Lying on their backs on a yellow blanket in the afternoon sunshine at Point Pleasant Park yesterday, Caitlin Stewart, Cadence Allen and Mary Fay Coady warmed their voices up before Jack and The Beanstalk. All three women performed in Shakespeare By The Sea’s version of the classic story under sunny skies.
“One-by-one and two-by-two and three-by-three,” they chanted, all the way up to fifteen in a single breath — a breathing exercise that will help them in the play.
“Shakespeare By The Sea is definitely a weather-oriented company,” Stewart said once she’d finished the exercise. The company relies on sunny weather to entice theatre fans down to the park. Although this week has been blue skies for the most part, rain has put a damper on the festival overall this summer. When there’s rain in the forecast, the show moves inside.
“It’s been terrible,” Coady said.
Stewart added, “it’s been getting better, but the beginning of July was pretty awful for us.”
There’s been more rainfall in Halifax from May to August this year versus last year, according to Environment Canada. Last August, Halifax saw nearly 300 milimetres of rainfall – more than May, June and July of that year combined.
Jeffrey Hale, with hockey sticks protruding from his backpack, walked down to Jack and The Beanstalk to meet his girlfriend and her daughter. He spent Sunday morning playing ball hockey.
“It couldn’t be more perfect ball hockey weather,” he said. “A warm breeze. It’s great.”
Hale said he mainly played hockey in the rain this summer, adding he was glad to see the sun again.
