Western Ontario Drama League |
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- WODL General Meeting - Sunday 20 February 2022 - 11:00 am - Zoom
- Update Group President and Group Delegates Information
- Update from the President of WODL
- Update on COVID Precautions for Theatres
- WODL Wants Your COVID Stories
- Remembering Tom Mackan 1931 to 2022
- Community Theatre in the WODL Region
- Hanover Community Players Update
- Off the Wall - Winter and Spring Workshops
- New Plays from the Playwrights Canada Press
- Playwrights Guild of Canada - Canadian Play Outlet
- If you are producing Canadian Plays this Season - Check This Out
- Is your WODL Membership Information Up-to-date?
- Dates for your Diary
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WODL General Meeting - Sunday 20 February 2022 - 11:00 am - Zoom |
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Invitations have been sent to all the presidents, and delegates, of member groups, that we have on record. |
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All members in good standing with a WODL member group are entitled to attend this meeting and to vote at this General Meeting.
If you want to attend this meeting and have not received an invitation, contact the secretary to the WODL board at secretary@wodl.on.ca.
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In your email please include your full name and member group affiliation (no acronyms) and whether you are a group delegate, group member, or other.
You will receive instructions on joining the meeting and copies of the meeting materials, a few days before the General Meeting.
If you have any questions about this General Meeting:
We look forward to having you join us!
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Update Group President and Group Delegates Information |
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WODL communicates with our member groups through the group presidents and the group WODL delegates--two delegates from each group. These people can then pass the information on to the rest of their group membership. Presidents and delegates also receive personal invitations to the WODL general meetings and to the AGM.
Now is a good time to update this information. Make sure that the formal general meeting invitations are sent to the current holders of these positions.
So, presidents and delegates, if you are hiding out there, we need to hear from you!
So if you are the president, or you have been appointed a delegate for your group, please do the following
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- Your name
- The name of the theatre that you represent
- Your position: president or delegate.
- Your email address
- Your phone number
- Your postal address
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Your contact information will only be used for official WODL purposes. |
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Update from the President of WODL |
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I am excited and grateful that today (January 31, 2022) Ontario has entered the first step of three-step reopening plan. I am hopeful that we will continue to “return to normal” over the next several weeks as currently planned.
I wish for us all the energy and strength to stay the course until that happens.
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WODL in 2022-2023
The board continued our discussion of what 2022-2023 could bring for WODL. At our January 2022 board meeting, we briefly discussed whether or not offering traveling adjudications would be possible – our decision will be informed by the survey responses and input at the February WODL General Meeting. Because Ontario’s second step is scheduled for February 21, 2022 and the third step is scheduled for March 14, 2022, look for our decision in April 2022.
We finalized the survey – 2 questions about traveling adjudication and two questions about Festival 2023 with an opportunity in both sections to add additional information about your responses and/or suggestions for something we hadn’t included in the survey. The Area VPs are reaching out to their member groups to deliver the survey and collect responses – if you haven’t received the survey, check your junk/spam folder or contact your Area VP.
The contact information for the area VPs is:
Thank you, Brandon Moore, for continuing to interpret what the COVID restrictions mean for us as community theatres and working with Tricia Ward (WODL Communications Chair) to share the information clearly, concisely and as quickly as possible .
WODL General Meeting – Save the Date
Our next General Meeting is on Sunday, February 20, 2022 at 11:00 am via Zoom.
Watch for information and minutes from the October 2021 General Meeting from our secretary, Pam Niesiobedzki-Curtis.
Highlights include:
- Terri Graham will present updates on her team’s program for supporting WODL members as they reopen
- Brandon Moore will be our guest and provide further updates from the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training, and Skills Development's Advisory Committee for Live Performance.
- An opportunity for attendees to ask and answer questions.
I look forward to seeing you in February.
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Update on COVID Precautions for Theatres |
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First, let’s all indulge in whatever might be your favourite theatrical superstition for good fortune and hope that this update—based on information available as of January 31st—does not change hours after Tricia hits send on this month’s issue of the WODL newsletter!
The province is moving forward with lifting the public health and safety measures that were implemented in late-December due to the rise in Omicron-variant cases. As always, your Local Public Health Unit may implement stricter controls based on local conditions, but—in the absence of concerning trends in public health and health care indicators—there are three significant dates for the community theatre sector.
