Provincial Drama Festival
Weekend Plays Cap Successful Event 04/22/01

BY ROBERT LODGE

Special to The Telegram

The annual Provincial Drama Festival wrapped up in Grand Falls-Windsor Saturday, and by all accounts it was a roaring success. But before the curtains were drawn and the prizes awarded, there were two final plays.

The Lonesome West

The Beothuck Street Players presented The Lonesome West by Martin McDonagh on the fifth night of the festival, Friday. This play is set in a small village in Connemara, Ireland, which is full of rumours, gossip, grudges, spite, murder and jealousy. In the play, two brothers are closeted together in undying hostility like a penned-up Cain and Able. They are visited only by the teenaged, poteen-peddling Girleen Kelleher and the local parish priest. It is only Father Welsh who is prepared to try to reconcile the two before their petty squabbles spiral out of control. Even he soon realizes that God himself seems to have no jurisdiction in this town.

Adjudicator Michael Chiasson opened his review by observing "the strange people are back at the house". He stated the most important element that surrounds the actors is the set, and this set was spectacular. The design helped the actors to move out from the set and the greyness of it was the colour of the mind. The visual design reminded you of the being on the edge, it had that element of tension.
The play is not readily engaging. The melding of comedy and tragedy challenged the audience to think about the ordinary and confronted us with often unresolved issues. This is a very religious play and it is demonstrated through Father Welsh, especially his last sermon and the two lead actors confession scenes where each apologizes for his previous sins.

Chiasson said we see the volcanic action of the two characters and how unpredictable one s life can be.
This play gives us characters that can be humourous and terrifying, a beautiful blend. There were some wonderful performances in this production, Chiasson noted, singling out the final sermon scene with Father Welsh, played by Michael Coady, as a wonderful piece of theatre.

Girleen, as played by Jessica Natiuk, is an impish girl — nobody was going to put one over on her. The only person who might be able to do so would be the priest, for she had a crush on him. She gave us some nice moments in the play.

Valene, played by Kevin Lewis, and Coleman, played by Steven Holmes, turned out two wonderful performances.

The Awards

Chiasson's task of awarding the various trophies and scholarships was a difficult one that he handled well. In my opinion, he was on the money with his selections.

The scholarships started with the D.A. Matthews Memorial Scholarship which went to Allison Basha, assistant stage manager for Misery.

The VOCM scholarship went to Jessica Natiuk for her role of Girleen in The Lonesome West.

The Walter C. Chambers Memorial Scholarship went to Jessica Wentzell for her role of the Coffee Vendor in 1984. She also won the Thompson trophy for the best performance by an actor under 21 years of age.
The Chairman's Award for the best supporting performance by an actress went to Christina Powell of the Carol
Players. Mary Home of the Mokami Players walked away with the Allan R. Hillier Award for costume design.
The host group, Northcliffe Drama Club, took home three awards. The Johnson Award for best supporting performance by an actor went to Kieron Downton who played Corker. The group also won the Margaret Doyle trophy depicting the true spirit of the Festival, which was voted on by the participating groups.

The Canadian Play Award, which was donated by the Festival Organizing Committee, was won by the club for its presentation of Corker by Canadian playwright Wendy Lill.

The Avion players of Gander took away some of the technical awards for their presentation of 1984 by George Orwell. Greg Blumer won the OZ-FM Sound Award and Brian Dove won the Allan Power Trophy for his lighting design. The other technical awards went to the Beothuck Street Players. Clar Doyle won the Harvey Rose bowl for best visual presentation and the Hans Tode Memorial Trophy for innovation and imagination in set design.
The Beothuck Street Players also won the Honourary Chairman s Award for the best performance by a man for Stephen Holmes portrayal of Coleman. The group also won the Newfoundland Herald Audience Appeal Award voted on by series block ticket-holders. Perhaps the most prestigious award of the night was the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador Drama Festival Award, for the best presentation of a full-length play, which was won by The Beothuck Street Players.

Bay Theatre of Stephenville took away several prestigious awards as well. Cindy O Neill won the Chrissi Andrews Memorial Award for the best performance by a women, she played Annie Wilkes in Misery They also won the Neala F. Griffin Trophy for best direction, as it went to Stephen Evans. Germaine White must get the prize for the most unsuspecting winner, for when hem name was announced for the Peggy Lewis Memorial Trophy for excellence in stage management, she was very excited and surprised and drifted to the stage to receive her award.
It was a wonderful awards ceremony and Chiasson is to be commended on a job well done all week long. He was a delight to listen to and was a tremendous inspiration in his adjudications both public and private.
The 52nd Provincial Drama Festival will be held in St. John s from June 23-29, 2002 and the host group will be the Beothuck Street Players. Hopefully we will see you there next year.