Room 44 raided — Two weeks ago, Terrace police were called to the scene of what was identified as a vagrant’s camp. When they entered the building, they found an old roll-away cot, a few emp- ty booze bottles and numerous prescription bottles full of white capsules, The owners of the building were notified and asked to con- firm that the building was va- cant. An assistant to the vice- president of the company was shocked and surprised that someone had gained access to the building — until she learned more. The police officer was.telling her that they had initially con- fiscated the pills for analysis. The police officer had wisely noticed that the pills didn’t look real, so she had her husband, a pharmacist examine them. He informed her that they were Tic Tac breath mints. The owner’s representative then phoned the producer of the play ‘‘Room 44’’ to enquire about the props being used for their’ upcoming play for the . Skeena Zone Drama Festival. Advised that they were using an old bed, Tic Tacs in pill bottles and alcohol bottles filled with colored water, the represen- tative contacted the RCMP and informed them of the misunder- standing. The cast and crew of ‘Room 44”” had been using the empty storefront as a rehearsal space because two other plays were being rehearsed in the McColl Playhouse. And the set for ‘*Room 44” was too large to fit - into the small theatre. With the kind permission of property owner Okanagan Skeena, they had used the space during the three weeks leading up to last weekend’s Skeena Zone Drama Festival in Prince Rupert. “Room 44” will be perform- ed in Terrace sometime in the near future, with all props Testored to their proper places. And the RCMP are cordially in- vited to attend. _ Drama fest finals - DANIEL BARNSWELL’S PLAY “Room 44" had its world premiere last Friday night at the Skeena Zone Drama Festival held in Prince Rupert. Barnswell, a well known local actor and director both wrote this play and directed It. Seen here are actors Connie Silveira as Helen and Joe Zucchiatti as Bill. World premiere of local play in Prince Rupert for festival Last Friday audiences at the Performing Arts Theatre in Prince Rupert were privileged to see the world premiere of the Terrace Little Theatre's play Room 44, Local director/actor and now playwright Daniel Barnswell has been working on the script of Room 44 since late January. The script was com- pleted just last week, days before the play’s stage debut in Prince Rupert. Barnswell’s versatile cast and crew rehearsed one scene at a time as the play was written scene by scene. Panic ensued about three weeks ago when the costumer still didn’t know what costumes she still had to make, the actors still didn’t know how the play would end, and the set ‘designers still had to design and build a portion of the set for which they needed a script. Dress rehearsals took place twice daily last week in the va- cant Furniture Barn (near the liquor store), And the police raided the place. But that’s another story. Finally, last Friday morning at 8:30, cast and crew of both Room 44 and Forever Yours, Marie-Lou headed off to Prince Rupert for tech rehearsals for the Skeena Zone Drama Festi- val. A tech rehearsal is a re- hearsal for lighting and sound technicians, stage hands and stage manager to coordinate their cues and changes of scene. The day was hectic, but every-. one worked well together. And a special effect, long-mused over, was tried and worked! Friday evening at 7:30, the house lights went down and the stage lights came up on a seedy, run-down hotel room (44) of the Parthenon Hotel where the whole convoluted and intriguing play takes place. The very realistic and func- tional set was designed by Gord Shaben and Tyler Wallace of Blue Ridge Graphics. They and a small crew also constructed, painted and designed an elaborate system to do some dramatic special effects towards the conclusion of the play. Room 44 deals with the inter- nal turmoil in the mind of a dis- turbed young man, Stanley, lonely in his seedy hotel room. Barnswell skillfully portrayed Stanley’s thoughts with il-” lustrative visuals and a superbly natural dialogue. The real and the surreal were intertwined to give the audience a funny and yet thought-provoking look at mental process in action. Kevin Lorenz played the ‘‘sweet Stanley’? with aplomb. Joe Zucchiatti was Bill, his boisterous and belligerent alter- ‘ego, Marianne Brorup-Weston was Bella, his domineering and bitchy other alter-ego. Sarah Weston played the little girl with special powers, exhibiting very grown-up control over her ac- tions and lines without sup- pressing the youthful enthusi- asm for her role. And Connie Silveira played two roles — the seductive woman in white who simulates a strip-tease on the kit- chen table, and the believable, energetic, but shy Helen. The eight-scene play was exe- cuted with creativity and feeling. All the actors played off each other as smoothly as if they’d had months of rrehearsals. For cast and' crew alike, as.well as for the audience, it was the first. time the play had been seen from | start to finish‘on stage. . ‘ot. In last weekend's Skeena _ Zone Drama Festival held in Prince Rupert, seven plays were presented by the Terrace Little Theatre, Prince Rupert’s Har- bour Theatre and the Bulkley Valley Players of Smithers. Each evening, two or three plays were adjudicated publicly by ad- ‘judicator. Harvey M. Miller. The following afternoon, Miller did private adjudications for the cast and crew of each play. On the final night, April 29, Miller announced the winners of the eighth annual Skeena Zone Drama Festival. Chosen to participate in Mainstage ‘90 to be held in Chilliwack in early June was the Terrace Little Theatre’s Forever Yours, Marie Lou, directed by Ken Morton. Forever Yours will be one of 10 plays from around the province to do ‘“‘scene development’’ with drama facilitators from Theatre B.C. Theatre B.C. is the umbrella organization for little theatre companies province-wide. Also attending Mainstage ‘90 will be Prince Rupert’s Harbour Theatre production True West. True West was awarded best visual effects, best director (Barry Janzen), best production and best actors for Richard Jerstad and Ralph Troshke. Best actress went to Bulkley Valley Players’ Raejean Laidlaw for her role as Nanny in Baby: with the Bathwater, Best sup- porting actress went to Terrace Little Theatre’s Connie Silveira for her two roles in Room 44. Silveira played both the woman in white and Helen, the leading man’s girlfriend. Leading man Kevin Lorenz as Stanley got an honorable mention. Best sup- porting actor went to Urs Gasser as Leopold in Terrace Little Theatre’s Forever Yours, Marie- Lou. Special Merit backstage went to Ken Green of Prince Rupert. Poster contest - use not Contributed by June Campbell The Northwest is known for its artists, and Northwest Alcohol and Drug Services, with the assistance of the Community Action Program, is sponsoring a _ contest to let local artists show their stuff. Northwest Alcohol and Drug Services is looking for a poster to be used by their regional of- fices. Prize money available is $1,500 and will be divided be- tween the first and second place winners. Honorable Mention winners will have their work displayed throughout the North- west, oo The poster is to depict a abuse positive message for responsible | substance use, have a strong visual impact, and be appropri- ate for use in northwestern British: Columbia. Submissions must be accompanied by a pho- tograph and color negative. Any size photo is acceptable. ‘The contest is open to residents of Terrace, Kitimat, Smithers, Prince Rupert and surrounding districts. The deadline for submissions is June 30. For more information, con- tact June Campbell, Northwest Alcohol and Drug Services, Ter- race, B.C., 638-8117 or Karla Hennig, Terrace Women's Resource Centre, 638-0228, SO RAAT CUT ae RG aoa YT ee