Why the title October Ferries to Gabriola?

This was tricky. I really wanted to call my play October Ferry to Gabriola, using the same title as Lowry’s novel. But the title of Lowry’s novel made the distinction from the play confusing. I thought of other titles, but in the end decided on October Ferries to Gabriola as the title for the radio play.

There are two ferries in the play. One, the Atrevida, historically, carried Malcolm and Margerie Lowry to Gabriola. They really did come here for a few days!

The other ferry is the current MV Quinsam, which transports a fictional couple who, like the Lowrys, share the dream of finding a home where they can live, love and write. Their lives are mirrors, reflecting troubles, hopes and dreams similar to those of the historic couple.

I would eventually pull the contemporary couple out, and concentrate just on the Lowrys. However, they give me an interesting opportunity to incorporate more information about Malcolm and Margerie, and, to throw in my own opinions, wild as they might be.

All over the world people continue to do research on Malcolm Lowry. The contemporary couple provide an opportunity to add current information and ideas to the story.

There is interesting information about the old ferry, the Atrevida, in Lowry’s novel, October Ferry to Gabriola. On October 6th I joined a group on the Nanaimo side for the unveiling of an historic plaque by the Gabriola Museum at the Nanaimo terminal of the Gabriola ferry. The plaque is a fitting tribute to Malcolm Lowry.

Thanks to BC Ferries, the plaque will remain on the outside of the ferry terminal. Travellers can be transported back in time as they get on the ferry and journey towards Gabriola, following the same route, with roughly the same scenery, as when Malcolm and Margerie Lowry made the trip in 1946.

Oh What Fun it is to Make Sound Effects

Tina Jones

Almost every day when I’m out and about on the island, someone tells me about their favourite part of my radio play, October Ferries to Gabriola, performed at the Surf  Lodge on October 2 &3!

The actors like to make their own sound effects. It’s a lot more work but worth it. I liked the sound of the door opening and closing and so one of my favourite props is the door. Virtuoso David Botten, opened and closed it with flair. In rehearsals he provided a running commentary on his actions, such as saying he “closed the door, sarcastically”.

Chris Jans tried out two or three prototypes before coming up with the perfect “body bag” which he would drop each time the drunken Malcolm Lowry fell in the play. The bag eventually contained, baseballs, pillows etc. and made quite a thud. Chris also was great on an old typewriter, clacking the keys and whipping pages in and out with a flourish.

Kathy McIntyre, glamorous as usual, found a sparkly ball to signal the magic realism in the play. And of course, her singing was terrific. In the campfire scene someone asks Margerie (Kathy) to sing a song. It was so beautiful, I wish I’d asked her to sing the whole song, made popular in the twenties.

The other actors joined in and it was deliberately realistic, the way they acted it out, saying they knew the words but then singing the wrong words.

Tina Jones carried her version of the song, throughout the play. Tina had two big roles, and I learned a lot from her about writing dialogue.

And that Drew Staniland! He made Malcolm Lowry come alive. He played the ukulele, even used it to round the audience up and back to their seats after intermission. He made the biggest wooden contraption to make the tiniest sound effect in the play. Drew continued to tell the Malcolm Lowry story with his English accent a day later at the library’s presentation of the National Film Board documentary, An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry.

Malcolm Lowry Plaque Unveiled on October 6, 2016

 Next time you're waiting for the Gabriola ferry in Nanaimo, be sure to take a look at the new plaque commemorating Malcolm Lowry's visit to Gabriola Island in 1946. The unveiling of this plaque was part of the weeklong events on Gabriola celebrating this iconic author.

October Ferries to Gabriola a Smash Hit!

Drew Staniland, Kathy McIntyre, David Botten

What a thrill to see the premiere of my radio play, October Ferries to Gabriola, at Surf Lodge where Malcolm and Margerie Lowry stayed in 1946.

The play was first performed as a staged reading at The Roxy Theatre in 2009, The Poetry Gabriola Festival in 2010 at Dragon’s Lodge, and the 2013 Islands Study Conference at The Haven, all on Gabriola. 

I was thrilled to have the radio play performed this year for the 70th Anniversary Celebration of Malcolm Lowry’s 1946 visit to Gabriola. Drew Staniland as Malcolm Lowry, joined the cast of Twilight Radio Theatre’s Kathy McIntyre, Chris Jans, Tina Jones and David Botten.

Tina Jones, Chris Jans, Drew Staniland, Kathy McIntyre, David Botten

The Surf dining-room was packed both nights. White tablecloths and sparkling glasses added to the festive glow. The audience loved every minute of it. Dinner guests discussed the Lowry story. Did the Lowrys dine in that very room where the play was performed? In 1946 the Surf was Anderson Lodge and it was smaller. Guests discussed possibilities and I’m going to try to find the answers. Is the current dining room an addition? Another topic of discussion was the fact that October Ferry to Gabriola, the novel, was published posthumously, unlike Lowry’s iconic Under the Volcano, which he himself rewrote several times. 

