Seeing things from a Woody Point of View
New show in Woody Point combines original music with stories and images of early settlers
A trio of songwriters and musicians in the Gros Morne, N.L. area is inviting you to see things from its point of view this summer, by going to see a new show.
Woody Point of View is being presented at the Merchant Warehouse in Woody Point nearly every Thursday night between now and mid-September.
The show is a blend of music, old photos and storytelling, all presented by local musicians in an effort to entertain and enlighten.
The people behind the production have deep roots in Bonne Bay South, and they're hoping audience members will come to appreciate the area in the same way they do.
"What's different about it is that it's our local story. We welcome people to the park. They come with their own stories," said Michele McCarthy, creator and producer of the show.
"We also welcome people during the writers' festival and the comedy festival that bring their stories to us. This is our story told by people who have deep roots in the community."
Spotlight on Bonne Bay South
The folk duo, Tuff, made up of Kendra Parsons and Paul Rumbolt, helped co-write some of the songs in Woody Point of View, and they're the ones performing in the show.
Parsons is an entrepreneur who grew up in the area and whose family has been in the tourism business there since 1985.
The show takes place at one of her family's enterprises, on the waterfront in Woody Point.
Parsons said she's pleased to make some evening entertainment available to visitors throughout the summer season, in a part of Gros Morne National Park that has typically seen lower numbers of tourists than the Rocky Harbour side of Bonne Bay.
Parsons's bandmate Paul Rumbolt is a distant cousin of hers, both having ancestors in Bonne Bay South with the surname "Tuff."
"There aren't any Tuffs left unfortunately here. But that's why we kind of decided to name our duo that, to bring it back to life again," said Parsons.
Parsons said the band name is a bit of a play on words, too.
"It is. We're Tuff by name and tough by nature," she said.
Love letter
Rumbolt and Parsons perform together quite often, but usually sing other people's songs about other places and events.
In this show, Rumbolt said the lyrics are personal, and the entire show is like a love letter to his hometown and its people.
"It's a personal sharing of what this place means to us, not just as a place where you grew up and went to school or anything like that," said Rumbolt.
"It's a giving back to an experience of being from here that is deeper than just being a place that you came from. It's a place that has defined us. We are who we are because of this place."
Photographs and memories
For her research in writing the show, McCarthy credits Tony Berger's book, The Good and Beautiful Bay, and the Bonne Bay Historical Archive as both being immensely helpful.
The online archive includes historical photos from the Bonne Bay area, some of which McCarthy incorporated as projected images in the live show.
"The photos just add a real sense of magic. Seeing the beauty of this bay from a historical perspective, seeing the community in its heyday, being a centre of the west coast," said McCarthy.
Woody Point was a major economic centre in western Newfoundland in the late 1800s, as well as a centre for law and government.
A show for everyone
Parsons, Rumbolt and McCarthy believe Woody Point of View is a show that visitors and local people will enjoy.
"I believe it's going to show a lot of my generation, like it's going to tell them our history and it's going to give them a different perspective on where they actually came from," said Parsons.
McCarthy said she believes even those who aren't from the area will appreciate what the show has to offer.
"I think they're going to have moments of nostalgia. They're going to have an experience that really adds to the present day magic of Woody Point," said McCarthy.
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