President's Message Shaw Festival Cancels Remaining 2020 Performances of Charley's Aunt and Flush a LOT O'notl
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President’s Message (video) Shaw Festival Cancels Remaining 2020 Performances of Charley’s Aunt and Flush Performances of A Christmas Carol remain as scheduled “We know it looks insurmountable to return to the stage in 2020, but we at The Shaw are holding onto hope for a holiday season,” said Kimberley Rampersad, Associate Artistic Director. “Our hope is a candle – it may flicker, but it will not go out.” You can read the entire media release here. A LOT O’NOTL – Delivered! Thanks to Shaw Guild members who ordered one of the LOT O’ NOTL boxes, containing curated delicacies and home products, as part of the Shaw Guild’s program to support Queen Street merchants! The 50 boxes at $50 each were assembled and delivered on Friday, August 28, by a team of Guild volunteers, led by Emily Lukasik, Shaw Company actor, who proposed the initiative to the Guild a couple of months ago. Emily had heard of a similar program being done in a Toronto neighbouhood earlier this year, and thought it would be great for the Shaw and the Guild to run the program in support of Queen Street merchants in the same way. The team of Laurie Harley, Brenda Weafer, Gail Kendall, Cheryl Morris and Shaw actor Emily Lukasik (at top left) spent several hours one day scouting out and shopping for items for the boxes. It was difficult to make the final choices with so many great shops to choose from. The team will gather soon to discuss the possibility of putting together a holiday-themed package later in the year and perhaps extend the offer to local residents who are not Guild members. The boxes contained: • Greaves Cherry Jam (Greaves) • Chimney Cake (Budapest Bakery) • Victoria Coffee or Tea (Victoria Gallery & Teas) • Artisan Soap (One Earth) • Ice Cream Flavoured Lip Balm (Cows) • Butter Tarts x 2 (Niagara Home Bakery) • Artichoke Tapenade (Kurtz) • Tea Towel Embroidered with NOTL Clock Tower (Plusios) • Maple Fudge (Maple Leaf Fudge) • Salt Water Taffy (Old Tyme Candy Shop) • LOT O’ NOTL Canvas Bag • Shaw Festival ballpoint pen The response from happy customers has been wonderful! Here are a few comments: • “I received our box while hosting a socially distanced coffee on the deck with two other couples. They were suitably impressed when I opened our mystery box.” • “Oh my gosh – it’s like early Christmas …. I don’t know what to eat first?? What a marvelous selection of tasty and savory bits along with a combination of wonderful mementoes and products from the heartbeat of NOTL. Well done Shaw Festival and the Guild. Worth every cent and would be happy to participate in this again.” • “What a delightful surprise. And what a great initiative. Congratulations!” • “Great concept and way to show local support. Happy to have been able to participate.” • “What fun to unpack my surprise box! I was excited to come home to find out what lovely treats were waiting for me. Great idea, great success.” • “I absolutely love, love, love my basket! Many thanks to the contributing vendors and volunteers who delivered these delectable delights. Great job everyone.” • “We received our ‘A Lot of NOTL’ box and were delighted with the contents. Such a lovely variety - some practical, some useful and some treats. Today we will start enjoying the contents. An absolutely creative idea.” • “Opened my Box.........WOW! Beautiful presentation, a great selection and yummy! Well done. Congratulations! (Please also give my congrats to Emily - delicious idea!)” • “Thank you for the wonderful box of goodies the Guild assembled. An excellent idea and I hope the store owners were happy with the result. (I have eaten both tarts already!)” • “WOW, the box is amazing … just LOVE IT!!! From the moment I learned of the idea, I was committed. I really liked that you kept the contents a surprise as it made the day of delivery that much more special and exciting. When my husband and I opened the box, we were taken aback by the contents, lots of variety with a nice blend of fresh and non-perishable items; even the box is great.” Fall Series: Shaw’s Fancy Pants! We’re baaack! The Shaw Guild presents “Fancy Pants” With Jason Bendig, head of Wardrobe at the Shaw Festival. This first broadcast in our new Fall series will take place on Tuesday, September 15th at 5:00 pm. We will chat with Jason about his career, and some of the behind the scenes details that make the Wardrobe department such a vital and interesting place to be! You will be able to send us your questions beforehand to [email protected]. Or you can type in questions during the live broadcast. It promises to be a fun and interesting