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Salt-Water Moon on Granville Island

May 11th, 2012 § 0 comments permalink

A production of Salt-Water Moon on Granville Island next month stars two amazing young actors: 18-year old Jesse DeCoste, and 16-year old Sofia Newman. The two got to know one another during a high school production of Grease. Sofia and Jesse are both serious about pursuing careers in the theatre, and Jesse is off to LAMDA in London in the fall. The fact that the actors are so close to the ages of the characters in the play will add an authenticity to the show…and both have proven that they have the acting chops!

Sofia has a family connection to David’s work — her mother, Lisa Bunting, played April in Bill Glassco’s wonderful production of 1949 at CentreStage (now Canadian Stage.) Sofia’s father, Richard Newman, directs the show. He once played Jacob in Of The Fields, Lately – and he saw several premiere productions of David’s plays while in Toronto.

Designers for the show include Amy McDougall (costumes) and Sean Malmas (set and lighting), both of whom have worked with the Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival. Further information about the show can be found here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/241512

Break legs to all involved! If you’re in the area, be sure to pick up tickets. The show runs from June 19 through 29th at the Carousel Studio Theatre.

Writing Home at PACT Conference

May 3rd, 2012 § 0 comments permalink

Salt-Water Moon at the Tarragon, 1984

The marvelous exhibit about David’s life and career, “Writing Home,” is going to be on display at the conference of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres in Grand Bend next week. You can find out more about PACT and about the conference here: https://event-wizard.com/PACT2012/0/pages/50244/

The display was curated by the National Arts Centre and Theatre Museum Canada. An online version is available at: http://www.artsalive.ca/en/eth/playwright/david-french/

 

That Summer at Theatre Northwest

May 3rd, 2012 § 0 comments permalink

I’m happy to report that Theatre Northwest in Prince George, B.C. will be producing That Summer in September and October.

Theatre Northwest is one of Canada’s smaller regional theatres, but the organization has gained a reputation for its exceptional production values, its penchant for casting from across the country, and the local enthusiasm for Canadian work. Some of the theatre’s most popular productions include Corker by Wendy Lill, A Guide to Mourning by Eugene Stickland, Amigo’s Blue Guitar by Joan MacLeod, The Invisibility of Eileen by Kit Brennan, Thy Neighbour’s Wife by Tara Beagan and the works of Norm Foster, Guy Vanderhaeghe and Lance Woolaver. And 1949!

Here’s a link to the Theatre Northwest website: http://theatrenorthwest.com/current-plays/

I’ll keep you posted as I find out more details.

Soaring Seagull

March 23rd, 2012 § 1 comment permalink

Last week, Mary and I were privileged to be invited to Windsor to see the University Players perform David’s adaptation of The Seagull. David was the Writer-in-Residence in the English Department at the University of Windsor in 2008-2009, and he loved it there. Right from the beginning, the Windsor-ites made him feel at home, and he was greatly impressed by the number of talented writers and actors that he met during his time in the city.

I was delighted to be invited to see The Seagull, but to be honest, I expected to see a high-quality, but typical, student production. As soon as the lights went down and the actors walked into the birch forest, I knew I’d been mistaken about that. I was completely blown away by the University Players show! It was an absolutely splendid production in every way. The ensemble of young people had taken Chekhov’s characters deep into their bones, and their performances shimmered. It was an astonishing night in the theatre, a superb interpretation of the work. The show was directed by J. Ed Araiza, a director, writer, and performer who is associated with New York City’s SITI Company. It starred twenty-five accomplished actors and four gifted musicians who wove a spell over the audience, and moved us to laughter and to tears.

Lionel Walsh, the head of the Drama Department, tells me that U Windsor has produced six David French plays over the years. At the party afterward, I talked to so many people who had been influenced by David’s work, and who had enjoyed getting to know him. The show itself was dedicated “to the memory of our dear friend David French.”

I’d like to thank everyone involved in the show for their beautiful work, and to thank all of David’s Windsor friends for everything they did for him. A particular thank you to Lionel for inviting Mary and me, and for taking such good care of us. The city holds a special place in our hearts, and the memory of The Seagull will remain with us always.

 

Tremblay, Freeman, and French

March 6th, 2012 § 0 comments permalink

While going through some old photos last week, I found this wonderful shot of Michel Tremblay, David Freeman, and David French from the 1970s. I don’t know the occasion or the photographer, but wanted to share it here. If you have more information, write and let us know the scoop!

Michel Tremblay, David Freeman, and David French, 1970s

Leaving Home at Cawthra S.S.

March 3rd, 2012 § 0 comments permalink

About a week ago I received a notice from David’s agent Charlie Northcote that Cawthra Park Secondary School in Mississauga will be performing Leaving Home during the last week in April. I wrote to teacher Stacey Tiller to ask if she’d mind sharing a few details with me to post here as the show progresses. She wrote me a beautiful email about what David’s work — and his personal interest — has meant to their school. I will quote some of it here:

“I was delighted to hear from you as your late husband’s work has played an important part of our theatre education here at Cawthra for many, many years. In fact, two years ago, David came in to our school to talk to our Grade 12 students about playwriting.  They were amazed and inspired.  In our grade 10 year we study all of the Mercer plays for our Canadian Theatre unit.  That collection of plays are my all time favourite plays and am thrilled to be able to direct Leaving Home.

Writing on the blog would be just fine!  And as soon as we get some production photos, I’ll send them on to you along with our poster.  If you need further information, please let me know. I’d be more than happy to oblige.

Thanks so much for your interest. My condolences on David’s passing.  While I didn’t know him personally, his work will always have a place in my heart and at our school.”

