“2007 We Remember”
Sault Ste. Marie fondly remembers those who passed in 2007. Thank-you
for having touched our lives and making a contribution to our community. Submissions from community members generously remind us of these gifted, committed individuals and the ways in which they influenced the arts and our lives.
Ken Danby - Written by Art Osborne
Having a beer with Ken Danby years back was a treasured moment in many ways. Sitting there as well was Jerry MacDermid, retired television producer/director who passed away six years ago. Doug Wright, retired teacher, was there too. He died about four years ago. The three of them had been friends since they were kids in Air Cadets.
Other dear friends of Ken’s included Ed Spender and Wendy Hamilton. They had the camp right next to Jerry's at Leigh's Bay, a special place of special memories for all of us.
Jerry joked that that Ken 'owed him' because it was Jerry's paint set, that he got for Christmas as a kid, that he gave to Ken. Jerry claimed that was what got Ken on his way.
Ken laughed as much and maybe more as any of us that night. He was a gentle, sincere man - just being in his presence made you feel good.
His talent and contributions to the Canadian and international art scene have been and will continue to be well-documented along with many tributes all well earned and richly deserved.
This recollection was meant to illustrate that - and many have said this - he never lost his roots or appreciation for where he came from and those who were a part of him.
Ken is now in the good company of many artists and renown figures but I'm sure he's made room at his table and is catching up with Jerry and Doug.
Megan Doble - Written by Carol Colombo
Megan Doble was 15 years old when she was tragically taken from us in a train accident. Why is it that so often we don’t really ‘know’ someone until they’re gone?
I worked with Megan on several Sault Youth Theatre projects and in St. Mary’s production of Much Ado About Nothing. She worked hard at every role she was given. She was always ‘up’, always positive, determined. Her dream was to be on Broadway. I have no doubt she would have gotten there. I remember when she got the call saying she had been cast in a local film – “A Life”. She was so excited.
When SYT was asked to present some of what Megan had written at a tribute dinner for her, I became much more aware of the complex, insightful girl that Megan was. Her monologues – Hammock and A Girl Named Cat revealed a perceptive young woman with a fine ear for dialogue, an ability to create mood and a keen understanding of relationships. The first act of a play she was writing, Who Killed Ms. Emmaline Reads?, demonstrated her grasp of structure and pacing. Her skill and talent went far beyond her age.
For those of us who knew and loved Megan it does not good to wonder ‘what if…’ All we can do is appreciate Megan for the time we had with her, remember her for her fine gifts and cherish what she left us.
Keith Knight - Written by Harry Houston
Keith Knight had a fierce passion, the kind of passion that had him as a teenager shave his hair back so that he could play an old man in a Sault College production. It was the kind of passion that had him do 68 productions for Sault groups in his brief six years of community theatre in the Sault. When he teamed up with George Houston, under the direction of Michael Hennessy, for STW’s production of “Mice and Men”, the play went on to receive many awards in the QUONTA Festival and Theatre Ontario Festival, including acting awards for Keith and George. It propelled him into a long and successful career as a professional actor.
He hit the big time with a role in “Meatballs” working with Bill Murray. This film was in its time the top-grossing Canadian film ever. Throughout his career in film, on TV and stage he kept a loving connection with the Sault, the Workshop and with his friends. On several occasions he returned to help out as an actor and as a director. Keith is fondly remembered for his portrayal of Sir in “The Dresser” in 1996. Most recently Keith returned to direct the stunning “Caesar, Death Of A Dictator” for the Workshop’s 2005 production, part of Algoma Fall Festival.
A consummate professional who loved his work, Keith was active right up to the month before his untimely death from brain cancer. He is truly a hero of the theatre community in Sault Ste. Marie.
Steve Ballantine - Written by W. Hamilton
Steve Ballantine, founder of The Sault Youth Theatre, first came to the Sault as a guest director for Stage North. An avid outdoorsman, Steve fell in love with the area, and moved here in 1988, mentored by the Sault Opera’s, Arno Ambel, who assisted Steve in staging such modern musicals as Billy Bishop Goes to War, Rock and Roll, 18 Wheels and Little Shop of Horrors.
From those first days of the Sault Youth Theatre, Steve set out to introduce his students to the professional theatre world. His intensive training program on St. Joe’s Island, which affectionately became known as “The Dream on the Island”, brought Shakespeare to life in a startling outdoor setting at the Algoma Music Camp. He spearheaded the establishment of SOOTHFEST and was a driving force behind the KCTC Summer Theatre School.
In his own life, Steve never stopped being a student of theatre craft. He held a degree from the University of Windsor, the Banff School of Fine Arts, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (England) and the Tukak Theatre in Denmark. In 2000 he received his Masters in Applied Theatre from the University of Manchester.
Steve’s commitment to this community is best summed up in his own words. “I have never believed that ‘it’ must come out of Toronto or New York or some other ‘great beyond’ to be of merit and warrant our respect. If there is, and I believe there is, such a thing as a Canadian cultural identity, it is right here under our noses. The work I do, and my fellow artists do here in Sault Ste. Marie, we are the cultural pioneers.”
Steve’s words and teaching continue to inspire so many of us, including myself, who was fortunate to be not only a contemporary, but a friend. Steve died suddenly, from complications from kidney cancer. He was 55.
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