The Game of Love and Chance is this year’s Theatre under the Stars summer production. Director, Andy Massingham and Company Dramaturge and Associate Artistic Director, Janet Irwin say a few words on the progress of the play after this past weekend’s workshop.

We’re looking for stories about how you’ve succeeded at The Game of Love and Change. Odyssey Theatre staff and volunteers thought they would get the ball rolling. Our first post comes from our very own Dana Uzarevic, Odyssey Theatre’s General Manager since 2006.

My Game of Love and Chance

I was 16 when I dated a guy who had a friend named Zeljko. I said to my boyfriend at the time: “of all your friends, I like Zeljko the most. There is something really nice about him.”

My boyfriend and I soon broke up, but 2 years later our paths crossed again and we started dating again. I again met Zeljko and again thought he was a really nice guy, and nothing more than that. The relationship with my boyfriend lasted a bit longer this time, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Few months later, around midnight, I was walking my dog when I heard someone calling my name. It was Zeljko. I was very pleased to see him. We talked for a bit and agreed to go for a drink soon.

The first night we went out, we talked for three hours not even noticing how much time went by. We started hanging out more often. Just friends. Few months later was New Year’s Eve and he invited my friend and I to spend it with him and his friends. At some point that night I moved to kiss him. That’s when he told me he had a long-distance girlfriend. I still went for that kiss and got it. When he took me home, we kissed once again and that was it.

Next time we saw each other, we were ‘just friends’. For four months we were hanging out, going to movies, theatre and long walks. No kissing, but some flirting. He accompanied me to my friend’s birthday party where I told him I fell in love with him. He still had a girlfriend.

The next day I asked him to meet with me. We went for a drink and I told him that I wanted to be with him, that I don’t mind that he had a girlfriend and that he could be with both of us until he figured out whom he wants to be with. I didn’t want to hear anything about her and she didn’t need to know about me. He asked me what if he chose her. I said that I would be ok with that. I would at least know that I tried and would never ask myself “what if”. He agreed to give it a shot. (I mean, what did he have to loose.)

My birthday was a month later. He gave me a gift and a rose with a little card that said: “Happy birthday to my only girlfriend.”

15 years and two kids later, I’m still very proud of myself. I did what not too many girls would do and that “game of love and chance” gave me the man of my dreams and the best marriage anyone could wish for.

As a very long standing member of Odyssey Theatre’s Board of Directors, (11 years! They keep trying to kick me out but I just won’t go!) I’ve been a part of many brainstorming meetings around a certain topic that is never too far from the mind of most people who are affiliated with the arts in some way. Come on, you know what I’m talking about, say it with me…Fundraising!

Aww fundraising, it keeps us up at night, as we endlessly try to come up with new ideas to raise much needed money so we can keep offering the standard of work not only our audiences expect from us, but that we expect from ourselves. It is almost the perfect example of a Sisyphean task. Like almost all fundraising brainstorms, this one had rules:

1. It can’t cost a lot of money to set up. Let’s face it, if we had a lot of money to hold a fundraising event, we wouldn’t need a fundraising event.

2. It can’t take a lot of time to plan and execute. We’re a small board, for a company with a small staff and there’s a month long production to put on in a very short amount of time!

And it had a goal. We need to raise $1000 dollars. Not an overly huge sum, but not peanuts either. We came up with several options, but you would be amazed at how many of them we had to shoot down because they broke one of the two rules I mentioned above.Then I thought of something, it’s going out on a limb I know, and I don’t think everyone thinks it will be successful, but they agreed to let me give it a shot. Drum roll please… a social media fundraiser.

When you think about it, theatre promotion has been deeply rooted in social media. Ok not the Facebook, Twitter kind, but the kind where people passed on information about upcoming shows to one another. For centuries, theatre was predominately performed for, and by, people who didn’t read. There were no TV commercials, billboards, or pamphlets being passed around letting everyone know show times and venues. Theatre was promoted and therefore supported by word of mouth. And if that’s not true social media, then I don’t know what is.

