Anne of Green Gables Archives

I pretty much can’t stop smiling…it’s been a weekend of nothing but WINNING – so much WINNING, in fact, that I have to split it into 3 separate posts!

So first things first – after 72 hours of rehearsal and 8 performances (almost all of which were COMPLETELY sold out), the ICHTHYS Theatre Productions / Paris Performers’ Theatre joint presentation of Joseph Robinette’s Anne of Green Gables has come to an end.

Full Cast Picture
©PicklesINK 2012

It was universally agreed by cast, crew and audiences that our Anne was born to play the part and was a consummate professional despite having NEVER acted before!

Young Anne arrives at the train station
©Sandy Anderson 2012

Anne returns from Queen’s Academy
a young lady
©Sandy Anderson 2012

This was my second foray into community theatre – the first being Godspell in the spring – and I’ll definitely keep it up since I’ve discovered that somehow in the midst of my introversion and debilitating shyness I also quite enjoy making a complete idiot of myself in front of a huge crowd!

Acting like an idiot in Godspell
©PicklesINK 2012

If you’re not familiar with the story of Anne of Green Gables (which I keep almost typing as “Anne of Green Bagels”) here are the bare bones:

An elderly brother and sister, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, decide to adopt an orphan boy to help around the farm but are sent a girl by mistake.

Marilla reacts to being sent a girl by mistake.
©Sandy Anderson 2012

A ~~rude, obnoxious~~ kind, motherly woman, Mrs. Blewett (that’s me) generously offers to take Anne in ~~to look after her pack of ill-behaved quarrelsome children~~ as a favour to Matthew and Marilla, who cruelly refuse, deciding instead to ~~save her from that fate and raise her up properly~~ keep her for themselves and treat her as slave labour.

Mrs. Blewett appraises Anne
©Sandy Anderson 2012

Anne wins Matthew and Marilla’s love, endears herself to the people of Avonlea, discovers kindred spirits, gets into and out of many scrapes, makes friends, goes away to school, wins a prestigious scholarship, loses a loved one, and finds herself a true home at Green Gables.

My part was small but SO much fun to play because I got to be a real bwitch! I also got to lead the cast in all of their off-stage singing – Ben called me the “secret singer.”

I had so much fun with it, made lots of new friends, and received the ultimate compliment of winning 3 “KOSO” (Knocked Our Socks Off) Awards which were voted on by the whole cast – so cool, and so unexpected!