Academics from UBC joked that coming to Gabriola was a true Lowry experience. Due to the three-day power outage, they couldn’t make it the first night, and had to stay in Nanaimo! In spite of the outage beforehand, the anniversary event was a huge success. One day built upon the next.

The first day featured Lowry expert Sherrill Grace, PhD, Malcolm Lowry Scholar: “My October Ferry to Gabriola and Other Journeys with Lowry”.

My play followed on October 2 and 3. Then on October 4th, our library showed the documentary, Volcano - an inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry, hosted by Drew Staniland.

On October 5th, an original video made that very week by Wendy and Richard Strachan ran continuously in the library. This was an interview with Gloria Levi, one of Lowry’s neighbours at Dollarton in the fifties. On the 6th was the unveiling of the historic plaque on the outside of the ferry terminal, on the Nanaimo side. Later that day there was a screening of Under the Volcano – based on Lowry’s iconic novel. Hosted by Wendy Strachan.

RIO OLYMPICS 2016—STOCKHOLM OLYMPICS 1912

I can’t help but think of Alex Decoteau as I watch events from the Olympics in Rio. Alex competed in the 5,000 metre race at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm.

Running was his passion. As a policeman in Edmonton in 1910, he had to run after cars speeding over 15 mph down Jasper Avenue and ticket the drivers. No one seemed to hold it against him. Imagine getting a speeding ticket from a champion runner!

REMEMBERING THE RUNNING WARRIOR

I’m thrilled that HIVE EMPORIUM on Gabriola Island has included my play, Running: The Alex Decoteau Story, on its bookshelf of local authors. The cover, designed by local Gabriola publisher Morri Mostow of FictivePress.com, shows Alex Decoteau’s portrait overlaid on an Edmonton scene of people gathered to read about the outbreak of WWI.

This play continues the tradition of the friends and family of Alex Decoteau, telling the inspiring story of Canada’s first Aboriginal policeman, also an Olympic runner, killed by a sniper while running a message at the Battle of Passchendaele on October 30, 1917.

EARLY CHILDHOOD OF ALEX DECOTEAU

Gabriola Island of the Arts Festival
Michael Kusugak, far right

 http://www.rightresolutions.com/photos

I was thrilled to meet Michael Kusugak at the 2015 Gabriola Isle of the Arts Festival last spring. It was wonderful to see so many of my favourite books and hear Michael’s stories about growing up in Repulse Bay and Rankin Inlet.

I like Bill Pope’s photograph, shown here, as it captured the lovely ambiance of the opening of the festival at the historic Surf Lodge. Michael is on the far right, visiting with the audience before his talk.

BATTLEFORD INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL—ALEX DECOTEAU'S RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL

At the launch of Running: The Alex Decoteau Story there were questions about where Alex grew up and went to school. Much of my information about Alex came from his great niece Izola Mottershead, who wrote the book before–Alex Decoteau-after. Alex and his four siblings attended the Battleford Industrial School in Saskatchewan. Izola’s book was launched at a performance of the family version of my play on November 11, 2004.

THE THRILL OF MY FIRST BOOK LAUNCH – PART II

Planning the launch of Running: The Alex Decoteau Story

Fictive Press Publisher Morri Mostow
& Author Charlotte Cameron

Morri Mostow, Editor/Publisher at Fictive Press, and I carefully considered the best date for the launch before booking a slot at our local library. Of utmost importance was to make sure that the books arrived in time for the launch! Although we were cutting it close, it seemed best to go ahead before Remembrance Day, when the atmosphere would be somber and reflective as people remembered the 100th Anniversary of the start of the Great War. By the end of November, we knew the island would be bustling with craft fairs, and a pantomime. Amy Dawley, the head librarian at the Gabriola library, booked us in from 1 to 2 p.m. on November 8th and her staff put up a poster.

THE THRILL OF MY FIRST BOOK LAUNCH – PART ONE

This is my very first blog post and I wonder why I didn’t start sooner. I have lots to write about, beginning with a play I wrote back in 2001, which premiered at the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival.

2023 author edition

The play was called Running: The Alex Decoteau Story (1887-1917). This true tale about Canada’s first aboriginal policeman, who was also an Olympic runner and a WW I soldier, captured the imagination of the Fringe audience, just as it had captured mine.

A lot of great things happened after the Fringe, but I had no idea that the play would lead to the publication of the book in 2014 by Fictive Press, a new digital publisher on Gabriola Island, BC, our home since 2005.