Throw down the gauntlet, and…

There has been a lot of discussion on my post from yesterday, primarily on Facebook.  Here are some updates Ottawa folks should take note of:

First, Nancy Kenny and John Collins have agreed to pick up the challenge and run with coordinating some kind of theatre alliance effort.  Some of it will have to wait until GCTC has time to compile and send out the notes from this week’s meeting, but if you’re interested in taking part in the ongoing discussion, there is a wiki (online collaboration sandbox) at http://ottawatheatre.pbworks.com

Second, GCTC‘s marketing and communications manager, Kevin Falkingham, posted a comment on my blog that bears repeating for the benefit of the community:

On behalf of GCTC, I spoke to the NAC last week to discuss the idea of bringing all of the theatre companies in Ottawa together to market “theatre” as an entertainment option – both of our companies are in! The details have to be worked out, but I am continuing to contact the companies to discuss buy-in, before eventually (and soon, I hope) bringing one rep from each company to start open forum discussions. I would love to hear from all the companies about this, please contact me at publicity@gctc.ca and let’s get this initiative off the ground.

I want to give a massive shout-out to the Great Canadian Theatre Company.  They have shown incredible leadership over the past few years in working towards fostering growth and development of the Ottawa theatre community.  For two years, they’ve been running a production mentorship program that has helped guide eight productions towards fruition (including our upcoming Airport Security project with Gruppo Rubato).  They operate a “Play Maker’s Society”, which has nurtured the development of dozens of new works by Ottawa-area artists.  Their “Influx” program is geared to young playwrights 18-25, and their Uthink project animates stories of life in Ottawa West as told by people aged 12-20.  And they held the “backyard theatre conference” this week that has kicked off what I HOPE will be something terrific.

GCTC certainly has plenty of its own work cut out for it, yet they consistently go out of their way to help others.  Perhaps that’s a model of collaboration to work towards.