FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 19, 2000

NEW SEASON BRINGS DRAMATIC CHANGES FOR SAINT JOHN THEATRE COMPANY
Open House Next Thursday

Only weeks after receiving a stunning $35,000 grant, the members of the Saint John Theatre Company are busy plotting dramatic changes for their 2000-2001 season.

"The grant came at a perfect time for the Saint John Theatre Company," explains Stephen Tobias, the company's artistic director and co-founder. "We have just come out of a long period of strategic planning. This grant is allowing us to pursue our goals right away."

Already one of the most successful amateur acting troupes in Atlantic Canada, the Saint John Theatre Company entertains thousands of people each year with three productions at the Imperial Theatre. During the summer, the James Venner Russell Foundation announced it was giving the company $35,000 to develop local talent. Thanks to that generosity, the company is hiring several professionals for this year's productions. The SJTC is also using some of the money to start a unique program called Second Stage.

"The purpose of Second Stage is to give people a non-threatening way of becoming involved with theatre or learning more about it," says Robert Doherty, the coordinator of the program. "It's also for those who have been involved to deepen their experience and explore other areas of theatre."

The Second Stage committee will hold improvisation nights, coffee houses, one-act plays, acting workshops, play readings and other events designed to help people enjoy drama and make friends. It all begins with an open house at the SJTC's loft above Mexicali Rosa's on Prince William Street on the evening of Thursday, October 26, from 7 until 9 o'clock. The first 30 minutes will be set aside for the SJTC's annual general meeting.

"After that, we'll have a variety of things from socializing to entertaining and informing," Doherty says. "A short scene from a play will be presented, there'll be an improv game open to everyone ... and people will have the chance to ask questions and chat about theatre and the Saint John Theatre Company over coffee and doughnuts."

Stephen Tobias says the SJTC's main stage productions at the Imperial have been getting bigger and better in the last few years, and that's been making it harder to find places for inexperienced performers and technicians. Second Stage solves that problem.

"We felt it was very important to develop a venue for people who want to develop their theatre talents free from the pressures of trying to please our main stage audience at the Imperial," Tobias explains. "The emphasis will be on development rather than on performance."

Meanwhile, the SJTC is getting set for what promises to be one of its finest Imperial Theatre seasons ever. The company hires professional actors and designers only occasionally, but the Venner Foundation grant means four guest artists can come on board this winter. Darik Hatfield is designing the lighting for next month's production of Much Ado About Nothing, while Brenda McLeese is designing costumes for the same show. Fredericton's Patrick Clark will create the sets for The Elephant Man, which comes to the Imperial early in March. Graham Percy, a native Saint Johner who enthralled critics and SJTC audiences with his portrayal of Mozart in 1995, will perform the title role.

"This grant allows the company to expand its repertory of plays," Tobias says. "We wouldn't be able to do a play as difficult as The Elephant Man, for example, without the input of guest artists. Graham Percy is the only actor we could think of for the role of John Merrick. His wealth of experience and his training at the Jacques Lecoq school in France made him the perfect choice."

The season's third play for the new season is Whodunnit, a comedy thriller that opens at the Imperial in June 2001. Robert Doherty, who has brought audience favourites such as Noises Off and The Three Musketeers to the stage, will direct the production.

"We have three great stories," Tobias says. "Three great scripts. Three great evenings of entertainment."

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