‘Billy Bishop Goes to War’ at Theatre Institute at Sage
TROY, N.Y. >> “Billy Bishop Goes to War” is not what it seems. At least that’s what David Girard, who plays the title character in the production, says about the show that runs at Russell Sage College in Troy, Friday through October 28.
There are many who think the work, which has been the most produced play in Canada since it premiered in 1978, is a one-person, musical biography of the most awarded soldier to come out of Canada.
“Yes, it is those things, but not really,” says David Girard who is playing Billy Bishop in the Theatre Institute at Sage production.
The Troy resident is a professional Equity actor who graduated from Russell Sage and got his MFA in directing from Temple University. He works regularly with Saratoga Shakespeare, Capital Rep, and other area theaters. Most recently he co-founded and is artistic director of the Troybased professional Troy Foundry Theatre.
Girard says he loves the show, which he claims “fits me like a glove.” But working on the play he realized it’s not the show some people think it is.
The first thing he addresses is that even though there is a hefty amount of music in the piece, he claims, “It’s not a musical. It’s a play with music. They really aren’t songs in the traditional sense of a Broadway musical. They are more in the style of a Music Hall revue. They’re great fun.”
Girard also debunks the idea that “Billy Bishop” is a one-man show. “There are two of us onstage,” he explains. “The other person is a piano player. It’s a very important component,” he says. “The piano provides a lot of underscoring, which adds emotion and emphasis to the stories I tell.”
In this production, the role of the piano player is played by Michael Musial, a member of the Sage faculty. Girard says, “It’s an amazingly collaborative effort. “We have a wonderful history together and we can work with a sort of shorthand.” Musial is also the director of the show.
Further contradicting the oneperson show concept, he adds, that even though he is the only actor, there are 18 characters in the play. He creates them all. He hastens to point out that “Billy Bishop” is not one of those campy comedies in which people are costumed or caricatured. “It’s not a funny-hat show. Every character serves a purpose. It’s a great challenge for an actor and something audiences appreciate.”
Next myth to be destroyed - truth. Billy Bishop was a real person who was a flying ace in World War I. He held the allied kill record having shot down 72 German planes. Therefore, it is assumed the work is an accurate biography of one of Canada’s great war heroes.
“Not really,” says the perpetual buzz-killer Girard. “Think of it as fictional history.” He explains that because fighter pilots of the era went on solo missions there is little proof of what actually happened. “We know he shot down a lot of planes, but there is no way to validate the exact number.” He adds, “Pilots of that era were notorious for exaggerations.”
He laughs as he uses an opening line from the show to make his point. “In character, I say about my stories, ‘A lot of this is true.’”
Girard muses, “He wasn’t supposed to be the greatest pilot of World War I. Often you wonder if he didn’t have success thrust upon him. But for sure he was a skilled pilot, a brave man, and a great story-teller.”
The actor also speaks to the issue of the show being an antiwar piece. “Not overtly,” he says. But he points out that the memory play takes place in 1941, at the start of World War II. Girard says, “The point is made when Billy says, ‘ We didn’t think there was going to be another one back in 1918.’”
Billy Bishop Goes to War, Theatre Institute at Sage. Friday through October 28. On the campus of Russell Sage College, Troy 518-244- 4505, theatre.sage/ edu