Lockerby Composite School presents “The Last Real Summer” May 5 to 7

Staff and students in Lockerby Composite School’s Drama Department have been busy rehearsing "The Last Real Summer" which will soon take to the stage. 

Matinées will be presented on Thursday, May 5th and Friday, May 6th at 11 am. There will be evening performances for the public on Friday, May 6th and Saturday, May 7th at 7:30 pm.

All performances will take place in the McKellar Auditorium at Lockerby Composite School, 1391 Ramsey View Court in Sudbury. Tickets, at $8 for adults and $5 for students and seniors, will be available at the door.

“The Last Real Summer” follows Elizabeth Wharton who, regretting choices she made in the past, returns to her hometown to reminisce. She relives the humorous beginnings of a first crush and all the awkwardness that comes with young love in the innocent 1930s.  As the Second World War approaches, innocence is replaced by reality and the ramifications of wartime come to the forefront.

Through this journey, a life lesson is learned.  As Elizabeth Wharton says "a ship in harbour is a safe place to be, but that is not what ships are for" and thus we should strive to live without regrets.

Through the play, directed by teacher Ashley Paige Fraser, students have used the arts to study history. “The realities of life in the WWII era are hard to fathom for students,” says Fraser. “Simple things like the absence of cell phones and video games make the past a foreign entity, let alone the emotions associated with the ramifications of a world wide war.”

She adds: “The arts appeal to not only the intellectual aspect of an individual, but the emotional aspect as well. In this way, it is the perfect vehicle for learning because it touches us unlike any other form.”

As work on the play progressed, the conditions in Canada in the thirties and forties became quite real to the small group of actors and technicians involved in the production. “We all had to do a lot of research,” says Anthony Makela who plays the male lead. “To fully understand what it would have been like to have gone to war during this time period, and what my character actually went through, I had to spend a lot of time pouring through history books,” he says.

His female counterpart, Bryden Casselman, agrees. “The research not only helped me become my character on stage, it also enabled me to understand more completely the lessons taught in my history class. I feel like I’ve really been there and have a greater respect for those who lived through this period of time.”

For more information, please contact Ashley Paige Fraser at Lockerby Composite School, 705-522-1750.

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Media Contact:

Heather Gaffney, Principal, Lockerby Composite School,
Rainbow District School Board, 705-522-1750.