Berto_Tony_201307_PhD .pdf - University of Guelph

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Program
The play’s program similarly replaces such expectations. A folded legal-size paper
photocopy, its front has a low resolution map of Kelowna, with a circle drawn around the
streets each character is named after. Its format differs from the glossy, stapled, printed
(and sometimes full-colour) programs of the other, better-funded productions in this study.
The program then lists the Brown Foundation grant and a warning about the play’s sexual
contents. A short paragraph explains the setting’s date, when Walter Gray’s refused to utter
the word “pride.” After a list of characters Grignard writes how his play will give voice to
the voiceless, and while these “may sound familiar to some” they will perhaps “be too close
to home for others” (Program, Orchard). The inexpensiveness of the program signals the
production’s lack of means. The program also positions the play as offering content that
differs from what normally is played on Kelowna stages. The warning about the content,
and the hint that events “may be too close to home” give notice to members of the audience
that their sense of place may be challenged, while references to the Brown grant and the
mayor clearly indicate the play will explore homosexuality.
Theatre Location and Immediate Geography
The theatre's location and ownership creates a set of interesting and seemingly
contrasting meanings. The Kelowna Community Theatre was built in 1961 "with municipal
dollars and is continued to be run by the City of Kelowna" (Simmons). This initially seems
odd; Grignard, who critiqued the mayor of the city (and by extension, his representation of
local sentiments concerning homosexuals), paid that same city to facilitate his critique by
renting theatre space from them. As discussed, the city didn't have a specific, or ideological
vetting process for what was performed in the space. The theatre's location, amidst the city's