Befitting the setting of her play Schoolhouse, playwright Leanna Brodie did her homework well, prompting 4th Line Theatre to reaffirm its high passing grade.
The theatre company is opening its 34th summer season by reprising Brodie’s story, steeped in humanity and humour, which premiered at the Winslow Farm in 2007 and was restaged the following summer.
On Wednesday (June 17), 4th Line Theatre hosted a media day for the upcoming production of Schoolhouse, which runs from June 30 to July 25. It is the second Brodie-written script that 4th Line Theatre has brought to its outdoor stage near Millbrook, the other being For Home and Country, which was staged in 2002 and brought back the following year.
Set in 1938, Schoolhouse unfolds at S.S. #1 Jericho, a one-room school near the fictional village of Baker’s Creek. It’s there that Melita Linton (Alex Pearce), a fresh 18-year-old graduate from normal school — a teacher-training institution common during the 19th and early 20th centuries — encounters a lively group of students and a community rooted in the ways of the past.
All is good until Miss Linton’s resolve is tested by the arrival of Ewart (Alexei DeLuca), a withdrawn boy recently released from reform school who has been sent to work on a local farm. As Miss Linton strives to reach the new arrival on some level, she uncovers the deep bonds and quiet fears that are the hallmark of small-town life, bringing to light a long-gone era of Canadian rural history in the process.
Also playing a central role in Schoolhouse is Evie Bothwell (Rainbow Kester), a teacher and friend of Miss Linton’s who has an edge that stands in stark contrast to her more gentle and caring approach.
While Brodie was unable to attend media day, she provided a written statement of her recollection of the play’s development. Her research for the play was exhaustive, including her invite to the community to share their memories of school life as they experienced it.
“Rob Winslow drove me around from farm to farm, kitchen to sitting room,” Brodie recalls, referring to the founder of 4th Line Theatre. “I recorded conversations, was gifted with notebooks and diaries, and spent hours in libraries and archives, looking up school rules and teachers’ salaries and information about the Bowmanville and Strathmore Training Schools. I did interviews in so many rural homes and retirement homes that my blood ran 50 per cent Red Rose Tea.”
“It’s fair to say there is not one character or incident or perspective in this play that doesn’t come directly from the people of this area, with one notable exception. Nearly everyone I talked to had a story about a training school boy, but nowhere in my travels did I ever come across one or anyone who was still in touch with any of them. They were definitely there in the schoolhouses, but were always the blur at the edge of the photograph — intriguingly present and absent at the same time.”
While 4th Line Theatre managing artistic Kim Blackwell directed the first two stagings of Schoolhouse, this restaging sees Monica Dottor handling that role as well as that of choreographer.
An actor who appeared in earlier productions of The Bad Luck Bank Robbers (2015, 2016) and The Hero of Hunter Street (2016), Dottor has choregraphed a number of 4th Line plays, and co-directed The History of Drinking in Cavan (2017).
This, however, marks her debut as a director on her own; a role she feels she’s “really ready” for following her recent graduation from York University where she attained her Master of Fine Arts in theatre and directing.
“Leanna Brodie has written a beautiful play,” assesses Dottor. “Her writing is really special in the way it captures a nostalgic glimpse into a forgotten time and also the magic of childhood … the magic of the influence of teachers on children.”
“Education has changed. How kids are taught has changed, but teachers remain memorable for kids well into their adult years. That hasn’t changed, right? When you get a teacher like Miss Linton, who really cares and is really invested in her students, that makes a lasting impact.”
Speaking to the challenge of the handling the dual roles of director and choreographer, Dottor says that’s actually an advantage.
“Choreography is such an integral part of vision for me as a director, so there is a shortcut in cutting out the middleman,” she says, adding “The director communicates with the choreographer very seamlessly in this situation.”
As for the sizeable cast of 28 professional and volunteer actors/musicians, Dottor says their commitment to the telling of the story has made her first-time experience as a solo director as joyful as it is positive.
“They’re incredible human beings — they bring such an open heart to the process,” she praises.
“One of the really special things about 4th Line is members of the community make up the cast — in this case children. The children have many people to look up to. I can see that they do and that in itself is very special.”
One of those no doubt being looked up to is Pearce, whose portrayal of the young teacher finding her way to the benefit of her students carries the story.
