Newsletter
Summer 2005
Diane Stapley has been
working as an actor, singer, director, writer, producer and arts
administrator in Canada for 40 years. She ran the CAMTA (Cabaret and
Musical Theatre Alliance) in Toronto in the 80s and Musical TheatreWorks
Canada in Vancouver in the 90s. Some of her favourite credits
include: Lies & Legends: The Musical Stories of Harry Chapin;
Jacques Brel; House of Martin Guerre; co-producing and
appearing in Madeira M’Dear: A Flanders & Swann Show;
directing the first production of Menopositive: The Musical and
co-creating Stan Rogers: A Matter of Heart. I first met
Diane at the Global Village Theatre in 1974 when she was in Patrick Rose’s
Jubalay. Stars of that show included Brent Carver, Ruth
Nichol, along with Diane and Patrick. It was a wonderful Canadian
Musical Revue -- whatever happened to those? - Vinetta Strombergs
Why Not A Canadian Musical?
by
Diane Stapley
The two previous guest columns by colleagues Charlotte Moore and Jim
Betts made it abundantly clear that there are many of us who feel
passionate about original Canadian musicals. Having run two
non-profit organizations, with mandates to support, create and produce
these shows, I find it just as clear that one of our biggest challenges,
besides finding funding for the lengthy development process, is changing
people’s perceptions that musicals are purely commercial rather than
artistic undertakings. It is so ironic. When a musical really
works, it looks like everyone is having such a good time and it’s all just
pouring off the stage with no effort. But getting a show to that
magical stage for audiences takes a lot of hard work, skilled
practitioners, time, and money, with no box office revenue to support
it.
Canadian plays and novels are unlike those from any other
country. Our musicals, likewise, need to show our unique
voice. Many of our most successful musicals seem to come from a
documentary style, musicals based on real Canadians or Canadian stories:
John Gray’s Billy Bishop Goes to War, 18 Wheels,
Rock ‘n’ Roll; Jim Betts’ Colours in the Storm; Stan
Rogers: A Matter of Heart; Menopositive: the Musical and of
course, Anne of Green Gables. They are all shows about
famous Canadians or based on research done by the authors with real
people. These shows resonate with us. But there are other
examples to illustrate great skill and craftsmanship, like Leslie Arden’s
The House of Martin Guerre or Leslie’s collaboration with Norm
Foster on The Last Resort. Why should Leslie Arden have to
go to Chicago to get her next musical developed and produced?
For the Canada Council, the Canadian musical has always been the
little orphan that nobody wanted to claim. It's not a fit for the
Music Section because it's more than music; it's not considered legitimate
enough for the Theatre Section (which is also the most competitive), and
it's not considered opera unless it's sung-through with no dialogue.
In the 80s, when I was running CAMTA, I was asked often to submit letters
of support for writers requesting Canada Council grants. I advised
them to call their work anything but Musical Theatre — call it a play with
music, or music theatre (which sounds more serious and closer to opera),
and they might stand a chance of getting funding. Crazy, eh?
While the Ontario Arts Council has funded many kinds of musicals
over the years, those dollars are often limited and, depending on the
makeup of the juries, there may or may not be understanding of the
specific requirements for developing a traditional musical. Workshop
grants from city arts councils may require a public performance so people
can see where their tax dollars are going. This can be
counter-productive, changing the focus to performance rather than true
development.
CanStage has stepped up to the plate with their development program
for many years, but how many of those projects have been able to move
forward? The great white hope for the Canadian Musical continues to
be the Ontario summer theatre scene and other regional Ontario companies —
God love 'em! Those who continue to develop original musicals
include: Thousand Islands Playhouse, Nipissing Stage Co., Lighthouse
Festival Theatre, Theatre Orangeville, Blyth Festival and now Talk is Free
Theatre in Barrie is actively involved in re-developing Joey Miller’s
Playground. Here in Toronto, ScriptLab, under Jim Betts’ leadership,
is the nurturing home for the Canadian musical, for the next three years
at least.
So what is the point of this column? We love musicals.
Audiences love them. We need to create a culture of excitement,
confidence and enthusiasm around this fabulous art form and our version of
it. Maybe then, we will find the angels we need — whether it's
dedicated funding programs or old-fashioned patrons of the arts, like Tom
Thomson’s benefactor Dr. James McCallum, and the de Medici’s in Florence —
people who could put up a few bucks to workshop a new musical, because
they love musicals and believe in Canadian talent. Can you imagine
people proudly naming and claiming our musicals as we do our novelists and
musicians and comedians?
Why not?
VS – If we have excited you to participate, here’s what you can do:
Buy tickets to Canadian musicals;
support Scriptlab (www.scriptlab.ca ) or other development workshops with donations;
if you know a writer / composer / lyricist, give them money;
encourage your theatre company to produce Canadian musicals that already exist;
for more info on Canadian musicals, go to www.northernriver.com
Through five Executive Directors, five locations, hundreds of training program grants, hundreds of thousands of entries, and twenty-one years of service, Helga Paetzold, Accountant for Theatre Ontario, began her well-earned retirement on May 13.
Helga joined Theatre Ontario in 1984. It was her first arts organization, and one of her favourite stories was her first day of work, walking into a rehearsal hall filled with people lying on the floor, moaning and groaning. "I had never seen actors warming up," Helga says with her familiar warm smile.
At her retirement party, colleagues from the past and present came together to celebrate Helga, to enjoy chocolate desserts (the mandatory menu for any celebration honouring Helga) and to share their fond memories of working with her. She was teased often for her tight fist with Theatre Ontario's money, followed in the same breath with praise about how those tight fists ensured that the organization survived and thrived through the lean years. She will be dearly missed.
We are pleased to welcome Mirka Zivanovic as our new Accountant. Mirka has worked as bookkeeper for Playwrights Canada Press and Playwrights Guild of Canada.
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