In searching for the perfect setting for the Rural Arts Project’s haunting production of Mary’s Wedding, director Mark Bye visited “a lot“ of barns across the Valley. In Gordon Rennie’s centuries-old restored structure in Rockburn, he found exactly what he wanted in order to stage the emotionally charged World War I drama; an authentic location, a willing host and the most technically involved challenge taken on to date by the Rural Arts Project crew. Mary’s Wedding may also be the most relevant, as the themes of lost love, war and letting go of the past to start a new life are certainly not lost in today’s unsettled world.
Stephen Massicotte’s one-act play takes place in a small Canadian town in the barn where two young lovers, Mary (Tomie Trepanier) and Charlie (Jeremy Robidoux) first met. In a dream on the night before her wedding, Mary revisits falling in love for the first time and their correspondence after he is sent to battle during the First World War. The story of young love, driven apart by war is not unfamiliar, but in the captivating hands of Trepanier and Robidoux the audience is sure to be transported from their seats in Rockburn to the battlefields of France’s Moreuil Wood and beyond.
“I loved the script and thought it would be great for the community,” says Mark Bye, of the play’s rural setting and timeless themes. “It was also a very good vehicle for Tomie and Jeremy,” he says of working again with the breakout stars from last April’s ‘Lend Me a Tenor’. He credits the pair’s intensity and chemistry with carrying the two-person, single act play. Bye, who is also the Creative Director behind the Rural Arts Project was also keen to bring the not for profit community arts organization out of its Huntingdon-based Grove Hall. “You can’t reproduce this barn in a theatre,” he laughs.
The change in location has also proven to be a source of inspiration for the pair of actors. “It is a lot more liberating,” says Trepanier. “You get a real sense of what the scenes look like instead of trying to recreate it in the Hall.”
Mary’s Wedding also relies heavily on the actors convincingly portraying imagined interactions with horses. As a cavalry soldier, Robidoux admits there was a bit of method acting involved in perfecting the role of Charlie. “Its been challenging, but in a good way,” he says, of not only learning to handle, care for and ride horses, but of mimicing these motions on stage.
The barn doors for Mary’s Wedding will open at dusk (7:30 pm) on Thursday, September 17, with presentations to follow on September 18 and 19, as well as October 1, 2, and 3. The play will take place inside the barn, located behind Cook’s Store on the grounds of the former Leslie Rennie Museum at the corner of the 1st Concession and the Rennie Sideroad in Rockburn.
For more information, or to secure tickets, contact 514-791-5100. Seating is limited and reservations are highly recommended.
