Western Ontario Drama League |
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- Update from the President of WODL
- WODL Wants Your COVID Stories
- WODL Workshop Program
- Community Theatre in the WODL Region
- News from the Waterloo-Wellington Region
- Wanted: The Missing Link - Archives Update
- Off the Wall - Winter and Spring Weekend 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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Update from the President of WODL |
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Happy Hanukkah! Merry Christmas! Happy Kwanzaa! Happy Boxing Day! Happy New Year!
I wish for you and yours a happy and healthy holiday season!
I wish for us all a new year that continues our “return to normal”!
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What’s Next For WODL
WODL in 2022-2023
The board is continuing our discussion of what 2022-2023 could bring for WODL. We are planning for travelling adjudications and considering options for Festival 2023.
We are all learning as we plan for and re-open our theatres: about our audiences, COVID related processes, etc. We are working on a short survey to guide our decision about Festival 2023. Once we have finalized the questions, in the next week or so, our Area VPs will reach out to their member groups with the survey. We are hoping to have your responses back by the end of the day on Wednesday January 12th, 2022 so that we have the information for our board meeting on Sunday January 16, 2022.
The contact information for the area VPs is:
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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WODL Wants Your COVID Stories |
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This has been a year and a half like no other. We want to hear your stories!
As we slowly emerge - maybe - from the lock-downs and restrictions of the pandemic, theatre is staggering to its feet and happily getting back to rehearsals, performances, crises, tears, laughter. Most of our family in Western Ontario Drama League have survived and many are now opening their doors again. Some are not - various factors have made it impossible to continue.
How did your group survive - or what was the final straw that spelled defeat? Are there people or groups of people who went above and beyond and you would like to thank? 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!
Our WODL newsletter would be happy to include your stories - share with all of us the saga of surviving COVID.
Send me your stories, and your permission to publish them in our newsletter and on our web site. My email address is:
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Many thanks to Off the Wall and our presenters Dana Osborne and Lela Stairs for a wonderful workshop on costuming and what goes on for the designer and their team, as they go from sketch to finished product. To see the designs and steps by pictures, to see the end result on stage, and all of the factors that one has to think about while making a costume, was a great process to follow.
It was great to "see" so many faces again and a well rounded discussion was had throughout the workshop. This workshop was recorded and will hopefully be available for download soon for those who could not attend but expressed interest in the workshop.
If there is a workshop your group would like to see presented, or would like to hold within your area, please see the WODLwebsite for application information and requirements for subsidy. We are always looking for new and exciting topics that our members would like to learn about.
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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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News from the Waterloo-Wellington Region |
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Join Guelph Little Theatre for An Inappropriate Clause by Roxanne Thornton, directed by Cathy Goudie & Ken Cameron. Christmas Panto fun for the whole family. It runs December 3-5 & 10-12. Contact the box office at boxoffice@guelphlittletheatre.com
Elora Community Theatre offers Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, adapted by Thomas Hischak, directed by Deb Stanson and David Tanner. It runs December 10-12 & 17-19 at the Fergus Grand Theatre. Tickets can be purchased online at www.fergusgrandtheatre.ca
Join Kitchener-Waterloo Little Theatre for Telephone Madness which will livestream on December 4 at 8:00 pm on their YouTube channel. What is Telephone Madness? It’s like Telestrations, but with video and audio!
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Wanted: The Missing Link - Archives Update |
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Ten banker boxes are organized and waiting for board approval for transfer to the University of Guelph theatre archives collection. There are a few missing programs and I hope you can help!
Missing:
- Minifest programs for 1987, 1988 and 1990
- Theatre Ontario program for 2017
- Any board, AGM and delegate meeting minutes and cue sheet newsletters from the 1940s-1970s
- If you have a program and want to keep the original, a copy will work.
Many thanks to Fay Bonanno, Sue Perkins and Ken Menzies for filling in a lot of the missing blanks. An extra special thanks to Fay who managed the archives and kept them safe all these years.
If you can help complete the collection, please contact me at Bev@wodl.on.ca
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Off the Wall - Winter and Spring Weekend 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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Until December 17th, everything on playwrightscanada.com is 30% off! Make sure to take advantage of this great holiday sale. Here are some suggestions from our 2021 releases:
And our Spring 2022 roster has just been announced! Everything is available for pre-order. Some highlights you may be interested in include:
And many more! Click here to view the full catalogue.
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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 January 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 2021. All Rights Reserved.
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