River Clyde Pageant seeks players for summer production
Sara Fraser | CBC News | Posted: June 20, 2017 12:12 AM | Last Updated: June 20, 2017
'We thought the jazz funeral tradition would be perfect to consider the death of a river and what it implies'
After sold-out performances in its inaugural season, the River Clyde Pageant is back this summer with a new show, Wake the River Clyde, and an expanded lineup of performance dates.
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Last July, the spectacle had stilt walkers, a choir, puppets and elements travelling down New Glasgow's Hunter River, also known as the River Clyde, over the course of two days. The event ended at The Mill Restaurant where the audience and the performers shared an outdoor meal overlooking the river.
"We are doing a new pageant with a brand-new story, some returning characters" said Megan Stewart, the producer and co-director of the River Clyde Pageant. Ker Wells will also direct.
"It's going to tell a really fantastical story about the river and about the community and some of the environmental issues that are affecting the River Clyde."
The Clyde River remains closed to anglers after a fish kill last summer, the cause of which has not been determined.
The pageant organizers have several free workshops for those who want to be involved. The schedule can be found online at riverclydepageant.com.
'The death of a river'
The first is a week-long workshop in early July exploring the New Orleans jazz funeral tradition, led by two artists from New Orleans. It'll be held at Gulf Shore School in North Rustico.
"We're looking for musicians of all ages to get involved in this," said Stewart.
The idea is to create a band that would play a major part in this summer's pageant.
Jazz funeral bands start off mournful and sombre, then break into something that's more celebratory and hopeful, she explained.
"We thought the jazz funeral tradition would be perfect to consider the death of a river and what it implies, and also giving people the idea there is still hope, and we can take action to make change and fix it, bring it back to life," Stewart said.
Puppet workshops
There will be puppet workshops throughout July with Ian MacFarlane, who will show participants how to make fish from materials found beachcombing. Participants will also help build a puppet that will float on the river.
The puppet workshops will be held at the New Glasgow Christian Church, with field trips to gather materials.
The pageant is also looking for singers to form a choir which will begin rehearsing June 26 and will meet two or three times a week.
Last year's two performances sold out quickly, so the pageant has added more this year: July 29 and 30, and August 4 to 6, with 100 tickets available for each performance.
Admission will again be by donation. Last year, Stewart said theatre-goers were generous, giving $25 to $50 per person for the show and the post-show meal.
The non-profit pageant has received $15,000 from the federal Canada 150 Fund. There will also be a fundraising dinner Sat., June 24, at The Mill in New Glasgow with a three-course meal, raffle, garden games and live music.
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