The show must go on despite work-to-rule, student actor says
Cast of the West Kings District High School musical rehearsing at non-profit Evergreen Theatre
The show must go on.
A group of young actors in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley are living that motto to its fullest by using a local theatre to rehearse their high school musical as a way to get around the Nova Scotia Teachers Union work-to-rule campaign.
When the union announced in late January the job action would resume, the manager of non-profit Evergreen Theatre in East Margaretsville decided he should offer the space to the cast of the musical at nearby West Kings District High School.
"We felt we had to do something," said David O'Leary, who is also one of the co-directors of the musical, a production of Legally Blonde. "We were going great guns" until work-to rule started, he said, "and then suddenly the rug got pulled out."
O'Leary said students are not allowed to use school facilities to rehearse while the job action is ongoing, because that requires some supervision from teachers.
Work-to-rule started Dec. 5, and was briefly suspended in January when the teachers union reached a tentative contract deal with the government. It resumed, however, when the union accused Premier Stephen McNeil of reneging on one provision.
'Heartbroken'
Hannah Dempsey, 17, who plays the lead part in the school's production, said she was "heartbroken" when she learned students couldn't continue to practise in the school auditorium.
She said it's a tight-knit cast, and "all of a sudden not being able to go to our practices — and do what we really love doing — was quite hard on most of us," she said.
For a variety of reasons, Dempsey said, the performance dates could not be moved. They had even printed some posters already.
She said students were delighted when Evergreen Theatre was offered as a rehearsal space. "We were all really excited to get back," she said.
Making up for lost time
O'Leary said he set up a new company, called The Evergreen Youth Players, to keep the project at arms-length from the school.
Because the Evergreen Theatre is too small, the group has an agreement with school administrators to rent the high school auditorium for the final performances, he said.
Proceeds from ticket sales are expected to cover the costs.
Dempsey said the cast is "cramming" to get ready for the first of their five public performances beginning Feb. 22. Despite the setbacks, she said she thinks they'll be ready.
With files from the CBC's Information Morning