Okanagan Folk School
March 15th
5:00pm
Door open at 4:30pm
The Gardener and the Golfer
Draft Plot Synopsis
Mary is a regenerative farmer and avid gardener. Bill is a hedge fund
manager and avid golfer. Mary and Bill are next-door neighbours, but they
share little in common. A feud between them starts when yet another of
Bill’s golf balls lands in her garden, and escalates when he starts circling her
with his drone. When Bill’s hired “lawn care team” arrives with leaf
blowers, lawn mowers, non-Native invasive plants and herbicides, followed
by the delivery of Bill’s fast-food takeout order, it leads to a heated quarrel
between Bill and Mary about his lawn care habits and dietary choices. But,
as they get to know each other, they’re able to turn it around and have a
productive conversation, eventually reaching some common ground. In the
process, Bill learns about the importance of regenerative food production,
soil health and lawn care practices and Mary opens her mind to different
perspectives, realizing that taking an “us and them” approach doesn’t help
solve the crisis in soil and human health, which impacts everyone.
Dale Colleen Hamilton
ETC Founder, Playwright, Director & Theatre Producer
Dale has been writing, producing and directing community-engaged plays for almost thirty years. She has had fourteen of her plays produced either by other Canadian professional companies or has produced them through Everybody's Theatre Company (ETC), of which she is the Artistic Director.
In 1990 Dale wrote and produced a two-year, 120-cast member, all-inclusive Collaborative Community Play in Eramosa Township ("The Spirit of Shivaree"). This promenade-style production, staged in the ruins of a limestone mill near Rockwood, was co-produced by England’s Colway Theatre Trust (now Claque Theatre), renowned for their pioneering work in community-based arts. Following Dale’s apprenticeship in England, Colway’s Artistic Director Jon Oram came to Canada to direct “Shivaree”. It played to sell-out audiences and was considered highly successful both artistically and sociologically, having had a strong influence on community spirit and politics. The Globe & Mail called it “nothing short of astounding.”