ArtsList

LOOKING
DUNDAS LITTLE THEATRE’S FIRST NORM FOSTER PLAY

First produced at the Victoria Playhouse, Petrolia, Ontario, in 2005, Foster’s play LOOKING centres around four ordinary people looking for love. In this hilarious comedy, Val is an O.R. nurse, Andy is in the storage business, Nina is a police officer and Matt is the host of a morning radio show. They’re single and looking. Val agrees to meet Andy after answering his personal ad in the newspaper and Nina and Matt are coaxed into joining their friends for support. What follows is hilarious, touching and so very true to life.

“A winning, witty script that audiences will find difficult to resist. – London Free Press.

“Touchingly funny.” -Port Stanley News.

Now living in Ancaster, Canada’s own, Norm Foster, was born in Newmarket, Ontario on St. Valentine’s Day. He attended Centennial College in Toronto, and later Confederation College in Thunder Bay where he studied Radio & Television. He then began his 25 year radio career which
would take him from Thunder Bay to Winnipeg to Kingston and finally to Fredericton, New Brunswick.

It was in Fredericton in 1980 that Foster was introduced to the world of theatre. “A friend of mine was going to audition for a community theatre production of ‘Harvey’ and he asked me to go along. I went, just for a lark, and I wound up getting the part of Elwood P. Dowd. The funny thing is, I had never even seen a play in my life before this.”

He fell in love with theatre from that point on. His first professionally produced play, Sinners came two years later. He continued to write and produce nearly forty plays. When asked about his love of acting, he states: “Acting is great fun, but writing is my first love…” When asked what theme is common to his plays: “I think for the most part, they’re about ordinary people just trying to get by in life. … What I am trying to do is make them (his audience ) feel a little better about this world, and that’s not easy these
days.”

LOOKING is Jason Dick’s directorial debut at Dundas Little Theatre. As an actor Jason has been seen on stages throughout the Golden Horseshoe in over 40 theatrical productions. He is currently Artistic Director of Hammer Entertainment, a cutting edge theatre group based in Hamilton. His past credits include directing and producing shows on stage at Hamilton Place, The Westside Concert Theatre, The Tivoli Theatre, and Hamilton Theatre Inc. While attending several opening night galas at the Lighthouse Festival in Port Dover he actually met and talked to Norm Foster.

Jason has cast four talented local actors: Dean Rooney (as Andy), Michael Anania (as Matt), Michelle LaHaise (as Val) and Jennifer Blom (as Nina). Looking is being produced by LeeAnn Paul and Stage Managed by Monica Cairney.

Dundas Little Theatre Inc. was founded in 1960 by a group of local enthusiasts in the basement of the late Don Garstin’s home. After twenty years of performing in local school auditoriums, the (now former) Town of Dundas offered the site of the recently closed outdoor swimming pool to the group in 1978.

The Centre For The Arts was designed by Hamilton Place Architect Trevor Garwood-Jones; the former pool was filled in and the auditorium built over it. In 1980 a “creative space” rather than a proscenium stage, with raised seats on moveable risers, was created. This makes DLT unique in that each
production can be staged to its best advantage, the director and players having the benefit of a chosen stage size and placement. The Constant Wife by Somerset Maugham was the first show in the new building and will be staged again in May 2010 to mark DLT’s 30th Anniversary in the Garwood-Jones creative space.

Performances of LOOKING are at the Centre for the Arts, 37 Market Street in Dundas. The schedule is:
Friday Jan. 29 @ 8:00p.m., Saturday Jan. 30 @ 8:00p.m.
Thursday Feb. 4 @ 8:00p.m., Friday Feb. 5 @ 8:00p.m., Saturday Feb. 6 @ 8:00p.m.
Special Matinee – Sunday Feb. 7 @ 2:00p.m.
Thursday Feb. 11 @ 8:00p.m., Friday Feb. 12 @ 8:00p.m., **Saturday Feb. 13 @ 8:00p.m.

Tickets for the show are $18.00 (with $13.00 Students/Seniors (65+) discounts for Thursday performances only). For ticket information or to make a reservation, please call 905-627-5266 or email us at: info@dundaslittletheatre.com. The ticket phone line is now open.

**This year Dundas Little Theatre is offering a special Valentine’s meal and show package for our Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010 show. Buy early and secure a spot at the Winchester Arms Restaurant. Just add $25 to our already low price of $18 a ticket. Simply arrive at The Winchester Arms Restaurant at 6:00p.m. and you’ll enjoy a salad, entrée(one of three choices), dessert & coffee. For more information: (905) 627-1620

The Dundas Little Theatre website is at www.dundaslittletheatre.com, it contains a wealth of information about the company’s past work, as well as plans and announcements for the 2009-2010, including information about our 30th Anniversary show of The Constant Wife.