World Theatre Day 2011 (March 27th)

Sometimes I find it funny when some (fortunately very few) PR folks tell me “I didn’t know you write about theatre and arts”. Uh, have you ever read my theatre category, ever? Or my About page? Or my Pitch Me page? Yeah, THAT. At any rate, World Theatre Day 2011 is fast approaching and I totally forgot to blog about it. Why? Because I’ve been promoting other theatre shows. So, at least I think I have a good reason.

I was informed as well that Vancouver is also the international centre for the World Theatre Day blog, which was created three years ago. This blog serves as a central hub for theatre artists all over the world to share their WTD celebrations with other theatre artists.

A breakdown of events listed below (from the press release):

World Theatre Day Crawl: GVPTA member companies are inviting theatre lovers to a special post-show “Mix & Mingle” at a different venue each night during the last week of March. Stay after the show, grab a glass of wine and meet the casts and crews from the performances at The Improv Centre (March 23), The Arts Club Theatre Revue Stage Lounge (March 24), The Firehall Arts Centre (March 25), The Vancouver Playhouse (March 26) and The Cultch – in the Wine Bar after the 4pm performance of 1984 on March 27.

On March 19, at the Central Branch of the library (1-4 pm), one of Vancouver’s favorite stage and screen actor Jackson Davies (The Producers, The Foursome, The Beachcombers) will be hosting a series of intimate, no-holds barred discussions with people who shape theatre in this city. The panels include Shawn Macdonald, Deborah Williams, Vincent Tong, Lucia Frangione, Tom McBeath, Meg Roe, Alessandro Juliani, Tom Pickett, Quelemia Sparrow, Lesley Ewen, Michele Riml, and the much-loved Jay Brazeau, Nicola Cavendish and Ryan Beil.

On March 26, join us at the Vancouver Playhouse Production (1-4 pm) centre for an Open Space Mini-Conference. Theatre lovers and theatre makers alike are invited to join us for this lively afternoon discussion of all things theatre-related, hosted by local theatre artists Daniel Martin (Upintheair Theatre) and Adienne Wong (Neworld Theatre).

I was mesmerized by this year’s World Theatre Day message, written by Dr. Jessica A. Kaahwa from Uganda, which will be read prior to curtain on stages all over Vancouver and the World on March 27. You can read an excerpt here.

Theatre subtly permeates the human soul gripped by fear and suspicion, by altering the image of self – and opening a world of alternatives for the individual and hence the community. It can give meaning to daily realities while forestalling an uncertain future. It can engage in the politics of peoples’ situations in simple straightforward ways. Because it is inclusive, theatre can present an experience capable of transcending previously held misconceptions.

That’s EXACTLY why *I* love theatre.

You can check more of the stuff Vancouver is doing to celebrate World Theatre Day 2011 here.

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