Enhancing community through theatre

January 22, 2010

By Caitlin Ward

Director Adam Day walks into the auditorium at St. Thomas More (STM) College with rolls of printed vinyl that will become the backdrop for a renaissance torture chamber. He tells staff supervisor Richard Medernach, “we’ll have to put these up.”

Medernach leans over and whispers, “he says ‘we’ a lot. But he really means, ‘me.’”

As supervisor for STM’s Newman Players drama group and co-ordinator of student services in the college, Medernach is a jack-of-all-trades. He’s heavily involved in all Newman productions, be it as an actor, producer, or in this case, set builder. With Newman’s new production A Man For All Seasons almost ready for performance when he spoke to On Campus News, Medernach was busy at work with cast and crew, putting up sets, running through scenes, and publicizing the show.

Medernach says that Newman Players are one of the longest running theatre groups in Saskatoon, having begun shortly after St. Thomas More College opened in 1936. The group, named after John Henry Cardinal Newman, a prominent figure in the development of Catholic education in England who was considered a role model among students, has been a significant player in Saskatoon’s amateur theatre community since the 1960s at least, he said. From its inception, the group has been both community-centred and student-oriented, a fact which Newman member Father Ed Heidt says goes back to the Basilian Fathers’ focus on education and building community.

Medernach notes that plays are often chosen to complement the college’s curriculum, and past productions include The Importance of Being Earnest and The Second Shepherd’s Play, a medieval mystery. Newman Players generally put on a production in each term, sometimes augmented by a medieval mystery play festival in the spring. Ticket proceeds go toward recouping the cost of the productions – it is not about making money; it’s a labour of love, said Medernach.

The cast and crew of Newman Player productions are almost entirely composed of students, staff and faculty members. The STM community makes up the bulk of their complement, but the entire university community is welcome to participate both on and off stage. Producing good quality theatre is an important part of the equation, he said, but equally significant is the opportunity to build community and create bridges to the various sectors of the university.

“It’s best when people from all walks of life are involved in a production,” says Heidt, who has been heavily involved in the theatre group for the past two decades. “There are a lot of opportunities for mentoring between faculty and students.”

A Man For All Seasons runs until Jan. 24 in the Fr. O’Donnell Auditorium at STM.

Caitlin Ward is a Saskatoon-based freelance writer.