Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, January 2020

Pearl Arden: Melding Theatre and

Education with a Whole lot of Fun

The way in which I joined the college was

such a hoot, it was like being given an
unexpected gift. The year was 1989. I had
just completed a Masters degree in
Counselling Psychology at UVic. One day I
was at Camosun and I ran into my friend,
Larry Dettweiler, who was teaching in the
Psychology Department. Larry was such a
gregarious fellow and I remember him
greeting me wholeheartedly and asking what
I was doing. I responded: “Well, I’ve just
finished my Masters degree and I’m
unemployed.” Without a second thought,
Larry said: “Well, let’s go see Neil and get
you a job!” We immediately went to Neil
Murphy’s office. Neil was Dean of Health
and Human Services which was where the
Psychology Department resided at that time. After introductions were made and
the three of us chatted for a few minutes, Neil asked: “Could you teach a couple
of psychology courses next term?” Before I could respond, Larry said: “Oh,
yeah, sure she can!” So, just like that, I became a faculty member at Camosun
College. I taught at the college for 17 years.

In my time as a member of the Psychology Department, I primarily taught the

Interpersonal Communications courses. Later, I taught Child Development which
was the course I really loved. Then the department developed an Adult
Development course which I also taught.

Shortly after becoming employed at the college I also opened a private

counselling practice, so I was never employed full-time at Camosun. It actually
worked very well for me to do both because each informed the other. A
wonderful thing, for me, was the fact that I could be involved in selecting which
courses I was going to teach. For me, that was Nirvana. I was able to consult
with the Department Chair about the number and type of courses that would work
best for me and for the department. That allowed me to schedule my private
practise times, family commitments and the other stuff of life around my teaching
commitments. At the time I was a single mom with two kids. I had a lot of balls in
the air!
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, January 2020

During my time at the college, I often

teamed with Angela Henry to teach the
interpersonal courses. Since we both
had an interest and background in
theatre, we used theatrical tools to assist
student learning. We’d have students
involved in skits in which they acted out
roles involving interpersonal
communication. We had such fun! I
bump into past students now and then
and they often tell me how much they
enjoyed and learned from doing those
skits. I also team-taught with Gary
Anderson for some time, up to and
including when he was diagnosed with Pearl in her office, mid-90’s
the bladder cancer that ultimately took his
life. Gary was such a great guy. It was wonderful working with him.

Psychology Department around 2002

Back row from left: Grace Chan, Gary Anderson, Bev Lenihan, Pearl Arden, Angela Henry,
David Reagan, Randy Tonks, John Conklin
Front row: Peggy Hansen, Judy Caldwell, Gira Bhatt, Margaret Acker, Pam Tobin, Debbie
Matheson

I got involved with such a fun bunch of people at Camosun. Angela and I were
great pals, of course. Over the years, I also developed a close friendship with
Thelma Midori along with a group of fun-loving women from Health and Human
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, January 2020

Services. We had some wonderful times and I have such lovely memories of
those folks.

I often taught on the third floor of the Fisher building,

right across the hall from Thelma’s office. She was the
Dean of HHS at that time. Every now and then, when
things got a little grim or stressful in her job, Thelma
would come and stand outside my classroom door. I’d
always been theatrical so there was often some drama
going on in my classroom. I never knew Thelma was
there, but she told me later that listening to the
happenings in my classroom would often give her a
needed dose of humour that allowed her to move on with
her day. Grandma lessons:
Pearl with her grandson,
All the time that Angela and I were teaching together, Noah, and Thelma
she was trying to get me involved with her at Langham
Court Theatre. But, at that time I had two jobs, two kids and a busy life. I just
couldn’t see how I could add theatre work into the mix. I had been involved in
theatre before I had my children and I knew that it takes an immense amount of
time and work to put on a
play. Of course, Angela
was persistent and when I
retired from the college
and only had my private
practice, she finally got me
involved. Later, she also
drew Thelma into the
Langham team. Thelma
was one of the finest
producers known to
mankind. she just had the
right skills for the role.
She also enjoyed the fun
and frivolity the can often
be part of theatre work.
Pearl and friends at the opening of “The Drowsy
Chaperone” at Langham Court Theatre (2014) I continue to be very much
From left: Angela and Gill Henry, Pearl, Sally Crickman
and Thelma Midori
immersed in the Langham
“Opening night is an occasion to dress appropriately Court Theatre community. I
and, of course, Langham has a loft where costumes have been on stage a couple
live, full to the brim with period clothes” of times but I don’t like the
intensity of the three-month
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, January 2020

rehearsal, so what I mainly do is costuming. I really like costuming. I like hunting

and gathering at the second hand shops to see what I can find that will work,
then altering to fit the actors. It keeps me busy but I can work around my other
commitments rather than having to adhere to a rehearsal schedule. I’ve been
involved in costuming for some truly wonderful shows such as Chorus of
Disapproval (2018); Goodnight Mr. Tom (2019); and Over the River and Through
the Woods (2019). I’m so proud of them - they become like my children.

I also act with a theatre company called Target. It is a small company for people
over 55 who want to act in repertory. There are about 14 of us in the company
and we have an excellent, experienced director who assures that we do a top
notch job. The plays we do deal with issues of
aging, like dementia, safety, hearing loss and
staying active We rehearse at Langham Court
but we aren’t a part of Langham. Being a
repertory theatre group means we perform
wherever and whenever we are invited. We
are going to Manitoba in April to a big
conference on Dementia. We have a play
called “ISH” - I’m Still Here - that we will be
performing there. It is one of our most popular
productions. We are presently working on a
radio play with oldie songs, commercials,
singing and dancing. Lots of fun! I am
working with Susan Wilkie who was a student
of mine back in 1991. The tables have been
turned now as she is teaching me how to hula!

I am so fortunate that my children, my son and

Pearl with Susan Wilkie daughter, both live in Victoria, I have four
wonderful grandchildren, all boys, whom I see
often. My eldest grandson, Nathan, is in fourth
year engineering at UVic and his brother, Aidan, is at Camosun. My other two
grandkids are Noah, aged 15 and Keaton, aged 13. All of them are or have been
involved in soccer. I’ve seen more soccer games than I ever thought I’d want to
see! I started watching them when Nathan was 5 and have been out in the rain
and wind cheering them on ever since. Sixteen years and counting! I have to
admit, though, that it’s so much fun being part of their lives.
 Excerpted from CCARE Newsletter, January 2020

Pearl’s son, Kyle, her eldest

grandsons Nathan and Aidan,
and Pearl’s daughter-in-law,
Heather

Pearl’s son-in-law, Aaron Maxwell with her younger grandsons, Noah and Keaton,
and Pearl’s daughter, Kwyn