The Rotary Club of Assiniboia and Popcorn Production presented the play, “Things My Mother Taught Me” written by Katherine DiSavino. The performances took place at the Prince of Wales Centre in Assiniboia during the weekend of November 24-26 in three settings, a pub night, a dinner theatre and an afternoon matinee. The event was one of the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Rotary Club. Proceeds from the matinee went to Popcorn Productions to fundraise for their future performances.
The play had a simple plot but a topic that connected with practically everyone in the audience — family relationships. The main characters, a young couple called Olivia (Liv) and Gabe, played by Adine Stang and Brandon Welder, are in the process of moving into their first apartment together which is across the country from both sets of parents.
The first scene opened with the stage resembling a household on the move — full of boxes, and the young couple’s first chair stuck in the doorway. The chair goes on to become a central character and a metaphor for relationships in the family. “It’s not just a chair,” implores Olivia. “It’s our first chair.”
Like her relationship, Olivia is preoccupied with the stuck chair, wanting to keep it in pristine condition. She was unwilling to bend the chair, or her feelings, to suit the new joint household. Meanwhile, Gabe pined for his old beat up chair, comfortable with continuing his old ways.
Unknown to Liv, Gabe has invited both sets of parents to visit them because he planned to ask Olivia to marry him. Chaos ensues as each set of parents arrives at an inopportune time, while the couple is trying to move their belongings. While Gabe’s mother is cleaning the apartment, the moving truck is stolen along with all of their possessions and the engagement ring. The two dads and Gabe head out to look for the truck.
The audience learns that Gabe’s mother, Lydia, played by Monique Raillon, would like to see the couple get married rather than just living together, and she is more than overjoyed when Gabe tells her that he is going to propose.
Meanwhile, Gabe learns that Olivia has not found the courage to tell her mother that she and Gabe are living together. Olivia spends a good chunk of the play arguing with her mother, Karen, played by Carol Marit, about her feelings. However, this discussion actually leads Liv to a realization about what she really feels about Gabe.
The heavy drama of parent-grown children discussions and the romantic turns of Gabe’s and Liv’s relationship were counteracted by comic relief from Liv’s father, played by Kim Ford; Gabe’s father, played by Terry Lewis; and Maxine the building super, played by Sharon Schauenburg. Maxine was a comical foil, popping up to share advice, a drink and even solace to all of the family members.
One of the cutest moments of the play involved Gabe and Liv deep in discussion. The proposal moment spoiled by an untimely slip by his mother, Gabe wanted to postpone the wedding because he lost his possessions. But now Liv has a new-found awareness of her feelings for Gabe and wants to get married despite his poverty. As they talk, all of the parents are perched on the new chair, with each offering a comment on the ensuing discussion. The actors executed the scene perfectly. They well captured the desperate young love, the nosey but concerned parents, and the good advice. In the end, the audience and the young couple realize that “the things me mother taught me” were not just about cleaning techniques but about the fundamentals of relationships.
The production crew included Alison Lewis and Darlene Kowalchuk as directors; Denise Broda as stage manager and set designer; and Carla Schweiler, Lori Crighton and Jacylyn Gibson as assistant stage managers. Shirley Scott oversaw the props, Vic and Leslie Engstrom ran the sound, and Paul and Diane Topola and Bob Scott oversaw the lighting. The set crew included Mike Girardin, Mike Topola, David Meagher, David McNaughton, Mitch Taillon, Gayleen Thomson, Kevinn Schauenberg, and Dan Karas.
