IN THE BEGINNING. . . It was in the
fall of 1948 that a representative of the Community Programs branch of
the then Department of Education, Ken Young, came to Sault Ste. Marie to
discuss with the city's Recreation Director, George Wallace, and others,
the possibility of establishing a community theatre company in the region.
An organizational meeting was held on October 13 in the city recreation
office, and according to the report in the Sault Daily Star, "the purpose
of the new group is to study, read and produce plays of all kinds and to
assist in the promotion of drama in the city . Mr. Wallace spoke of a growing
enthusiasm for the Little Theatre movement throughout the province. It
is hoped that in time the new organization will join with other groups
in the city producing plays to take part in drama festivals.
A temporary committee under
Mr. Charles Carrington was set up to organize the initial meetings until
an executive would be elected on October 21. To this are invited all those
interested in any part of play production, staging, lighting, directing
or acting. It is planned that a one-act play be read and anyone interested
in attending will be given a chance to read apart. " The idea of forming
a community theatre group was warmly received by a handful of culture-seekers
living in this isolated, snow-covered city of steel. Attending the first
meeting were Lenore Corbett, Babs Corbett, Mary Firth, Vera Barber, Elsie
McBumie and Charlie Carrington. Among the originals, only Babs Corbett
(now Pitt) still resides in the Sault.
"I was a founding member,
one of a small group of six or seven who met in 1948 to consider forming
a theatre group," says Babs, "but not many details remain in my memory!
"
ArIa Jean Sillers, who has
spent a lifetime involved in theatre and now makes her home in Toronto,
was encouraged to attend the second meeting by one of her teachers, Helen
Niemi. "1 know that Helen Niemi told me about a theatre meeting during
a chance meeting in the street. She had been my Third Form (Grade 11 to
you) English teacher at the Collegiate. Heavily involved in school drama
productions, she had taught me and others stage makeup in order to be part
of her backstage crew at various school and community productions. Accordingly,
I hot-footed it down to the recreation office at City Hall for the second
meeting, intent on getting in
on the action. "
"It was at that second meeting
that the Sault Theatre Workshop came into being," ArIa Jean maintains.
"I don't remember who was at that meeting-probably Lenore Corbett and her
immensely talented daughter, Babs (I envied everything about her. . . her
looks, her dancing, and soon, her acting talent), Charlie Carrington, and
an older English lady who had very strong and vocal opinions about what
this theatre group should attempt (fortunately, Charlie Carrington was
both knowledgeable and tactful)." Thus were the humble beginnings of the
Sault Theatre Workshop.
"I believe we started with
play readings", says ArIa Jean. "The promised help from Community Programs
materialized in the form of weekend workshops. The first was in stage makeup
with a man from the Ottawa Little Theatre. "These were open to anyone from
the community, and I remember two lovely young women from a Finnish cultural
club who attended that first one. One was a double amputee who had suffered
some terrible accident to her arms. Even so, she was quite active directing
and acting in their productions. At the end of the seminar their group
put on a play for us-in Finnish-but who cared? It was live theatre!
"We also had a weekend session
with Dora Mavor Moore, the fabled Toronto theatre pioneer, and viewed,
with hidden amusement, the great lady, known for her acerbic tongue, firmly
squelching the aforementioned opinionated 'English lady' with far superior
wit and knowledge", ArIa Jean recalls.
A report in the November
22, 1948 edition of the Sault Daily Star makes note of a meeting to be
held the following day, which would include the performance of a one-act
Eugene O'Neill play directed by Mrs. Miller and a skit by Mr. and Mrs.
Basil Scully. "The meeting will then be thrown open for discussion of the
plays presented and of plans for a public spring production. " From that
evolved the Workshop's first public offering-a production of Noel Coward's
Hands Across the Sea, directed by noted artist, teacher and promoter of
the arts, Charles Carrington. The one-act comedy included cast members
Dorothea Scully, John Wortman, Babs Corbett, Howard Lacey, Charles Carrington,
Noni McNichol, Frank Ianni, Keith Holder and Lenore Corbett. Mary Firth
is listed as prompter, while Mrs. Cooper and Helen Anderson are credited
with doing makeup.
Harry Houston, Richard Farrel, Bernie Harquail andRita Tuckett from
"Endgame" Below - A scene from the 1968 production "Look Homeward,
Angel"