PL AYBILL JITTERS
JITTERS DAVID FRENCH }{
A pproxi m at e ru n ni ng t i m e: 2 hou rs & 30 m i nu t es T her e w ill be t wo 15 m i nu t e i n t er m ission
ARTIST NOTE: OLIVER DENNIS
I was going to write about “corpsing” but apparently I already have. Type “The Fine Art of Corpsing - Oliver Dennis” into your browser to read all about it. While you’re at it, read some of the other posts in the Soulpepper blog. You can read about staff members and cast experiences and design stuff and the academy... posts go all the way back to “The Fine Art of Corpsing” from 2010. Which was, funnily enough, about this very show. We had our first read through today. It was bittersweet. We were all delighted to come back to this play but the last time we had our first read, David French, our dear playwright, was in the room. He died in December of that year. This time we had Glenda and Mary, David’s wife and daughter and Mary’s BFF (Ted Dykstra’s daughter) Rosie come in to hear the first read. Continuity carries meaning for us. Ted retold a very funny story of life imitating art: as we were nearing our first audience of the first production, David
was very anxious and Ted was telling him forcefully to “Go home!” Just like George tells Robert in our play. But that’s one of the things about this play: it is very close to our life. Of course, we don’t smoke in the dressing rooms and our shows don’t start at 8:30 anymore, but virtually every other thing you hear about our insecurities, our panics, our devilries, our pride, whininess, frailties, ignorance of our frailties, desperations, hopes, is true to our lives. David wrote a love letter to the theatre, a very funny love letter. I hope it brings you as much joy as it does us. And, ok, if you see me corpsing, please forgive. I’m having too much fun.
p roduc t ion s p on sor
OLIVER DENNIS, Phil in Jitters
CREATIVE TEAM
JITTERS
CAS T
Kevin Bundy George
Alex Furber Tom
Mike Ross Robert
Diane D’Aquila Jessica
Geordie Johnson Patrick
Sophia Walker Susi
Oliver Dennis Phil
Jordan Pettle Nick
Sarah Wilson Pegg y
Ted Dykstra Director
Simon Fon Fight Director
Nancy Dryden Stage Manager
Patrick Clark Set & Costume Designer
Kelly McEvenue Alexander Coach
Janet Gregor Assistant Stage Manager
Bonnie Beecher Lighting Designer
Diane Pitblado Dialect Coach
Creighton Doane Sound Designer
Robert Harding Production Stage Manager
Production
SOULPEPPER PRODUC T ION
Natalie Swiercz Dresser
Paul Boddum Interim Head Scenic Artist
Geoff Hughes Cutter
Ksenia Ivanova Mattea Kennedy Scenic Painters
Bill Stahl Carpenter
Barbara Nowakowski First Hand
Greg Chambers Props Builder
Jacqueline Robertson-Cull Wigs Running, Head of Hair & Makeup
Michael Ahn Carpentery Intern
The video and audio recording of this performance by any means whatsoever are strictly prohibited. All rights enquiries to Author’s agent: Charles Northcote, Core Literary Inc., Toronto"
Di a n e D’Aqu i l a & ol i v e r de n n i s (2 0 10 p roduc t ion ). PHOTO: C Y LL A VON TIE DEM A NN .
BACKGROUND NOTES
PLURAL: JITTERS. Feelings of extreme nervousness, edginess, uneasiness, anxiety, tension, agitation, restlessness.
W
hen this classic farce premiered in 1979, Canadian theatre was just finding its feet. As the play makes all too comically clear, insane dedication and forbearance were needed for a small theatre company to produce a new work in those days. And no one knew that better than David French, one of our first home-grown playwrights. French traced the source of Jitters to his earliest theatrical experiences at the Tarragon Theatre. Much later he found a pithy phrase that summed up the sturm und drang of his salad days. Those were, he breezily said, “the most cathartic times of my life.” He poured all that catharsis into this giddy celebration of everything that can go wrong on a show, from egos to finances. The motor of the comedy, and the key to its longevity is its grounding in real, recognizable – and all too flawed – human characters. All of the humour, even when it splashes out into flat-out farce, comes from their longings, desires, fears and uncertainties.
rehearsal process. He was so moved by Soulpepper’s sustained commitment to his work, he once confided to Albert Schultz: “When I die, I want to be buried at the Young Centre.” David French left us in 2010 and it turned out he wasn’t buried at the Young Centre. We are happy to say he still lives here. Let go of your troubles and let our old friend make you laugh. Again and again and again.
Playwright Biography
David Benson French was born in 1939, a passionate son of Newfoundland. In the ’60s he wrote for television and in 1972 his first play, Leaving Home, premiered at the fledgling Tarragon Theatre directed by Bill Glassco. The play was a huge hit, moving on to productions across the country. Glassco and French collaborated for more than 30 years on French classics like Of the Fields, Lately, Salt-Water Moon and 1949. French was awarded the Queen’s Jubilee Medal and made an Officer of the Order of Canada. He died in 2010.
Jitters was originally part of a four-year celebration of David French’s work here at Soulpepper, which began in 2007. The family plays, all set in Newfoundland, came first: Leaving Home (2007), Of the Fields, Lately (2008), Salt-Water Moon (2009). The grand finale was Jitters (2010), French’s valentine to his theatrical family. All were directed by Soulpepper Founding Member Ted Dykstra, who worked in close collaboration with the playwright, who was a lively, dedicated and essential part of the Background Notes by 2016 Soulpepper Resident Artist Paula Wing
THANK YOU FOR AT TENDING!
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Soulpepper is an active member of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (pact), the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (tapa) and Theatre Ontario, and engages, under the terms of the Canadian Theatre Agreement, professional artists who are members of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association. Scenic Artists and Set Decorators employed by Soulpepper are represented by Local 828 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.
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Polar Asset Management Partners is proud to be a founding sponsor of Soulpepper Theatre Company and is pleased to support this year’s production of Jitters. Noah Reid, Mike Ross, Kevin Bundy, C. David Johnson, Oliver Dennis (2010 Production). Photo by: Cylla von Tiedemann
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