Mar'1 Morter'G INSTANT THEATRE an honors thuis b� jennifer jensen Pro/. ]. Rtp� Sprmg� 1995 Table of Contents 1 Introd. uction............................ ...................................... ............................................. Chapter 1- Mary Morter 4 The Woman Behind Instant Theatre ................................................... 7 Chapter Two- The Founding of Instant Theatre ................... ..................... 11 Chapter Three- The First Season ................................ ...................................... 24 Chapter Four- A Dream of Expanding Instant Theatre ........................... 2 5 Cha p ter F ive- The Second Season ................................................................ ..... 3 5 Chapter Six- The Third Season ................................ ........................... ............... 43 Chapter Seven- The Fourth Season ................................................................ .. 47 Chapter Eigh t- The Fifth Season ........................................................................ 50 Chapter Nine- The Final Year of Instant Theatre ...................................... 55 Chapter Ten- Concl us ion ................................... .................................................... 57 Handlist of Productions .............................................................. ........................... 71 Bi bliography ................................................................ .............................................. "Ours is the only theatre in the world, as far as 1 know, that presents a different play every day in the week... 30,000 attended the plays at Place Ville Marie last year; 17,000 more saw them when we played for outside organizations. We have done two Protestant school board tours of three high schools, played to 18 different organizations from the Christ Church Cathedral Adult Study Group to the Terrace Club at Molson Brewery. And our regular company of four actors and actresses has been employed continuously for two years- that's a record in Canadian theatre."l Mary Morter Artistic Director- Instant Theatre 1 Harriet Hill, "Facts and Fancies," The Montreal Gazette Date unknown. 1 Introduction: On February 1, 1965 Instant Theatre introduced itself to the community of Montreal as a professional lunch time repertory theatre. Under the management of Mary Morter, the theatre was received with critical acclaim and soon gained great renown as an innovative company. A company which in retrospect deserves to be recognized as a crucial part of Canadian theatre history despite its very brief existence of five years. As the only English professional theatre in the city of Montreal, it filled a void that had existed since 1961 when the Montreal Repertory theatre closed its doors. In this role, it was also a major generator of Canadian plays as it provided playwrights with the rare opportunity of seeing their works performed on the professional stage. Instant Theatre existed during a period when great strictes were being made to form a sense of a national theatre. 2 During the early 1960's, the Dominion Drama Festival (DDF) held an annual drama competition across the country. The festival presented the opportunity for theatrical comparues to compete against one another and from this, a sense of pride arose among each region as they supported their local theatre comparues in the endeavor to produce fme plays. This sense of pride along with the realization that local theatre had a vital place in Çanadian society led to the establishment of important regional theatres, such as the Manitoba Theatre Centre, which aimed to produce professional theatre productions. 3 Also contributing to the formation of a national theatre was the establishment of schools, such as the National Theatre School of Canada, which 2Guy de Beaulne, persona! interview,' 21 March 1995. 3Jbid. 2 was founded to train students in the art of acting, directing, playwriting, and design. The 1960's was an important period of growth for Canadian theatre, and an integral part of this process were the small theatres, such as Instant Theatre, which promoted an acceptance of experimentation and innovation. This theatre, un der the direction of Mary Morter, also exemplified to the Canadian public, the high level of quality, professionalism and enthusiasm Canadian theatre could achieve. Instant Theatre provided Montreal with the closest thing to a regional theatre English Quebecers could call their own.4 At the time, the only English theatre performed were the plays produced by the local amateur groups such as the Lakeshore Players or The Trinity Players. Many companies were located in churches, synagogues, and community centres. In total 56 amateur theatre companies existed in the Montreal area during the 1960's.s English theatre productions were also produced at McGill University through the departrnent of English and at the Players Club. Many of these amateur productions exhibited great talent and a fine quality of production. Professional actors often performed with these companies as they provided the only chance for actors to practice the art form in this city. They were not paid the Canadian Actors Equity rate, however, as these comparues did not qualify as Equity standard. The founding of Instant Theatre therefore came at an ideal time. Montreal audiences eagerly supported their local community theatres, but were in need of a permanent professional English-speaking theatre which they could take pride in.6 4Jbid. 5Howard Ryshpan, persona! interview, 6 April 1995. 6Jbid. 3 Chapter 1- Mary Morter: The Woman Behind Instant Theatre: It is difficult to understand the conception and structure of Instant Theatre without understanding Morter's persona! viewpoint on the purpose of theatre. Trained in the British repertory tradition, she believed that theatre should be aimed towards the masses. An ideal type of theatre would serve the public as it did during the middle ages in England when church pageants toured the countryside and informally set themselves up in an accessible location, such as the market, with the purpose of performing for the general public. Morter disagreed with the traditional concept of theatre which regarded it as a formai elite event that occurred in the evening and required one to dress-up and spend a lot of money. Instead, Morter wanted to make theatre into a less intimidating experience, an informai occasion that anyone, regardless of age or status, could easily partake in, understand, and enjoy. In 1957, with her husband Eric and their two children, she moved from England to Toronto, Ontario. Having been extremely active in the theatre in England, she quickly resumed her theatrical career upon arrivai and began to act in television and film.7 One event led to another and soon Morter was a member of both the Pilgrim Players and the Christian Drama Council of Canada, and a member of the executive of the Central Ontario branch of the Dominion Drama Festival (DDF).B She also found time to start her own company called the Barn Players, a successful venture which later won first prize at the Dominion Drama Festival in Charlottetown9 during the early 1960's.10 7Joan Irwin, "An Instant Success: Story of Our Noon-time Theatre," The Montreal Star 9 October 1965. 8Jbid. 9Jbid. 1 Û'fhe exact date of when this prize was won is not known, but it was sometime between 1960-64. 4 In 196 4 Morter and her family moved to Montreal, Quebec. Upon her arrivai in this province, she was at a loss on how to continue her acting career since professional opportunities were very limited. She therefore contacted ber friend Norma Springford who introduced her to the casting agent, Constance Brown. Through Brown, Morter became involved in Montreal's English acting community.l1 Morter found the theatre scene in Montreal appalling. She could not comprehend how a city as multicultural and artistically rich as Montreal could lack a professional English theatre either large or small in size. She saw that amateur English performances played to large audiences.l 2 and that previous English language comparues, such as the Montreal Repertory Company, had enjoyed long and prosperous existences. She also knew that the city possessed a great deal of talent waiting for the opportunity to work in a professional milieu.13 Morter found this situation to be intolerable and took it upon herself to provide the remedy. Through her DDF connections she initiated an Actor's Workshop which eventually developed into a company called "The Unknown Players"; a company which toured the city and presented plays at various meetings and 14 professional public gatherings. This company however was not.... of the standard which Morter wanted to achieve. Morter also established a company named Moth er Goose Productions. This company was formed with the goal of producing entertainment for children. 11 "Expanding Theatre Fulfils Woman's Dream," The Montreal Gazette 7 March 1966. 12Howard Ryshpan, persona! interview, 10 April 1995. 13Mary Morter, persona! interview, 26 March 1995. "An 14Irwin, Instant Success: Story Of Our Noon-time Theatre". The Montreai Star 9 October 1965. 5 In the summer of 1 964, she was introduced by Springford to a young Concordia University Theatre student named Jack Cunningham. Cunningham possessed a lot of enthusiasm and energy for theatre. At the age of twenty four, he had experience in theatre management as the producer of the university company, The Georgetown Players. Both he and Mort er shared the dream