Western Ontario Drama League | |
- The Nominees Are... (Find Out on May 7)
- WODL General Meeting - 7 May 2023, at 10:00 am - on Zoom
- WODL Festival and Reunion Gala 2023
- WODL AGM - London - Sunday 21 May 2023, at 11:00 am
- Community Theatre in the WODL Region
- What’s Happening in Waterloo-Wellington for the Month of May
- Off the Wall - Summer Courses 2023
- Playwrights Canada Press
- Playwrights Guild of Canada - Canadian Play Outlet
- Concord Theatricals New Plays
- 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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And The Nominees Are... (Find Out on May 7) | |
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WODL adjudicator, Phyllis Leighton, has seen 19 productions between October 2022 and April 2023. What a journey!!
Nominees Will Be Announced on May 7:
On Sunday May 7 at 10:00 am the NOMINEES for this year's WODL Travelling Festival Awards will be announced on a Zoom meeting hosted by WODL.
Come and join us on Zoom to find out who has been nominated in each category: There are various categories for tech, acting, directing and overall top productions. Anyone who is a member of their local Community Theatre is always welcome at WODL general meetings, including this one.
The announcement of nominee names will also be posted on the WODL website & on the Facebook page.
Winners Will Be Announced at the WODL Gala Dinner on May 20:
Final Winners in each category will be announced at the WODL Festival & Reunion Gala Dinner, taking place at the Delta London Armouries Hotel in London on Saturday May 20 at 6 pm.
If you or your group is nominated for an award, we'd love to see you & your friends at the Gala to celebrate community theatre.
Gala Dinner tickets are available for purchase online and numbers are limited. Awards will be presented after dinner, and there are a very limited number of seats for just the awards presentation itself (no dinner).
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WODL General Meeting - 7 May 2023, at 10:00 am - on Zoom | |
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WODL GM - Sunday 7 May 2023
10.00 am - on Zoom
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Phyllis Leighton - Travelling Adjudicator
will announce
the WODL Festival 2023 Nominations for Awards
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All members of WODL member groups can attend this meeting.
Before this meeting, Invitations are sent to all the presidents, and delegates, of member groups.
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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.
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.
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You will receive instructions on joining the meeting and copies of the meeting materials, a few days before the GM.
If you have any questions about this GM:
Contact Pam Niesiobedzki-Curtis, secretary@wodl.on.ca.
We look forward to having you join us!
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WODL Festival and Reunion Gala 2023 | |
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The WODL Travelling Festival and Reunion Gala is less than 3 weeks away – at the London Armouries Hotel May 19-21, 2023 ending with the WODL AGM 2023 on Sunday, May 21, 2023 hosted by London Community Players at the Palace Theatre.
HOTEL rooms are $159 for two double beds and $179 for a single King bed. These rates are available until Friday, May 12, 2023 as long as the hotel is not full. You can make hotel reservations at https://www.marriott.com/event-reservations/reservation-link.mi?id=1677612516789&key=GRP&app=resvlink.
GALA tickets are $70 each and can be ordered from https://mytickets.palacetheatre.ca/eventperformances.asp?evt=378. Thank you to London Community Players/Palace Theatre Arts Common for handling our Gala ticket sales.
More information is available on the WODL website at http://wodl.on.ca/festival.
If you have any questions about the hotel and/or the Gala, please contact Renata Solski at renata@wodl.on.ca.
HOSPITALITY SUITE
Hosted by Tom and Kathy Fahey in the Premier Suite at the hotel.
Kathy and Tom have lots planned for us including:
- Tea, pop, juice along with fruit and veggie trays with dip.
- Board games.
- Cartoons and Cereal on Saturday morning.
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A Tribute Wall celebrating WODL people who have left us and/or who have significantly contributed to our groups' activities in the last few years.
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A Name that Show game (prize to be determined) – a few pictures (preferably including the set) of any show in your theatre history (maximum of 5 different shows).
To contribute to the Tribute Wall and the Name that Show game, please contact Kathy Fahey at kfahey1298@gmail.com.
WORKSHOPS
We are excited to announce that Playwrights Canada Press is sponsoring a playwright, Beatriz Pizano, who will participate in both workshops on Saturday.
Beatriz Pizano, an accomplished director and playwright, is the Artistic Director of Aluna Theatre (https://www.alunatheatre.ca/).
Saturday morning workshop: Beatriz will present about The Design of Dramaturgy, a practice she uses when mounting a play.
Saturday afternoon workshop: Panel/audience discussion about surviving the lockdowns and moving forward now.
We’ll start the discussion with:
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Barbara Warnock, Alymer Community Theatre (https://aylmertheatre.ca/), will talk about the difficult decision for ACT to stop producing a season after 20 years of productions, while still planning a Christmas 2023 production. She will discuss the reasons for this decision including: lack of volunteers, impact of COVID, loss of free storage space.
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Bev Dietrich, Elmira Theatre Company (http://www.elmiratheatre.com/), will talk about the experience looking for a new space during COVID. They found space with a forward looking church looking to partner with community arts groups for everyone’s benefit.
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Charmaine Jacklin, Theatre Sarnia (https://www.imperialtheatre.net), will talk about their incredibly successful 50/50 draw. TS owns and operates the Imperial Theatre. The draw is open to anyone living in Ontario. It was started in the early days of the pandemic and continues – they have raised more than 2.5 million dollars, all of which is directed to capital improvements.
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Beatriz Pizano, Artistic Director, Aluna Theatre (https://www.alunatheatre.ca/) will talk about their experiences during the lockdowns and now.
