UNews - Florence

Guist earns his directing chops with Madonna Painter

trevor.kenney — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:23:26 +0000

Sean Guist, MFA Candidate at the U of L, tells us about his experience as both an undergraduate and graduate student. He is directing the mainstage play The Madonna Painter or the Birth of a Painting by Michel Marc Bouchard, which ran from Mar. 20 - 24, 2012.

"The play takes place in 1918 in rural Quebec, and I did a lot of historical research, which included a trip to Quebec, to understand the period and its religious influences," Guist says. "The play is loosely based on events that happened in Bouchard's home town when he was young, and he wrote the play many years later while living in Florence, Italy. When he returned to Canada, after the play received critical acclaim abroad, he rewrote and translated the play a couple of times. The translation by Linda Gaboriau is the version we are using."

The story begins as World War I is ending and the Spanish flu is taking hold. A young priest, having recently arrived in the small parish, commissions a wandering Italian painter to create a fresco dedicated to the Virgin Mary to ward off the oncoming plague. As he chooses his model between four local virgins – all named Mary – the Madonna painter changes the fate of the entire community.

"Our cast is small, only seven characters," Guist explains. "Every character in the play has their own journey and their own beauty to discover. In turn, each actor has to go on that journey too; to discover their own beauty."

"The audience will experience great contemporary Canadian theatre that comes to life on a stunning set designed by faculty member and alumnus Roger Schultz (BFA '89), with costumes designed by Leslie Robison-Greene. Bouchard said he wanted the audience to leave with one element from the play: an image, a character, a line or a moment. I know this play both provokes and entertains – it's very beautiful, like a great work of art," says Guist.

The Madonna Painter a challenge for small cast

trevor.kenney — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 21:58:50 +0000

Religion, sexuality, death and secrets all collide in the small parish of Lac St-Jean, Quebec when The Madonna Painter or the Birth of a Painting by Governor General Award winning playwright Michel Marc Bouchard unravels its tantalizing tale. Playing Mar. 20-24 at 8 p.m. nightly in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Theatre, The Madonna Painter beautifully caps off a captivating Mainstage season.

"It is a collision of ecstasies, a bouquet of lies disguised as a fable," wrote Bouchard. "The Madonna Painter or The Birth of a Painting is writ in scarlet pigments, in holy wine and haemoglobin, all the shades of red that flow though us, from our sex to our souls."

Conveying the poetic essence of the script and capturing its poignant imagery is the challenge confronting MFA candidate and director, Sean Guist.

The Madonna Painter plays nightly at 8 p.m. in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Theatre.

Tickets for The Madonna Painter are available at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Box Office, Monday through Friday, 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. or by calling 403-329-2616. Tickets are $15 regular, $10 for seniors and students.

This story first appeared in the March 2012 issue of the Legend. For a look at the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Special Collections offer a rare look at the past

trevor.kenney — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:18:01 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Library maintains a small assortment of books, periodicals, pamphlets and maps in a collection that is usually designated in Academic Libraries as "Special Collections".

It includes rare and antiquarian books as well as a collection of local histories, the print edition of the Lethbridge Herald from 1919-1955 and other titles deemed special for reasons ranging from age and condition to edition, uniqueness, and format. While the value of items plays a key role in their candidacy for inclusion, it is only one of many criteria considered.

Currently, there are about 773 titles in our Special Collections that are housed in Room L1172C of the Library. Although available for private research and reading in the adjacent reading room (L1172A), this is a non-circulating collection.

Decisions regarding the inclusion of material into special collections are made in collaboration with the subject librarians. Many items in the collection provide examples of printing and publishing over the past 400 years.

Our oldest tome is the 9th edition of Saint Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica from 1610 in Latin. Other items include a hornbook from the early 19th century, A History of Florence in Italian from 1764, Volume I of Sir Walter Raleigh's History of the World from 1634, and a collection of works from Charles Dickens from the mid-19th century.

The original mandate of the Special Collections was twofold. First of all, it was to try and keep a copy of everything published about Lethbridge and the surrounding area in an environment that would lend itself to conservation and preservation. Secondly, it provides a safe haven for those items from our collection that require special care.

The collection room is dark and cool, with restricted access – three elements that help in preserving and protecting these valuable items.

Historically, the collection has been built from either donations or materials culled from our open stacks. The materials concentrating on southern Alberta in general and Lethbridge in particular are purchased from our regular subject budgets and a copy is usually placed in Special Collections to ensure long-term access.
The entire collection is accessible through the library catalogue. If you would like to peruse any titles in this collection please ask at the Information and Reference Assistance Desk inside the Library's entrance.

Mike Perry is a professional librarian in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Library

UNews - Florence

Guist earns his directing chops with Madonna Painter

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