Couldn't be more down-to-earth

I worked at GCTC during what I’ll call its middle years. I worked under three artistic directors (there are five that have served to date in the building at 910 Gladstone) and two general managers. There was a steady stream of new faces within production, stage management, publicity, and support staff in the form of co-op students. Oddly enough, it was the artists that provided the most stable influence and emerged as a kind of “house” company.

If you think about it, the name, Great Canadian Theatre Company, sounds a bit pretentious. Yet, the company was anything but that. GCTC operated on a shoestring budget; employees were paid poorly and actors did not fare any better. We even put out an appeal one year for people to send in their Canadian Tire money. The theatre space was small, its lobby tiny, its office closet-like and the dressing room—was just that, a room.

Deficits often loomed large. It was the runaway box office success of the Wingfield plays and Rod Beattie’s generosity in continuing to perform in our small theatre when he could easily have moved the show to a larger, more lucrative venue. There was many a season where Wingfield kept us afloat. Fans returned so many times to see Rod that we endearingly called them Wing-nuts. Nor will I ever forget the staged reading of A. R. Gurney’s Love Letters performed by Rod Beattie and Martha Henry.

It was a time when tobacco companies could still openly support the arts. It was a time where we saw the audience grow; we took a few risks; we added to the average cast size; we produced a season of new works; we went after the Elgin Theatre space; we did more fundraising and fundraising events; we saw the art and actors mature. There were plays that worked like Target Audience and McLuhan: The Musical and several that did not. We had great fun with a remount of The Mystery of the Oak Island Treasure. At one show we distributed eye patches to everyone in the audience, and they wore them, young and old alike. Only Katherine Sandford, GCTC publicist, could come up with a concoction of swamp juice, delivering bottles of it to the local media to promote The Adventures of Emily Brontesaurus. After one performance of Show Me the Button I’ll Push It, the audience was invited to join Rick Mercer and Charles Lynch at the Prescott Tavern for pizza and beer. And I cannot forget a moonlit boat cruise on the Ottawa River with Fat Man Waving serenading us late into the night.

When it could the theatre offered its support to other companies like the Ottawa Shakespeare Festival, New Theatre of Ottawa and gave Barry Caplan, a.k.a. GATD, somewhat free reign over the stage to produce his Night Howl Series.

We had our bad moments and disappointments too. Plays were trashed by the critics (some deserved it, some didn’t); at times audiences stayed away; there was the Gulf war; there were layoffs in the public service; people that you did not want to see go left; and people that you wished would leave overstayed (I hope that I wasn’t one of them). Send your memories to Kate Wright at wricom@rogers.com.

The Bumblebee

“What’s the buzz, tell me what’s happening? What’s the buzz, tell me what’ s happening?” Many more than several years ago, GCTC came up with a new logo. I call it the bumblebee—black, yellow, black, yellow. We all know it and recognize it. What is significant about the bumblebee is the contribution that one graphic designer by the name of Mark Taylor made to GCTC for well over a decade. When I started working at GCTC, someone suggested that I contact Mark. Mark was a graphic designer. We connected up. We chatted. Somehow Mark agreed to help GCTC out. He began by designing our season brochure, our play posters, our signage, our 20^th anniversary logo, and on and on and on. Even when Mark couldn’t help out, he put us on to Shelia Corbett, another graphic designer, who could. I can’t say that Mark received a lot in return, other than our heartfelt appreciation.

Favourites anyone?

GCTC introduced me to the works of George F. Walker. It came as no surprise that GCTC was producing the works of one playwright. Centaur Theatre in Montreal had been producing the works of South African author, Athol Fugard and premiering those of Montrealer David Fennario for many years. One of the things about seeing a playwright’s body of work is that you can look back, compare, and ask yourself which one you liked the best. For me, that favourite is “Love and Anger.” The character of Petie Maxwell resonated. I may be paraphrasing here a bit, but who can forget a line like “If it looks like a Nazi, call it a Nazi.” Or Petie being asked, “Are you communist or something?” and his responding “Or something.” Sarah’s big tractor trailer speech was unforgettable. While “Love and Anger” remains the favourite, the character of Phillie in “Criminal Genius” part of the Suburban Motel series particularly grabbed me. Who can’t connect with Phillie’s self-indulgent lamentation at the end of the play?—the world’s to blame and as luck would have it, I have none of it. “Bad luck loves me like I’m its mother.” Send in your memory of a Walker play that GCTC produced to Kate Wright wricom@rogers.com

Sitting on a shelf, hidden in a closet, or filed away

It was 40 years ago that Expo 67 opened in Montreal on April 27th. Expo was a major international cultural showcase to mark Canada’s 100^th birthday. Forty years later, I still have my Expo 67 Passport. This got me thinking about the things that I’ve saved from GCTC. I have season brochures dating back to 1992. That year included works by Joan Macleod, George Walker, George Seremba, and Ottawa’s own Katherine Sandford. There were seasons with themes, like Micheline Chevrier’s “Portraits of Women” season (1997-98), Lorne Pardy’s season on reflection (2000-01) entitled “A Look In” and seasons that marked anniversary milestones. This small stack of brochures represents world premieres, co-productions, collective creations, and just some great moments in theatre. -- Send your memories to Kate Wright at wricom@rogers.com for our Farewell to 910 Gladstone event.

The Dividing Line:

I moved to Ottawa in 1989 and contacted GCTC to become a volunteer. I was enlisted to serve on the company’s then nascent fundraising committee. In early 1990 I became employed by the theatre to work on its audience development efforts. I was warmly welcomed into the GCTC fold and remained with the company for the next seven years. There was one thing however that forever placed me and others on the other side of a divide. That divide existed between those who had been there for Sandinista! and those who had not. With the opening of 910 Gladstone, GCTC had a permanent place to mount its productions. Those who were there for that first housewarming in the form of Sandinista! were obviously touched deeply by that experience. It was something they never forgot. Send your GCTC memories to Kate Wright (wricom@rogers.com ).