Ottawa theatre « coffee with Julie

Posts Tagged ‘Ottawa theatre’

April 3rd, 2011

PLAYtime (for parents AND kids!) + an Ottawa giveaway

If you are a parent, let me ask you this: When was the last time you went to see live theatre? (Do I hear *crickets*??) Yeah, I thought maybe that was the case. Because that is pretty much the case over in this household.

Actually … correct that: I DO manage to catch some wonderful theatre, but I rarely ever manage to do so with my husband. Instead, I take along a girlfriend and hubby stays home with the kids. We have just never really gotten into the swing of a regular babysitter or that “date night” thing that we’re supposed to do as a happily married couple. (Somehow, even with ignoring the marital “experts,” we’re still happily married — hee hee!)

So, when I found out that the Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC) was considering a new format that would allow for parents to attend a theatre show while their children were cared for, I was very happy indeed! (In fact, I think I might have said that “I’ll promote the hell out of it!” … gawd, I can be so obnoxious and excitable some times!)

That was months and months ago and since then the GCTC has contacted me to let me know that they have indeed gotten this idea of the ground, which they are calling the “Playtime Program.” Here is how they describe the program on their website:

Theatre-going parents with young children face the obstacle of childcare for the few hours they are gone to see a show. The GCTC has partnered with Kids Create to bring you the Playtime Program, an occasion for you to enjoy a matinee while your children participate in a supervised craft time in our studio theatre, located next to our main stage theatre.

At no additional cost, the Playtime Program will provide free supervision and crafts for children aged 6-12 with the purchase of adult group rate tickets ($31.25 taxes included) to our matinee.

I was surprised — but thrilled — to see that the Playtime Program is provided at no extra cost. So, I wondered what kind of care my kids would really receive … and this turned out to be even better news …

Crafts and supervision are provided by Kids Create, a local business run by an Ottawa resident and mom with years of experience in teaching and art.

You see, it just so happens that this “Ottawa resident and mom” who runs Kids Create is a former colleague of mine! She and I used to work together at a graphic design studio here in Ottawa, and I think my children would be lucky to get to spend some time crafting with her!

I am being provided with two tickets to attend the launch of the Playtime Program, so I’ll get a chance to review it and let you know how it all pans out. But more than that, I have two tickets to give away to Coffee with Julie readers! That means that you and your friend/partner/hubby/spouse/lover/you-name-it can attend as well as your child/children.

Here are the details of the event:

Date: Saturday, April 9th
Time: 3:30 to 5:30 pm
Location: the GCTC at 1233 Wellington St. W. (at Holland)
Performance: The Middle Place, which is an award-winning piece of documentary theatre that has been created from interviews at a youth shelter

Now, let me add … if you have never ever been to the theatre before, then why not give it a try? The GCTC has produced a fantastic study guide for this play which is an excellent introduction to both theatre and the concepts that the play will address. And if you are wondering what it is like to go to a show at the GCTC, I can tell you that it is a very welcoming and comfortable place. You can just wear your average street clothes, you can buy a coffee in the lobby, and the crowd will tend to be a mix of all types and ages.

If you’d like to enter to win two tickets, plus admission for your children/child to the craft session, (1) please make sure you’re available to attend on Sat April 9th, and (2) just leave me a comment below. I’ll do the draw on Wednesday evening. Good luck!!!

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March 8th, 2010

Winner of the GCTC tickets!

I was so pleased to see the interest in blood.claat — a unique and fabulously performed piece — playing at the Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC)!

I entered everyone’s name into random.org to come up with a winner’s name (and no, Kaitlin, you weren’t too late!) and the winner is: STEPHAN.

Congrats! I am sure you’ll have a wonderful night out. I will be in touch with you directly to organize the details.

If you are still planning on attending the show: Matinees are price-reduced and if you buy tickets to the show on Tuesday, March 16th, $20 of your ticket fee will go to Haiti Relief.

Check out this review of blood.claat in the Ottawa Citizen.
This is a follow-on post; the first post can be read here.

1 Comment »

March 5th, 2010

Destructive cycles (+ ticket giveaway to blood.claat, a play @ Ottawa’s GCTC)

She’s a 15 year-old kid in a school uniform. And she’s just given birth to a baby conceived through violence. That is her story. But it’s also the story of her mother. And her grandmother before that.

This is a cycle that’s fairly common in Jamaica, according to a 2006 Unicef report:

Approximately 20% of births are given by adolescents. In other words a child gives birth to a child in one out of 5 births. Had all teenage pregnancies been brought to terms the rate would be even higher.

This is attributable to a number of factors including high rate of forced sex, transactional sex, low rate of contraceptive use, early sexual initiation, and poor access to information and skills on safe and responsible sex.

A birth by a child puts two children at risk, as teenage pregnancy often leads to complication in pregnancy and delivery, lack of care and support for the newborn, and too often exclusion from educational and professional opportunities for the young mother.

About one-third (32.8 percent) of women experiencing pregnancy between the ages of 15 and 24 years first conceived while still in school and only 34 percent of adolescent mothers return to school after giving birth (up from 16 percent in 1993) (Friedman 1999).

Once they leave school, they are not prepared for parenting, and poverty often pushes young mothers into transactional sexual relationships with multiple partners to obtain the resources necessary to support their children and themselves. This further increases the mother’s vulnerability to exploitation and domestic violence, as well as child abuse.

Have things changed since this report was published? Has any progress been made in breaking this destructive cycle? I don’t have the answer to that.

And no easy answer is presented in blood.claat either, a play which opened at the Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC) this week. I saw this play last night*. And now, reeling through my head, are the layers upon layers of symbolism and blood metaphors and cycles of both celebration and scorn.

But it’s only now that I’m thinking about all of these things. Because last night, during the performance, I was far too captivated by the actor and her awe-inspiring story-telling.

d’by.young anitafrika single-handedly plays the roles of the main character Mudgu SanKofa, a 15 year-old in Kingston, Jamaica, as well as her cleanliness-obsessed granny, a machete-wielding stranger, her reggae-playing boyfriend and church-lovin’ auntie. In a split-second, you literally see this woman transform from one character to another before your eyes. With no props, wearing just a simple white cotton dress – she makes us believe. As the audience, we can’t help but listen to her story.

And that’s what the unique format of this production is all about — storytelling. Everyone knows a story is only as good as its teller. And you won’t want to miss this teller.

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blood.claat is playing from March 2-21 @ Ottawa’s GCTC theatre. Tickets are $42/adult, $32/senior/student. Matinee prices are $33/adult.

*Disclosure: I was given two free tickets to the show by GCTC (monetary value of $84). Then I asked for two more tickets so that one of my blog readers could go too (also a monetary value of $84) — thank you GCTC!

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YOUR CHANCE TO TAKE-IN SOME OF OTTAWA’S THEATRE! To win free tickets, simply:

1. Be sure you’re available to attend! In Ottawa, during one of the show times.

2. Leave a comment. (No real name required & the only person who will know your email address is me.)

3. I’ll do a random draw from all the comments on Monday morning at 9am (March 8).