SCRIPTS FOR SALE
Playwrights Canada Press scripts will be for sale, at a 20% discount for attendees, before and after the Saturday workshops.
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SCHEDULE
Friday May 19, 2023
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- Visit in Hospitality Suite.
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- Cereal and Cartoons in the Hospitality Suite.
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Workshop – The Design of Dramaturgy presented by Beatriz Pizano and sponsored by Playwrights Canada Press (PCP).
- PCP plays will be available for sale before and after the workshop.
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Workshop – Facilitated discussion of past, present and future for theatre with a focus on WODL member groups.
- PCP plays will be available for sale before and after the workshop.
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- Chocolate Martini Party in the Hospitality Suite.
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- Dinner.
- Travelling Festival Adjudicator’s Awards.
- Cash bar open except during the Awards presentation.
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- Visit in Hospitality Suite.
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- WODL AGM 2023 hosted by London Community Players at the Palace Theatre.
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WODL Festival and Reunion Gala 2023 Committee:
- Mona Brennan-Coles, Chair, Workshops
- Peter Busby, Treasurer
- Bev Dietrich, Hotel/Workshops
- Kathy Fahey, co-host Hospitality
- Tom Fahey, co-host Hospitality
- Ken Menzies, Adjudications
- Andre Paradis, Awards
- Renata Solski, Hotel/Gala
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WODL AGM - London - Sunday 21 May 2023, at 11:00 am | |
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WODL Annual General Meeting
Sunday 21 May 2023
Palace Theatre, 710 Dundas St., London, Ontario
Hosted by London Community Players
at 11:00 am
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Delegates and group presidents will receive formal invitations in the next few weeks. Everyone who belongs to a WODL member group is welcome at the AGM.
All members, in good standing, of WODL member groups can vote at this meeting.
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Community Theatre in the WODL Region | |
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A good place to find out about what other WODL groups are doing is 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 June newsletter, please send the information to communications@wodl.on.ca.
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What’s Happening in Waterloo-Wellington for the Month of May | |
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Cambridge Community Players
CCP is hosting an ‘80s dance. Videos and Music by Thunderstorm Productions on Saturday May 6, 2023, 8 pm till late. Tickets are $15.00 and 80’s attire is definitely encouraged.
Elmira Theatre Company
Tuesdays with Morrie by Jeffrey Hatcher and Mitch Albom, based on the book by Mitch Albom, directed by Sue Garner runs April 28 – May 13, 2023.
Elora Community Theatre
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, directed by Scott Lale runs May 5 –14, 2023.
Kitchener-Waterloo Little Theatre
Zastrozzi by George F. Walker, directed by Matt Walsh runs April 27 – May 13, 2023.
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Off the Wall - Summer Courses 2023 | |
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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Check out these new books from Playwrights Canada Press! You can pick these up and more at the book table at the WODL Festival in London in just a few weeks, run by our friends at WODL.
Recently released:
Haven by Mishka Lavigne, translated by Neil Blackadder
A beautiful portrait of how certain life events can be incredibly isolating, and what happens when people come into our lives when we need them most.
Body So Fluorescent by Amanda Cordner & David Di Giovanni
What happened last night on the dance floor? Gary knows he went to the club with his friend Desiree, but now all he has is a fuzzy memory and a text saying, “We’re done.”
Winter of 88 by Mohammad Yaghoubi
Eight years into the Iran–Iraq War, a family moves into a new apartment in Tehran, hoping to feel safe. But as missiles rain down around them, they must try to survive.
Coming soon:
Calpurnia by Audrey Dwyer
Julie, a young Jamaican Canadian screenwriter, is passionately working on an adaptation of one of the most beloved American novels of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird, telling the story from the perspective of the Finch family’s Black maid, Calpurnia.
After the Fire & The Particulars by Matthew MacKenzie
Two dark comedies that expose what we’re capable of when pushed to our breaking point and give in to the temptation of taking matters into our own hands.
Blackout: The Concordia Computer Riots by Tamara Brown, Kym Dominique-Ferguson, Lydie Dubuisson, and Mathieu Murphy-Perron
In February 1969, hundreds of students occupied a computer centre at what is now Montréal’s Concordia University to protest the mismanagement of a racism complaint lodged by Caribbean students against their biology professor.
+ see what else is coming soon!
Did you know you can browse our plays by subjects and casting?
Want to hear more about sales and upcoming events? Sign up for our newsletter!
You can find more new releases, a blog full of interviews and excerpts, and more on playwrightscanada.com.
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Playwrights Guild of Canada - Canadian Play Outlet | |
Concord Theatricals New Plays | |
If you are Producing Canadian Plays this Season - Check This Out | |
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
Please let our membership chair, Shirley Bieman, know at membership@wodl.on.ca
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WODL General Meeting on Zoom
Announcement of awards nominees
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Deadline for submissions for the June newsletter | |
Victoria Day Long Weekend, 19 & 20 May 2023 | |
WODL Festival and Reunion Gala 2023, London | |
Victoria Day Long Weekend, 17 & 18 May 2024 | |
WODL Festival and Reunion Gala 2024 | |
Victoria Day Long Weekend 2025 and week prior | |
WODL Festival 2025, Leamington | |
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This newsletter was prepared by:
Tricia Ward
Communications coordinator
WODL
Western Ontario Drama League | communications@wodl.on.ca | www.wodl.on.ca
Copyright © Western Ontario Drama League 2023. All Rights Reserved.
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