Emry’s Dream: Greystone Theatre in Photographs and Words

“Emrys’ Dream: Greystone Theatre in
Photographs and Words”
Written by Dwayne Brenna, with photos by
numerous photographers
Published by Thistledown Press
Review by Shelley A. Leedahl
$29.95 ISBN 978-1-897235-27-0

If you’ve ever enjoyed live theatre in this province, chances are that at least one of the actors was an alumnus of The University of Saskatchewan’s longstanding Drama Department – Canada’s and the Commonwealth’s first degree-granting drama department — and performed at its Greystone Theatre.

Variety shows and choruses had been performed at the U of S since 1909, but when Emrys Jones, a journalist, director, actor and educator, took the Drama Department’s helm in 1945, Greystone Theatre’s curtains rose on a new era of superbly directed and acted live theatre, and that tradition of excellence continues to the present.

Current Greystone Theatre director, Dwayne Brenna – known to many as a writer, actor, and “Eddie Gustafson” on CBC SK Radio — has orchestrated a history of Greystone with essays and black and white archival photographs that reveal the theatre’s finest hours — and some of its darkest – in “Emrys’ Dream: Greystone Theatre in Photographs and Words.”

The Thistledown Press book opens with a proclamation: “This is a
celebration.” Indeed, the accounts within do feel celebratory, for some sixty years later, Emrys’ dream of having a Drama Department on the prairies is still being answered.

Anyone involved in the arts knows that financial and political struggles often abound, and Brenna does not shy away from sharing some of these challenges in this beautifully produced book. Perhaps the most pressing issue for any theatre company is the acquisition of suitable space. In 1949, an RCAF hangar
was transformed into a 200-seat theatre for stage productions that would “serve the community of Saskatoon as well as the University and its students.” Actors including Frances Hyland, Kim Coates, Roy Romanow, Susan Wright and Eric Peterson (who looks like a teen in the photo of his performance in “Picnic”) graced its stage.

The book is flush with images that “embrace the Greystone’s history through fictitious lives lived onstage and real lives lived in dressing rooms and foyers.” I enjoyed Brenna’s accounts of a supposed ghost “roaming the [hangar] late at night and frightening unwary students actors.” The building was prone to flooding, and there’s a wonderful photo of students guiding a canoe through the hallways. Brenna himself experienced two floods (“… a couple of years’ worth of lectures had to be rewritten.”)

The author highlights Greystone’s various directors, including Tom Kerr, who brought in professional actors as mentors, and took 11 students to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to stage two plays. Despite a last-minute venue shift and scant audiences, they were awarded an esteemed “Fringe First” award.

I was impressed by the credentials of the faculty, by the diverse and challenging plays produced, and by how many Greystone alumni have gone on to professional careers in acting.

Dwayne Brenna’s done his research from the inside out, and has given this reader a new appreciation for the art of theatre, and all those who make it happen. This book is an inspiration.

THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE OR FROM THE
SASKATCHEWAN PUBLISHERS GROUP WWW.SKBOOKS.

Sandbag Shuffle

Sandbag Shuffle”
By Kevin Marc Fournier
Published by Thistledown Press<
Review by Chris Istace
$12.95 ISBN: 978-1-897235-22-5

The Red River Flood of 1997 swallowed a large portion of southern Manitoba, leaving in its wake stories of tragedy and heroism. The wall of water that crawled toward Winnipeg caused the evacuation of more than twenty-five thousand people, two thousand head of cattle and forty-five thousand chickens. Tens of thousands more were evacuated in the United States, including forty-six thousand residents of Grand Forks, North Dakota. For most, it was a disaster of epic proportions. For Owen and Andrew, the young protagonists in Kevin Mark Fournier’s first novel, it’s an opportunity for escape.

Sandbag Shuffle” outlines the journey experienced by the teenagers after they capitalize on the chaos of the evacuation of Grand Forks in mid-April, 1997. Owen, an adventuresome, wheel-chair bound boy, and Andrew, his best friend, cross into Canada on the flooded Red River at Emerson, Manitoba. From there, the boys set out for Winnipeg and the anonymity of the city. On their way, they meet a cast of characters that portray the determination and selflessness of many Manitobans during their struggle to fight the rising waters.

Anyone living in Winnipeg at that time will recognize the accuracy of Fournier’s tale; the armies of volunteers seeking anyone needing help with building sandbag dikes, the rush of refugees moving into the city from southern Manitoba and the Canadian military’s role in helping with the natural disaster. The novel becomes as much about the 1997 flood and how the battle against it was won – and sometimes lost – as it is about a boyhood adventure.

Owen and Andrew find themselves thrown into the struggle, helping the strangers they encounter fight the rising water as they make their way to Winnipeg. Nevertheless, their ultimate goal is a total escape from their past, and they’re willing to do whatever it takes to be successful. They con those they’re helping and follow through on various schemes to earn money, food, and shelter.

Sandbag Shuffle” is a quick and adventurous read and a solid first effort by Fournier, a Residential Treatment Worker in Winnipeg. It provides the reader an inside look at the one of Canada’s most notable natural disasters and the heart Manitobans showed in surviving it.

THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE OR VISIT WWW.SKBOOKS.COM