'Saving Harmony' pleases Kingsbridge crowds
BY SCOTT STEPHENSON
One of the highlights of being a reporter for The Citizen is writing a review of the annual play at the Kingsbridge Centre. Last year marked the sixth and final installment of The Kingsbridge Chronicles, which collectively tells the generation-spanning, mostly-true story of a Huron County hamlet, the people who live there, and the one building that keeps them all together.
This year’s production is a bit of a departure for the rural theatre troupe - their new show, Saving Harmony, is a wholly fictional mystery that tells the tale of a small-town hotel and the many, many characters who cross paths there.
My nose for news let me know right away that, to properly tell the tale of such an ambitious theatre project, I would need to dig deeper than just seeing the show on opening night, so I decided to infiltrate the cast, going undercover as a simple theatre actor who only moonlights as a small-town reporter to make some scratch on the side.
I spent months of rehearsals deep undercover, immersing myself in the role of Pete - a local man-about-town looking for love with a song in his heart and his friends at his side. The line between art and life blurred, but it was worth it to get the exclusive dirt on what makes Kingsbridge tick.
From deep within the cast, I was expecting to snag a behind-the-scenes scoop on how the dedicated team at the Kingsbridge Centre manages to put on such big, bold theatrical pieces, year after year. But telling the tale of how a Kingsbridge production comes into existence is no easy feat - this far along in the game, the Kingsbridge theatre company has become something far more complex than just a theatre company.
Under the guidance of Goderich’s Warren and Eleanor Robinson, the cast and crew of Kingsbridge have evolved over the years, from a group of total amateurs to a tight-knit, professional family that makes art using a unique internal logic that never fails to produce something uniquely Kingsbridgian. They’ve been making theatre together for years, and all that shared experience as an ensemble really shines on stage.
The real story here is the dedication behind the production. Making a show like Saving Harmony is not a small commitment - despite having to juggle jobs, school, families, and so many puppies, the cast and crew at Kingsbridge always make time to learn their lines, practise their songs, and show up at rehearsal on time, every time. And they keep on doing it, because they know they’re making something special. The play’s the thing. And that’s it.
Saving Harmony’s last three shows are this weekend. As a member of the cast, I am most certainly biased - in fact, I know I am, but I believe that it’s a show worth seeing; the jokes are funny, the songs are great, and the sense of community can’t be beat!