Current Production: 'Art' opening Feb. 8th (preview on Feb. 7th)

'Art'
by Yasmina Reza
Translated by Christopher Hampton

Directed by Jennifer Paquette
Produced by Lori Maloney Young
Starring Ian Culley, Dan Grass and Jason Paquette

February 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 16 at 7:30 pm
February 10 matinee at 1:30 pm

When Serge buys what is in essence a pure white painting for a horse-choking sum, his best friend Marc, goes ballistic. Yvan, a third friend, gets squeezed in the middle. "...wildly funny..." - NY Post. Winner of the 1998 Tony award for best play and the 1996 Olivier Award for best comedy. Some language may offend.

It's opening night every night with 'Art'!

Begin your evening at 7:30 (1:30 on Sunday) with an art exhibit and sale in the lounge. Thanks to wonderful friendships with local artists and the Woodstock Art Gallery we are happy to transform our lobby area into a gallery displaying the works of eleven of our incredible Oxford County Artists - Cathy Groulx, Rita Milton, Trish Acres, Krista Osinga, Pat Gibson, Pat Armstrong, Jacki VanKlaveren, Mike de Belleville, Aaron Smith, Bill Paquette and Kelly Bradley.

Complimentary cheese and crackers, and the bar will be open (on Sunday and Wednesday punch will be served, but on all other evenings you will also be able to purchase beer and wine) The performance, a 90 minute one act, will follow.

Our production of 'Art' is Theatre Woodstock's Western Ontario Drama League's Out of Festival entry. The adjudication will be on Friday, February 15th.

If you don't have your tickets already, get them soon. This show is sure to sell out!

Box Office, phone 519-537-2582

On Wednesday, February 13th, two great packages are available to make your evening out special; Dinner and Drama (at Six Thirty Nine); and, Pub and Play (at The Charles Dickens). Tickets and information are available from the Market Centre Box Office, phone 519-537-2582.

Director's Notes

I submitted the script 'Art', by Yasmina Reza for consideration to Theatre Woodstock's play reading committee. I chose it for its award winning comedic dialogue and challenging design (set and lighting) elements. Translated from the French by Christopher Hampton, it tells the story of Serge (Dan Grass), who has bought a modern painting for a huge (horse choking!) sum of money. His best friend Marc (Ian Culley) hates it and cannot believe that a friend of his could possibly want such a work. A third friend, Yvan (Jason Paquette) attempts, unsuccessfully, to placate both sides, getting squeezed in the middle. It has been hailed as "wildly funny" and has won several Tony awards.

'Art' brings to the stage a topical debate (what is art?) and makes it hilarious, invigorating and moving. We discover that art is little more than a pretext and that the play is really about men and how they behave in friendships with one another.

Because there are three paintings in this production, I knew we had to solicit the help of some local artists and the idea to exhibit the work of several Oxford County artists grew from there. The first thing we did was contact Woodstock Art Gallery curator Maria Ricker. Her enthusiasm for the project has helped propel it to include eleven area artists and will feature an 'Artist in Residence' for every performance. Patrons will even have the opportunity to witness some artists 'in action'.

Maria and I have been talking about collaborating for a while now, and 'Art' has provided the perfect vehicle to do so. Although the mediums through which we explore our art are different, the passion and quest to learn more about ourselves and the world around us through our art are not so unlike.

Jennifer Paquette
Director of 'Art'

A Note from the President

Happy New Year to everyone. I hope you all had a safe and exciting holiday time. The theatre has been busy as usual with rehearsals for 'Art' which opens on February 8th, (preview on February 7th), and CAST shows, The Trial of Goldilocks and Mulan, which have just made their amazing runs. The amount of talented young people in the Woodstock area never stops astounding me. I am proud to be part of this organization.

We are so glad to be back in action in 2008 with a great line up of shows for you to see. Our next season is currently being worked on by our play reading committee which is comprised of, you guessed it, more volunteers. Led by our Artistic Director Bonnie Hartley, the group is getting close to setting the next season for you and word has it, it will be awesome.

We are once again putting on our second annual Oxford's Got Talent show. This will be taking place at the theatre on March 20th to the 22nd. If you remember last year's, you'll want to be involved in this year's show. The talent is overwhelming. See our web page for details.

