Blyth Festival Theatre
Encyclopedia
The Blyth Festival, located in Blyth, Ontario
, Canada, specializes in the production and promotion of Canadian plays.
, playwright Anne Chislett
and local newspaper editor Keith Roulston in 1975. Its primary mandate is to produce and develop local Canadian plays.
In 1975, few scripts that fit the festival's mandate were being written so we jumped into the creation of new work. At that time, the festival was the only summer theatre producing original Canadian plays, and one of the very few, if not the only "500-seat" theatre in Canada producing Canadian plays exclusively.
Today, located in a village of 1000 in rural Huron County, the Blyth Centre for the Arts is a year-round centre of cultural activity for southwestern Ontario. In addition to the Blyth Festival, the Centre includes an Art Gallery that showcases three professional exhibits, one non-juried community show and co-ordinates a student exhibit each season. Choristers participate in the professionally-led Blyth Festival singers and musicians from three counties form the Blyth Festival Orchestra. The theatre brings many outstanding Canadian artists to its stage throughout the off-season.
In addition, the festival acts as a resource for local groups and makes its outstanding facilities available for community use. The Festival plays a major role in the business life of the village and the tourism industry in Huron County.
2011
2010
2009
2008
Blyth, Ontario
Blyth is a community in the municipality of North Huron, Huron County, Ontario, Canada. It is located southwest of the town of Wingham on Huron Road 4 and geographically south of the town of Lucknow....
, Canada, specializes in the production and promotion of Canadian plays.
History
The organization was started by James RoyJames Roy
James Roy is an Australian writer. He writes primarily for young adults and children, and in addition to his native Australia, his books are published in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany and South Korea.Roy's parents were Seventh-day Adventist missionaries to Papua...
, playwright Anne Chislett
Anne Chislett
Anne Chislett is a Canadian author and screenwriter. Raised in her hometown, she studied at Memorial University in St. John's and the University of British Columbia. After she taught English and theater in high schools in Ontario and surrounding area...
and local newspaper editor Keith Roulston in 1975. Its primary mandate is to produce and develop local Canadian plays.
In 1975, few scripts that fit the festival's mandate were being written so we jumped into the creation of new work. At that time, the festival was the only summer theatre producing original Canadian plays, and one of the very few, if not the only "500-seat" theatre in Canada producing Canadian plays exclusively.
Today, located in a village of 1000 in rural Huron County, the Blyth Centre for the Arts is a year-round centre of cultural activity for southwestern Ontario. In addition to the Blyth Festival, the Centre includes an Art Gallery that showcases three professional exhibits, one non-juried community show and co-ordinates a student exhibit each season. Choristers participate in the professionally-led Blyth Festival singers and musicians from three counties form the Blyth Festival Orchestra. The theatre brings many outstanding Canadian artists to its stage throughout the off-season.
In addition, the festival acts as a resource for local groups and makes its outstanding facilities available for community use. The Festival plays a major role in the business life of the village and the tourism industry in Huron County.
Artistic Directors
- Janet Amos (1979–1984)
- Katherine Kaszas (1984–1991)
- Peter SmithPeter Smith- Arts and entertainment :*Peter Smith *Peter Smith , contemporary British painter*Peter C. Smith , author of aeronautical, naval and military history books*Peter James Smith , American actor...
(1991–1994) - Janet Amos (1994–1997)
- Anne ChislettAnne ChislettAnne Chislett is a Canadian author and screenwriter. Raised in her hometown, she studied at Memorial University in St. John's and the University of British Columbia. After she taught English and theater in high schools in Ontario and surrounding area...
(1997–2003) - Eric CoatesEric CoatesEric Coates was an English composer of light music and a viola player.-Life:Eric was born in Hucknall in Nottinghamshire to William Harrison Coates , a surgeon, and his wife, Mary Jane Gwynne, hailing from Usk in Monmouthshire...
(2003–present)
Season summary
A list of past productions can be found at Blyth Festival production historyBlyth Festival production history
The Blyth Festival, located in Blyth, Ontario, Canada, specializes in the production and promotion of Canadian plays. The following is a chronological list of the productions that have been staged as part of the Festival since its inception.-1975:...
2011
- HOMETOWN by Jean Marc Dalpé, Mieko Ouchi, Mansel Robinson, Martha Ross, Peter Smith, Des Walsh with music by David Archibald
- VIMY by Vern ThiessenVern ThiessenVern Thiessen is a Canadian playwright.Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Thiessen studied at the University of Winnipeg and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. He later attended the University of Alberta, where he obtained a Master of Fine Arts degree.Thiessen currently lives in Edmonton, Alberta and was...
- ROPE'S END by Douglas Bowie
- EARLY AUGUST by Kate LynchKate LynchKate Lynch is a Genie Award-winning actress whose career spans four decades. In 1980 she won the Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for Meatballs...
2010
- A KILLING SNOW by Paul Ciufo
- BORDERTOWN CAFE by Kelly Rebar
- PEARL GIDLEY by Gary Kirkham
- THE BOOK OF ESTHER by Leanna BrodieLeanna BrodieLeanna Brodie is a Canadian actor and playwright.-Unpublished writings:*Invisible City. Broadcast by CBC Radio. 2001.*One Woman, One Child...
2009
- THE BOOTBLACK ORATOR by Ted JohnsTed JohnsTed Johns is a Canadian playwright, born in Seaforth, Ontario in 1942. His plays have been primarily produced at the Blyth Festival, but also at Theatre New Brunswick, Theatre Passe Muraille, and the Upper Canada Playhouse.-Plays:...
- THE MAIL ORDER BRIDE by Robert Clinton
- HOCKEY MOM, HOCKEY DAD by Michael Melski
- THE NUTTALLS by Michael HealeyMichael HealeyMichael Healey is a Canadian playwright and actor. He graduated from the acting programme at Toronto's Ryerson Theatre School in 1985. His acting credits include the plays of Jason Sherman and George F...
- INNOCENCE LOST: A PLAY ABOUT STEVEN TRUSCOTT by Beverley Cooper
2008
- AGAINST THE GRAIN by Carolyn Hay
- HARVEST by Ken CameronKen CameronKen Cameron is an Australian film and television director. Cameron graduated from Sydney University with BA in 1968...
- COURTING JOHANNA by Marcia Johnson, Based on Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage by Alice MunroAlice MunroAlice Ann Munro is a Canadian short-story writer, the winner of the 2009 Man Booker International Prize for her lifetime body of work, a three-time winner of Canada's Governor General's Award for fiction, and a perennial contender for the Nobel Prize...
- INNOCENCE LOST: A PLAY ABOUT Steven TruscottSteven TruscottSteven Murray Truscott is a Canadian man who was sentenced to death in 1959, when he was a 14-year old student, for the murder of classmate Lynne Harper...
by Beverley Cooper