Countless Unforgettable Moments – Jim Finan

I was trying to bring this down to one favourite memory, but it’s impossible. I have been witness to and blessed with gifted casts and crews who have given me countless unforgettable moments:  

Sitting beside Mary Schultz and hearing her sing “I Dreamed A Dream” for the first time. Heart-stopping.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor™ Dreamcoat

In Boeing Boeing, hearing Jamie Hunt say, “Oh Bernaaard!”, Anne-Marie Bouthillette having her special moment with the heart pillow on the couch, and of course, yelling “I can’t find my loofah!”. Helen Pitt-Matthew arriving with the rubber chicken and cleaver. David Hoare freaking out discovering all fiancés were in the apartment. All four actors flooring the Best Western audiences every single night.

Boeing Boeing

In A Comedy of Tenors, Evan Soutter doing his superman dive over the balcony. And of course, Chris Sharp saying to Jody Ledgerwood, “Would you like some tonnngue?” Years later, these memories still make me smile. 

A Comedy of Tenors

That said, I’ll supply one personal moment of pure elation from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor™ Dreamcoat. I hope I don’t disappoint by warning you, it’s on the “tech” side of things….

I had an idea to start Joseph with a large projection of the Book of Genesis and have Evan Soutter, our Joseph, seem to come out of it. Thanks to Jack Boyagian’s faith and support, the Players board was kind enough to let me spend big money on a scrim but as the Capitol had no fly space, we had to come up with a way to have it “fly” in and out.

Through research, I found the “Braille Curtain” method, whereby the curtain is gathered up from the bottom. It meant we had to install a pulley track above the stage, run up twelve pulley wires and have them attach to a “multiple pulley” above stage left, and lead to a single large rope pulled from below. If that sounds complicated and dangerous to install, it was.

I assured everyone it would work when, really, I had no idea. After it was all hooked up and ready to test, I quietly whispered a little prayer……and up it went! To this day I can recall the pure elation of seeing it fly for the first time.

Here’s to some new memories soon!

The “Braille Curtain” scrim is seen here behind a rehearsal for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor™ Dreamcoat.