Can you pass on our message and help us raise $1000? It’s easy, all you have to do is go to this page and click the Donate Now button. There is no minimum donation. If you add your twitter handle in the message section we’ll send you a twitter thank you (though of course we’ll keep your amount secret). We accept major credit cards, Interac and PayPal, and if your donation is $20 or more and you provide us with your address, we’ll send you a tax receipt.

Click here to donate now.

Many Thanks,

Tara Landry

Every summer Odyssey Theatre presents a Youth Matinee for young audiences in beautiful Strathcona Park. This year in co-operation with Rag and Bone Puppet Theatre, Odyssey will be presenting A Promise is a Promise. This play is an adaptation of the popular Canadian book by Robert Munsch and Michael Kusugak. It explores Inuit culture and its vibrant narrative traditions. A Promise is a Promise tells the story of a young heroine who discovers what commitment and honesty mean through her attempts to avoid capture by the Qallupilluit, mythical sea monsters of the North. This interview is with Rag and Bone’s puppeteer, Kathy MacLellan.

 

 
Odyssey Theatre (OT) - Thank you Kathy for taking the time to do this interview. Why don’t we start from the beginning, how did the idea of doing A Promise is a Promise as Puppet Theatre come about?

Kathy MacLellan (KML) – John [Nolan] and I used to have a studio in a classroom of an elementary school. At that time, the Ottawa Catholic School Board used to have a program where they put artists in empty classrooms; there was a grade six class in the room next door and one day we heard the grade six teacher reading this story to his kids. We waited until recess and then said to him, “Wow! What was that story you were reading?” and he said, “Oh! it’s called A Promise is a Promise, you should do it as a show.” And so we did.

OT – It must have been pure serendipity!

KML – Yes, yes. We read it, and we thought what a fantastic story!

We had met Robert Munsch at a children’s festival, so when it came time to get the rights to the book, the publisher called him and asked him what he thought. He [Robert Munsch] thought it would be great, since he’d seen our show and he liked our work.

OT – Inuit stories are compelling and worth being told, and this particular story is a collaboration by two authors, one from an Inuit heritage (Michael Kusugak) and one not (Robert Munsch). In some circles, who tells the story is a sensitive issue. Has this been the case with A Promise is a Promise? Has there been an ‘uncomfortableness’ from certain people about a non-Inuit performer telling an Inuit story.

KML – Yes, the conversation has come up, and it is important to be sensitive to other cultures. We did a lot of research on life in the Arctic, the people and the stories, and we try to present as accurate a picture as we can of modern day life, as well as the ancient story. We visited the North twice, and talked to people about how the story and the community should be represented. We are respectful of the culture, we presented our work to the elders for their approval, and we continue to reach out to Ottawa based Inuit communities such as the Inuit Children’s Centre.

OT – Are puppet shows just for kids?

KML – Absolutely not. All over the world puppet shows are really important way of passing on the culture and a really important community event. Some puppets are abstract and thought provoking. In North America it’s a little unfortunate that puppetry has been pigeonholed as an “art for children.” I think it’s mostly because of television puppetry, the way puppets are used on television make it seem that they are only for pre-schoolers. But in fact, there’s a lot of interesting work being done all across Canada where fascinating puppet work is being developed and performed for adults and children.

OT – In respect to rag and Bone Puppet Theatre, are your performances primarily geared to children?

KML – We think of our shows as suitable for family audiences; the way we try to do it is to be very careful in our choice of language so that even little kids can understand what we are saying, but equally we’re really careful not to talk down to anybody. In the end, it’s just about telling a good story.

OT – What are the similarities between your show and other Odyssey Productions?

KML – The most obvious comparison is that we both use masks and puppets. I also think that both Companies try for a kind of unconventional staging and a really strong visual style. Both of us use a lot of music in our productions and we both have strong themes based on myths and legends.

OT – What can audiences expect to see at the show when they come to Strathcona Park?

KML – It’s a very exciting show, kids find it thrilling. Sometimes people who have read the book think it’s a bit scary, with frightening pictures of witch like hands coming out of the ice, but in our production the monsters are at times a little more funny.

OT –Thank you Kathy for your time, we’re all looking forward to seeing your show.

