A world premiere in Cavendish

One hundred and fifty helium balloons float in the air above the stage where actors are rehearsing The Wind in the Willows.

Arranged in neat rows and attached to strings, they are tethered to a grid on the floor of the P.E.I. Conservatory in North Rustico.

This whimsical set made of latex and string can transform into everything from a covered wagon and a table to a moving stream and pathways the actors must travel through the play.

"Walking through these gives everyone the feeling that they're moving through water or weeds or grass -something that's bigger than they are," says set designer Jillian Keilly who is co-directing the play about life along the river that will have its world premiere on June 27 at the new L.M. Montgomery Theatre in Cavendish.

Working within this delicate and unique framework has created challenges for some cast members.

"At the moment, we're getting tangled up in the process but eventually we won't be. And even if we do, it becomes part of our character - getting caught in certain situations," says Julia Lenardon who plays Toad.

Actor Donnie MacPhee calls it creative problem solving.

"When we got here, the cast members said, 'Strings and balloons?' Then we all had to figure it out together.

"Being part of the creative process makes us feel more like a company instead of getting somewhere and having all the work done and all that is left to do is stand up and say our lines," says MacPhee, who plays Badger.

It's also a process that will result in a magical experience for people who come to see the show, says Ryan O'Callaghan.

"It's going to stretch the imaginations of young people and the older audience (as they follow the paths of these animals)," says O'Callaghan, who plays Mole in the play.

Adapted for the stage by Duncan McIntosh, The Wind in the Willows is based on the children's classic of the same name by Kenneth Grahame.

Graham's novel was published the same year that Anne of Green Gables, written by Island author Lucy Maud Montgomery, first came into print, says McIntosh, who is also directing the show this summer. And it was second only to Anne in popularity.

It also has the same rhythm as Montgomery's novel. And for these two reasons, the theatre decided to open its inaugural season with this show.

"Like Anne of Green Gables, The Wind in the Willows is episodic, a series of chapters that adds up to the experience of a life that you can read before you go to sleep at night," McIntosh says.

"And although that's lovely, it's not always great for storytelling because you need a beginning, middle and end."

That thinking inspired McIntosh's adaptation.

"Our story is selected segments of the novel. It starts in springtime with Mole, who gets fed up with spring-cleaning and leaves home. Through his adventures with his friend, Rat, we learn about friendship, community, fear and confidence.

"Eventually he comes back home to his old mole hole when the ground is frozen. He's drawn back there spiritually, and that's where the play ends, just around Christmastime with some field mice that let him in," says McIntosh, who's happy with his co-director's vision of the play.

"Jill is able to look at nature in such an unusual, exciting and often hilarious way," says McIntosh.

For her, dealing with strings and balloons is just part of the fun of putting the show together.

"Working in this creative space affects movement, so when the actors move, the balloons and strings move and the show becomes kind of a dance," says Keilly.



If you go

On stage this summer

n What: Montgomery Theatre.

n Where: Avonlea Village, Cavendish.

n When: Previews for Wind in the Willows begin on June 20 with opening night on June 27. The season will run until Aug. 30.

n Other summer offerings: Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest and George Bernard Shaw's Village Wooing.

n To book tickets or for the complete season lineup: Call 963-3847 or go online to www.

themontgomerytheatre.com.

n About the theatre:?Located at Avonlea Village in Cavendish, the Long River Church has been transformed into a 200-seat theatre that will be presenting plays this summer that were popular during Lucy Maud Montgomery's lifetime. It will have a thrust stage, meaning that the audience will be seated on three sides. The rear wall of the church will remain intact and the actors will be able to appear on the stage either from the back of the stage (in the traditional theatre format) or by two aisle ways through the audience. The Montgomery Theatre is a non-profit organization that is made up of people from Cavendish.