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Calyn Treads the Boards




March 11, 2007


Not only can I be a proud father (as in my previous entry), I am perfectly capable of being a proud grandfather as well:

It seems that being onstage runs in the family, and the latest one to tread the boards is Calyn, daughter of my son Troy.

Calyn (regulars visitors to this site will know her as “NoBeard, the Pirate”) is currently in high school, and last week participated in something quite extraordinary: a fully-staged musical which was written specifically for her school.  Normally schools rely on the standard musical repertoire (Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady, Guys and Dolls &c) for their productions, but not Nelson McIntyre Collegiate.  A student teacher – with a background in theatre – was inspired to create a musical for them from scratch.  He found a musical collaborator – whose specialty is “ska” music – and the two created London Town, the story of a northern community whose sole industry, a mining operation, had closed, with all the attendant decline and community breakdown.

The result was significant enough that the Winnipeg Free Press sent around a reporter who wrote quite an admiring piece.  A photograph accompanied the article, and showed some of the cast in rehearsal... including our beloved granddaughter!  So now we have another Harwood-Jones generation in the public eye!
The Free Press photo
Teens rehearse dramatic moment

From left: Heather Martin, Jake Strickland, Calyn Harwood-Jones,
Angie St. Mars, Elizabeth D‘Alessio and Chantal Lambert

Heather and I attended the closing night performance, and it was really very enjoyable.  Calyn moved about the stage calmly, always well-synchronized with the other performers; she sang with gusto, and when her turn came to speak she did so with clarity and conviction.  Of course we were proud grandparents, delighting in her every move and gesture; but we were also surprised and pleased with how much merit the musical had of its own, regardless of family participation.

The Winnipeg Free Press posted their article, with photo, here.  However, I think the newspaper removes articles from their website after a period of time, so you may get a dead end if you follow the link.  As well, some browsers have trouble opening the page, but by all means try it (and let me know if it is defunct: I'll remove it from this page to prevent further frustration).

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