PHOTOS FROM 'THE PERFECT IDIOT' ADDED ON APRIL 12, 2011.
Dessert theatres were an added highlight to the presentation of two dramatic comedies at Ecole Secondaire Chapleau High School during the 1986-87 school year.
Writing in The Daily Press, George Evans noted that for the Spring production of Emily and Grant Dickinson's 'The Perfect Idiot', the gymnasium had been transformed for a second time into a cabaret where the audience could sip coffee and nibble on home-made desserts.
The successful dessert theatre format was introduced for the school's Fall production of 'Three to get Married' by Kay Hill.
In his review, George writes that Marcel Morin as Daniel Tennyson was "alternately irritatingly clever and pathetically inept" as he schemed and blundered his way to his final success." In the beginning he was a high school genius and social disaster.
Dan's bewildered parents were played "with convincing authority" by Glen Pilon and Trudy Wilson with Michael Telik as Dan's younger brother and Tara Brunette as the bustling, motherly maid, completing the Tennyson houshold.
George noted that Jeremy Comte was effective as the dumb athlete, Buff Witomski,whose inability to pass exams greatly worried Kathy Byer and Leah Cyr the scheming cheerleaders.
Christopher Ivey, who played a bumbling industrialist gave an energetic impression in his role, while Cindy McLaren as the high school principal and Allison Berry as a teacher provided "alarmingly accurate impersonations of the real thing," George wrote, adding that it was also as though they had been preparing for the parts for years.
Jennifer Swanson played the role of the high school principal's daughter while Andre Bourgeault was a police officer, Mchael Alloy a psychiatrist and Kelly Booth, a newspaper reporter.
Mrs. Yvette Joyal was the production secretary and was responsible for makeup and costumes assisted by Lisa Martel and Paula Martel. The property master was Jennifer Vezina assisted by Ginette Morin; sound effects by Alain Lavoie; stage managers Chris Ranger and Darryl Vezina; lighting assistant Camille Fortin; prompter Tara Leigh O'Hearn and the hostesses for the dessert theatre organized by Margaret Rose Fortin were Jocelyne Rioux and Sharon Henderson.
Michael Holgate and Michael Heintz joined me in directing the play while other teaching staff members involved included Alex Babin, Jean Pierre Villeneuve, Rick Dell, Carolyn Hryhorchuk, David Anderson and Chris Knowles. The schools head custodian Gilbert Landry was an unsung hero of the production.
In the Fall of the year, the first dessert theatre was held at ESCHS when the students presented 'Three to get Married', a comedy set in Nova Scotia in 1835 centring around the scheming efforts of Rev. Horatio Dogberrry played by Christopher Ivey to marry off his three daughters. It is a delightful comedy and a play which I first directed for the Chapleau Little Theatre in 1969.
The daughters, Angelina, Seraphina and Dulcinea, played by Trudy Wilson, Anita Hoffren and Jennifer Swanson respectively, gave great performances, while their father "tricked" the unsuspecting arrivals at their church rectory doubling as an inn into marrying his daughters. The suitors to be and eventual husbands were played by Glen Pilon, Marcel Morin and Michel Sylvestre.
Jennifer Vezina played Aunt Lizzie, Dogberry's sister, while Debra Vezina and Allison Berry were the congregation. Linda Tebbutt was the handyman. Catherine Pellow was the hostess for the dessert theatre. Sets were by Chris Ranger; property master Cindy Mclaren; prompter Tania Stover, and the music club was under the direction of Margaret Rose Fortin and Joanne Laughland.
Members of a parent's committee helping with the dessert theatre included Joyce Vezina, Erma Stover, Sheila Wilson and Marian Pellow. Mrs. Joyal was in charge of makeup and costumes and Carolyn Hryhorchuk choreography. Michael Holgate, Michael Heintz and I directed the play.
George Evans, Rick Dell, Alex Babin and Jean Pierre Villeneuve of the teaching staff also assisted.
MAIL
Jamie Thibault wrote as follows: "Chief, I'm sitting here going through a copy of a program from your production of "Three to Get Married" in 1969 in which you were lead. My brother Ronnie and I moved my mother on the weekend to an apartment in Windsor and I came across it. Quite the memories for you I'm sure and also for me as I was a member of the Drama club in the early 70's as well. Other members of the production were Bernadette Murphy, Eleanor Belfry, Sonia Riddoch, Margaret Costello, Frank Bignucolo, Douglas Rettie and Peter Reid. Mom did the set design and makeup.
"I kinda of remember it as a 10 year old because it was a big thing back then and Mom was involved. If my memory serves me well the NEW High School on the hill had just been inaugurated a few years before."
Just a note on Jamie's message. His mother is Monique Thibault as many readers will know. Yes, I had to play Rev. Horatio Dogberry at the last moment when the person in the role was transferred and Robert Fife, then a CHS student, now Ottawa bureau chief for CTV News, also joined the cast when another actor became ill.
Seems like only yesterday. My email is mj.morris@live.ca
I distinctly remember Three to Get Married and how ingenious Mrs. Joyal was. We didn't have a budget for costumes but we all needed this fancy dress. It just so happened that each of us three sisters were different heights and we all needed to be seen in a fancy dress at different times during the play. So Mrs. Joyal made a dress that had three 'ruffles' at the bottom which were really just three strips held there with velcro. So whoever needed to wear the dress for the scene would either add or take off one or more of the ruffles so the dress was the correct height. I still remember that to this day, pretty brilliant! I wish I had a picture of that.
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