle a group of law folks into an introductory choreographed dance number?! 

We were also set up so that there were party scenes going on in the background.  It was fun to spend our time in the background, as part of the 'extras'. 

Rea and I gossipping as "partygoers 1 and 2"

We also got to be extras and in the background while some great numbers happened.  Not only to we get to see Nick and Daisy dancing, but Christine Ely put on her tap shoes for a great dance number, and then we also got a performance from some professional tango dancers! 

(Michaela as Daisy)

Most of us in the play had more than one role to play.   My second character was that of Meyer Wolfsheim (the gambler).  This meant a quick shift out my my announcer tuxedo, into a jacket, ascot and fedora (to channel my inner new-york accented role).  Here are some shots with Jay Gatsby and Nick Caraway, as I share stories ("I can never forget so long as I live the night they shot Rosy Rosenthal"), and of me showing off my cuff buttons ("finest specimen of human molars!")

Tiffany (who is the Graduate Admissions advisor) was amazing in her multiple quick change roles as Butler, Maid, and Policeofficer (each with a variation of different Irish accents)

Two of the Mellow Dees (Lisa and Ted) also played mulitple parts?!  Again, amazing quick changes!

brief cameo as Daisy's chaufeur! (Taryn as Daisy)

As you can tell from the photos, we also have an amazing professional lighting team (yea Karrie Wolfe et al), who have the skill with lighting and design to transport us from a bare stage into the world of the imaginary.

Here are some backstage photos, as people loosened up in the halls, and relaxed in the greenroom: 

practicing tango footwork

doing homework in between scenes

And getting the timing right on curtain calls also turns out to be "a thing".  So there you have it!  We will see what roles next year brings!

 

Addendum:  Just to really show off, here is a photo I took myself.   I am demonstrating my skill in seeing how many cast members I can fit into a 'selfie' using only my arm (no selfie stick).

p.s.   One last gift.... a short video clip of our fantastic director Sara Ramshaw filling in during a pre-opening rehearsal for our tap-dancing star, Christine (who couldn't make it that night).   Yep.... we all can see that Sara's got the chops!  Can't wait to see what she does next! :-)