Norm Foster’s Whit’s End debuts in NOTL with readings

Foster Festival fans and supporters have two chances to participate in the creative process with Canada’s most prolific playwright this weekend. 

Norm Foster’s new play Whit’s End will make its debut in reading form this Saturday and Sunday afternoon at the picturesque Shiny Cider and Fresh Wines (formerly Small Talk Vineyard) on Irvine Road. Director Jamie Williams is looking forward to the opportunity to gauge the audience’s reaction to the playwright’s work.

“Norm will Zoom in for both of the readings,” says Williams, the Foster Festival’s new artistic associate. “Not only does he get to hear the actors together, to hear those voices come to life, but he also gets to hear the audience’s response. That’s integral, it indicates whether they’re getting the logic of the story, or the logic of the joke.”

Whit’s End has yet to be produced on stage, meaning this weekend’s audiences will be the first to experience the story that Williams describes as a very funny look at family and the assumptions that  people take for granted about each other. 

The main character has flown back into town to drop some big news onto his adult daughter and son. He’s accompanied by a woman they have never met, with whom he tells them he’s about to embark on a new adventure in his life. 

Whit’s kids, of course, counter with some big news of their own. The self-absorption of each of the family members and the reactions they have toward each other leads to many hilarious revelations. 

“It’s a comedy of miscommunication,” says Williams, who has appeared in and directed a number of Foster’s plays through the years. “And it exposes double standards in the way Whit feels with his son versus how he feels with his daughter. It highlights the dynamic that exists in all families, and enables us to laugh at it.”

Williams also points out that Whit’s End is just as much a play about commitment. Each character is dealing with new relationships, raising many questions about what commitment actually means to each of them. 

Williams, who lived in Niagara-on-the-Lake from 2006 to 2015 with his wife, actor Melanie Janzen, and daughter Sadie Williams, has assembled a perfect cast to embody Foster’s characters. 

Fans of the hit CBC Television program Street Legal will recognize C. David Johnson and Sonja Smits, who played Chuck and Carrie from 1987 until 1994. Johnson portrays Whit while Smits shows up as his new paramour. 

“We were really fortunate to get hold of C. David and Sonja,” says Williams. “C. David was involved with some of the first plays written by Norm. I reached out to him because I thought he would be perfect as Whit. When he said he was interested, I contacted Sonja.”

Having two such recognizable actors reading those parts is a bit of a coup for the St. Catharines-based theatre company. Donors will get to see Johnson and Smits up close at Shiny Cidery, as they will Mairi Babb and Darren Keay, who read the roles of Whit’s children. 

Keay, who is married to Foster Festival co-founder and artistic producer Emily Oriolds, says he is still putting the finishing touches on exactly who his sarcastic, acerbic character Steven really is. 

“This is the beauty of getting to do a workshop like this,” Keay says. “Even the script I have from Norm says right on it ‘not the final draft.’ I’ve done enough new play development that I don’t impose a lot on top of it myself. To be honest, a lot does get informed at that first read in rehearsal with the other actors.”

The play is about relationships, and Keay sheds some light on the brother-sister dynamic between his and Babb’s characters. Steven, he says, is a quiet big brother in terms of his relationship with his sister. 

“There’s some knowing humour between them,” he adds. “In terms of him out there in the world, though, we get a lot of information about Steven from what Whit says about his son dating many different girls. I see him as a quiet guy with a good sense of humour. I get to throw out some zingers here and there.”

Keay loves Foster’s work for its cleanliness and the efficiency in his writing. He says Foster leaves no fat on his jokes, no extra words, no extra beats or moments. It gives actors room to play, as they can let the words do the work, bringing humour to human situations in all of his plays. 

“Doing a read in front of an audience is a real fine opportunity to find the rhythm,” Keay explains. “With a reading you really get the rhythm of the words. With a full production you have movement and props and much more that can add to it. But a straight reading can really serve the script.”

Williams adds that a reading can sometimes point out to a director and a playwright those rare situations where logic points are missed, redundancies creep in or the audience is asked to make too much of a jump. Watching an audience react to the words gives the creative team a chance to ensure the play has the clarity, humour and rhythm it needs before it goes to a full production.

“What Norm does really well is one of the hardest things to do while you’re writing,” says Williams, himself a playwright, “and that’s to maintain the perspective of hearing the words in his mind like a first-time audience. The audience is only going to hear it once. You have one attempt to bring the audience along for the ride. You have to keep that in mind.”

This weekend’s two readings may be part of the team’s creative process, but it’s also an event, and Williams feels that Shiny Cidery is a perfect venue. 

“There is literally a colourfulness to the place that really suits comedy,” he says. “And their product and the experience there will really support the event. Our donors are going to enjoy being in such a comfortable and fun environment, just what we want for an event hosting Norm’s comedy.”

Whit’s End will be read by the actors on April 22 and 23 at 2 p.m. both days. Each $100 ticket includes a membership to the Foster Festival’s 100 Club and a tax receipt for the full amount. A complimentary glass of Sparking Rose by Fresh Wines or Apple Cider by Shiny will be offered to each member upon arrival, and charcuterie or apple and brie boxes will be available for purchase. Visit fosterfestival.com/support/donate-100-club for tickets and information.