2010 Waiting For Godot

Waiting For Godot Shot 1

Waiting For Godot

by Samuel Beckett

Directed by: Paul Tessier

February 18-20 & 25-27, 2010

Matinees: Both Saturdays 20 & 27 @ 2 PM

Where: Ecole Publique Odyssée

480 norman Ave. North Bay, ON.

TICKETS: BOX OFFICE 705-358-1425

~PICTURES~

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MARCH BREAK: GTG Hosts the

2010 QUONTA FESTIVAL

CAST

Estragon - Paul Tessier
Vladimir - Mark Carins
Pozzo - Kristin Shepherd
Lucky - Leslie Stamp
Boy - MacKenzie Willis

CREW

Director - Paul Tessier

Ass't Director - Leslie Stamp

Co-Producers - Rhona Kenny & Joanne Bernier

Stage Manager - Tracey Cain

Set Design - Arndt von Holtzendorff

Lighting Design - Paul Tessier & Arndt von Holtzendorff

ASM/Props - Deanna Hodgins

Costumes - Marlene Campsall

Lighting & Sound Operator - Jesse Beam

CONTINUOUS BLOG ENTRIES

Blog entry February 16th, 2010

We open tomorrow morning. Strange, having Opening Morning instead of Opening Night. We’re presenting Godot to a group of students at some bizarrely early hour on Wednesday, Feb 17^{th, a full day before our official opening.}

^{This means, of course, that we have six thousand things to accomplish in the next 20 hours or so: painting, adjusting of lights and sound, reblocking now that we’re in the performance space at Odyssee.}

^{This is the way it is in theatre. You feel you can’t possibly be ready by the time you open. Then you’re flung into it, ready or not. Trial by audience.}

^{It’s no wonder we get nervous.}

^{And we do get nervous.}

^{Some of us become ornery, demanding, and loud. Some just become quietly focused in an attempt not to throw up. I don’t know anybody who breezes through it.}

^{And why are we nervous? We don’t like looking foolish, unprepared, untalented, or unwise. We aspire to give you something worth the ticket price and more. We aspire to bring you stories that entertain and change you.}

^{Jesus Murphy, I’ll stop now before I begin to hyperventilate.}

^{Wish us broken legs.}

^{Come to see Godot. Tell us what you think.}

^Thanks,

^kristin

Waiting For Godot Shot 4

Blog entry February 7th, 2010

I should have mentioned that I am not one of the main characters in Waiting For Godot. You know how it is, though. If I deliver a pizza to Blanche DuBois, I think Streetcar Named Desire is a play about a pizza delivery woman who has weird customers.

The major characters are Estragon and Vladimir (think Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, played by Paul Tessier and Mark Carins). They have been friends forever, we think, and down on their luck for a long, long time. This guy they’re waiting for, Godot, may be the guy that saves them. The entire play is about what happens while waiting to be saved.

We had a guy up from Toronto today to review our physical antics, and to teach us how to use a whip. I’d like to say that you haven’t lived till you’ve learned how to crack a whip.

How fantastic is it that in theatre we learn how to fall down stairs, crack whips, and harmlessly kick the heck out of each other?

How fantastic is it that you could build an entire career in that field?

How fantastic is it to be doing all of this while learning one of the wild-and-craziest scripts of the twentieth century?

More later,

kristin

Waiting For Godot

Blog entry February 1st, 2010

This play has a kind of magic in it.

My lovely man helps me learn lines, play after play, season after season. He’s great at it, and his retention is better than mine. I hear him, sometimes, in the kitchen, talking to our dog in the different voices and language of characters I’ve played over the last five years.

The way it goes with lines at our house is that he has an initial enthusiasm for the play. The first read or two is engaging, funny, moving, etc. Then it begins to wear off. He’s happy to help, but he’s finished with his own discoveries.

Waiting For Godot is the opposite. Our first read was jagged. He didn’t understand it(neither did I), had a tough time wrapping his face around the language, and about two pages in he asked, is it all like this?

We’ve worked on it about twenty times since then. And the strangest thing is happening.

He laughs harder every day at the funny bits. It’s as though they’re becoming funnier with repetition, or time, or something else we don’t understand.

He’s becoming far more interested in the story and the characters. When I ask him to read with me, he now wants a little time to "get into characters". (He reads everyone else but me.)

He’s become picky with stage directions, too. He stops me far too often to say, hey, you were supposed to crack your whip there. Stage directions were not a big deal before.

