There he was, in all his glory, basking in the limelight.
Long flowing hair (a wig, definitely a wig), high heels, an awful looking dress, bright red lipstick, blue eye shadow and plenty of mascara on his lashes.
Yep, that was my Dad – looking awesome as he played the role of the “dame” during a pantomime put on by Mission’s Opening Nite Theatre Society (ONTS).
My father loved community theatre. In many ways he lived for it.
In “real life” he worked for Corrections Canada. He was the assistant warden at Mission Institution for several years and became the executive director of the then Regional Psychiatric Centre in Abbotsford. But that was his job, his love (other than my mother) was the theatre.
I grew up watching my dad perform in musicals like Kismet and Oliver as well as several murder mysteries by Agatha Christie and countless other productions.
While he was good at everything, I think he loved the pantomimes the most.
My father was born in Wales (which explains why his name was Gerwyn) so you could say British pantomimes were in his blood, and playing the villain was much more fun than being the hero.
He loved taking on the role of the dame (for those who don’t know, the dame is a villainous female character played for laughs by a male actor.) An example would be an evil queen, an ugly stepsister in a fairy tale or Dame Edna.
Despite having one of the most stress-filled, serious jobs I can think of, he could laugh, sing and just relax on stage.
While I lost my dad (and my mom) nine years ago, I still get people telling me they remember him, not as a warden, but from those pantomimes.
I know for a fact that if he was still around, he would be crushed to hear that the Opening Nite Theatre Society’s theatre is in jeopardy of shutting down.
Last week, Mission bylaw officers posted a sign on the theatre doors which reads “Do Not Occupy For Theatre Use”. The theatre is located in an old building on Railway Ave. and is no longer considered safe for crowds to gather in.
A recent inspection concluded that the building was in violation of the provincial building code, including fire separation and a lack of a sprinkler system. Those facts are not in dispute. Safety has to come first.
The real question is what are we going to do about it? That’s right, I said we. Having live theatre benefits the community and the shows should, no, must go on.
ONTS doesn’t have the money to make what could be $100,000 or more in repairs and finding a new venue in difficult at best.
At the same time, the city can’t just hand over cash to the group, well, not that much cash anyway.
To save community theatre we are going to need a community effort.
While no plan is in place at the moment, I can only hope that ONTS will start fundraising, applying for grants and do whatever it can to move forward. I’m hoping the city will assist in that process and that the public can get behind the cause.
I may have a personal bias when it comes to community theatre, but it’s more than just amateur actors performing for friends and family. It’s more than a lack of money for repairs. It’s more than just my father in a dress.
Theatre is good for the community. It adds culture, creates bonds, allows artistic expression, it entertains and creates memories. So many memories. We can’t let those fade away.
– Kevin Mills is the editor of the Mission Record
