Bid.

Dead and forgotten, the story of Imperfect Douglas cast takes a look into local history

about. They were the weak, the handicapped, the unwanted and the exiled. They were imperfect.

From the 1920s until the late 1950s, Woodlands School for the mentally handicapped served as a home and a final resting place for all of society’s outcasts. Parents who could not look after their children relied on this institution on the outskirts of town to care for, feed, dress and teach their offspring.

But Woodlands was far from productive with its “inmates.” Children suffered sexual and physical abuse at the hands of the staff members and stories and rumours began to surface. The mentally handicapped became sicker and their condition often took a downhill nosedive until the end of their lives. Woodlands was not a place to get better, but often, it would be a place to look after the imperfect until they died a quiet and unnoticed death. In 1976, after the completion of Queens Park Hospital, the Woodlands cemetery had each headstone removed and thus, the once final resting place was turned into

I: 1976, 3065 people were forgotten

a mass grave for its 3065 members.

Society is often measured by our strengths and our weaknesses. This is the latter; we’ve forgotten out history and with it, many human lives.

Imperfect, put on by Douglas’ theatre program, ran from March 20-28" and for the first time, brought life to a dark part of New Westminster’s history. A collaboration between many Douglas faculty members, Imperfect was written by former creative writing chair Mary Burns, and directed by theatre coordinator Allan Lysell. With music written by composition instructor Doug Smith and sets built by the

stagecraft department, it truly was a 100 per cent Douglas College effort to get this play up and running.

While sometimes slow and long drawn out, the play itself was enjoyable for such a dismal topic. Cast members often doubled or tripled roles, shifting characters at ease. Most notably was Scott Button, who played both a Down syndrome patient and the subconscious of a patient. Tirra Dent played a spasming “inmate,” a parent and a lawyer consulting the case.

Tom Stevens has multiple roles as a parent and a fresh-out-of-school nurse learning how to care for the

imperfect. The nursing staff consisted of Diva Gould, Callie Wallace, James Forrester, Christine Bortolin and Melanie Reich who had great chemistry as the inner workings of the Woodlands Society. Kimmie Kidd and Kelsey Wood did fantastic jobs as the mentally unable as did Sarah Gawthrop, Jordan McChesney and Corey Horton.

In total, this was an ensemble effort and each cast member had their characters’ interactions beautifully memorized with excellent chemistry that kept the play afloat. Changes between characters were done effortlessly proving that talent flows through the halls of Douglas College.

The Woodlands School stood for another 50 years before being burned to the ground by teenagers or squatters. While only the land and a small portion of the building remain, the memory is still present in every citizen of New Westminster. Next time you take a drive down McBride Boulevard, take a stop by the Woodlands memorial garden to pay a visit to the 3000 forgotten members of our society who are now forever laid to rest.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly By Jay Schreiber

LIVE IN

LEONARD COHEN IVE IN LONDON

The Good

Leonard Cohen is still in top form as he releases his new album Live in London to accompany his world tour (including a stop in Vancouver) and proves that the Canadian great still has what it takes as a musician. The legendary songwriter has had a long career since the mid 1960s, performing with only an acoustic guitar and later adding

a tight-knit rhythm section. Cohen is 74

and still regarded as one of Canada’s top musical exports

Jane’s Addiction are releasing a B-sides collection entitled Cabinet of Curiosities. Jane’s Addiction, who got their name

from one of their groupies’ drug habit, are headlining Lollapalooza later this year. Another name on the list of great Canadians, Neil Young, has a new release, Fork in the Road, and still sounds like a woman.

The Bad

Metrosexual counterpart to Michael Jackson, Prince, is releasing a new Target- exclusive album entitled LOtUSFLOW3R/ MPLSoUND. While the little dude in Purple has made a career out of lawsuits, weird names and being spoken for by Beyonce, his new album is more of the same outdated music that was popular for a week in the 80s that nobody cares to remember.

Bow Wow’s latest album New Jack City IT is a bit too much for anyone to handle. I don’t know where New Jack City is, and quite frankly, I’d be damned if they had a sequel. It was kind of cute when you were Lil’

Bow Wow, but now that you’ve grown up, your career has gone right down the shitter. This New Jack City obviously only has a population of one.

Rascal Flatts have a new album out. Anyone care? No?

The Ugly

Recently, Method Man’s Lincoln Navigator was repossessed by the IRA over $50,000

in unpaid taxes. As an excuse, Method Man blamed it on his excessive marijuana use, and openly admits to his stupidity. In the words of Afroman, “I was going to pay my taxes, but then I got high...”

Rap star T.I. will serve a year and a day in prison over charges to buy machine guns

and ammo out of a parking lot, and was busted by undercover police officers. Having already been put under house arrest for violating probation, it was only a matter of time until the rapper was put away in the big house. In his defense, he said “I am a man of integrity, I’m a man of morals, of standards, of Green Day has made a deal to turn their 2004 album American Idiot into a stage play. The pop-punk outfit from Berkley is citing influences such as the Who’s Tommy for turning this album into a performance. Five years later and they’re still using the same material? 15-year-old girls everywhere are screaming wildly.

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