Thanks, Stacey.

David was often asked to do school visits, and sometimes it took up a whole day, as he always used public transportation. He usually came home energized and inspired by the students and their interest in his work. It’s great to know that students appreciated his making the effort to talk to them.

Leaving Home in Orillia

February 9th, 2012 § 0 comments permalink

Break a leg to the cast and crew of Mariposa Arts Theatre’s Leaving Home, which opens tonight at the Orillia Opera House. Paul Blanche, who plays Harold in the show, sent me a copy of the beautiful poster he designed for the production:



 

Michael Clipperton, the director, wrote an article for the February 2012 issue of The Green Room that gives some insight into the cast’s rehearsal process. He’s kindly given me permission to quote from the piece here:

“In his first play, Leaving Home, which is based in part on his relationship with his father, the late playwright David French presents a story of troubled relationships, unspoken desires, and consequences of epic proportions.  He also gives us some earthy bawdiness, some classic Newfoundland humour, and an unbridled joie de vivre. Among the questions that he asks are: What is a family?  What does it mean to be a father? A mother? A son? A daughter? A husband? A wife? What does it mean to work all your life to support your family, and suddenly see that family break apart?  What does it mean to be so angry that you strike the person you love most? What does it mean to feel trapped in a situation that is beyond your control? Delving into the world of the Mercer family has revealed many things to me and to the cast and crew.  It has been a thought-provoking, laughter-filled journey…”

 

The show has eight performances, Feb. 9 to 12 and Feb. 16 to 19. Tickets are available from the Orillia Opera House box office, 705-326-8011 and online at www.orilliaoperahose.ca.

Preview Night

January 27th, 2012 § 1 comment permalink

The wonderful Bill Kennedy posted this tribute to David on Facebook last year under the title “A Death In The Family.” I am grateful to be able to post it here as well.

Scowling at the now empty stage, the man sat two thirds of the way back, as the audience, laughing and chatting, left for the lobby.  It was the end of Act I of the preview of the comedy Jitters at the Soulpepper Theatre in Toronto.  I watched the man, concentrating on the stage as though the actors were still there.  In his mind they were.  This was the man who had woven together his own experience as actor and playwright and  had run this play through his mind a thousand times as he revised and revised, boiling it down to its essence.  This was David French.

 

I walked over to the row he was seated in and sat down a respectful distance away, not wanting to disturb his train of thought.  I had met David through an introduction to dramatic writing course given by his partner, Glenda MacFarlane and I had emailed them a couple of times.  After a while he acknowledged my presence.  “There’s a lot of work to do yet,” was all he said.  This despite all of the laughter that had just come from the full house.

 

David was like that:  intense, passionate, uncompromising, as much a rock as the place where he had been born.  When he visited our class, we all talked about our current projects.  When I described mine, he said, “A novel maybe, not a play.”  He was right.  That comment made me start over from scratch, because after listening to him, all I wanted to do was write a play.  David’s approach was classical theatre:  a single protagonist with an all-consuming desire, facing overwhelming conflict and equipped with only their intelligence and feelings.  Salt-Water Moon features two actors on one set in one evening.  “The challenge,” he explained, “was that this story took place before my previous play, so the audience already knew the ending.”  Yet, even knowing not just the ending, but also the whole play, I was still riveted to my seat.  I took my family to see it at Soulpepper.  With two teenagers, it can be difficult to find something that engages all of us.  This play was an exception.  The conversation all the way home centered around the play and the two characters.

 

You can picture yourself in a French play.  Whether you see yourself as the parent or the child, the young lover or the frustrated patriarch, he spoke to all of us.  Each character is presented with understanding and compassion, true to all of the frailties and strengths of the human condition.  You can’t leave one of David’s plays untouched by the experience.

 

We will miss him.

“A Heart That Never Hardens”

January 27th, 2012 § 0 comments permalink

Dorothy Ward, voice coach extraordinaire and a friend of the family, sent a beautiful email to Leslie about David. She has given us her permission to quote part of it here. It’s particularly appropriate just now, as February 7, 2012 marks the bicentenary of Dickens’ birth.

A quotation fell out of a book I was reading this morning and suddenly I was aware of David’s presence.  Of course I had to share this.

The quote is by Charles Dickens:
“Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.”

On our infamous car ride together he talked to me about how important it was to read great literature to learn about the craft of writing.  I asked him who inspired him and he said without a moment’s hesitation, “always I return to Charles Dickens – it’s all there.  He’s the master.”

And so, on a cold, stark morning I am given this blessing.  And I wanted to write of it. His legacy is in his plays, the characters he gave us through his own joy and pain – to teach, to reveal, to change us.  In a half hour car ride he left
an indelible mark on me.

Playwright to Playwright

January 22nd, 2012 § 0 comments permalink

Recently I had some correspondence with playwright David Gow. In one of his emails, he mentioned meeting David. He’s kindly given me permission to quote the email here:

I was sorry to hear of your David’s passing. I was an admirer of his for some time and he had kind words for me once, having seen something of mine, very kind and encouraging words, which meant a lot to me. In a way it was a humbling moment. “Here is a great writer…” I thought, “who is telling my work is good”. Like the jerk of an elevator, I felt lifted and sobered one moment to the next, and remember the twinkle in his eye and humour which said in effect “we’re on the same ride”. A blinking moment, drinking in another man’s appraisal of my chops, a man whose writing I thought was above all the other writing for the stage- that I had heard under our flag, and great writing by any flag. David was born the same year as my father, and essentially, yet young by today’s standards. Great that he achieved so much and broke so much ground for so many of us to follow planting in.

David Gow

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