ALL MY SONS

Producer: John Caryl

Stage Managers: Doug Anderson and Vicki Boucher

Set Design: Alex Kasperowitsch

Set Painting: Alex Kasperowitsch, Linda Gidora

Set Construction: Wayne Lennox, Brian Halbot

Costume Design: Brenda Kasperowitsch, Phyllis Johnson

Hair & Makeup: Andrea Lee-Burnet, Tammy Dore, Marianne Golovchenko

Sound Design: Wayne Noble

Props Master: Susan Canfield

Production Photographer: Michael Beresford

Joe Keller: Frank Kewin

Kate Keller: Susan Brown

Chris Keller: Stephen Dobby

Ann Deever: Marissa Caldwell

George Deever: Michael Abernethy

Jim Bayliss: Robert Knapp

Sue Bayliss: Sally Holdsworth

Lydia Lubey: Olivia Lloyd

Frank Lubey: Gavin Small

Bert: Lachlan Sharpe

“Believe with me, Joe. I cannot stand alone.”

Belief can be a powerful ally. Belief provides us with the strength to fight for what we think is right, and gives significance to the sacrifices of those around us. It is an invisible, but essential part of human existence that keeps us from simply becoming “practical.” Which is why, when our beliefs are shattered, it hurts more deeply than any change in our logical thinking. Suddenly,hat we felt so strongly to be true, shows itself to be nothing more than an illusion.

Belief and illusion are vital elements of theatre as well. Actors spend countless hours investigating and exploring their characters so as to present the best illusion they can of Joe Keller or Ann Deever. As an audience, we are asked to believe in an illusion- that we are not in Orillia on a cold night in February, but in the yard of the Keller household in August 1947.

Each of the characters in Arthur Miller’s All My Sons have developed illusions about their lives and the people they love. Each character is also in various stages of belief in their illusions.

Some are in recovery from them, some are in the midst of a revelation about them, some are clinging to them with everything they have, and some have no idea that their beliefs are about to come crashing down around them…

I want to thank my family for their endless love and support, Mariposa Arts Theatre for this incredible opportunity, my partner Marissa for her belief in me, my phenomenal cast and crew for their dedication and astonishing ingenuity…

And, of course, you, our audience, for believing with us.

Thank you, and I hope you enjoy All My Sons.

I was deeply honoured to tackle All My Sons at the beautiful Orillia Opera House.

I have been a long time lover of Miller's work, but, I will admit, All My Sons had escaped my grasp until I was asked to direct it. As soon as I read it, I knew I was given a golden opportunity. It is a rich, dynamic script with great characters.

The themes of All My Sons really spoke to me: moral ambiguity,  the desire to protect one's family at personal expense, the need to shed the illusion of our 'perfect parents' and seeing them as messy, human beings, and, quite topically, anger at the failings of the older generation.

This show was my first full-scale production in Simcoe County so I certainly felt like I had something to prove. Fortunately, it was also my first show after my life-changing workshop intensive taught by Philip Akin. I learnt a lot that week, and was ready to put it into motion - to a result for which I am extremely proud.

On a side note: Alex Kasperowitsch, the Set Designer and Painter, passed away a few months after this show. It was heartbreaking news. He was a very sweet man and an incredible artist.