Showboat history memorialized in archives

Archives of the Showboat Festival Theatre will soon be among other theatre archives at the L. W. Conolly Theatre Archives at the University of Guelph.

During a presentation made to Port Colborne council on Tuesday night, Showboat Advisory Committee member Carole Black Brisley said she put the archives together after “rescuing” documents during a cleanup a few years ago.

Over the past year, she has been compiling what she found – original playbills, scripts, cast lists and tickets – together in a collection. The collection currently features documents and pictures from Showboat’s beginning in 1987 to 2013, when Showboat amalgamated with the Lighthouse Festival Theatre.

“In the beginning, this seemed like a daunting task,” she said. “But soon it became a labour of love for me and a fascinating journey of discovery.”

With the help of people in the community and people who have been a part of Showboat for many years, Black Brisley said she compiled a total of seven albums and learned more of Showboat’s history.

Before Showboat moved to its current home at the Roselawn Centre in 1994, it was held at what was then called Lakeview Park Secondary School. The school’s auditorium was home to Showboat’s many plays. The school is now Lakeshore Catholic High School.

She shared with council how Showboat used to be done in- theround, meaning the stage was in the centre of the room and the audience surrounded it. She said actors would come back year after year just for the unique experience of performing in this way.

Showboat was also done cabaret style in the main dining room at Roselawn for a period of time while the curling rink was transformed into the theatre.

She said the goal of these archives is to highlight the arts for Port Colborne.

“Honouring and supporting the arts is so important in the life of any community,” she said. “Showboat has been the heart and soul of Port Colborne’s art community for over 30 years.”

The seven albums, which she expects to grow over time as Showboat continues to add to the archives, will be heading to the University of Guelph at the end of November.

Black Brisley said the L. W. Conolly Theatre Archives in the university’s library contains the largest collection of theatre archives in Canada.

Before it heads to the library, the archives will be on display at the Showboat offices at the Roselawn Centre on Nov. 22 between 1 p. m. and 4 p. m. The community is invited to come see the archives before they leave. lbarton@ postmedia. com twitter. com/ LBartonTribune