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PART ONE:
A CULTURAL TRIUMPH
Cafeteria sounds are heard while
a voice underscores:
CAFETERIA SOUNDS CAN BE HEARD…
JEREMY WATTS, A WELL-KNOWN PAINTER, IS TALKING TO THE JOURNALIST. HANNA
BERGSON, A CELLIST, JOINS THEM AT THEIR TABLE. JEREMY IS RUMOURED TO HAVE
AN INTEREST IN HER …
Jeremy:
… what I said to that
other reporter was this: ‘It isn’t that I need the presence
of others,’ I said, ‘My work is a solitary passion’,
I said, -- good words, eh? ‘solitary passion’? (JEREMY GRINNED)
‘It’s that The Institute™
offers me space and time — space in which to work,
and time in which to use the space.’ That’s what I said, and it’s
true enough. See this floor plan? Check the third floor corner suite. That’s
my studio. Right above the Director’s office ….
Hanna:
No, he’s not a very interesting man. Used to run one of the festivals;
but then, directors do tend to come and go…
Jeremy:
There’s the temptation to dangle scary pictures down in front of
his window, but I don’t. I just let it be known that I can.
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(
Sound effects:
Rehearsal sounds in background, repeated phrases of music of some kind
)
Narrator:
WE’RE IN THE DOWNSTAIRS AUDITORIUM.
PHRASES OF MUSIC
AND INSTRUCTIONS ARE REPEATED IN THE BACKGROUND AS
SOME OF THE RESIDENTS TAKE A BREAK FROM REHEARSAL…
Voice 1:
(Wonderingly) It’s happened so quickly! What protects us, I guess,
is that The Institute™ is famous world wide. The Heritage
Ministry isn’t about to screw up when the whole world is watching.
Voice
2: (Doubtfully) Well … you never know
…
Voice 3: (Mildly
envious) Japan has living cultural treasures
Voice 4:
… like you and me …
Voice 5:
(Persisting) … which it honours and protects …
Voice 1:
(A cheerful voice continues ) Look at Holland… Holland’s
programme of purchasing contemporary artworks succeeded remarkably well
for a number of years …
Voice 2:
(More cheerful still) In Ireland, officially recognized artists
don’t pay taxes…
Voice 3:
(Authoritatively … ) Well, we can all relax now that in Canada,
-- in Hamilton, actually, home of our current Minister of Culture and
Heritage -- we have The
Institute™
!
(Sounds of birds, pond, waterfall, cars to and fro along the driveway
in the distance …)
Narrator:
WE’RE IN THE GARDEN; A TALL WOMAN IN BLUE JEANS, WEARING A HEADSCARF
AND CARRYING A SHOPPING BAG HAS JUST WALKED BY THE GROUP TALKING TO A
VISITOR AT THE PICNIC TABLE. THE VISITOR IS TAKING NOTES. WE ENTER INTO
A CONVERSATION ALREADY IN PROGRESS ….
Voice 2 :
(Confiding … )
… She’s a painter. Large panoramic
landscapes the last time I looked. We don’t like to pry. I don’t
care for people looking over my shoulder here, and I imagine she feels
the same way. My own paintings move in and out, in plain brown wrappers
so to speak, from here to my downtown gallery … and back, alas. I
can see why people are selling their things over the internet. We could
easily do that right from here …
Voice 3 :
(Doubtful …)
She changed
her name when she moved in. Took a nom de pinceau, she calls it,
a paintbrush name, in memory of the famous Canadian novelist,
Cornelia Lumsden .
You’d think she’d have chosen a painter …
Voice 4 :
(Gossipy … )
The thing is, the real Lumsden
is scheduled to return home from Paris later in June,
and she’s an applicant to
The Institute™ .
They’re reviewing the applications this week.
Voice 5 :
(Enthusiastic …)
She’ll get in, surely!
I can’t wait to meet her …
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(Sounds of a computer keyboard in use, water cooler
in use, elevator doors opening and closing, phones ringing, Muzak …
)
Narrator:
A MEETING ROOM IN AN OTTAWA OFFICE BUILDING….
SOUNDS OF A COMPUTER KEYBOARD IN USE, WATER COOLER GURGLING, ELEVATOR
DOORS OPENING AND CLOSING, RELEASING MUZAK, PHONES RINGING …
Voice 1 :
(Senior bureaucrat:)
My job, as Director
of The National Institute for the Arts Staff Re-Training Program
in Ottawa, is to see that experienced administrators
who have held positions at major cultural institutions now being downsized
under the present government, like the
Canada
Council , the
National Film Board , the
CBC , are
re-worked into the new system so that they can continue their services
to the arts in a different way. We’ve lost some good people, of course,
but many opt to stay and be re-trained, and some of them show great flexibility
of character.
Voice 2 :
(With the sycophancy of an ambitious subordinate:)
We
have all manner of foreign delegations visiting, and encouraging their
governments to imitate us. This project is a real triumph, despite complaints
by obtuse politicians who see The
Institute™
as either frivolous or sinful .
I don’t even know if they believe it themselves, but art-bashing
does get votes.
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(Cafeteria
sounds …)
Narrator:
THE ISSUES ARE DISCUSSED AS WELL IN THE RESIDENTS’
CAFETERIA …
Voice 1 :
One
of the liabilities of the organization is this business of killing two
birds with one stone: They rescue functionaries, re-train them and parachute
them into key positions at The Institute™ .
