1 THE OKTC STAGE DOOR, September 2014 Editor: Art Fidler fidlera@rogers.com BE SEIZED BY THE MOMENT! In mid-august, a fascinating new film was released, and I just saw it. It took 12 years to make. In 2002, the director, Richard Linklater, cast a five-year-old boy to play Mason, the central character of the film. Over the 12 years of filming, that kid, Ellar Coltrane, remained in the role of Mason as he grew up himself, as did the other actors playing his sister (Lorelei Linklater), his mom (Patricia Arquette) and his dad (Ethan Hawke). By the end of the film, Mason is leaving home to go to college, and the film, Boyhood, ends. When it does, we ve not only witnessed Mason s growth, but we ve also shared in it, the evolution of a personality as the New Yorker magazine puts it. I already know that it is a film that will stick with me, and this morning my head is buzzing with it. Out for my walk, I started to think about the years I ve watched the same film in real life, my own sons and now my grandchildren. I also thought about all the Original Kids I ve watched go through boyhood and girlhood. Let s use Lowgan Pertout as an example. In June, Lowgan spoke emotionally as one of our Grads at our Grad and Season Celebration. I could think back to the five-year-old Lowgan who entered Original Kidlets, and who, all these years later, is off to college. And not only have I watched Lowgan; I ve also shared his evolution, his entire Boyhood! Anyway, one of the ideas from the film bouncing around my mind today comes from a dialogue scene in which a boy and a girl talk about the concept of Carpe Diem, seizing the present moment before it is gone. They think that maybe what they want to do is to reverse that, to try to be open to allowing the moment to seize them, and that all of life is really the moment. Then I thought that this is what I want to convey to you in the first Stage Door of a new year at Original Kids, all of you, our Kids, our families, our volunteers, our staff, and our audiences. Let s all be open to the moment, and let it seize us, carry us away. Life s moment is a Grand Adventure! And so, in a very real way, is Original Kids. Art Fidler (The second Richard Linklater film is one that will still be fresh in the minds of at least our parental demographic: Dazed and Confused. And then too, there s his School of Rock.)
2 THE GRAND ADVENTURE IN BRIEF Our thrilling new season theme is drawn from the writings of A. A. Milne, author of Winnie the Pooh: "As soon as I saw you, I knew a grand adventure was about to happen. Our Grand Adventure begins in October, as we dare a Zombie Walk with Zombies Comedies. We will fly to Hollywood to explore the wheeling and dealing of the horror movie business in The Craving. From the glitz and chicanery of filmdom, we take a deluxe guided tour of the nuttiness that is Crazytown. Time travel is always a fascination, and good theatre often offers one of the most exciting ways to adventure through time. We begin by going back, back, back, right to our own childhoods in the Hundred Acre Wood with Winnie the Pooh and all his unforgettable chums. Next, our time-craft drops us into the late 1950 s, the Elvis world of Rock n Roll and poodle skirts as we visit Sweet Apple, Ohio in Bye Bye Birdie. Where will we land next?! Well. We ll hop forward into the very next decade, the 60 s British female pop-singer decade of Shout! The Mod Musical when women renewed their adventure of self-discovery. Away we go to the 80 s when The Wedding Singer just might be the coolest guy in town with the biggest hair! Our time-craft doubles as a space-craft, speeding us on our expedition to the 1860 s Bangkok, and the wildly exotic kingdom of The King and I. Our exciting and enlightening exploits wrap up in January with us venturing Into the Woods with our favourite fairytale friends, and finding that life is about more than happily ever after! Fall 2014 at Original Kids Theatre Company will be a GRAND ADVENTURE, indeed!
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4 OKTC & TVCC Present The Dress Up & Drama Program For the 15th year in a row, Original Kids Theatre Company and the Thames Valley Children's Centre (TVCC) are partnering for a one-week summer theatre camp called the Dress Up & Drama Program, providing a real theatre experience to young actors who use voice output machines to communicate. We are so proud of this program -- our TVCC actors have been having a blast this week working on various scripts written and adapted by the OKTC team, including "The Hockey Sweater," "The Paperbag Princess" and "Scooby-Doo." The TVCC/OKTC performance day will be Friday August 29 at 10 am at the Spriet Family Theatre. Admission is free and everyone is welcome to attend! For more information about the Thames Valley Children's Centre, visit their website at http://www.tvcc.on.ca/.
