Land acknowledgment

Today I write this piece on the traditional territory of the Three Fires Confederacy of First Nations, which includes the Ojibwa, the Odawa, and the Potawatomie nations. This land acknowledgment serves to honour and respect the longstanding relationships we have with the First Nations people and their roots here in Ontario, Canada.

How are the arts coping in Canada? What actions are being taken?

In 2020, the world is facing the global pandemic COVID-19. Theatre and entertainment have been forced to close their doors with no possibility of salvaging or resuming live theatre until the end of 2021. However, theatre companies are managing to sustain themselves, largely through various community outreach efforts and educational programs. Here are two few arts venues that have maintained their operations through the pandemic: The Stratford Festival in Stratford and the University of Windsor Players in Windsor.

Stratford Festival

The Stratford Festival of Canada has offered everything from video screening parties to teaching dance choreography from showstopping numbers to online technical theatre workshops such as prop making. The Festival also helps in supporting teachers through open roundtable discussions on topics such as the Arts in a Pandemic, Shakespeare and Mental Health, and Inclusion and Classical Theatre.

They also just launched a new platform full of their pre-recorded past shows that you can enjoy from home. They also update their content and feature some of the performer’s works that they have recently created through the pandemic. I encourage you to explore more of what Stratford has to offer on their website https://www.stratfordfestival.ca/

Photo Credit: Stratford Festival Canada

University Players at the University of Windsor

The University of Windsor Players have also been able to share creative pieces through digital means and have released a whole artistic season. University of Windsor players has presented different theatrical performances via Zoom, such as good white men & The River of Forgetfulness. Coming up this week (November 19-22), they will present The Jubilant & Thank You For Your Labour.

University of Windsor Players is a training ground for young theatre artists and technical crews to prepare for their careers in theatre arts. University Players is where the Ontario community gets to see future stars begin to shine. If you are interested in learning more about the University Players or are interested in the theatre productions, please visit https://www.uwindsor.ca/universityplayers/


Photo Credit: University of Windsor Players

Catherine Muldoon

She/Her/Hers

DSF Digital Internship Participant

M.Ed, St. Clair College Public Relations 2021