Highlands Summer Festival

The annual general meeting of Highlands Summer Festival, a not for profit, charitable company, will be held Monday, April 29, 1 p.m. at the Rails End Gallery and Art Centre, York Street in Haliburton. The meeting will hear financial report, reports from the president and executive producers and elect directors for the coming term. The public is welcome to attend, however voting is limited to those who have made a donation to the company in the past 12 months.

It is like the beleaguered iceberg analogy.

The people you see of stage at the Highlands Summer Festival are only a fraction of the individuals it takes to create a successful production. Many of the support staff are volunteers who bring special skills and/or time to help make the plays come to life. Often working long before the actors have started rehearsal, they are sewing costumes, building and painting sets, searching out props and stage dressing and assisting in a myriad of ways.

Volunteer are also there during a production, making sure everything runs smoothly. From ushers to ticket takers to those serving the refreshments, the Highlands Summer Festival relies on a roster of volunteers to make it happen. Hidden from view, but just as important, are the backstage crew members who help get the production ready before curtain and ensuring that it all runs smoothly until the lights fade and the audience heads home.

The Highlands Summer Festival is a community theatre. Our mandate “…to encourage the development of theatrical skills and talents in the Highlands, especially among young people….” means we welcome interest in all aspects of the Festival. Open auditions are held in January or February. Then we start assembling the people who will help the various elements of the production come together. Starting in early March and working at a steady but not onerous pace, the work is completed in anticipation of the season opening the first week of July.

If you are interested in being a part of the Highlands Summer Festival, on stage or off, send us an email at tickets@highlandssummerfestival.on.ca Someone from the Festival will get in touch and you could be one of the many volunteers who help make the magic happen this summer.

(Photos of some of our hardworking volunteers over the years can be found on out Volunteer Page.)

Looking forward to seeing you at the theatre.

The sap is running, the steam is pouring out of the roof at Wintergreen Maple Syrup and Pancake Barn and, as spring slowly creeps into the county, members of the Highlands Summer Festival company are gearing up for another great season. Not that some people haven’t already been toiling away. The set designers are among the first to start working with the plays on this year’s playbill. In consultation with the directors and the set construction co-ordinator, David Mills, they have been creating stage designs that provide the setting for each of the productions. Often overlooked or “unseen” by the audience, a good set design helps to create a mood, set a tone and define an era. The designs are more than mere backdrops for the actors They represent one of many elements that combine to make the plays come alive for our audiences.

Sarah Scroggie, who designed the Norm Foster play Looking in 2011, is back with two challenges this year. She is doing the set for the opening play, Nunsense and will also be creating the design for Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. In the musical comedy Nunsense, the Sisters have taken over the school gymnasium for their fund-raising review. The grade eight students were about to stage the musical Grease, so there will be a sharp contrast between the supposedly staid nuns and the backdrop of sixties rock n roll. Our Town is particularly challenging for the designer in that Wilder states unequivocally in the preamble to the script, that much of the stage is bare through the production with a minimum of set pieces. Designing to respect to the playwright’s instructions, but also creating elements that will help tell the story, will test the designer’s skills.

The set for Neil Simon’s comedy, The Sunshine Boys, is being designed by L. Garth Allen. While most of the action takes place in a room in a down-on-its-luck hotel, there a number of other short scenes that have to be accommodated into the design. The hotel room even has a Murphy bed…..points to anyone who knows what a Murphy bed is.

It is always interesting to see how the designers interpret the various clues the playwrights have provided for them. In some cases the instructions are direct and prescriptive. In other cases the designer has virtually a free hand to interpret the set as he or she imagines it. We have never been disappointed in the clever and unique touches these talented people bring to the process of bringing the stories to life on our stage. This year, when you settle into your seats and the curtain opens, take a moment to see what the designer has done to create the setting for the production you are about to enjoy.

For tickets to any of these productions click on this link: Tickets

If you have an unfulfilled dream of stepping onto stage in a dramatic role, the Highlands Summer Festival is offering an opportunity to make that dream a reality. Later this month (January) auditions for the three locally created productions will be held, and everyone is invited to give it a try. Highlands Summer Festival has always encouraged individuals from the community to become involved in the productions. One of the Highlands Summer Festival mandates is to encourage the growth of theatrical talent in our community. Each season we hold open auditions for roles in the productions. Please follow the link on our home page (http://www.highlandssummerfestival.on.ca/) to see all the details. Read the information and if you are still interested, book your audition spot now. This could be the summer of your debut.

And, if you are not interested in on-stage opportunities, Highlands Summer Festival is always looking for extra hands for help behind the scenes. Painters, carpenters, ushers, help with props and set dressings, seamstresses…..there are many talented individuals whose skills contribute to the success of a theatre season. If you would like to volunteer your time and skills, please contact the booking supervisor, Joan Hawley, give her your contact information and the area of participation in which you are interested. Joan can be reached at 705-457-1789 or joanhawley99@hotmail.com

Either on stage or behind the scenes, we can all but guarantee you’ll have lots of fun and make a valuable contribution to the 2013 Highlands Summer Festival season.

See you on at the theatre.

PS: Check out the Volunteer page (http://www.highlandssummerfestival.on.ca/volunteers.shtml) to learn more about opportunities with Highlands Summer Festival.

The wrapping paper has been cleared away and the countdown has started for the Christmas tree, however there is still time to obtain one of the most sought after  gifts of the holiday season. If perhaps, just maybe, Santa didn’t get your letter and the Highlands Summer Festival season pass wasn’t found under the tree or in your stocking, you can still take advantage of pre-season pricing and see all five productions this summer. That’s right, the Highlands Summer Festival season pass, one ticket for each of the 2013 productions, is still available for $125. The special price is only available until January 15, 2013.  Buying a season pass also ensures your seat selection will be in early. After January 15, only individual tickets will be available for Highlands Summer Festival productions at a cost of $29.50 per performance. So. if Santa wasn’t quite on his game this year, you can still treat yourself and a friend. Call the box office, 705-457-9933 or toll-free at 766-457-9933 to reserve your Highlands Summer Festival season pass.

On behalf of everyone at Highlands Summer Festival, we wish you a very  Merry Christmas and a prosperous and Happy New Year. We thank you for your support and look forward to seeing you at the theatre.