January 31
Theatres were able to reopen to spectators at 500 people or 50% capacity, whichever is lower. Proof of vaccination and the use of face coverings remain in place (although the proof of vaccination is not required for the act of purchasing the admission, for example at an in-person box office) and physical distancing is not required (although, as always, this practice is best assessed in consultation with the expectations of your audience.) Food and drink services are allowed, but only for seated patrons. Indoor social gatherings can increase to 10 people, if you use that as a guideline for your own risk assessment.
February 21 (Family Day)
Theatres that are larger than 1000 seats can go to 50% capacity, but there are no other changes. Indoor social gatherings increase to 25 people. (As has been noted in the media, cinemas get to go to 100% capacity at this step, but theatres do not.)
March 14
All capacity limits are lifted, indoor social gatherings increase to 50 people, with proof of vaccination and use of face coverings remaining in effect.
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WODL Wants Your COVID Stories |
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Sue Perkins, WODL Life Members Chair, is still collecting your stories of theatrical successes and failures during this last, long two years.
We need to tell our stories of this time and to remember the people who kept us hopeful and prepared to resume theatre. We are, after all, a group of people who tell stories in words, actions, pictures, and music!
The WODL newsletter would be happy to include your stories - share with all of us the saga of surviving COVID.
Send Sue your stories, and your permission to publish them in our newsletter and on our web site. Her email address is:
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Remembering Tom Mackan 1931 to 2022 |
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By John Bandler, Playwright, Member of Theatre Burlington |
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“Don’t take any money from that man!”
One thing about Tom, he was generous in everything, credit, empathy, collegiality.
Take coffee, for example, at formerly My Dog Joe, now Paisley Coffeehouse in Westdale, Hamilton.
We’d agree to meet at 10 am. It was a race. First to get there paid for the other’s black coffee and, in Tom’s case, a muffin too. If he was first he’d pay for both coffees and take his and his muffin to a table. If I got there first I’d pay so he could just pick up his order on arrival.
If we got there at the same time and I found Tom standing in line ahead of me, I’d call across to the puzzled server, point accusingly at Tom, and say, “Don’t take any money from that man!”
Flashback to 2009.
The tall, elegant man next to me in line for a show at the Hamilton Fringe Festival had a twinkle in his eye. By the time I encountered Tom Mackan again, lining up at another show, he let me know that he would next be directing Breaking The Code for Theatre Burlington (2010).
The story of wartime mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing? Imagine. I was an electrical engineer, a professor at McMaster, and a novice playwright. How could I have resisted? Of course, I asked Tom whether I could sit in on his production process.
Guess what? He agreed.
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As I skimmed through Breaking The Code at the auditions, imagine again. German words. And a scene in which one character spoke entirely in Greek (words transliterated).
German? Greek? I spoke both!
I never missed a rehearsal, hardly a performance. An incredible cast, incredible set, incredible teamwork.
Flash forward.
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At My Dog Joe, that’s where we met: Tom, coffee black, muffin, broccoli and cheese (when available), but always a muffin. Me, coffee black.
One day, I asked Tom if he would read a script I had begun during rehearsals for Breaking The Code. Indeed, his show had inspired it, and I intended it for the next Hamilton Fringe Festival.
At our next meeting over coffee, Tom simply handed me back my script. I expected the worst. Tom, seasoned critic, incurable lover of language, simply said, “I’ll direct it.”
Noting my confusion, he repeated, “I’ll direct it.”
Tom directed three of my plays, and watched while I directed one. He directed 59 Minutes at the Maxwell Suite (2011), The Trial of Naomi Verne (2014), Christmas Eve at the Julibee Motel (2016). I directed That The Multitude Shall Live (2012). See www.bandler.com
As you might imagine, this reminiscence is but the tip of the Mackan iceberg. Tom, for decades, a promoter and nurturer of artistic talent in the Hamilton and Burlington theatre landscape: by the time I encountered him in that fateful Fringe lineup, Tom had already been active in theatre for the best part of seven decades, locally for almost half a century, winner of more than 30 awards.
