If you’re interested in community theatre, you probably recognize the name.
If you’re involved in community theatre, he’s probably taken your picture. Or been onstage alongside you or even produced the production.
But it’s the photographs that most people associate with Terry Penney. These are the publicity shots and the keepsake photos that stir the memory long after the curtain’s gone down.
For Penney, it started locally about 20 years ago when his granddaughter, Brittany, joined Rainbow Youth Theatre.
Penney and his wife, Theresa, lent a hand and, before he knew it, Penney was taking photos.
Now his photo credit list includes Rainbow Youth Theatre, Courtenay Youth Music Centre, Courtenay Little Theatre, TheatreWorks and Light Fantastic Productions, as well as school band concerts, drama productions and choral festivals, dance studios, the L’Arche Society and holy communion and confirmation photos for the Catholic Church.
Along the way, Penney’s also found time to serve on the board of directors for Rainbow and is currently a board member for Courtenay Little Theatre.
It’s not unusual for Penney to shoot 800 photos during a two-hour rehearsal; 107,000 of his images are currently posted on the Fotki photography site.
As for the thousands of photographs that have appeared on posters, in theatres and newspapers and cherished family albums, Penney says, “Aside from a few contracts, it’s all been for fun, and free.”
Penney’s interest in theatre began as a youngster in his hometown of London, England. “I was involved in Scouts, which lead to the Ralph Reader Gang Shows.”
Reader, a British actor, producer and songwriter, created the Gang Shows as a way to give youth an opportunity to learn and experience theatre in a semi-professional manner. The revue-style performances featured a combination of short sketches, songs and dances.
Regarding photography, Penney says, “From about age 10 I always had a camera slung around my neck. It was just something I always did.”
At age 22 Penney joined the Scouts Voluntary Service program travelling to Peru to work in the Boy Scout trainer and leadership program. That’s where he met Theresa.
She was on the last year of her two-year service program and Penney was in Peru for a year. Within nine weeks they were engaged.
By 1969 they’d immigrated to Canada, first to the Kootenays and then, in 1975, to Vancouver Island where Penney worked at Island Truss for 33 years.
In 1998, Penney’s affinity for acting resurfaced.
“Jim Rickson was directing Oliver for Rainbow Youth Theatre and I always really liked that show,” he says. “So I asked Jim if there were any non-singing roles, read a few lines at an audition and got a part.”
Since then he’s appeared in numerous Rainbow, Courtenay Little Theatre and Light Fantastic plays and musicals and eventually began producing them.
“My first was one of Courtenay Little Theatre’s Christmas pantomimes,” Penney says. “I was co-producing and the other person had a family emergency and had to drop out.
“I was nervous about handling the whole thing on my own by there are so many theatre people in the Valley with so much information that they are willing to share that everything turned out fine.”
But photography remains a passion. And, as much as he loves it, Penney, who turns 70 in February, admits there can be challenges to taking theatre photos.
“When you have 60 to 70 kids on stage, it can be tough to get them to all look in the right direction at the same time and for everyone to have their eyes open,” he says.
“Or, if you ask one person to move, three people do. People think if they can see you, you can see them. But all that means on a crowded stage is that I can see their eyes. And most of the time I don’t know everyone’s name so it can be tricky to get the right person to move.”
When he was still using film, Penney would prepare masses of placard prints and then take orders from people.
“The digital age and modern software makes everything so much easier,” he says. “Now I can take 600 to 800 photos at a dress rehearsal and have them all cropped, edited and up on the Fotki site the next day ready for people to download them.”
Another challenge Penney runs into, is taking a dress rehearsal when he’s in the production.
“That’s when my twin brother, Tim, steps in,” Penney says. “He’s into photography just like me but usually focuses on cross-country skiing and hiking photos.”
Penney has a couple of goals in mind when taking photos.
“If it’s for publicity, the image has to be eye-catching and intriguing so people will read the article,” he says. “If it’s a keepsake photo, especially of a youth production, I take some sharp closeups of the kids and them some broader shots to capture the mood of the play.
“The Comox Valley has to be one of the best places in the world,” he continues. “We have beautiful scenery and marvelous people. Living here allows me to pursue my two passions, theatre and photography.
“As a centre for the performing arts, the Comox Valley has some unique talent and such an amazing wealth of performance art — it’s really incredible.”
