Copyright 2011 Tommy Douglas Performing Arts Centre. All Rights Reserved.
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In the past 50 years few stories have addressed the critical issues of family and human relations in the western world than Ernest Thompson's "On Golden Pond". This play brings together the hopes and fears of generations into one humourous, tender, dramatic and conflicted into one, blended, down-to-earth experience of an aging couple, their daughter and challenges involved in blending and empowering the nuclear family.

Bringing such an intense story to the stage is no easy task for any theatre company. Relationship plays require care, understanding and skill and it is to the credit of the cast and crew that this challenging work has been brought to the Tommy Douglas Centre. Special recognition is due players such as Lois Watts, Connie Nightingale, Doug Loden, Damen Erickson, Freda Lautner, Gary Sidloski, Kenny Skjonsby and Brenddon Tank for their faith, talent and industry. Without the devotion of crew members like Leslie Richards, Oscar Rios, Harvey Knelsen, Jenna Neufeld, Deanna Kolbinson, Elizabeth Nikkel, Barry Lautner and Alice Neufeld this theatrical gem would not have been possible. We are fortunate to have such wonderfully talented people here.

Our sponsors, whose recognition appears on the program front, are also wholly invaluable and we thank them most sincerely for their generosity and the wonderful addition to our dinner theatre offering courtesy of Ellen Johnston and Flatland Catering.

-John Nolan, Director
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  • Superior Office Products
  • AM 1190 and Magic 103.5
  • The Welsh Kitchen
  • Signal Hill Arts Centre
  • Southeast Regional Library
  • Harvey Knelsen
  • Weyburn Artists Workshop
  • Wendy Sidloski
  • Isabelle Butters
  • Brenda King
  • George Kalman
  • Hilltop Painters
  • Jim Watts
Back Row: [l-r] Alice Neufeld, Jenna Neufeld, Kenny Skjonsby, Connie Nightingale, Gary Sidloski, Brenddon Tank, Doug Loden, Elizabeth Nikkel.  Front Row [l-r] Damen Erickson, Lois Watts, John Nolan, Freda Lautner
The Pond set was a major undertaking for our stage designers, however they seemed to make it fun and an enjoyable process. The set was both functional for the actors and appealing to the audience. Great job!
We dedicate this production to the life and memory of Helen Davidson who recently passed away. Helen was 102. Her life was dedicated to the youthful spirit of the arts. Her musical lessons and devotion to her students is unparallelled and her love of family values unmatched.
HELEN DAVIDSON
October 18, 1908 - March 5, 2011
Pond set designers (in alphabetical order): Harvey John, Barry Lautner, Oscar Rios, Kenny Skjonsby.
The Trial of Louis Riel
This will be the 45th year of performances for  "The Trial of Louis Riel", the second longest running play in Canada next to "Anne of Green Gables".  John Coulter wrote the play as part of a Centennial project in 1967 based on actual transcripts of the famous "Trial of Louis Riel", in Regina, SK of 1885.  The issues surrounding the trial such as: justice, land, language, race, and religion are all still very much alive today.

The play is performed a total of four times--one week in May for all schools in Saskatchewan.  As well, there are 3 weeks of public performances the last 3 weeks of July for a total of 9 show. Shows are approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes long.  All performances are held in the Shumiatcher Theatre, at the Mackenzie Art Gallery in Regina, SK.  For more information, please visit their website at:
Everyone is invited to stay after the show to ask questions or take pictures of the actors or with the actors. "The Trial of Louis Riel" is also available to do performances upon request.

Wilfred Gayleard of Regina gazes at the signature of the original Louis Riel on the Parliament of Canada rolls of 1873. Riel had to sneak into Parliament to sign his name though he was lawfully elected to Parliament.
[right] John Nolan plays General Middleton in the Rielco production of "The Trial of Louis Riel". The play was performed four times recently in Ontario--three times at Ottawa's Shenkman Arts Centre.
[above] On the 126th anniversary of his execution, Louis Riel's 2011 personna (Wilfred Gayleard) is seated on Ottawa's House of Commons, symbolically taking the seat he legally won three times in the 1870s and was denied his place by the Government of Canada.


[Right] The view from the Speaker's chair in the Government of Canada's House of Commons. [photo by John Nolan]
http://www.rielcoproductions.com/
The Cast
Ernest Thompson's
Past performances at the Tommy Douglas Performing Arts Centre
2010 brought the world premiere of "The Crazy Man" by Pamela Porter. The story is centered around a family who suffers a tragic accident, leaving a daughter crippled and a mother alone to care for the family farm. Out of desperation and against the advice of community members, the mother hires a patient, Angus, from the Weyburn Mental Hospital to help-out on the farm.
October, 2010 brought "Halloween Haunting with the Headless Horseman" with John Nolan. Participants were treated to a spooky telling of a condensed version of "Sleepy Hollow" at the event. The event featured a haunted house and story telling with action, complete with creepy lighting effects and scary sounds.







[L to R] Norm Flaaten, John Nolan, Logan White and Denae Neufeld


Norm Flaaten and John Nolan


[L to R] Kim Wheeler, Connie Nightingale, Dave Frayn, Jenna Neufeld, Pamela Porter, Freda Lautner, Kassandra Lawrenz, Mellissa Olson, Nolan Neufeld, Evan Gillespie and John Nolan.




Below: The cast performs in front of enthusiastic sold-out crowds.