“She has to deal with some challenges and her students are a little ornery,” says Pearce, a Toronto Metropolitan University acting student who is making her 4th Line debut, of her character.
“She clues in very quickly to using different teaching styles for each individual child, which I think was rare for that time. She very easily and quickly develops ways of navigating each child’s learning challenges and things that each thrives at, and uses that to her advantage.”
“In those days, things weren’t identified and there weren’t any strategies to deal with children who have issues,” Pearce continues. “She just kind of did that from a gut feeling. She’s so young, and that helps see each child for who they are, and what they do, and what they bring to the classroom.”
That Miss Linton is a newcomer to Baker’s Creek only adds to her challenge of getting through to her students, some of whom are but a few years younger than her.
“She has never met any of these children before, so she doesn’t know the background,” Pearce explains. “She doesn’t know their families. She has to kind of figure it out on the spot as well as make a good impression as the new girl in town.”
Asked what makes the role a great fit for her, Pearce answers quickly.
“I loved going to school … I loved academics,” she says.
“My character is definitely headstrong and sure of herself, which I like to think I am as well, along with being responsible, enthusiastic and passionate. Her passion for teaching is similar to my passion for acting.”
As for 4th Line Theatre founder Robert Winslow, during media day he displayed the relaxed demeanour of one who remains quite content that what he started remains a perennial hit with audiences.
He inherited Winslow Farm, in his family since the 1880s, in 1990 and converted it to a outdoor theatre space that opened to audiences in 1992 with the inaugural production of his play The Cavan Blazers, which has proven so popular it has since been restaged six times.
“We were just going to do one show of The Cavan Blazers — that was it and here we are,” Winslow says, reflecting on the past 34 years. “I don’t feel we’re at an end. I feel we’re at a beginning in some ways; that there are lots of possibilities moving forward for this theatre, and what we can do, and how we can do it.”
“They keep talking about theatre dying, like it has been dying since Shakespeare because there are other forms of entertainment. Blah, blah, blah. But when you see all the young people involved in community theatre through their schools and through community groups, it’s not even close to (dying). Especially in a world where there’s so much alienation from person-to-person contact, whether you’re a participant or somebody in the audience.”
Winslow is also playing a role in Schoolhouse, an opportunity he says he has relished since he began acting in Peterborough Theatre Guild and Trent University productions way back in the day. He has subsequently acted in 4th Line productions and directed many of them.
“I love working with actors and, more recently, doing so as a writer and a director, but I really like being part of a cast. It’s like being on a sports team. There’s a kind of thing there that you can’t really replicate.”
Speaking to Schoolhouse, Winslow acknowledges that restaging a production has been “few and far between,” but says Brodie’s play is too good to keep on the shelf for long.
“The story’s strong, and the director has brought in new elements,” he says, adding “It’s great having kids involved. They keep us young, right?”
“It still has relevance in terms of the theme. Teachers still face the same kind of challenges in some ways with students that those young teachers faced, in this case 80 years ago. I love when we bring back plays that have lots of young people in them, because we get a whole new group that get interested in theatre and end up doing several shows with us.”
For her part, Dottor is chomping at the bit for opening night.
“The production team, the artistic team, the creative team, the actors and the children — everybody has put so much heart and soul into it,” she says. “We’re just really excited to offer it to the world.”
Sponsored by Miskin Law, Schoolhouse features musical direction and original compositions by Justin Hiscox, costume design by Chelsea Day, set design by Michelle Chesser, fight direction by Edward Belanger, intimacy direction by Greg Carruthers, and sound design by Steáfán Hannigan.
Performances run Tuesdays to Saturdays from June 30 to July 25, with preview performances on June 30 and July 1 followed by opening night on July 2, and an added Monday performance on July 20.
Tickets are $55 for adults and $48 for children and youth ages 5 to 16, with a discounted price of $42 for both adults and youth on preview nights, plus fee. Subscriptions for both plays this summer, Schoolhouse and Megan Murphy’s Wild Irish Geese that runs from August 4 to 29, are available at $98 for adults and $84 for children and youth ages 5 to 16.
Tickets, season subscriptions, and gift certificates are available by phone at 705-932-4445 (toll-free at 1-800-814-0055), online at 4thlinetheatre.on.ca, and at 4th Line Theatre’s box Office location at 9 Tupper Street in Millbrook.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a media sponsor of 4th Line Theatre’s 34th season.