What does this mean? I have no idea, except to say that the peculiar genius of Godot grows on you over time. It’s as though the play does you, rather than you doing the play.

O, I hope you find it as funny and interesting as we do. I hope you end up quoting it to your dog.

More later,

Kristin

Waiting For Godot

Blog entry January 25, 2010

I'm in this play called Waiting For Godot. Maybe you've heard of it.

^{It's supposed to be one of the greatest plays of the 20th century.}

^{When I tell people we’re doing Godot, I get one of three responses.}

^{Oh my God, I LOVE that play, it’s the most interesting piece of literature I’ve ever encountered. (At that point, some people throw in words like existentialism and absurdism. When I was at university, these people dressed exclusively in black turtlenecks, drank bad Spanish wine, and played sitars by the light of candles dripping over the sides of Mateus bottles. You know these people.)}

^{O my God, I can’t stand that play. I don’t get it. I’ve read the first half, didn’t make it through the second. Nothing happens. I saw it on stage with my English class – I was forced to go - and I still don’t get it.}

^{Never heard of it. Who is Samuel Beckett? Who is Godot?}

^{Who is Godot? Ha!}

^{Well, to all of you, particularly those belonging to categories two and three, I’d like to say a couple of things.}

^{This is a very strange play. But it is also funny, tender, and bound to shake up our expectations about what a "normal" story is. It’s like watching a French movie, wondering what’s wrong, and realizing that I have an ingrained Hollywood expectation that something should blow up every ten minutes.}

^{Godot is not Hollywood. But the more we rehearse it, the more I can identify with each of the crazy characters on that stretch of road with only each other for company.}

^{I’m proud of the Guild for choosing theatre that challenges as well as entertains.}

^{More later.}

^Thanks,

Kristin

CAST

Estragon - Paul Tessier
Vladimir - Mark Carins
Pozzo - Kristin Shepherd
Lucky - Leslie Stamp
Boy - MacKenzie Willis

CREW

Director - Paul Tessier

Ass't Director - Leslie Stamp

Co-Producers - Rhona Kenny & Joanne Bernier

Stage Manager - Tracey Cain

Set Design - Arndt von Holtzendorff

Lighting Design - Paul Tessier & Arndt von Holtzendorff

ASM/Props - Deanna Hodgins

Costumes - Marlene Campsall

Lighting & Sound Operator - Jesse Beam

~MORE PICTURES~

WINNER
GATEWAY THEATRE GUILD

The Gateway Theatre Guild proudly hosted the 2010 Quonta Drama Festival during the March Break. WHAT A TREMENDOUS SUCCESS!

Best Outstanding Production

Theatre Ontario Festival 2010 was on May 19 to 23, 2010, in London, Ontario. Co-hosted by Theatre Ontario, the Western Ontario Drama League, and London Community Players. The adjudicators were Theresa Sears & David Switzer.

Waiting For Godot WINS Best Production AGAIN!

CAST & CREW FOR THEATRE ONTARIO

last time GTG won at Theatre Ontario was 1974

Click here for more Theatre Ontario pictures!

CAST & CREW FROM QUONTA PRODUCTION

CHECK OUT ALL THE OTHER AWARDS THAT NORTH BAY'S PRODUCTION OF WAITING FOR GODOT WON!

CLICK HERE!

QUONTA AWARDS BRUNCH PICTURES

THEATRE ONTARIO Festival 2010

RESULTS

Award of Excellence

Mark Carins as Vladimir, Waiting For Godot, Gateway Theatre Guild - For creation of an exquisite tragic/comedic clown.

Special Adjudicator Award

Jesse Beam as Lucky, Waiting For Godot, Gateway Theatre Guild - For an impressive performance.

The Elsie For Outstanding Festival Production

Waiting For Godot, Gateway Theatre Guild

Citation: "For creative exploration, direction, in all aspects plus fine performances, including two great new juveniles".

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WAY TO GO CAST & CREW OF WAITING FOR GODOT!

QUONTA Festival 2010

THE RESULTS

wow!

The Gateway Theatre Guild's production of Waiting For Godot achieved the following nominations and awards at the 2010 Quonta Drama Festival held in North Bay, On.

