“What I want the audience to figure out is, who are you in this play?”
Director Norma Rushton has this as one goal for the upcoming Opening Night Theatre Society production of William Saroyan’s The Cave Dwellers.
Considered a Broadway classic, it explores the lives of unhoused people living on the stage of an abandoned theatre that is about to be pulled down for a housing project. The Queen is a former actress, The King used to be a celebrated clown, The Duke was once a prizefight champion, and The Girl is an unhoused, frightened child who comes in off the streets. Despite these circumstances, what comes across most in the script is warmth, openness, and community. When asked what the central message of the play is, Rushton replied simply “The answer is love”.
The allegorical characters don’t offer their past stories, or reasons for how they became unhoused, which sparked an interesting question for the director. “Are they character types, or are they just hiding who they were? (Maybe) they don’t want to be who they were anymore, but embrace who they are.”
A play with many layers and avenues for interpretation, the story of unhoused people losing what little shelter they have to new development and gentrification is as relevant now as in 1957 when the play was premiered, and Rushton’s direction reflects this. “We don’t know what time it is, it could be something that happened a long time ago, or it could be something that’s happening now, or it could be something that’s going to happen in the future.”
Getting to know the characters, the director felt there was “resonance with the Mission situation right now. These people are our neighbours…(with) passions and, you know, things that they’ve loved in their time, bringing with them what they had, but they’re in a place where they just are unhoused.”
The Cave Dwellers is also Mission’s entry for the Mainstage Festival, the annual Provincial theatre festival for community theatre groups. Produced by Theatre BC, it is one of the longest-running theatre traditions in Canada with 10 regional zones holding their own festivals; winners from each mount their plays as part of the Mainstage Festival, held this year in Surrey. The Fraser Valley Zone Festival will be held May 21-26 at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre.
As a 10-year-old nerd in Espanola, Ont. (pop. 6,000) my life was forever altered by a similar theatre festival that came to our little town in 1985. There was a play called The Diviners, about a boy who drowns, which created a moment in time that I can still see and feel; the entire audience lost it’s breath as we watched the young man on stage struggle to stay above water that was created through the director’s use of simple but effective lighting and sound.
The magic of that communal moment, when everyone in the school auditorium shared a visceral, emotional moment, set the course for my life and career and is a memory I’m constantly referencing to measure the impact of my own work. I’m sure The Cave Dwellers will similarly capture the imagination of audiences both in Mission and Chilliwack, and hopefully Surrey.
The Cave Dwellers runs April 28-May 14, Thurs-Sat at 8pm and Sun at 2pm at Opening Night Theatre (33223 Railway Ave). Friday May 5 is The First Friday Formal Fun-raiser! Tickets are $30 and include a Theatre membership and a glass of champagne, proceeds will go to local non-profits who help the homeless population. Wine and beer will be available for sale, there will be door prizes, a 50/50 draw and a selfie photo booth. Dress code is “ridiculously overdressed” with a prize for best costume. Doors at 7:00pm, and the show starts at 8:00pm.
Easter egg hunt in Griner Park
This year’s community Easter egg hunt will be held in Griner Park on Saturday, April 8 from 10am-1pm, produced by the United Way - Hi Neighbour Initiative. The Elks are unfortunately no longer able to support the traditional egg hunt in Heritage Park, so it’s amazing that the United Way has stepped in to provide a fun, family event (and chocolate!).
Submitted by Mark Haney, Manager of Arts & Culture, City of Mission.