I would like to close by thanking all of you for supporting our community theatre. From our board of directors, general manager and box office staff, we welcome you with open arms and hope you join us, in making Theatre Woodstock and CAST the number one entertainment spot in Oxford County.

Jeff Sweete
President, Theatre Woodstock

Oxford's Got Talent

After last year's huge success, it's time again to show us what you've got. Get ready for our second annual Oxford's Got Talent talent show presented by Heart-FM. On March 20th, 21st and 22nd, we will be showing off Oxford's most talented. Like last year we will be auditioning anyone who signs up a few days prior to the event. The talented acts that are chosen will find out when they are performing on the nights of the semi-finals, March 20th and 21st. This year we are also adding a couple of wild card spots to the semi-final nights, so it could be anyone. During the finals on Saturday March 22nd, none of the semi-finalists will know if they are performing or not. They will find out that night. This will make a night of great entertainment and some suspense for everyone watching. Heart-FM's Oxford's Got Talent is Theatre Woodstock's annual fundraiser. All proceeds from registrations and ticket sales will go to help Theatre Woodstock's operating costs. Oxford's Got Talent is looking for anyone with any kind of talent they want to show off. There will be cash prizes for the top five finalists. Last year's finalists included Kyle Rose singing his original song "Common Sense". Second Place went to Jim Cocchetto who amazed everyone with his accordion playing and first place went to Ingersoll native and dancer Meaghan Patterson. One of the judges said that her performance "moved them". If you have a talent you want to show off or if you know someone who could walk away with our top prize of one thousand dollars, get signed up at www.theatrewoodstock.com or go to Heart-FM's website www.1047.ca.

Jason Paquette
Oxford's Got Talent Chairperson

WODL FESTIVAL 2009

Theatre Woodstock has the honour of hosting the 2009 WODL Festival. We are in the very early planning stages for this exciting event. Five nights of high quality, award winning theatre right in our own back yard!

If you would like to be a part of the team who will organize this event, please contact either Bonnie Hartley at 519-537-5836 or Sally Johnston at 519-537-7775.

Biography: Danielle Markham and Karin Visser

Danielle Markham is a grade 12 student at Huron Park Secondary school. She has been involved on stage with CAST for five years. In May she will be performing as a "Silly Girl" in the upcoming production of Beauty and the Beast. She enjoys being both on the stage and helping with the backstage side of productions. Danielle has created props, painted sets, assistant stage managed for both Theatre Woodstock and CAST, helped move set pieces on and off the stage, and she has worked sound in the booth. She is a huge supporter of the Stephen Lewis Foundation and does everything that she can to help out with it, including sitting on the committee. Danielle's first job stage managing was for the production of The Trial of Goldilocks. She looks forward to stage managing with Jason Paquette again for the production of Seussical Jr.

Karin Visser is in grade 11 at Norwich District High School and has been involved with CAST for three years. She has volunteered back stage for the theatre assistant stage managing, painting sets, making props and recently ran lights for The Trial of Goldilocks. Karin has played many roles in productions, including Jasmine in Aladdin Jr., Marcy in You're A Good Man Charlie Brown and a beautiful daughter in The Pirates of Penzance. She is currently working on Beauty and the Beast, and is getting ready to Stage Manage for the fall session with the sophomore group for their production of Romeo and Juliet. In her extra time she takes singing lessons, and has her grade five in piano. She is a big supporter of the Stephen Lewis Foundation and is eager to show her support in any way she can.

CAST was recently showcased in the Stephen Lewis Foundation Grassroots newsletter:

The Magic of Theatre

CAST is a youth development project of Theatre Woodstock, which includes a youth for youth outreach program that raises money and awareness for youth-based issues across the Globe. In just two years, CAST has raised over $25,000 for the Foundation. "I am so proud of these young people who are proving that they are involved in something so much more than a youth theatre. Combating the horrific HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa is essential work that CAST is proud to support." - Jennifer Paquette, Founder and Artistic Director

Contact our Editor

Backstage is edited by Claire Lewis. You can reach Claire by telephone at 519-421-4425. Please make submissions for the newsletter to clairebear@bmts.com. "I've had a wonderful life... I just wish I'd known it sooner!"