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SPRING
2015
ESCARPMENT
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theatre
What’sNewatTheatreCollingwood...
In theWinter2015editionofEscarpmentMagazine,we readabout theamaz-
ing contribution JozoWeider made on the region, with his passion for Blue
Mountainaswellas thecreationofBlueMountainPottery. We readofGeorge
WeiderandGordCanningbeing thenextgeneration in thewell-known family
business. For the theatrecommunity there isanother cherished “Weider”and
that is BarbaraWeider,GeorgeWeider’swife.Over 30years ago, shewas
the foundingmember of TheatreCollingwoodand still sitson theBoardofDi-
rectors today,withasmuchpassion for the theatrecompanyas shehad in the
earlyyears. Last summerwehonouredBarbaraat the2014 TheatreColling-
woodGala. This fundraiser seemed tobe the appropriate place todo soas
Barbarahasbeen fund raising for the theatre for30years!
The Boardof Directors of TheatreCollingwooddecideda few years ago to
change someof theways theyweredoing things. “Not enough funds,” seems
tobeacontinuous theme in theatre. Thatand“not enoughbums in seats”. It is
astruggle formost companies,asexpensesarehigh toproducequality theatre
andkeeping ticketpricesaffordablecanbeachallenge. Thecompanyhad re-
ceiveda Trilliumgrant, andhadhiredDebPiggot asDevelopmentManager.
Deb’sability to raise fundswas instantly recognisedandconfirmed theBoard’s
wisedecision tobringher on. Theother decision theymadewas to stoppro-
ducing costly live theatre in town and instead to look for someonewhowas
connectedwith the theatre community enough, andwaswilling toworkwith
other theatrecompanies tobring in shows fromotherareas. ThiswayTheatre
Collingwoodcouldshare in thecostsofproductionandstilloffergreat live the-
atre in the region. This iswhere I came into thepicture.
Theday that I received thecall fromTheatreCollingwood Iwasheading to the
beach inMexicoand the call went something like this: “Yougot the job. We
haveaboardmeeting in twoweeks. We’d like you topresent theupcoming
seasonat thatmeeting”. For someunknown reason the thought nevercrossed
mymind that this couldbe adifficult task. Instead I immediately sent out an
email tomyverycreative friendsandsaid, “Ineedyourbabies!”What Imeant
was “what areyouproducing this year, can it travel, andwouldyouconsider
bringing it toCollingwood”. That was in2013. Flash forward to2015and
we have just begun our third year as a “presenting” company rather than a
“producing” company.We havemanaged topresent two full years of high
quality theatre inCollingwood, including fiveweek-long shows andmultiple
one-night-onlyshowseachyear.Wehavedevelopedoutstanding relationships
withother theatrecompanies, suchasTheatreOrangevilleandLighthouseFes-
tival Theatre.Ouraudienceshavegivenusverypositive feedbackand lastyear
our subscriptionsales rose20% (andweexpect that tohappenagain thisyear).
March1stmarkedanotherchange forTheatreCollingwoodwhen theBoxOf-
ficewasmoved to theNEW locationat115HurontarioStreet (Suite104 - fac-
ing the municipal parking lot). More space was desperately needed to
accommodatestaffandourwalk-in ticketpurchasers. Thespacehasacreative
atmosphere, loadsofnatural lightandampleparking,whichallowus tobetter
serveour customers.And servingour customers is exactlywhatweplan todo
thisyear,withayearof qualityprogramming!
2015 startedwithour Valentine’s cabaret All YouNeed IsMORE Love! This
show issopopular that it isquicklybecomingayearlyevent.GregGibsonwas
theMusical Director for this showanddirected10outstanding singers anda
very talentedband,allwitha themeof LOVE.Greg isanativeofCollingwood
andhas literally travelledandperformedallover theworldasanaccomplished
pianist.
OnApril 11, AlisonWearingperformed inher one-woman-playConfessions
ofaFairy’sDaughter.Allison isabrilliantwriterandactorandher story isvery
endearingandpersonal. She isalsovery funny!
In total thecompanywill offer fourone-night-onlyperformances thisyear. The
other twoareShirleyValentine inOctober and LeisaWay’sHaveYourself a
Swinging LittleCountryChristmas inDecember.
TheatreCollingwoodwill onceagainbeofferingaGALAevent in2015. This
year’sgala iscalled“EnBlanc”andwillbeheldMay9that TheWestinTrillium
Houseat BlueMountain.Guestswill beentertainedbySterling Jarvis, who is
well known forhismusical theatreperformances inThe LionKingandWeWill
RockYou, butwhoalso is a verydiverse singerwho is sure tobloweveryone
awaywithhis smooth sounds.What is really interestingabout the themeof this
gala is the roleeachattendeeplays in thedécor,aseveryone isasked todress
inallwhiteattire! This hasbeendoneat sucheventsall around theworldand
theeffect canbe stunning. It does involve somecreative thinking, though.
Following the galawe begin the Summer Theatre Festival Seasonwhich in-
volves fivedeliciousplays,oneweekeachmonth fromMay toSeptember. Dan
Needles’ latestworkBacoNoirwillopen theseason,coming tous fromTheatre
Orangeville. This is awonderful playabout openingawinery in Persephone
Township.Of coursewe loveanythingDavidNairndoes (ArtisticDirector for
TheatreOrangeville). Then in Julywewill celebrate the60’sand70’s inMem-
ories of Rock&Roll (for Aaron Solomon fans, hewill be in this showwith his
amazingmusical talents).Norm Foster’s plays arealwayswell receivedand
this Julywewill presentOneMoment. Thisdelightful comedy isa littleunusual
forNormas it is alsoamusical,whichhe rarelydoes. Then inAugust,wewill
present the ever popular I Love You, Your’re Perfect, NowChange. Debbie
Collins is oneof the cast members in this playabout the trials and tribulations
of love,andweLOVEDebbie! Wewill finishoff thesummerwithaveryunique
concert styleproductioncalledFromWeimer toVaudeville, inwhichTomAllen
andhis teamofoutstandingmusicianswill tellandperform thestoryof twomen,
both the sonsofmusic royalty.
Inaddition toavery full yearofprogrammingTheatreCollingwoodalsooffers
anarrayofeducationalprograms includingdrama training forallagesaswell
as camps for youth. Most of our performances take place at The Historic
GayetyTheatre inCollingwoodbutwealso look forward tousing theSimcoe
Street Theatre for smaller performances and classes. We have taken time to
survey our patrons andwe really feel we now havemuch tooffer them. It is
our goal at TheatreCollingwood toprovideaffordablebut veryprofessional
live theatrepresentations toour community and visitors to thearea. All of us
areonamission toPUTMOREPLAY INYOUR LIFE! Wehopeyouwill come
out to the theatreandallowus todo so. And, yes, youwill seeandhear Bar-
baraWeider in the front row.Stillalways thereasourcheer leader,proclaiming
her loveof live theatre!
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Formore information please visit ourwebsite at
r call 705-445-220
ERICAANGUS, EXECUTIVEDIRECTOR&DEBPIGOTT,DEVELOPMENTMANAGER
BYERICAANGUS