5 OPENING UP TO THE WHOLE ADVENTURE In The Grand Adventure Guide that is included in your casting package, Artistic Director Andrew did a thorough job of connecting you to all the up-coming events and OK happenings. I ll use his edited guide here as a checklist for you, adding where relevant. 1. WORKSHOP SERIES featuring Canadian musical theatre star and Original Kids alumnus, Kyle Blair! As Kyle knows Original Kids so well, he approaches his teaching with integrity, openness and a lot of fun. Here s a chance to learn something new with one of our top Canadian actor/singer/dancers. I ve shared Kyle s career since he entered Grade 9 as one of my students, so you can take my word for it! 2. We always remind you to start looking for your audition material early and we hope our library of MONOLOGUE BOOKS will help you. Stop by, read it on the mezzanine and ask us for a photocopy! We also recommend the third floor of the Central Library. 3. STAGE MANAGE / ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGE / TECH / USHERING: E-mail our Volunteer Coordinator Kerry at kerry@oktc.ca! What a great opportunity to work behind the scenes on a show and gain insights on the creation of a full scale production. For our high school students, great volunteer hours too. As well, Kerry is always looking for parent volunteers to assist with costumes, props, hair/makeup, and backstage assistance. 4. Our OKTC Box Office Opening: SEPTEMBER 20TH at 12 PM. Book early for the best seats and don t forget the real bargain --the Subscription Packages available on www.oktc.ca now! 5. Thank you to new Camp OK Director Will Johnston and Kidlets Director Karen Hamilton-MacDonald and their teams for creating one of the most successful years of ORIGINAL KIDS SUMMER THEATRE CAMP and KAMP KIDLETS! 6. This summer, we were the Canadian representatives at the 12 TH WORLD FESTIVAL OF CHILDREN S THEATRE with our original collective creation, Dream Journey. The 16 participants had the opportunity of a lifetime. Here are some of their comments: memories that will be on my heart forever, I made so many new friends from all around the world. I hope to see them all again someday, I ve learned so much about different cultures from around the world, my chance to meet new people from all over the world like Iran, Columbia, Russia, Germany, I learned how to be creative and how to accept unexpected surprises, Performing our show was so amazing! Many thanks to Jim Schaefer for being the true 'guide' of our dreams and allowing them to manifest into a reality as well as to Richelle & Andrew to bring
6 the musical elements to life and Rob Blowes for our travel arrangements. Ayala Reshef, Jay Patterson, and Mike Mankulich - our incredible chaperones - to whom which none of this would have been possible. Their enthusiasm for the festival and organization was impeccable and we are truly grateful. 7. We will keep updated on the premiere date of a special series, Dream Journey, that will be featured on Rogers TV this fall with OK member Megan Rossini as host. 8. CRAZY FOR YOU! We ve got A+ seats for the Stratford Festival production of The Tony Best Musical winner, CRAZY FOR YOU, on Wed., Oct. 8 at 2pm. If you ve seen it, you ll know it has been declared as one of the best musicals in the history of the Stratford Festival! And here s your chance to see it. (I ve already seen it three times!) Complete trip with bus only $50 OKs and $60 adult. Email art@oktc.ca now! All OKids, families, and friends are welcome. It s perfect for all ages! 9. HEADSHOTS. New Original Kids and staff only. SEPTEMBER 13 th from 11 AM 4 in the OKTC Business Office..
7 10. NEW YORK CITY 2015 trip over March Break and open to High School-aged Original Kids. The trip is sold out right now, but you never know when an opening might become available. You can also inquire for details for future years. E-mail Art (art@oktc.ca) for information and to get onto the waiting list. 11. WALT DISNEY WORLD! Victoria Day Weekend 2015. Grade 6-9 OKs are headed to Orlando to participate in a series of Performing Arts workshops as well as experiencing all of the excitement of the Disney parks. All travel arrangements, accommodations, meals, access to parks and workshops are included! Information session: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 from 7pm - 8pm for all interested families and Original Kids. E-mail Ceris ceris.thomas@sympatico.ca for more details! 12. NEWS FROM COSTUMES: Ellen Mallett, OKTC Costume Mistress sends the following: Weeding and cleaning is still underway in the costume department but I wanted to share news of some wonderful donations of evening wear and accessories from Eden Bella Boutique and Susan J Fashions. Costume teams will find most new additions in the loft. Men's fashions are slowly moving over to Covent Market Lane. Also in Covent Market Lane is a large donation of fabric we received from a closing decorating store. A book of fabric swatches including yardages will be available for staff and directors to look at in September. 13. See The Addams Family, the Grand Theatre High School Project. Although the cast members are identified by their high school only, there are many current OKs and alums in the show, including Noah D Ascanio, Allison Kinahan, Julie Beaumaster, Alicia Bray, Emma McCormick, Danie Dixon, Peter Nye and Will Frassinelli. 14. GET CONNECTED! Be sure to follow us on all the savviest social media for the latest updates on everything Original Kids!! Website: www.originalkids.ca Instagram: @OriginalKidsTC Twitter: @OriginalKidsTC Facebook: www.facebook.com/originalkidstheatre Now, open up to our great big GRAND ADVENTURE!! Let it SEIZE you!