Young Company alumnus returns to Blyth Festival

BY DENNY SCOTT

Goderich teen Liam Morley has had a lot of experience with Blyth Memorial Hall and the Blyth Festival, making him an ideal addition to the production team for this year’s Festival season.

Morley is a St. Anne’s Catholic Secondary School student who will be graduating this year before going to the Ontario Institute Of Audio Recording Technology (OIART) in London later this year. He was recently hired as a production assistant by the Festival after years of involvement with local theatre.

“I’ve always had a love of the theatre and have been involved in the Livery Theatre in Goderich since I was 10,” he said. “I was excited to be a part of Young Company in 2015. I really enjoyed working with Geoff Armour and being a part of the creative process.”

While Morley has lots of experience with Memorial Hall, including working with Blyth Arts and Culture Initiative 14/19 Inc. on light and sound in the hall, as well as being Assistant Stage Manager for the National Theatre Drama School Festival earlier this year, he anticipates that a lot of his responsibilities will be tied to the Phillips Studio and the shows being produced there.

All those experiences, including his time with Young Company, have led to a deep passion for theatre, he said, and while he isn’t sure what his future holds post-graduation from OIART, he does hope to be involved with theatre and music production.

Morley is just one staff member of the Blyth Festival whose youth experience brought him back to Blyth including current General Manager Rachael King, Production Stage Manager for Jumbo and The Team on the Hill, Heather Thompson and even Artistic Director Gil Garratt.