Niagara loses a theatre giant
When David Fanstone and some friends started a Niagara Falls theatre company nearly 50 years ago, he literally had pennies and farthings in his pocket.
No problem, he thought. The company has a name now.
The Penny Farthing Players was formed as an outlet for local youth to write, direct and perform. It left an indelible mark on Niagara Falls culture, giving several young residents their first experience with theatre.
It’s something he would repeat in Orillia with the Sunshine Festival Theatre, and again in Niagara Falls when he returned in 2010 to form Niagara Theatre Projects.
Year after year, show after show, Fanstone simply wanted young performers to love theatre as much as he did.
Fanstone died of cancer on Tuesday, leading to an outpouring of tributes from friends and colleagues thanking him for providing their first job in theatre.
Among them was former St. Catharines resident Scott Hurst, who started working with Fanstone in 1998 when he opened a new theatre in the Orillia Opera House.
“David loved theatre, he loved theatre people, he loved making theatre,” says Hurst, now an actor and director living in Barrie. “He loved giving people opportunities.
“But he loved seeing that show in front of people, inspiring people, seeing people do their best.”
Fanstone and friends John Mason, Ed Kamhiuis and Roger Bell premiered the Penny Farthing Players in August 1969 at the 1,000-seat theatre inside Niagara Falls Collegiate Vocational Institute. The first show was the world premiere of a play Fanstone wrote called The Tin Soldier.
A world premiere born out of necessity.
“The whole thing started because we wanted to do a show, and we couldn’t afford to buy one,” Fanstone recalled in 2009. “That first show was amazing because we did it with whatever we could find.”
When rent for the auditorium went up, the company came up with an odd replacement: The old fire hall on Walnut Street, which was being used as storage space for the Niagara Falls Music Theatre Society. The Penny Farthing Players was the first to pro- pose actually doing shows in the tiny space, eventually installing lights and building a stage.
The company did three shows every summer, including classics such as Godspell and Cabaret, with help from an Opportunities For Youth federal grant. When funding was cancelled, Penny Farthing transformed into the youth-oriented Niagara Falls Summer Players, an offshoot of the Niagara Falls Music Theatre Society.
After leaving to work in Orillia, Fanstone returned to Niagara Falls to form Niagara Theatre Projects with high school friend Wendy Leard, who starred in several early Penny Farthing Players shows. It retained the same spirit, 40 years later.
“David had such a passion for theatre and really wanted to make it work,” says Leard, who has been a Niagara Falls dance instructor for decades. “It didn’t matter how many times he failed or we failed together, he would bounce back (and say), ‘Oh well, here’s my next project — let’s go.’”
Despite calling Niagara Falls his “retirement place” in 2010, Fanstone eventually moved back to Orillia, where he wrote and directed more shows for The New Sunshine Festival. The company recently announced its 2018 season, which includes a new com- edy Fanstone wrote called Niagara Fools.
Despite feeling ill recently, he was still “talking about producing things, and creating new shows,” says Leard.
“He was endless when it came to his passion for theatre.”
Away from theatre — which was rare — Hurst recalls Fanstone as a “bright” thinker with a sly, witty way of getting his point across.”
“He had a very gentle side that you always saw when he was either in a garden, or when he was around dogs.”
No funeral is planned. Leard says a memorial service will be held for Fanstone in the spring.
“One of the things David will be remembered for is he took chances. With people, with shows.”