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The Ladies of Act 3 Theatre are Disarming Venus at Theatre Orangeville

September 5, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

As a sold-out show at both Theatre Collingwood for their opening and the Orillia Opera House, the ladies of Act 3 Theatre are looking forward to filling the seats at Theatre Orangeville with their show, Disarming Venus.

This is a one-matinee show only, to be held on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 2 p.m.

To tell it briefly, Act 3 Theatre’s Toronto Fringe “sell-out hit,” Disarming Venus, takes place in an art gallery’s exhibition of statues of Venus. She is the most revered Roman Goddess of Love, beauty, sex, and fertility – even prosperity.

The show encompasses 19 vignettes, all written by the 13 cast members themselves, talking from their own points of view, about the issues around aging – the joys, the love and the challenges.

As they each, individually or as two or three come into, maybe wander into the gallery, it seems the poses Venus strikes in the statues encourage and inspire her visitors to speak, to tell the truth – funny or otherwise.

They do come to us with the mandate to stand against ageism. 

Founder of Act 3 Theatre in 2020, Marni Walsh, herself an actor, writer, director and long-time resident in Dufferin County, provided us with the rundown of who are these lifelong career actors.

Nina Keogh is the acclaimed puppeteer of “Mr. Dress Up” and “Today’s Special,” and a producer of the multi-award-winning documentary “Mr. Dressup – The Magic of Make Believe.”

Rita Shelton Deverell is an actor, writer, producer and Order of Canada and Governor General’s Award recipient.

Beth Anne Cole is a Carnegie Hall singer and Stratford Festival performer.

The play also features international performer Dawn Obokata and Michele George, a founding member of Peter Brook’s International Centre for Theatre Research in Paris.

Marni Walsh, Jorie Morrow, Tricia Williams, Julie Burris, Heather Cherron, Linda Joyce Nourse, Morrie Sinkins and Anastasia Kokolakis also will be a part of the show. And looking over their drama doula is director Marianne McIsaac.

Standing at ages 60 and over, the revelations from them individually will cover a slew of subjects, seeing this “third act of their careers” as a positive time, as remaining beautiful and interested in life. Hilarious sometimes, poignant at others, they will make us laugh and maybe even cry. They will stir us to think and, especially, to have the conversations they believe are needed.

This is to give voice to the powerful perspectives of older women, as Ms. Walsh explained, telling us to count on them to expose the truth of their feelings and observations, with sometimes brutal honesty.

“One of greatest goals is we want to get conversations started,” Ms. Walsh commented. “Nobody talks about growing, about growing old. We go into the community and see what it’s like and this is a new approach.”

Marni Walsh and her magician husband, Steve (Steverino) Baker moved to Dufferin for the space, freedom and community it offers. In due course, she “fell into home schooling her children to university level,” still writing and thinking about theatre.

“This is really about the group,” she observed. “Our purpose as a group is to write and perform. We sold out Toronto Fringe [with Disarming Venus] and then taking it to three regional theatres. There is just one performance at Theatre Orangeville, Sept. 28 at 2 p.m.” 

Their last performance is set at the Orillia Opera House, on Sept. 29. Tickets for that date are already sold out.

With the creative crew, there are 17 people travelling together and among them, they came up with enough cars but are hiring a van to move their props to Orillia.

She told us, “We were kicking around ideas after our last project. This is our fifth year. Our first year was online.”

In Toronto, they produced and performed the Mary Go-Around Project about Famous Marys.

The writing and production of their original works is, “of our own writing at this age, our perspectives. A lot of it has to do with who we are now. No topic is off limits for us,” she advised. “We don’t shy away from sex or orgasms or such matters.”

Naturally, they are talking about men, a little bit. Honestly, this is fun for men as much as for women. After the show, they have admitted they understand their wives better and women say they feel more courageous; the message is to talk and reach out to others; lean on each other and celebrate the good things. 

The show is designated for 16 years and up.

In 2020, the founder of the group said, “There were about 15 of us and those people told people. Then, there were 45 people. It’s a matter of who’s available. Come and go as you are available but this facilitates opportunities for older women when they might not have many others.

“That’s not the way it has to be,” she said. 

She was definite about saying, “How thrilled we are to be hosted by Theatre Orangeville. And we can’t thank David Nairn and the TOV staff enough for their support and encouragement for bringing this important production to Orangeville.”

Stage 3 Theatre has been awarded funding from many federal, provincial and municipal governments and is currently funded by the New Horizons for Seniors Program and was funded by the Toronto Arts Council for workshop development back in June.

Marni Walsh wanted to mention, in particular, that “It gets audiences talking about their own feelings around growing old – something we don’t do enough.”

In fact, for those interested, the audience will be given an opportunity to talk with the writers and performers after the show – moderated by Order of Canada recipient and Governor General award, Rita Shelton Deverell.

For more information and tickets, go to ww.theatreorangeville.ca or call the charmers at the Box Office – 519-942-3423 or drop into 87 Broadway for tickets, the Orangeville Opera House.


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