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Winner also of the Theatre Ontario 2013 Maggie Bassett Award for his sustained and significant contribution to the development of theatre in Ontario—for which I had the privilege of nominating him—Tom displayed the highest respect for the written word. As director, he left no stone unturned to make a writer's words work.
Where there was theatre there was Tom. Working alongside, debating his take on a show he’d just seen, and enjoying the privilege of watching him in action, whether rehearsing an ambitious community theatre production, for example, The Imaginary Invalid, or a modest one-act Fringe play, are among the highlights of my life.
And another thing about Tom. He took setbacks graciously. I know. We shared a few together.
In 2021 I visited him frequently in his room at Caroline Place and posted highlights on Facebook.
Here’s my Facebook post of December 19, 2021, 17 days before he died.
*****
No, I don’t call ahead. I take my chances at Paisley’s. It pays off. I walk away with Sunday’s last two cheddar and broccoli muffins.
Fast forward.
Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony is playing loudly when I arrive.
Tom is up, walking about. He takes my brown bag and lays it on his tray. But not after assuring himself of the contents.
Once seated, Tom shouts over the music until I ask him to turn it down so we can hear each other.
I ask, “Were you into music as a child?”
Tom confesses he was conceited and spoiled as a child. Too much bother to learn music, even though his mother sang in a choir and his father played the piano.
Tom expresses concern. “How are you doing?”
“Surviving.”
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Not a good answer. Tom labels me a sacrificial lamb. I must be careful with him, he says. I am putting myself at his mercy.
Back to music and Bruckner…
Tom amazes himself the other day by how much he enjoys Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. He confesses he was aghast when he first heard that piece. How can this be music? But he has matured, he claims. (A matter of opinion, of course.) Stravinsky is old hat now.
I probe, suggest rap. He responds he is more receptive to experimental sounds these days. He likes rap’s genuineness. He is now open to almost anything...
We touch on the arrival of the German composer Handel in England. And the arrival of Dutch and North German royals. We talk about the House of Stuart.
I bring up the spelling of Stewart and Stuart, which keeps us amused for a while.
Somehow “MacGuffin” comes up and Tom wants a definition. We talk about his production of The Imaginary Invalid. I suggest a MacGuffin lurks in that drama...
Tom suddenly says, “Any 10 people walking by would have absolutely no idea what we are talking about.” But they’d be ready to jump into the fray anyway, right?
Back to music. And Bernstein, this time. How is the “ei” pronounced? Tom needs to know. Two possible ways? The Anglicised way? The German way? What about the “ie” in relief? What about the “ei” in Sheila? (Tom’s sister’s name.) It would still be pronounced the same way even if spelled Shiela. Perhaps in some corner of humanity Sheila is spelled Shiela, right?
Tom isn't sure.
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I jump to the subject of my family and two daughters, focusing on the youngest.
Tom interrupts. “How many daughters do you have?”
“Two.”
“You need at least three to consider the superlative.”
But I have only two daughters.
“One is the younger,” says Tom. “Not the youngest.”
I politely disagree. The younger, I argue, when considered in terms of who is the youngest, is the youngest. Right? Tom disagrees. So I accuse Tom of not allowing me to speak of my own daughters in terms of superlatives, only in terms of comparatives. But, by comparison, the younger is coincidentally also the youngest…
Are you as confused as I am?
In our conversations, we never cover the same things twice, dear friends, except the Queen, the Royal Family, and Breaking Bad.
There you have it. There’s more, but several incriminating parts have been heavily censored.
*****
Tom’s wit is legendary, his kindness unbounded. His humor endured, right up to his remaining precious days.
Tom passed away after two days in Emergency at St. Joseph's Hospital, Hamilton, January 5, 2022.
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2010 Cast and crew of Breaking the Code, directed by Tom Mackan
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© All text and photographs, copyright John Bandler 2022.
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Community Theatre in the WODL Region |
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Several WODL member groups are keeping active during this time. A good place to find out about these activities is on the WODL Facebook page, WODL | Facebook. Most of the announcements are at fairly short notice, so check in often!
If your group is putting on an event that you would like included in the November newsletter, please send the information to communications@wodl.on.ca.
