Floyd Collins goes ahead without sets, costumes or props

APRIL 7, 2014 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FLOYD COLLINS GOES AHEAD WITHOUT SETS, COSTUMES OR PROPS
Barrie, ON…. Talk Is Free Theatre and Patrick Street Productions, the co-producers of Floyd Collins, have been dealt one of the most feared problems of theatre practice – what happens when the shipment of the entire production goes missing between the two cities where it plays?

Written by Tina Landau and Adam Guettel, Floyd Collins is about the caver of the title who, while chasing a dream of fame and fortune by turning a Kentucky cave into a tourist attraction, himself became the attraction when he got trapped 200 feet underground. It is directed by Vancouver’s Peter Jorgensen and stars a company of 13 artists including Daren A. Herbert as Floyd Collins, Michael Torontow as Homer Collins, Krystin Pellerin as Nellie Collins and many others.

Floyd Collins concluded its Vancouver run on March 30 and is scheduled to begin performances in Barrie with a preview this Thursday, April 10 and an official opening on Friday, April 11. All of the materials were picked up by the moving company, Midland Van Lines, in Vancouver on March 30, with promised delivery of 5 to 7 days. Any calls or emails as to the status of the shipment remained unanswered beyond the generic “delayed status”. No information was made available as to the approximate new delivery date, or even where in Canada the shipment is currently at.

“We understand that delays occur, especially when moving things across this vast country”, say producers Peter Jorgensen and Arkady Spivak. “However total lack of information as to the status of the shipment or its new anticipated delivery date made it extremely difficult to manage the situation. Upon reflecting on the difficult situation, we decided that we still had a lot – namely a unique piece of musical theatre writing and an astoundingly talented group of artists doing it. And while the audience in Barrie will not see the fully intended production, they will see the wonderful artists working at an even deeper level of commitment and abandon”.

To help mitigate changes to the production, the preview performance on April 10 is cancelled, but the production will open as scheduled on Friday, April 11. It will continue its scheduled run to April 19, at the Mady Centre for the Performing Arts in Barrie, ON. Tickets and information are available at www.tift.ca or (705) 792-1949.

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