Outstanding Production
Waiting For Godot
Gateway Theatre Guild North Bay(WINNER)

Outstanding Director
Paul Tessier (WINNER)

Outstanding Male Actor
Mark Carins (Vladimir) (WINNER)

Outstanding Male Supporting Actor
Paul Tessier (Estragon) (NOMINATED)

Outstanding Female Supporting Actor
Leslie Stamp (Lucky) (NOMINATED)

Outstanding Technical Achievement for Costumes
Marlene Campsall (WINNER)

Adjudicator's Award
Creative Performance – Kristin Shepherd (Pozzo)

Adjudicator's Award
Newcomer (on-stage)– Mackenzie Willis (Boy)

Adjudicator's Award Festival Management
Kelly Boegel and Carolyn Samuel

CONGRATULATION CAST & CREW OF WAITING FOR GODOT FOR AN INCREDIBLE PRODUCTION AND ALL YOU EFFORTS!

QUONTA AWARDS BRUNCH PICTURES
COURTESY OF JEREMY CORMIER

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THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE AND PICTURE PROVIDED COURTESY OF KATE ADAMS W/ BAYTODAY.CA

Theatre Guild takes top honours at Quonta

Sunday, March 21, 2010Gateway Theatre Guild's cast and crew of 'Waiting For Godot' will have to hang on to their set, costumes and props for a little while longer as they are off to London for the Theatre Ontario Festival.

Director Paul Tessier and Assitant Director Leslie Stamp (pictured) picked up the Outstanding Production award Sunday morning at the 2010 Quonta Drama Festival awards brunch at the Clarion Resort.

“This is a beautiful moment,” Festival co-chair Kelly Boegel told a room full of excited yet tired actors and stage crews.

“It is the Quonta Festival experience.”

For the past week four community theatre groups (Gateway Theatre Guild, Thorneloe/Stolen Ceiling Theatre, ELATE, Sault Theatre Workshop) from north-eastern Ontario have remounted their winter productions in order to showcase their work in a competitive style in North Bay to win the opportunity to compete at Theatre Ontario.

Theatre Ontario President John Goddard, who was on hand to welcome the winning production to London, told the group that this week's festival was exactly what a theatre festival should be a nurturing environment.

“It's very easy in community theatre to make easy choices and we saw four different plays that made us think and challenged us," he said still reminding everyone that it's not all serious.

“They're called plays for a reason … make sure you have fun.”

In all this Laurel Smith, this year's Festival Adjudicator handed out 13 awards that recognized outstanding work in community theatre.

“Awards … this is not my favourite part,” she says.

“It's pretty damn hard work … so this about some moments that stood out.”

Complete list of award winners

Outstanding Production – Waiting For Godot – Gateway Theatre Guild North Bay
(Nominations: Under Milk Wood, String of Pearls)

Outstanding Director – Paul Tessier for Waiting For Godot – Gateway Theatre Guild
(Nominations: Val Horsepool)

Outstanding Male Actor – Mark Carins (Vladimir) in Waiting For Godot – Gateway Theatre

Outstanding Female Actor – Amanda Vanderleest (Beth, Zoe, Aunt Patty) in String of Pearls – Sault Theatre Workshop

Outstanding Male Supporting Actor – Ryan Demers in Under Milk Wood – Thorneloe/Stolen Ceiling Theatre Company
(Nominations: Ryan Demers~Under Milk Wood, Simon Gregory~String of Pearls)

Outstanding Female Supporting Actor – Scarlett Marenger (Cindy, Kyle's Mother & French Jeweller) in String of Pearls – Sault Theatre Workshop
(Nominations: Fran Perkins~The Dining Room, Leslie Stamp~Waiting For Godot)

Outstanding Visual Presentation – Under Milk Wood - Thorneloe/Stolen Ceiling Theatre Company
(Nominations: String of Pearls)

Outstanding Technical Achievement for Costumes – Marlene Campsall for Waiting For Godot – Gateway Theatre Guild
(Nominations: String of Pearls)

Adjudicator's Award for Festival Stage Management – Jocelyn Dotta for Under Milk Wood – Thorneloe/Stolen Ceiling Theatre Company

Adjudicator's Award for Creative Performance – Kristin Shepherd (Pozzo) in Waiting For Godot – Gateway Theatre

Adjudicator's Award Newcomer (On-Stage) – Mackenzie Willis (Boy) in Waiting For Godot – Gateway Theatre

Adjudicator's Award Outstanding Ensemble – Ran Demers, Jenny Hazelton, Natalie Lalonde, and Callam Rodya in Under Milk Wood – Thorneloe/Stolen Ceiling Theatre Company

Adjudicator's Award Festival Management – Kelly Boegel and Carolyn Samuel