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Hanover Community Players Update |
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By Marg Poste, Hanover Community Players |
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During 2021 HCP has been fortunate in the continuing support for theatre arts in our community.
Three productions for Little Red Riding Hood, the panto, performed at St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, were well received by audiences following COVID protocols for double vaccination and identity checks. HCP thanks the patrons for their co-operation.
An excited team of actors and production people rose to the occasion and the play was enacted on an expanded stage with wireless LED lighting effects and a complete sound system thanks to Sam Los, Norm Bell and Tim Eaton.
Watch this production on HCP’s YouTube channel at:
The official presentation of the Ontario Trillium Foundation’s Building Fund Grant of $24,800 was made before the Saturday performance of the show. MPP Bill Walker was on hand to speak, along with Mayor Sue Paterson, Councillor Dave Hocking, actor Kaitlyn Miller and Pastor John Polacok of St. Matthew’s. Phil Taylor, Treasurer of HCP, emceed the event.
The grant funds are earmarked for the new storage rental, PPE, computer costs and other expenses incurred with the loss of free storage and production ticket sales due to the pandemic. The grant will allow HCP to continue operating and give time to, hopefully, secure stable sponsors and donors in the near future to help cover the storage costs.
The Youth Theatre Video Contest first prize winner was Kincardine District Senior School with their video production of Up Close and Personal by Laurie Allen, submitted on their behalf by Emily Cassidy. Second prize went to Saugeen Academy for their original production of Pirates of the Pandemic submitted on their behalf by teacher Deborah Smith. Each school received a certificate and cash prize. Congratulations to the schools for their efforts.
The cast for Splitsville, by Linda Lloyd McKenzie has been chosen with Emilie Mader as Allie, Bruce Fenton as Darryl, Jodie Risk as Molly, Sam Los as Frank, Frankie Renwick as Reba, Jennifer White as Lexi, and Sile Ferguson as Jasmine. The cast will commence rehearsals in January under COVID protocols with the production slated for the last weekend in April and the first weekend in May, at St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church for 6 performances under McKenzie’s direction.
Plans are underway to stage a major musical over two weekends in December of 2022 as a way of celebrating the Hanover Civic Theatre renovations and HCP’s role in assisting with the cost of theatre curtains.
The Hanover Community Players is a volunteer-run amateur theatre company, in its 15th year. Elections will be held at the Annual General Meeting to be held on Tuesday Feb. 15th at 7:00 p.m. and it is a timed meeting. All positions are open. The group meets approximately 7 times per year at timed meetings. If HCP is to continue, new volunteers are needed.
The Hanover Community Players look forward to seeing more people becoming involved and inspired in 2022.
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Off the Wall - Winter and Spring Workshops |
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By Michele Boniface, Chair, Off the Wall Stratford Artists Alliance, mboniface@cyg.net
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Hashtags: #stratfordoffthewall #theatreproduction #backstage
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New Plays from the Playwrights Canada Press |
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Check out these plays coming soon from Playwrights Canada Press:
A woman confronts her abuser and adolescent sexual trauma.
A true, empowering story of the untold secrets of motherhood.
A family on the run has a last supper.
Coming soon:
Includes zahgidiwin/love by Frances Koncan, The Millennial Malcontent by Erin Shields, and Smoke by Elena Belyea.
Follow an epic world across five hundred years of change.
Two modern adaptations of Ancient Greek plays that interrogate authority.
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Playwrights Guild of Canada - Canadian Play Outlet |
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Every month you can take a look at the newest unpublished and published plays available!
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If you are Producing Canadian Plays this Season - Check This Out |
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The Playwrights Guild of Canada publicises productions of Canadian-written plays through its website, www.playwrightsguild.ca.
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Is your WODL Membership Information Up-to-date? |
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Are you on the board of a theatre group that belongs to WODL? If your group has:
- A new President
- New WODL delegates
- A new Treasurer
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Deadline for submissions for the March newsletter |
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WODL Annual General Meeting |
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13 March to 18 March 2023 |
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11 March to 16 March 2024 |
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WODL Festival 2024, Leamington |
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This newsletter was prepared by:
Tricia Ward
Communications coordinator
WODL
Copyright © Western Ontario Drama League 2022. All Rights Reserved.
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