During hard times, people still need to be entertained, said David Savoy, the Sudbury Theatre Centre’s newest artistic director.
“In challenging times, theatre is so important and needs to be within everyone’s reach. It gives us a chance to leave the world outside the door for a few hours — to laugh, to think, maybe shed a tear or two, and get out, toes tapping, to incredible music,” said Savoy.
He said audiences are still attending theatrical and arts events in North America in droves, including the Sudbury Theatre Centre (STC). The key to box office success, he said, is to ensure as wide a swath of the population can relate to what is being presented. He said this year’s selection reflected themes and characters most people could grasp in their daily lives.
One play, The Full Monty, is about a group of unemployed but creative guys who could reflect real people in one’s own neighbourhood, he noted. This production will be on stage in April, and is sponsored by Northern Life.
Another, the Flying Bandit, could be an action oriented performance seen on any movie channel on television. This production will be on stage in March, and is sponsored by EastLink.
Savoy started his job at the STC in May. He was artistic director for five seasons at the Showboat Festival Theatre in Port Colbourne in southern Ontario.
Savoy calls himself a people person.
“The audience will see me at every performance this year. I’ll be in the lobby during intermission. Also, I’ll be happy to come out to talk to any group that is interested.”
He says the last artistic director at the STC, George Pothitos, did a great job in building up attendance at the Sudbury Theatre Centre. Pothitos left the STC after nine years to join the Neptune Theatre in Halifax, a larger venue.
“George left very big shoes to fill. I’m truly excited to inherit his legacy and to keep building on it.”
As artistic director, Savoy is responsible for the entire theatre season programming. A theatre director is responsible for one play. He explained the process by which the theatre centre staff developed its program for the season.
“We had to very quickly put together a season. So I worked very closely with our general manager, Kathy Hiembecker. She is the best general manager working in Canadian theatre at the moment,” he said.
“Once the plays are in place, it is like assembling a really big jigsaw puzzle. I put together the designers to figure out what the plays would look like on stage.”
The story is told visually on the stage, explained Savoy.
The costume and set designers are then brought in to fill out the nuts and bolts of the play, from the props, to the costumes, to the lighting, he added.
Savoy said the goal of theatre sets and the reason for the long process of rehearsals by the actors is, “to have a group of people pretend that they are someone else for two hours so that the audience can (themselves) be transported to another world.”
Participants at the open house were taken on an hour long backstage tour of the theatre, from the costume room, to the sound and lighting technician space high above and across from the stage, to the carpenters area where sets are built from scratch.
At each area, staff outlined the part they and their colleagues play in the whole process of putting a theatrical production together.
Productions this season include:
Leading Ladies, a comedy, by Ken Ludwig
Oct. 1 to 18
Down on their luck Shakespearian actors Jack and Leo hear about a wealthy matron in New York, about to leave her considerable fortune to her long-lost English nephews. They scheme to impersonate the lucky nephews, but soon find out that the nephews are actually nieces.
Doubt, a Parable, a Tony award-winning play by John Patrick Shanley
Nov. 5 to 15
The audience is challenged to decide if Father Flynn, parish priest and head of a Catholic school in the Bronx, has been abusing his position and a black student, the first in the school.
Sleeping Beauty, a modernized version of the classic fairy tale, by Charles Way
Dec. 4 to 20
This family adventure features sword fights, feisty fairies and a monster spider.
The Love List, a comedy, by Norm Foster
Feb. 18 to Mar. 7
When two male friends create a list of best qualities for a woman, a lady appears, much to their surprise.
The Flying Bandit, a fast paced drama based on a true Canadian folk hero, by Lindsay Price
Mar. 18 to 28
A well dressed daring crook with a flashing smile robs banks, steals planes and breaks out of prison.
The Full Monty, based on a book by Terrance McNally with a score by David Yazbek
Apr 29 to May 16
Six unemployed men decide to strip for living after seeing their wives rave over male strippers
In addition, there are performances by and for younger audiences such as Spin by Val MacMenemey, Jan. 30 and 31 and I Met A Bully On The Hill by Martha Brooks, Apr. 10.
For more information and ticket prices, visit www.sudburytheatre.on.ca.