Share

 
Odyssey Theatre’s is proud to have received 5 nominations for this year’s Rideau Awards. Nominations are given for locally produced English and French professional theatre. Odyssey’s production of Carlo Goldoni’s delicious 18th-century farce The Fan leads the pack with nominations in five categories:
 

• Outstanding Production,
• Direction (David S. Craig),
• Female actor (Rose Napoli),
• Male actor (Andy Massingham),
• and Outstanding Adaptation (David S. Craig).

For more, read Patrick Langston’s article in The Ottawa Citizen.

Odyssey Theatre has definitely been one of the best choices I have made in a long time. The audition and interview process was a great experience, giving you a feel of maybe not
working on stage but how people get jobs working behind the scene and in the office. Getting cast was a moment of surprise because when I auditioned I was only just the right age limit.

Then the summer programme started and I met all the wonderful people I was going to spend the summer with. One of first tasks I learned was how to make coffee. This really helped me  because there is a lot of down time in the park when your not needed, so offering to make some coffee really helped my popularity.

When the acting began I got to work with the professional actors, learn from them and perform myself. Alongside this, I helped construct the set, prepare the props and stage before every performance and then pack it all away again.

It was very exciting working for a summer season and many of my school friends asked if it got boring doing the same show 38 times and the answer was always no. Doing the show 38 times built a bond with the cast and crew and there was always a different situation or mishap to keep everyone on their toes.  But when the shows were done and dusted and the set was taken down I walked away with about 30 new friends, carpentry and set building skills, many different acting warm ups and more happy memories than I could count.

I would recommend anyone who was interested in the theatre to apply to Odyssey Theatre. It has been an experience of a lifetime and was the best environment to learn performing, practical and life skills in.

by Phoebe Williams ( YAP of 2011)

25th Anniversary newsletter

Michaela Deng – Front of House

They say that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. After participating in Odyssey Theatre’s Youth Apprenticeship Program, I agree. I’ve learned that every little job contributes to the final show, and this show could only be made possible with a full team of everyone… from stage managers to ticket sellers. There are countless people working on this play (half of them, I’ve never even met), and it’s simply magical to see how everybody’s share of work molds into something much bigger than you’d expect.

When I first applied, I honestly didn’t know what I was getting into! I thought it’d be “theatre camp”-ish, where every day, we’d fool around… let our creativity run. But, it turned out to be a true, hands-on, learning experience. I found that the trick was to absorb as much as possible; you learn as much as you want to learn because your will and observation all depends on you. And so, even though I didn’t have the chance to come as often as the others, I learned a truckload. I mean, I hammered my first nail on this set! Something I never would’ve expected to do! I feel privileged to have had this opportunity; it has been enlightening.

Something unique that has made this particular production outstanding is the fact that the play is a classic Italian comedy. Now, THAT is some pretty highbrow stuff. You don’t see many ads for those these days! It is said that theatre is becoming more and more underrated and overlooked. It’d be sad to think that beautiful masks and over-the-top costumes, hearty stories, real charisma, and “all that jazz” is slowly being replaced by plastic screens and “one-hit takes”. I, however, have definitely found a shiny, silver lining through Odyssey Theatre’s production of The Fan. The actors are so honest and raw in every rehearsal, the whole crew is so hard-working and dedicated, and the atmosphere is so down-to-earth and composed, yet totally professional at the same time. The setting, Strathcona Park, is so amazing that even the dozens of mosquito bites I get every night are worth it. As cheesy as it sounds, theatre is my bread and butter… the thing that drives me, and so, the idea of this play being a success so far is uplifting! It feels great to be a part of this marvellous masterpiece that Ottawa has been waiting to see unveiled!

Jay T Schramek, Nicolas Van Burek, Brad Long, Andy Massingham, Rose Napoli, Scott Thomas

Jay T Schramek, Rose Napoli, Nicolas Van Burek

Robin Craig, Andy Massingham

Nicolas Van Burek, Brad Long, Jay T Schramek

Nicolas Van Burek, Robin Craig, Kaitlyn Semple, Andy Massingham, Michael Showler