by Mark DuMez

Welcome.

Welcome to a two-hour getaway from whatever drove you here. Welcome to a Tudor country manor where the best laid plans might be laid to waste. Welcome to this story.

It has been a pleasure to kick off our second show of the year with such fine artists. Mr. Pim Passes By, on one level, is a simple drawing room farce. A good laugh. Mr. Pim, the human "deus ex machina", blows in and comedy ensues. A tried-and-true formula of stodgy patriarch, liberated matriarch, furtive young lovers and comic servants. The play could be a simple comedy like many others of its time.

However, what A.A. Milne gives us is not pure formula. He adds an ingredient that has flavoured much of his enduring work. It is is both simple and sophisticated - it is whimsy.

"Whimsy: A sudden notion, fancy, or idea. To let the eyes wander...." Not the strongest word in the bunch. Hardly sexy, racy or wild. It lacks fortitude, sitting there on the shelf among other antiquated words. It doesn't work as hard as it should and gets very little finished during the day. Nudging, in some inexplicable way, toward change. That fresh wind. A magic moment in the middle of the day. That chocolate bar calling from the cupboard - answer the call - on a whim. A call from chaos, to a kinder chaos, inexplicably better than the one before.

Whimsy - that turn in the road, that sets us truly straight.

Welcome to Mr. Pim Passes By.

Biography

Mark DuMez has been an Associate Artist with Chemainus Theatre Festival (CTF) for eight years and now enjoys the post of Artistic Director. He has directed and designed scenery for over 25 shows. His innovative design for a studio version of Godspell won Best of the Year recognition from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. His direction of Pet The Fish, a wonder tale for children at CTF, utilized banraku puppets and three human actors in an exploration of the world of lost dreams and, most recently, he is proud to have assisted Jeremy Tow in CTF's highly nuanced and powerful telling of The Miracle Worker. Mark has collaborated with companies including Theatre X, Pacific Theatre, TheatreOne, and CTF in the development of over a dozen new plays.

Acting has taken him across many borders, including performing in a new adaptation of Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman (Theatre X), appearing as the Dauphin in Henry V at the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival and playing his one man show, Finding Centre, in a grassy field in Hungary. At CTF, he has acted in over 20 shows including a conflicted young priest in Mass Appeal, Prince Edward in Queen Milli of Galt, landlord Anthony Wilding in the heartwarming Enchanted April, seedy Steve Hubbell in A Streetcar Named Desire and the creepy, comic sidekick, Minki, in The Rats. Special thanks to Erin, Hannah and Ruby for all their love.