'Saving Harmony to continue Kingsbridge theatre legacy
BY SCOTT STEPHENSON
When the final chapter of the rural theatrical meta-opus that is the Kingsbridge Centre’s Kingsbridge Chronicles wrapped up its on-stage saga in 2024, it asked a question: “Where do we go from here?” Now, only one year hence, it’s become clear that the answer to that question is “Wherever we want to go.”
From a creative standpoint, Huron County’s most-formally informal theatre company is taking its audience across the border - all the way north to Bruce County. Saving Harmony is an original mystery set in the town of Walkerton circa 1952. The play, co-written by Mary Murdoch and Warren Robinson, will be the troupe’s first foray into foreign territory, and will feature a selection of jazzy song standards arranged by musical director Eleanor Robinson.
Recently, Murdoch received a double dose of fortuitous news regarding the places she’ll go - the young playwright has just been selected to write Western University’s autumn production, and she has also been accepted into the Destination Theatre program, which means that, next summer, she will be traveling to London, England for an immersive course of performances, lectures and seminars.
It’s easy to see why Murdoch’s jam-packed resume stands out in a crowd - she’s been a part of the Kingsbridge company for the lion’s share of a decade. “The Kingsbridge Chronicles have been a huge part of my life, bringing me from elementary school to university,” she recalled.
Murdoch hails from Goderich, and is going into her third year at Western, where she studies Creative Writing, English Literature and French. She got her start at the Kingsbridge Centre on the stage, after being cast in its first musical, way back in 2017. She was 12 years old.
That musical turned out to be the first instalment of the mind-bendingly dadaist theatrical piece known as The Kingsbridge Chronicles. “I acted in all of the Kingsbridge Chronicles musicals,” Murdoch explained. Eventually, she began eyeing up the playwright’s chair. She began working with Kingsbridge’s de facto in-house writer/director Warren Robinson in 2019, when she was 15. That musical, which was intended to debut in 2020, ended up being pushed to 2022, due to the global pandemic. “I’m so happy that Warren and I are beginning a new era of shows at the Kingsbridge Centre with this year’s Saving Harmony,” she confirmed.
Murdoch knew that the application processes for both Destination Theatre and Western’s fall playwright position would be highly competitive, so she sought to highlight the unique opportunities she’d found at Kingsbridge. “Namely my time co-writing musicals with Warren, especially for the fall playwright position - having this experience under my belt helped set me apart,” she explained. “Working with Warren on these musicals has taught me to write on a deadline, to share ideas, to be flexible through the rehearsal process, and so much more... I wouldn't have this opportunity without him. Whether we’re collaborating on a script or not, I find myself relying on so many of his methods and techniques for things like transitioning between scenes or writing dialogue. So much of what I’ve learned I’ve learned from all the years I’ve spent observing his work.”
While many aspiring young writers would find the prospect of penning an entire play to be a daunting task, Murdoch is fairly certain that the sheer scope of the average Kingsbridge production has set her up for success. Telling an original story requires creating a self-contained little world populated with characters that make sense together. And, with a cast of nearly 40 people, Saving Harmony has a lot of characters, each one living out their own little life as part of a larger mystery surrounding the fate of a once-bustling hotel.
Part of the brilliance of The Kingsbridge Chronicles was the way in which it slowly transformed a community of regular people into a company of actors playing regular people, but it’s clear that both veteran cast members and this season’s newcomers are relishing the roles Murdoch has helped create for them in Saving Harmony.
Some actors have a lot in common with their on-stage personas. By day, Keiran Melady is a mild-mannered music enthusiast who works in a nursery - the baby tree kind, not the baby human kind. But by night (and sometimes, by matinee), Melady becomes Archie, a mild-mannered music enthusiast who just wants to sing a few tunes with his buddies.
Seaforth’s Rebecca Lowey has found that playing aspiring poetess Victoria has given her deeper insight into the occasionally successful creative writing efforts submitted over the years by her English students.
Of course, not everybody can relate to their character. In Saving Harmony, strait-laced Kate is both beleaguered by her boss and weighed down by family debt - a far cry from Kingsbridge-newcomer Alex Hodder. While juggling high school with Kingsbridge’s intensive rehearsal schedule is a lot for any young person, Hodder knows that the unique hands-on experience is worth the extra effort. “I want to go into the performing arts, maybe. And I don’t want to make a lot of money,” the young actor mused from beneath extremely shaggy bangs.
Most rehearsals, Ang Keeley can be seen catching up on her workload between scenes. As a student, social worker and serial volunteer, Keeley’s work is never done. But as Celeste, the enigmatic stranger who turns the whole town upside-down, Keeley gets to experience what it’s like to take the low road for once. Even though Keeley's schedule is beyond hectic most days, she’s making time for Saving Harmony. “This is my community,” she explained. “This is where I grew up, and I am here to be a part of this community and be a part of this play.”
Keeley’s real-life sister, Erinn Dalton, remembers what it was like to be instructed to behave in church every Sunday. In Saving Harmony, Dalton plays Sally, Celeste’s sort-of sister and a veteran pickpocket whose primary directive is misbehavin’. “I love being the troublemaker,” she confessed. “And I love theatre!” Dalton is also the show’s set designer and lead carpenter.
Of course, every mystery needs somebody official to investigate, which is where Mark Mitchell comes in. Mitchell plays Albert, a Walkerton-area police officer with a nose for foul play. Though he’s now semi-retired, Mitchell also works as an inspector in real life - a meat inspector! The role of Albert was written especially for Mitchell, who has quickly proven himself to be a Kingsbridge mainstay, and an absolute delight to watch. “Albert is fun - it’s fun to be a 1950s cop,” he declared.
And those are just a few of the characters that Murdoch has worked up and woven into the twisty mystery that is Saving Harmony. It’s hard to imagine that any production put on by Western could be as wildly, weirdly ambitious as the theatrical productions that are produced by this Catholic-church-turned rural creative incubator. “Everyone is pitching in and relying on each other to get this show together for opening night. People are building and painting sets and bringing their grandma’s dresses out of the basement and baking pies,” Murdoch explained.
Wherever her talents end up taking her, her experience at Kingsbridge is the thing that’s brought her this far. “Asking Warren if I could write with him for the first time was terrifying, but now, years later, I’m so glad that I did… so I keep asking, and it’s led to some pretty amazing opportunities.”
Warren Robinson and Mary Murdoch’s Saving Harmony opens on Friday, June 6 at p.m., exclusively at The Kingsbridge Centre. More shows are scheduled for Saturday, June 7 at 8 p.m.; Sunday, June 8 at 2 p.m.; Friday, June 13 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, June 14 at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, June 15 at 2 p.m.