way to spend a little time with your favourite beverage and learn more about the inner workings of the Company! Link to YouTube live broadcast NOTL Ambassador Pilot Project The project was launched on Saturday August 29. Twenty-nine Shaw Guild volunteers are participating as Ambassadors to greet visitors to Town, provide essential social distancing and mask guidelines, and answer questions to help people enjoy Niagara-on-the-Lake. Photo L to R: Lois Chapman, Kim Mustill, Barbara Webber, Marlene Walther, Councillors Wendy Cheropita and Gary Burroughs. The Town has provided each volunteer with a t- shirt, tote bag containing hand sanitizer, a ValuMart $10 gift card, a mask and a map, as well as a “home base” in the Market Room in the Old Courthouse. Andrew Niven, Director of Marketing at Konzelmann Estate Winery, has generously donated a bottle of wine for each volunteer! “Congratulations on this new initiative. We are always very appreciative of the great work the Shaw Guild does within our community,” said Andrew. Read the media release from the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake here. The pilot project is continuing until September 13. If you are interested in participating, please send email to [email protected]. Government of Canada Invests in New Fund for Niagara-on-the-Lake Tourism Operators On August 25, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and Minister responsible for FedDev Ontario, announced a non-repayable FedDev Ontario investment of $500,000 to support the tourism industry in Niagara-on-the-Lake. With this investment, the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake will establish a fund that will provide contributions of up to $20,000 to small- and medium-sized businesses in the tourism sector. Tourism- oriented SMEs will receive support to offset the costs of reopening and adapting. The project is expected to support 50 businesses and maintain about 100 jobs. The Minister also announced the intention to provide a contribution of up to $400,000 to the Shaw to support outdoor theatre performances and support visitor activity in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Quote from Tim Jennings: "On behalf of the Shaw Festival, our artists, craftspeople, technicians, volunteers, board and admin workers, we are thrilled to be able to partner with FedDev Ontario to be able to support the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, the Region of Niagara and Tourism NOTL in encouraging a resurgence of safe, outdoor gatherings through a series of musical performance opportunities and a few other surprises. The Shaw will use these funds to provide free and low-cost outdoor performance activities and purchase equipment to ensure the safest possible experience for everyone.” The entire announcement can be found here. A Day in the Life of an Usher by Marlene Walther When I moved to Niagara on the Lake in 2007, one of my first priorities was to become involved with the Shaw Theatre and support them however I could. Not many small communities are so fortunate to have such a world-class theatre in their midst and I wanted to be a part of it somehow. Within a week of moving here, I accessed the Shaw Festival’s website on the Internet. I was looking for their volunteer section when I stumbled upon “Job Opportunities.” I clicked on it and saw a posting for ushers required immediately. It didn’t take me more than a few seconds to realize that was a job I’d love to do and a very good way to get to know more about the Shaw. I phoned, went for an interview, and was hired to start within a few days. The ushers are usually the first people at the theatre to greet the patrons, unless it’s a shift where the Shaw Guild hosts are taking tickets. As you know, the ushers show you to your seats, offer you a program, and answer any questions you may have about the performance, and so on. What you may not realize is that one of their most important duties is to ensure the safety of the audience. That’s why the ushers are required to “sit in” with the audience during every performance. Their purpose is to keep an eye on the audience, not to watch the show. They are constantly scanning the theatre to see if there are any situations they need to deal with. They check to make sure aisles are clear, no programs are lying around that someone can slip on, no umbrellas or canes are sticking out, nothing is sitting on the balcony ledges that could accidentally fall onto the people below or get caught up in the lights, etc. If anyone moves to get out of their seat, the usher tries to get there as fast as possible to assist them to exit the theatre safely. Their job is to make the theatre experience as enjoyable as possible for everyone.