By Cecilia Nasmith
It was not just the excitement of finally being able to have their annual barbecue that made Northumberland Players so jubilant Wednesday – it was the ribbon cutting for their new expanded space on Campbell Street known as the Hub.
Located in a former Cobourg ambulance station, part of this space has been occupied for some years by their Costume House. A $50,000 Ontario Trillium Grant allowed them to expand and outfit the adjacent unit to make a home for their props and workshops as well.
As board member Victor Svenningsen explained on one of many tours conducted, this allowed them to gather costumes, tools, flats and other properties out of the trailers, barns and attics where they had been stored – as well as an opportunity to cull out items that had grown moldy or damaged, and to organize the pieces being kept.
NP charter member Lynne Templer explained how they organize their thousands of costumes, as well as the tens of thousands of purses, shoes, hats and other accessories too numerous to name – as seen in labels on bins that say Tiaras, Spats, Assorted Bow Ties, Cat Costumes and even Slutty Little Dresses.
They also get donations, like the vintage costumes, furs and styrofoam heads donated to them from the 2017 movie shoot of Shape of Water (stored for now in the former female paramedics' shower – the male showers are packed with shelving for storage as well). And they make the odd purchase when the opportunity arises, like their recent haul of 45 wigs for $110.
The costumes come in handy for their own productions, as well as for theatre companies from far afield and even for television shoots that take place in Cobourg or nearby. They can also be rented out for special occasions, and even high-school students are catching on that they have tuxedos and gowns to rent (one board member noted that some of the girls these days are drawn to the the vintage gowns).
“We started keeping our costumes 45 years ago,” Templer said. Now that fabric is so expensive, they definitely bless the day that decision was made – not only for the savings but also for the revenue stream.
Costumes occupy the east half of their expanded premises, with props to the west. Vintage luggage and cameras, bins of fake fruit and vegetables, furniture of all kinds – all of it also available to rent.
Many NP members added their own celebratory touch to the occasion by modelling some of those costumes, with the result that gauchos, flappers, belles, pilgrims and even Father Christmas were mingling among the attendees.
Barbecue committee head Grant Coward gave Svenningsen credit for the name, his having begun calling the premises the hub of activity.
With their 46th season as the premier theatre company in Cobourg and Northumberland County, he said, “we today celebrate opening this grand space. Finally, all of our property is in one amazing space with painting, props, set storage and costumes.”
While Northumberland-Peterborough South MPP David Piccini could not be present because Queen's Park is in session, Trillium Local Grant Review Team member Ben Currelly congratulated the group on the compelling case they made for the grant.
Coward acknowledged the presence of Councillor Vicki Mink representing Port Hope and, from Cobourg, Mayor John Henderson, Deputy Mayor Suzanne Seguin and Councillors Nicole Beatty and Brian Darling.
“When I heard about this celebration at the Hub, I was beyond excited,” Henderson declared.
Mentioning the 2022-2023 season brochure he had in his pocket, he continued, “I want to offer our thanks from the public, from the community. I thank you for the multitude of ways you entertain us.”
