Ten Lost Years
directed by Martha Bailey
April 25,26,27, May 2,3,4,9,10 7:30 p.m.
May 11, 2:00 p.m.
The Davies Foundation Auditorium
52 Church St., Kingston, ON
L-R: Bill Morrow, Michael Doggett, Donald Mitchell, Thomas Cherney |
A portrait of the Great Depression and its effect upon this country, Ten Lost Years suggests a variety of scenes “from farmyards to highways, from kitchens to boxcars, from shop floors to hobo jungles, from spiritual deserts to centres of government” as it views the economic catastrophe on personal and national scales.
Andrea Van Slyke (left) and Martha Reid |
The play is based on the 1973 book of the same name by Barry Broadfoot, who travelled all over Canada interviewing ordinary people and compiled their stories and memories of the Great Depression. Their words, exactly as told to Broadfoot, are the text of the play.
They tell of failed farms and businesses, of riding the rails back and forth across the country in a mostly fruitless search for work, of rising unemployment, falling wages and the shame of taking government relief.
L-R: Grant Buckler, Craig Norton, Anne-Marie Bergman and Thomas Cherney |
First staged in 1974 by Toronto Workshop Productions, Ten Lost Years was an example of the collaborative production techniques pioneered by TWP founder and director George Luscombe. It was later produced on CBC Television. CBC.ca named it as one of 14 plays that changed Canadian theatre.
L-R: Lynn Kerr, Michael Doggett, Andrea Van Slyke, Bill Morrow, Anne-Marie Bergman and Serena Ferzli |
Cast |
|
| Quiet Woman/Girl 2/Mrs. Cody | Anne-Marie Bergman |
| Balladeer/Announcer/Commissioner | Grant Buckler |
| Young Man | Thomas Cherney |
| Farmer/Mr. Couteau | Michael Doggett |
| Mrs. Couteau/Girl 3/Woman 2 | Serena Ferzli |
| Pre-show/Band/Understudy | Walt Freeman |
| Farm Wife/Nolan/Mum | Lynn Kerr |
| Quiet Man/Bum/Clerk/Supervisor/Mr. Cody | Donald Mitchell |
| Salesman/Bennett/John Eaton | Bill Morrow |
| Hobo/Frank/Manager | Craig Norton |
| Young Girl/Joan/Girl 1/Woman 1 | Martha Reid |
| Strong Woman/Eva | Andrea Van Slyke |
| Standbys | Robert Bailey Rosemary Euringer |
Production Crew |
|
| Producers | Valerie Winslow Michelle Freedman |
| Director | Martha Bailey |
| Assistant Director | Robert Bailey |
| Music Director | Serena Ferzli |
| Choreographer | Thomas Cherney |
| Stage Manager | Marion Savage |
| Asst. Stage Manager | Carolyn Burley |
| Set & Lighting Design | Tim Fort |
| Set Decor | Tim Fort Anna Lindgren-Tanga |
| Costumes | Krista Berg Joan Jones |
| Projections | Michael Gourgon |
| Props | Anna Lindgren-Tanga |
| Additional Music | Serena Ferzli |
| Chief Carpenter | James Gow |
| Lighting Operators | James Leslie Lloyd Balme Kevin White |
| Projections Operators | Linda Hamstra Michael Gourgon |
| Set Construction | Bob Brooks Grant Buckler Brad Chura Lorna Jodoin Samantha Lacy Douglas McNichol Wayne Orr John Woollett |
| Scene Painting | Chris McKinnon |
| Lighting Technicians | Will Britton James Gow Anna Lindgren-Tanga Anthony McKay Amy Webb Kevin White |
| Photography | Tim Fort |
| Poster Design | Katie Flower-Smith |
| Lobby Art Curator | Victoria Smyth, Kingston School of Art |
| Lobby Artist | Shannon Dickie |
| Lobby Art Co-ordinator | Liz Schell |
| Front of House Co-ordinator | Cindy Chappell |
| Enhanced Digital Program Design | Douglas Connors |