Important Dates

July 20 - Opening Night of Bungsu and the Big Snake
August 20 - Closing Night of Bungsu and the Big Snake
September 2,3,4 - Puppet Manipulation Workshop with Almut Ellinghaus
September 9 - Garage Sale
September 16, 17 - Commedia for Professional Artists Workshop with Alix Sideris

Special Events

Mardi Gras Fundraising Non-Event - In February, the Theatre held a successful non-event to celebrate the season of Mardi Gras during which we raised over $5600. We hope you enjoyed your paper masks and we hope "not" to see you again at the festivities next year!

Garage Sale - Calling all pack rats - your old stuff is our good fortune! If you have anything that you would like to donate to Odyssey Theatre's annual Garage Sale (on September 9) please call us. You'll receive a tax receipt for the amount of your donation.

Taking Stock

Share Your Shares with Odyssey - Are you making money on your investments? Would you like to share some of your profits with Odyssey Theatre? If you have answered yes to these two questions then you might tell your investment broker what you would like to give and to call our Administrator Lindsay Gordon at 613-232- 8407. Odyssey has now set up an account to receive donations of stocks. The recent federal Budget announced that donations of shares to registered charities will be exempt from capital gains tax.

Lazzi Lazzi

Led by Artistic Associate Alix Sideris, Odyssey's touring company of 10 Ottawa actors will again charm local audiences with its delightful event animation and original performances.

In April Lazzi Lazzi animated both the Daffodil Ball in Montreal for the Canadian Cancer Society and the Diva Auction for Opéra Lyra.

If you have an event at which you would like to have Lazzi Lazzi perform, please call our office at 613-232-8407.

NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT

Odyssey Theatre has a busy schedule of new play development workshops, which help writers develop their scripts and prepare them for future production working with a director, dramaturge and actors.

In early May we held a final workshop of Bungsu and the Big Snake that culminated in an enjoyable public reading attended by many Friends of Odyssey.

Two new workshops will be held in the fall: one for King of Fools, a play written by Laurie Steven in collaboration with Almut Ellinghaus and inspired by Wedekind's King Nicolo, and a first workshop of LiangTee Tue's The Last Dirty Show. Odyssey Theatre would like to thank the Imperial Oil Foundation for supporting our King of Fools workshop.

ARTIST DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS

Odyssey has exciting workshops planned in Commedia dell'Arte, mask and puppetry through which we will enrich the training of professional actors in Ottawa.

Puppet Manipulation: Over the Labour Day weekend seasoned puppet artist Almut Ellinghaus will give a three-day puppet manipulation workshop introducing Ottawa theatre artists to a wide variety of puppets and related manipulation techniques.

Commedia for Professional Artists: In September Artistic Associate Alix Sideris will give a two-day advanced workshop for professional artists in Ottawa. The workshop will be geared to local actors looking for further exploration of Commedia and mask work, as well as professional development and training.

WRITER IN RESIDENCE

This year Artistic Director Laurie Steven will provide dramaturgical support to our writer-in-residence, LiangTee Tue. LiangTee is an international playwright, director, workshop instructor and performer based in Ottawa.

She was dramaturge for Turandot, Odyssey's first fusion project between Commedia dell'arte and Asian dance-drama. LiangTee will develop an original script, The Last Dirty Show, a play for masked Commedia characters inspired by an episode of The Water Margin, a classic collection of stories about a group of bandits living in twelfth century China. This play will explore the themes of women in society and the significance of storytelling in a style that fuses classic Chinese Opera with Commedia style along with Zha-Ju, buffoon, clown and puppetry.

LiangTee will be a valuable resource for Odyssey artists this year.

Odyssey Theatre gratefully acknowledges the Community Foundation of Ottawa and The George Lunan Foundation for supporting our Youth Theatre Program. Youth Apprenticeship Under the direction of local theatre professionals, 10-12 young artists will receive training in performance, production and arts administration with Odyssey this summer. Apprentices will participate in mask and Commedia workshops, and a career development seminar. The program will culminate in a presentation of scenes and monologues. Youth Matinée Series Four weekday matinees will provide a specially adapted and shortened version of Bungsu and the Big Snake to young audiences from camps, child care centres and youth organizations. After the show the children will have a chance to ask the actors questions and see special demonstrations in mask and acting techniques.

Odyssey Theatre would like to extend a warm welcome to three new members of our Board of Directors.

Stuart Conger is a retired Director-General of Human Resources Development Canada. Stuart is the Chair of Odyssey's Nominating Committee.

Kevin Thomson is the Advertising and Marketing Director of Canada China News. Kevin is the Chair of our Corporate Fundraising Committee.

Neale Chisnall, CA (NZ), CMA, is a Controller with Soloway Wright LLP. Neale chairs Odyssey's Strategic Planning Committee.

All three have shown great enthusiasm for their new roles and we appreciate their contributions to our development! In April our Board members participated in a strategic planning retreat during which they met with arts consultant and touring specialist Ottie Lockey. The Board committed to a future vision of Odyssey that includes producing a smaller, more artistically experimental indoor production and touring our work to new audiences. We look forward to realizing these exciting plans for the future!

THE LES SUITES HOTEL

As part of our ongoing series to acknowledge our sponsors, Odyssey is pleased to offer this profile of the Les Suites Hotel, Ottawa, "The Official Hotel of Odyssey Theatre."

Located in the heart of downtown Ottawa is Les Suites Hotel, Ottawa. This all suite hotel features spacious one and two bedrooms, offers warm hospitality and exceptional services suited to please business and leisure travelers alike. In addition, it's home to exceptional wellequipped meeting facilities that specialize in hosting meetings and events.

The Les Suites Hotel is committed to developing and fostering partnerships and actively participating in the business community, the tourism industry, charities and the arts. This spring Odyssey Theatre enjoyed the hospitality of the Les Suites Hotel during our Board of Directors retreat as well as our Actor's Workshop with a public reading of Bungsu and the Big Snake.

The hotel has been recognized for its excellence in the field of customer service by the Stars of the City Program and one of their employees recently won the overall award and was named Star of the City. The Les Suites Hotel Ottawa provides the perfect accommodations for individual travelers or families coming to explore the Nation's Capital and the wealth of exciting cultural events Ottawa has to offer.

For reservations please call 613-232-2000 or, toll-free 1-800-267-1989. For more information please visit www.les-suites.com.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

If you are an enthusiastic, reliable person who believes in the values of art and community then Odyssey Theatre is looking for you! We are seeking volunteers to work in the office or in the park to support this year's production of "Theatre Under the Stars". Be prepared to have fun, meet great people, and gain valuable experience. Please call 613-232-8407 for more information on specific and exciting opportunities!