Memoir adapted for the stage debuts at the ARts Club Theatre
By Monica Miller
Photos Courtesy of the The Arts Club
The clever humour and sharp emotion of Farrant’s writing shone brightly through, and was combined with hilarious scenes reinforcing 60s-era values.
My Turquoise Years challenges the preconceived notion of the traditional nuclear family, and reinforces the idea of choosing who we love and care for as our family.
It is the summer of 1960 and Marion is 13 years-old, being raised by her aunt and uncle in Cordova Bay on Vancouver Island while her father makes a living at the Vancouver dockyards. A young adult on the cusp of womanhood, the summer is the start of a new decade of optimism for Marion, yet shadowed by the pending visit of her globetrotting absentee mother. Thus begins My Turquoise Years, adapted for the stage from a memoir of the same name by local author, M.A.C. Farrant.
After My Turquoise Years was published in 2004, it ran as a 10part serial on CBC Radio’s Between the Covers. Nicola Cavindesh was the reader, and urged Farrant to consider adapting it for the stage. Farrant met with literary manager Rachel Ditor and Bill Millerd, the artistic managing director of the Arts Club Theatre, to discuss adapting the memoir for the stage.
“I’d never written a play,” said Farrant, who worked closely with director and dramaturg Ditor during the adaptation process. They have developed a strong working relationship adapting the play, which took five and a half years. Farrant says it was a perfect fit because Ditor understands the stage, “that’s her world, not mine.”
Part of the process was workshopping the script through ReACT, the Arts Club Theatre’s play development program. The program allows artists an opportunity to discuss the work with test audiences, thereby contributing to the process of script development.
They ended up writing at least 20 drafts and were still tweaking it mere days before the dress rehearsal on April 3. To make it work for the stage, Farrant explains she had to change some parts of the memoir and even added a lot of material including some fictional elements from a short story she wrote, The Secret Life of Litterbugs. But it still “rings true” for Farrant as a memoir “because it’s based on real people.”
This authenticity of character was apparent in each scene, from nuances of speech to facial expressions. The clever humour and sharp emotion of Farrant’s writing shone brightly through, and was combined with hilarious scenes reinforcing 60s-era values. Each character’s feelings and motivations were presented through a mixture of dialogue, physical expressions, and Marion’s soliloquies. Bridget Esler — who is only in grade eight — was incredibly powerful and awe-inspiring as Marion. Her performance was raw and honest; you would be hard-pressed to tell what was actor nervousness versus nuances of the character. Although narrated from Marion’s point of view, her aunt Elsie ( Wendy Noel) and uncle Ernie (Peter Anderson) were equally strong leads.
“I’m fascinated by the process and the details,” explains Farrant, citing the set design, casting, and costumes as amazing extensions of the script. The stage was an eclectic time capsule filled to the brim with 60s decor, appliances, and colours. It is clear that the entire creative team understands the form of theatre, and also deeply appreciates the emotion and atmosphere of My Turquoise Years.
The script for My Turquoise Years will be published at a later date with Talonbooks, whose policy is — due to last minute changes that can occur — to only publish a play in print once it has run on the stage. “Lots of tinkering goes on at this stage,” said Farrant, less than a week before the previews start.
The story is quintessentially Canadian and a nostalgic view of growing up in BC in the 60s. Taking place in Cordova Bay, a 15-minute drive from Victoria, the play speaks to multiple generations about the traditions of family. My Turquoise Years challenges the preconceived notion of the traditional nuclear family, and reinforces the idea of choosing who we love and care for as our family, sticking by them, and supporting them.
M.A.C. Farrant is a celebrated author of short fiction as well as a journalist and organizer of the Sidney Reading Series. Now in her 60s, she studied American poetry and a combination of psychology, sociology, and anthropology at SFU in her youth. Her new book, The World Afloat, will be published next spring with Talonbooks.
