Vicki L Morrison
Waiting for the Parade, written by Canadian playwright John Murrell, is a co-production with Thousand Islands Playhouse in Gananoque, Ontario and Western Canada Theatre of British Columbia. The play is being presented by PeaceQuest in partnership with the Thousand Islands Playhouse. PeaceQuest is a non-profit organization with a vision to initiate conversations around peace in Canada. PeaceQuest donated 50 performance tickets to the Kingston Military Family Resource Centre. “Their generous gift means that military families will be able to participate in a panel discussion about the roles women have taken on in wars past and present. We want to make the play relevant, allowing the audience to relate to this iconic Canadian play,” said Barbara Linds, Vice Chair of Board of Directors, Thousand Islands Playhouse.
“We would like the audience to join us prior to the production on Sunday, September 14th, at the Firehall Theatre for an interactive panel discussion on the themes and questions raised in Waiting for the Parade. Five experts will discuss topics such as women’s paid and unpaid work during World War II, the role of music in war, and the thoughts and feelings of women left behind, both then and now. Refreshments will be served, donated by the Waterfall Cafe,” said Linds. The panel discussion is meant to inform and educate. “Panel members include WWII war bride Marg Eaton, military spouse Heather Hook, military nurse Captain Heather Pay, and associate professor of French Stephanie Belanger PhD, of RMC. I will act as moderator for the discussion. The Playhouse, PeaceQuest, Waterfall Cafe and the Kingston Military Family Resource Centre are all working together to bring this play to not only the civilian community, but military families as well. The evening is an example of community partnerships that work.”
Actor Deborah Drakeford creates the conflicted Janet, determined to do absolutely everything she can through the Red Triangle Hostesses volunteer group in Calgary to make up for the fact her husband didn’t go to war. Shannon Currie plays the wife of a man missing in action. Andrea Houssin is the white to Drakeford’s black, the ever-perky helper who is bumbling through life finding sunshine where she can. Janet Michael is the mother worrying about her sons, fretting they might be lost to the war. Anita Wittenberg has the challenge of being the outsider who should be inside. She plays the woman who moved to Calgary with her German parents when she was nine and is considered the enemy.
Waiting for the Parade crosses generations in its appeal. Seniors will enjoy a nostalgic walk back in time. Babyboomers will catch a glimpse of what their mothers faced. “Set in Calgary during World War II, five women gather to work for the war effort while the men they love are away. Their tensions, secrets, hopes and dreams reveal the women’s inner-strength and heroism. The play is essentially about the lives of women who kept the home fires burning,” said Lind. Waiting for the Parade is ultimately dramatic, moving and funny, and features live music and songs made popular from during the war years.
Please visit www.familyforce/sites/kingston for more information.
