Lend Galt your eyes and ears
Arts.”
It was a great way to involve students who have never really acted before, but still give them a chance to test things out and try things in roles,” Sylvester said. “They were hidden in the audience, and they didn’t have, you know, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of lines to learn. It was a unique experience for a first time back,” she said.
This year, Sylvester is assistant director, and Olivia Louise Grenier is directing an equally unique production, Murder at the Renaissance Faire or…shakespeare Kills Me.
Written by Michael Druce, the play is about a Renaissance Faire trying to keep business afloat by bringing in a hot new director to stage a program called “Great Death Scenes from Shakespeare.” But things quickly take a turn when a storm approaches, and one of the main actors go missing.
“It’s looking pretty awesome,” Grenier said, a week away from hitting the stage.
“What’s fun with these plays is that the students don’t have to be part of a drama class,” Grenier said. “Some of these students don’t have a drama class. They have an art class with me, or with Miss Sylvester, so we are welcoming a mix of veteran actors and newcomers to the stage.”
This year’s production has a tight cast of 11, something Grenier enjoys. “I find that the students are getting a lot of it on the acting side of things. When the cast is smaller, we have more time to really spend with them individually and to really work on their individual skills and to really work on developing characters and creating that illusion of reality,” she explained.
The set, like all others for Galt productions, was built by Steve Coates, “who’s been at the school for what seems like forever,” the director said.
But the cast and crew will have a hand in some of the painting, Grenier said.
“It’s voluntary, so those of them that want to stay and learn about it, we are going to do some techniques and stage painting and all that; it’s very different.”
In addition to the cast, there is a group of students dividing a number of tasks from lighting, to costumes (overseen by Grenier’s student teacher), to props.
Some of the students will be providing entertainment before the show and during breaks, the director added. “Because this is in the setting of a Renaissance faire, we really wanted to incorporate that kind of vibe, that kind of feeling of immersion into the whole theatre, not just for the moments on stage, but for everyone as well.”
And of course, the costumes will definitely help create a Shakespearian atmosphere.
According to Grenier, a shop in Sherbrooke where the school had purchased costumes for previous productions went out of business. Since Galt had been such a loyal customer, when the store closed down, the school was offered the remainder of the stock.
“We got a lot of costumes and accessories from them, so that’s also a little bit the reason behind choosing a show like this,” she said, “We need to use these costumes since we have them.”
The production has been in the works since January, Grenier said. “The first week they came back from the break, we did auditions. And then the week after that, we started rehearsals,” she said, but before the students got involved, she and Sylvester were working for at least two months planning.
Before opening up to the public, there will be two matinées put on for local elementary schools and feeder schools.
Written by Michael Druce, the play is about
a Renaissance Faire trying to keep business afloat by bringing in a hot new director to stage a program called “Great Death Scenes from
Shakespeare.”
“A lot of students in the ETSB don’t have access to drama until they get to Galt,” Grenier said, “So for them it’s very much a big unknown, which is why sometimes our numbers are dwindling a little bit in the options in the first cycle, at least,” the director explained.
“So, offering these matinées, we’re hoping to draw them in and wanting to sign up for drama, to sign up for performing arts and to really get the ball rolling, because a lot of the time elementary schools just don’t have the personnel or the resources to do drama. Visual arts can be done in the classroom, drama not always.”
Assistant Director Sylvester said
watching this production evolve has been a real treat.
“What’s interesting is like, we’ve read the play, we’ve read the script so many times, we’ve seen the scenes happen on stage so many times, we’ve picked the tiny little details and we’ve reworked them so many times, and yet we can watch a run of the show and we’re never bored,” she said. “There’s never one moment where we’re like, oh, this is taking forever, you know? We’re always on the edge of our seat. It’s hilarious. It’s almost, it’s not quite slapstick comedy, but it’s like goofy, funny, and we just, we laugh the entire time.”
They’re always coming up with different little things,” Grenier added. “We’re directors, but we’re not asking for something specific. I think we’re guiding them into becoming these characters. So, they’re all putting in a little bit of themselves, and it’s very interesting.”
Grenier assembled some students involved in the production to share their thoughts.
Abigayle Tanguay, graduating this year, said coming together as a cast is her favourite part of the drama experience at Galt.
“You get so close. Each play is different, so you bond over different things. I think this is the most comedic play out of the five years I’ve been doing plays. So it’s fun to try something new every time and you learn new skills.”
“I love the people,” added Sophie Grandbois, also a veteran of the Galt stage.
“I’ve met so many new people doing this (like Liam and Norah). I didn’t know these people before, and now I love them. So yeah. I definitely like being able to try new things,”
“A lot of students in the ETSB don’t have access to drama until they get to Galt,” Grenier said, “So for them it’s very much a big unknown, which is why sometimes our numbers are dwindling a little bit in the options in the first cycle, at least,” the director
explained.
she said.
Norah Joyal is spreading her wings, theatre-wise. Now in Level 3, she was an actor in The Trap last year, and this year she is stage managing. “I’m trying out new things every year, different roles,” she said. “I prefer more on stage,” she said, “I like the experience of the adrenaline of being in front of a crowd,” but Joyal also likes being behind the scene and collaborating with other crew members.
Liam Connor is testing his acting chops for the first time.
“I’ve never done anything like this. I haven’t done anything extracurricular outside the school, but this has been a really good experience,” Connor said.
He had 96 lines to learn for his acting debut. “It came easier to me than I thought it would,” he said.
“Over the years it gets a little bit easier for some,” Tanguay said, talking opening night jitters.
“If you’re embodying a completely different new character, sometimes it’s a little stressful. Like last year ,when I had to play a completely old woman, that gave some jitters,” she confessed,
“I was 90, so that was an experience,” Tanguay said.
“But yeah, it gets easier, so you’ll be okay, Liam,” Tanguay and Grandbois said, encouraging their green cast member, “It’s the first night. And then rest is smooth sailing. The first night is difficult, the first performance is always like, people are watching me!”
Murder at the Renaissance Faire or…shakespeare Kills Me will take the stage next week in the Galt auditorium on April 18,19 and 20 (Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights) at 7:30 p.m.