For the past, oh, I don’t know, 7 months, give or take a year, I’ve been involved with an amazing play called Dancing at Lughnasa. It’s a memory play about five unmarried Irish sisters in the mid-1930s. I was intrigued by it when it was presented as the third play in the Langley Players season, I was excited by it when I read it in preparation for auditions and then I was consumed by it when I was cast.
My preparation for this play was more intense than any other I had taken on. I learned to knit, on three needles if you don’t mind, because my character knitted gloves for a living. I worked with a choreographer, along with the other women playing my sisters, to figure out how to do a wild, uncontrolled dance on my painfully osteoarthritic knee. My surgeon was floored when I told him what I would be doing. I lost weight so that the stress on my knee would be lessened in my every day life, allowing me to punish it in rehearsals and performances. I learned a northern Irish accent, and I studied my script. I dissected every phrase my character uttered. I tried to figure out why she said what she said, and how she said it, I made decisions, then changed them. I discussed things at length with the director and my stage sisters. At times, I felt defeated, and sure that I was the weak link of the group, that I was letting them down with my lack of skill. But sometimes, it felt right, it felt magical. And that confidence grew and my character evolved along with all the others and we had a show. I learned to make soda bread. And I dyed my hair strawberry blonde – hair that I had worked on for over a year that had finally gone beautifully, naturally grey. Now that’s dedication.
This play was Langley’s entry into the Fraser Valley Zone Drama Festival. We were excited to take it on the road, to Coquitlam, along with other plays from the area, to share our work and be adjudicated. We had a great show. And on the gala night we were rewarded. We won several awards, but best of all, we won best production. That meant we would be taking our play to Mainstage, Theatre BC’s showcase of best productions from around the province. And another best of all, we’d be doing it in Port Alberni, the town where I first got involved in community theatre over twenty years ago.
I had been in zone festival plays before but Mainstage was the pinnacle I hadn’t achieved. And considering it took me 20+ years to get there, I told myself I was going to savour every moment, as my “advanced” age could mean that I never get there again. Let me explain, community theatre is full of women of a certain age, meaning my competition for suitable, and dwindling, roles is fierce. There are many, many very talented women in my age group and it is unlikely that another festival play will have three or more characters we can all play. So, from the moment we won at our zone festival, I was determined to work hard but to have fun and enjoy what could be my once in a lifetime experience.
We had some rehearsals between the two festivals and some performances, to keep things fresh. The sisters had a Messenger group where we talked about things, further building our already strong relationships. Then finally, the week of Mainstage arrived. The first play was performed Friday night. I missed it as I was booked on a mid-morning ferry on Saturday. But a cast-mate filled me in on the show and the adjudication. Both were very good. I was on the island, just outside Nanaimo (as we now lived in Tsawwassen I took the Duke Point ferry) when the director called. After the wonderful performance and the glowing adjudication, it was decided by all that we needed to run lines and perfect some scenes. I drove through the rain to the motel in Port Alberni where most people in our group were staying and joined them. We went through both acts and then I left. I was staying with a dear friend, which was a wonderful thing. While I missed being with my cast mates, it gave me time with my friend and a break from the intense preoccupation about our play and our competition. I still saw every other play and attended all the adjudications, but left them to decompress and hang with my friend, and sometimes with her family. I also got to catch up with my theatre friends from Port Alberni. It was so wonderful to see them all.
We performed on Monday night. We left the adjudication of the Sunday night show early and went to put up the set and dress it. The production crew was amazing. We had plenty of time to move about the stage to check out the larger space and to determine the levels needed for our dialogue to be heard. I was nervous, as I always am before a show, and excited and calm and confident as well. We were well rehearsed and prepared. We put on a good show. It wasn’t our best, but it was good. Our second act was stellar. It hit all the right notes and we were proud and emotional when we took our bows.
At drama festivals the adjudicator makes some generic remarks after each performance. Often it’s about the playwright and the history behind the play or its performances around the world. The adjudicator took a seat on the bench on our set and directed his comments to the cast. We had been invited to join the audience after the play. He spoke of his connection to this play. His family had come from Ireland. A great grandmother had left there because she was an unmarried mother, so the plot line was close to his heart. He spoke of the hard times of the thirties and the resilience of woman. He said he had seen the play in London and was bored by it, it didn’t affect him at all. However, our performance made him love the play again, and with tears in his eyes he thanked us. He tried to continue but was too choked up. He got up from the bench and went back to the sideboard where some soda bread was sitting, to pull himself together. He ate a piece as the audience began to file out.
His reaction was everything. We touched him, we made his night at the theatre personal, emotional and meaningful. We made him love a play again, a play he had seen professionals do, in a theatre in London! As far as I was concerned, we had won everything. I didn’t need, or want, any further validation. Our adjudication was good, focussing mostly on production decisions. The adjudicator hugged us all individually afterwards, and to me he whispered that I had a lovely energy onstage. That was nice as the only other personal thing he had said about me was that he had noticed my clearly not natural eyelashes. Well, I do have a son and daughter-in-law who own a lash salon!
The rest of the week passed quickly, seeing a play in the evening and attending its adjudication the following morning. We learned a lot in them. I took notes. But we also judged every comment, criticism and celebration against what he had said about us, and what we perceived we had done. I had no expectations. I was there for the theatre experience and the joy of being with my friend. And as I already said, his response after our performance was validation enough.
At the awards gala we won Best Ensemble Cast. How wonderful that we were all recognized together. It was a humbling, exhilarating experience to be part of Mainstage. To see the amazing productions and performances of other community theatres. To hear the valuable opinions of the immensely talented adjudicator, a well known actor and director. To enjoy the company of others who love and enjoy community theatre.
My theatre experiences have been varied. I’ve been part of adjudications that weren’t overly positive but I’ve also won awards, both individually and as as part of an ensemble or production. I’m not ready to give up community theatre but if it all came to an end tomorrow, I’d be happy with what I’ve experienced.