From a couple of one-act plays to a full production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and just about everything in between, the NAGs have been a force to reckon with since 1976! Click here for a brief history of the group.
The committee is made up of three executive positions and eight production positions. All positions are elected each May at the Annual General Meeting.
The NAGs are one of the few community theatre groups in Toronto to present traditional pantomime. Panto is a tradition in England, typically performed around the Christmas holidays. We put ours on in February (don't ask why--even we don't know!).
Pantomime is traditionally based on nursery rhymes, and most of ours are, too. While it's typically for children, there's always enough sophisticated humour to appeal to the grown-ups, too. Well, OK, some of the humour isn't that sophisticated... but it's guaranteed to entertain!
In general, the plot follows the plot of the nursery rhyme. But we always add in the bad guys (if there weren't enough to start with), a man dressed up as a woman, some questionable singing, a bit of slapstick, and we end up with a great, entertaining show every time!
Check out the article, written by the late Dan Corcoran for our 20th anniversary, on the history of pantomime: Oh Yes I Can!. And have a look at some of our anecdotes from over the years.
For some more references, check out Pantoscripts.com, and for a detailed history, try The Old English Pantomime.
Who says rugby players never have good ideas?
They did once, when they formed the NAGs in January 1976! A few rugby players and their mates, hanging around the Tranzac Club one winter night, decided to "start an acting group". And they did. Our founding members were David Ridsdale, Maggie and David (the Fysh) White, Lorna Miller, Pat Baker, Joe and Gail Wray, Bernie and Rose Duff, Zoe Jones and Peter Daly.
These future thespians--Brits, Aussies, an American and Canadians--brought a freshness and a devil-may-care approach to their first productions, Cupid is a Bum, Is a Bum, Is a Bum and Meet the Folks. They even decided to open on April Fools Day (1976)!
In quick succession, they convinced the Tranzac Club to extend its tiny stage to its current large size; they used Bernie's metal workshop to build the sets; they scrounged a couple of French spots from Lorna's Wax Museum; they coerced unlikely rugby players to act, stage manage and produce the plays; they pillaged their homes for furniture and props and clothing.
But, one special prop was left to be built: a computer. And a computer in 1976 wasn't a small desktop jobbie. Oh no. This computer was a large machine with flashing lights and clicking noises and which would, on command, spew forth paper. The machine was built in no time flat. It had painted dials, flashing lights and was operated from inside by Bernie flicking switches on and off and pressing the receipt button on an adding machine, thus producing the necessary noises and paper. Bernie would crouch inside, smoking to pass the time--an added effect. At the end of the play each night, they would extricate him and then physically unfold him.
Corny as it may sound, the NAGs' ability to let nothing stand in our way has stood us in good stead down all the years. We've done amazing productions, like Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, where our wardrobe mistress hand-sewed a coat that even Donny Osmond would have been proud to wear. We've been writing great Pantomimes for years, peopling them with the most eccentric set of characters found this side of the Grimm Brothers, and building delightful fairy-tale sets that would be at home at the O'Keefe (oops, the Hummingbird...oops, the Sony Centre). We stage comedies, thrillers and melodramas. There's nothing we won't try. We've matured from a bunch of "rough diamonds" to a well-honed community drama group that consistently strives for excellence in all its productions. We're very proud of our achievements. And we have a lot of fun into the bargain.
We have been blessed with players who keep coming back for auditions (thank goodness), brilliant set designers and constructors, inventive producers and fabulous directors. Most of all, we've had audiences that the Royal Alex would kill for. They come back year after year. They laugh at our comedies, ooh and aah at our sets, shriek at our murder-mysteries, hurl abuse at our panto 'baddies', cheer our panto 'goodies' and seem to have a great time.
We're an integral part of the Tranzac Club and have helped out with Caravan, the Fringe Festival, Flying Cloud and other groups who entertain people and support the arts. We donate the proceeds of our pantomime matinees to charities such as Variety Village and Kids Help Phone.
We're always looking for new blood, so please get in touch with us if you'd like to join us. You'll learn a lot about theatre while working with a great group of people.
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