Voice 2 :
Take
our nursing snoop, for example, the dame in charge of the clinic; it’s
the perfect job for her, making sure everything’s sterile, if you
know what I mean.
Voice 3:
She was high up in some agency before they brought her here and my guess
from her manner is she’s not too pleased with the change.
Narrator:
AN OFFICE OF
THE INSTITUTE™
’S RE-TRAINING DEPARTMENT, OTTAWA
… THE SAME VOICE HEARD EARLIER …
Senior bureaucrat :
It’s
no secret that there are still some wrinkles to iron out. Some of our
clients are still stunned by the loss of so much of the CBC, the Canada
Council, the Film Board, etcetera, and aren’t yet acclimatized to
the inner life of The Institute™ . But we’re optimistic,
and the financial analysis is in our favour: This programme actually saves
the government money ….
Ambitious subordinate :
And
we’re proud to think that the very same people who have masterminded
policy at some of our most distinguished cultural agencies are now so
much closer to the creative sources they once evaluated from afar.
Second ambitious subordinate
:
At the same time, we now have a way
of receiving visitors from abroad unequalled anywhere in the world.
Third ambitious subordinate
:
More economically, too. Visiting dignitaries
are always happy to dine and stay overnight with Canada’s
leading artists … well, in the same building, anyway …
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Narrator:
(Quietly)
WE’RE IN THE DIRECTOR’S OFFICE.
IT IS NIGHT … BILL EVERELL, SURROUNDED BY STACKS OF PAPER, IS TIRED.
MAGGIE CLARKE-TREMBLAY, THE HEAD NURSE, IS SITTING ACROSS FROM HIS DESK,
READING AND MAKING NOTES ON THE FILES HE IS HANDING HER ONE BY ONE …
( The Director
sighs …)
I thought I’d seen the end
of adjudication processes when I left the Film Board. But there isn’t
a sane moment. Ongoing reviews of applicants. Board meetings. Local politicians
to deal with. Guests from abroad. Journalists .
(Who IS that woman who was lurking about yesterday…?)
No wonder I can’t get a day’s peace to work
on the Annual Report … let alone other things …. ( HE
LOOKS AT MAGGIE ACROSS THE HUGE DESK COVERED WITH FOLDERS …)
Life’s pleasures sometimes seem very, very distant …
Narrator:
MAGGIE STILL WRITING,
PRETENDS NOT TO HEAR.
Narrator:
THE RESIDENTS’ DINING ROOM. CHINA AND TABLE SERVICE. EVENING
MONSIEUR JEAN-MARIE AUBRY,
CULTURAL ATTACHÉ AT THE FRENCH EMBASSY IN CANADA, HAS BEEN GIVEN
DINNER, AND AFTER THE COFFEE, IS OFFERED A TOUR …
Jean-Marie Aubry :
But I would of course be delighted
to view the facilities, M. Everell. Your project seems quite wonderful
and I would like to see more of what the artists are doing! Of course.
Yes, dinner was ( HE
PAUSES, AT A LOSS FOR WORDS ) …
How shall I say this? … rather good-looking actually…
but the main thing I want to say is that the performance this afternoon
in the little theatre; the exhibition installed beside the gift-shop;
the poetry reading in the lounge during the aperitifs -— all prepared
by the distinguished residents of your Institute — were most engaging.
It is my view that this programme is something about which our Minister
of Culture in France should be informed. Such a splendid plan! And such
an exciting place to visit! True foresight put to work and made palpable.
You are to be congratulated, Monsieur! I say this both officially and
personally. ( THEIR
FOOTSTEPS FADE, AS DO THEIR WORDS. LARGE DOUBLE-DOORS OPEN ….)
What a fine auditorium ….
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Narrator:
WE ARE IN JEREMY’S STUDIO ON THE THIRD
FLOOR. SOME OF THE INMATES ARE GATHERED TO DISCUSS A RECURRENT PROBLEM.
JEREMY’S FAVOURITE JAZZ PLAYS QUIETLY IN THE BACKGROUND …
Resident 1:
We still get ambulances
dropping potential patients off at our front doors;
Resident 2:
…. they’ve had
to hire a permanent re-directing officer.
Resident 3:
Somehow it isn’t clear
to the public that we’re a residence, not a hospital.
Resident 4:
Can’t say I blame them for being confused.
If I’d been born, had had children, lost relatives and friends in
this place over the years, and it looked exactly the same from the outside,
I might come here in an emergency too.
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Narrator:
IN THE INFIRMARY …
MAGGIE, ONCE CO-ORDINATOR OF INTERNATIONAL BOOKINGS AT THE NATIONAL ARTS
CENTRE IN OTTAWA, NOW IN CHARGE OF THE INSTITUTE’S INFIRMARY, BRIEFS
THE JOURNALIST …
Maggie:
Yes, three ambulances this week. A committee is looking into the problem.
Yes, yes, we saw the editorial and are preparing a response … Someone
has alerted the Heritage Minister. She and the Health Minister are arriving
this afternoon to see for themselves. I’m sure there will be no problem
…
(Sound of an ambulance coming nearer … dissolving into fragment
of song "No one in charge", dissolving in turn into the
music that designates Jeremy’s studio …)
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A voice says:
END
OF PART ONE
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