Created in 1961 by UNESCO, World Theatre Day is celebrated annually on March 27 by theatre communities around the globe. UNESCO’s goals were to
1) Celebrate the power of theatre as an indispensable bridge-builder for mutual international understanding and peace.
2) Promote and protect cultural diversity and identity in communities throughout the world.
Here, in Huron County, we’re fortunate to have two professional theatres. I asked the artistic directors to share their comments on World Theatre Day.
Artistic Director – Peter Smith Blyth Festival
Blyth Festival‘s, Artistic Director Peter Smith ~ I believe there are two stories. The first is our experience; the second is relating that experience to another. There are many ways to relate a story about something that happened. I’ve heard terrific tales on a long prairie car ride, from someone at the front of a classroom, late at night around a kitchen table, coming from a radio on the windowsill, or on a small or big screen. I’ve also had experience related to me while gathered with a collection of others in one of the many theatres from across our blue planet.
Theatre is a live event – it’s people together in a room, or maybe somewhere outdoors, that has another crowd relating an experience back to them. It is shared. It’s like being at a wedding. So many generations represented, so much anticipation, so much joy. Life is theatre and theatre is life. I encourage those who haven’t been to a play to check out the original 3D story this year. And for those who have, to head up or down the road and check out a theatre they’ve never been to before and witness the experience being related there.
World Theatre Day is every day for me. Theatre is simply the best of story.
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Alex Mustakas, Artistic Director, Drayton Entertainment
Alex Mustakas, Artistic Director of Drayton Entertainment, including Huron Country Playhouse ~
Today, Drayton Entertainment proudly celebrates World Theatre Day in each of the unique southwestern Ontario communities in which it operates: the original Drayton Festival Theatre in Drayton, Huron Country Playhouse and Playhouse II in Grand Bend, King’s Wharf Theatre in Penetanguishene, Schoolhouse Theatre in St. Jacobs, St. Jacobs Country Playhouse in Waterloo, and the new Dunfield Theatre Cambridge, located in the heart of Galt.
At its core, Drayton Entertainment has always understood that good theatre doesn’t just portray life – it encourages us to participate and experience it at a much deeper level. It encourages us to think, to cry, to laugh, to learn, to form a sense of the purpose of life, to be sympathetic with others – the list goes on and on.
Theatre is one of the cornerstones of a healthy, vibrant society. It is a conduit for the convergence of community, commerce, and creativity, building new synergies between the traditional and innovative … enhancing the lives of all Canadians in the process.
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Watch for details of the 2013 season’s in upcoming blogs at OntarioTravelDivas.com or visit these websites today.
Tags: Alex Mustakas, blyth festival, Canadian Theatre, Drayton Entertainment, Huron Country Playhouse, Peter Smith, theatre, World Theatre Day
