by Ruth Walker

“The meaning of art to me… it’s akin to breathing.”

Dave Carley was a theatre guy long before he knew it. As a once-weekly columnist for a Peterborough newspaper, Dave would head to the pub and watch people reading his column. He was looking for the “audience reaction” on all those faces. It was the spark that ignited his impressive playwriting career which has included acclaimed plays for stage and radio, with close to 500 productions across Canada and the United States and in many countries around the world.

For NFOTA, he is shepherding a group of playwrights and their plays onto our stage. Seven ten-minute plays will offer laughter, ideas and likely a tear or two. We asked Dave a bit about himself and his part in this year’s festival.

What brought you to the theatre in the first place?

A local theatre company ran a playwriting contest and the prize was exactly equal to my VISA debt. Taking that as a Sign, I wrote what I grandly called a post-nuclear black bedroom comedy entitled First Strike – and won the contest. The play had all the flaws a first effort can have, but the audience responded favourably. From the very first second that I sat in the middle of a living, breathing audience watching my work, I was irrevocably hooked. It was much easier than drinking alone in a bar, waiting for someone to read my newspaper.

How are you connected to Northumberland County?

I was born and raised in Peterborough and currently live in Toronto, where I worked fairly diligently for many years at the CBC, in addition to being an active member of the playwriting community. However, I do have a family history in Cobourg.

My great-grandmother lived in Cobourg and, in fact, her family built a house on the east side of town, 460 King Street East, that people might recognize – I’ve heard it referred to as the ‘Checkerboard House’. My parents lived for a while in Cobourg as well, as my father was the County Court Judge at one time.

What is your role with the festival?

I don’t have an official title, but I suppose ‘curator’ might be a good one. I choose the plays and create a mix that I hope the audience will enjoy. I will assist with publicity and help in any way I can. I believe in community festivals and, in particular, love being part of one that is multi-disciplinary.

There’s a kind of magic in a medley of staged plays. What can audiences expect to see?

We have seven very diverse shows that have emerged from seven very different brains. Many – but not all – are comedies. I think the audience will find something to relate to in each and every ten-minute play.

What effect do you think COVID has had on the theatre experience?

We were lucky to have been able to produce the ten-minute plays in Port Hope throughout the ‘Time of COVID’ – the plays were all performed outdoors, and if folks were masked and not standing in clusters, it was safe. But, in a general way, I think COVID has been harmful to attendance at live events. People have discovered streaming. They’ve discovered cocooning.

It sounds like you have the answer to enticing people to leave the streaming behind.

Ten minutes is a good length for shows that are performed outside or in a festival situation, with all the distractions that involves. And it’s good discipline for writers. You can say a LOT in ten minutes but you have to go about it smartly.

Sing it! Say it! Play it!

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