Romantic Comedy Set For World Premiere, August 9th

BLYTH FESTIVAL – BEHIND THE SCENES 2013 Season Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE A GLIMPSE BEHIND THE WRITING OF THE WORLD PREMIERE PRAIRIE NURSE August 07, 2013 - This has been submitted by playwright Marie Beath Badian about the inspiration behind Prairie Nurse, opening August 9th on the Blyth Festival Mainstage and runs until August 31st.

Prairie Nurse is a play about my mom….sorta.

My mom immigrated to rural Saskatchewan from rural Philippines in 1967. She came to be a nurse in a small community hospital. She stayed two years before moving to Toronto. In September 2007, I took my mother back to Saskatchewan – on the 40th Anniversary of her arrival in Canada. We returned to the village where she lived – Arborfield Saskatchewan - a tiny farming community, population 300.

To our surprise, many of the people that knew mom were still there – other nurses and people who lived and worked in the community. And the first thing they would say when they saw mom was “Where’s the other one?”.

Who’s the other one?

Her name is Penny. She was the only other Filipino nurse that was stationed in Arborfield. She came on the same flight as mom back in 1967. We had not planned to see her, as my mother rarely spoke fondly of her, but to say that Penny didn’t want to be there. Though both their contracts were for two years, Penny stayed just shy of a year, moving away shortly after sponsoring her fiancée over from Manila.

On a whim, I typed Penny’s name into the SaskTel search engine and found her in Saskatoon. On the day we were scheduled to leave Saskatchewan, we sat down with Penny in an airport café. She was short, sweet and grey haired. And she looked very much like my mom.

From that encounter I was tickled by the idea of what it must have been like back then when no one could tell them apart, when everybody thought they were like two-peas-in-a-pod but in truth had nothing in common other than nursing and the Philippines.

So Prairie Nurse was born. A partly-true play about My Mom, The Other One and Everyone Else Who Couldn’t Tell them Apart.

For those who have already seen this summer’s smash hit, Yorkville – the Musical, you will be delighted to see the dynamic and energetic cast back onstage together to amaze audiences. The same palpable energy will return with Ryan Bondy, Steph Sy, Jess Abramovitch, Michael Torontow, Rob Torr and Sarah Cornell. There is an addition to the cast, welcoming Lana Carillo to the team. The cast will be led by Director Sue Miner with set and costume design by Eric Bunnell. It will be a treat for the senses as this comedy of errors will leave you laughing all night long!

Tickets for Prairie Nurse are on sale at the Blyth Festival Box Office at 1-877-862-5984 or by visiting the website at blythfestival.com. The 2013 Blyth Festival Season is proudly sponsored by CTV and Sparlings Propane and Prairie Nurse is graciously sponsored by Royal Canadian Legion Branch 420 Blyth and the Legion Ladies Auxiliary Branch 420 Blyth.

Lisa Justine Hood Marketing & Publicity Coordinator