MILLBROOK, ONt.–There's a hold-on-to-your-hats west wind blowing and swallows darting in and out of the barns as the actors sprint from the wings to the earthen stage for the opening scene of The Last Green Hill, the first production of the 2008 summer season at Millbrook Theatre.
But the unruly elements and dive-bombing swallows are no distraction for the performers, or for the 300 or so patrons who pack the wooden bleachers. Such are the perils and pleasures of watching live theatre performed outdoors on what may well be Ontario's largest stage.
For 17 summers now, artistic director Robert Winslow and an ever-changing cast of actors, musicians, dancers and backstage workers have been producing original dramas drawn largely from the history and culture of this farming community located about 90 kilometres northeast of Toronto.
Theatre-goers have been alternately charmed and captivated by 4th Line's action-packed, conflict-ridden plays, which have featured everything from Irish rebels to Protestant vigilantes to country doctors.
The slight, soft-spoken, 56-year-old Winslow is the maestro who set this creativity in motion. He began his theatre career on stages in Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto when he was in his mid-20s, but his life took an unexpected turn when his mother, Jean, died in 1992 and left him the 40-hectare Millbrook-area farm that's been in his family since 1850.
Winslow had no interest in growing grain or raising livestock. But while revisiting the weathered barn where he had milked cows, stacked hay and tethered horses as a boy, he had a vision of creating something new – an outdoor theatre that would celebrate local history.
As it happened, he had a script ready to go into production. It was called The Cavan Blazers, and dealt with a violent conflict between a group of 19th-century Irish Protestant farm boys – the Blazers – and their Catholic neighbour, Paddy McGuire, who was attempting to build a Catholic church in the township.
Winslow used the Blazers to launch 4th Line and to turn the family farm into a theatre. The actors change costumes in the old barn and haul props on and offstage from the granary, while audiences sit on bleachers built under the roof of the stable.
But the action frequently flows from this intimate setting to the adjacent meadow and hillside. Patrons of 4th Line find themselves peering to the right to witness big scenes that are cinematic in scope and usually involve fights between the good and bad guys.
"Plays with one or two characters peeling away the layers of personality are interesting," says Winslow. "But I've always preferred portraying large-scale events. I like the emotional impact and the spectacle of large casts."
The plays are staged under natural light and the actors take their bows before the sun goes down. Winslow and his collaborators write original songs and musicians perform them, either on or offstage.
"I love the texture of live music," he says. "It adds life to a production."
The Last Green Hill, which ran through July, is the first 4th Line production set in the future. Other than its futuristic setting, The Last Green Hill is a typical 4th Line production. It features a cast of about 50, memorable villains and so many scraps that the creative team includes a fight director–the actor Edward Belanger who has served in the same capacity with the Canadian Stage Company and Alberta Theatre Productions. 4th Line's re-mount of last summer's hit production Schoolhouse opens August 5 and runs until August 31.
D'Arcy Jenish is an Ajax, Ont.-based freelance writer.
