Hello fellow Canadians,
Hope you are all doing well! Wanted to start a little forum/discussion post about how we are all doing and dealing with COVID-19. Either personally, or as an institution. Lots of the talk we see seems to be very US focused, and although lots applies, some of it doesn't. So I thought it might be good to have a little space for us to connect on the topic.
Hi All! Thanks for this group! It's nice to be able to connect with all fellow Canadians! Here at Stratford, we've been working at home since March 16th. The majority of our staff were laid off at that time, with some having been brought back since. We only cancelled April & May at first, but just announced this week that we are suspending our entire 2020 season which was to have been a big one for us. We were supposed to open our brand new state of the art 600 seat Tom Patterson Theatre (named after our founder) on what would have been his 100th birthday. To say that our entire organization is saddened is putting it mildly.
However, we've pivoted and thankfully have leadership that decided many years ago to begin filming our Shakespeare productions so we've created a 12-week Film Festival that started last week with King Lear and Colm Feore. It was met with great success and our patrons are loving it! Our Artistic Director has created a theme for each 3 week group that plays into what we're going through currently. I welcome you to check it out at www.stratfordfestival.ca/athome.
I can't wait to have some time to check out your organization links below! Stay safe, friends!
Michele
Stratford Festival