Category Archives: News Flash

Traffic and Parking This Weekend

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Traffic and Parking Advisory: Weekend of November 23-25 at Confederation Centre

Symons Lecture, Victorian Christmas Weekend, Wintertide Tree Lighting all on deck

The weekend of Friday November 23 to Sunday November 25 will be busy one in and around Confederation Centre of the Arts. As a result, the public is advised that driving and parking in the Centre block may be limited.

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The Victorian Christmas Market, presented by Discover Charlottetown, runs Friday evening through Sunday evening. In order for this event to take place, a number of road closures are required. Motorists are advised that on Friday, November 23, from 5 a.m. until 11 p.m. on Sunday, November 25, the following streets will be closed to all traffic, with no parking permitted on either side of the streets:

 •        Queen Street, between Grafton and Kent;

•        Queen Street, between Grafton and Sydney;

•        Richmond Street, between Pownal and Great George.

People with mobility concerns will still be able to access the Centre’s Queen Street elevator into the lobby and concourse level. Also, the sidewalks around the complex will be open as usual, however those patrons being dropped off to the Centre will need to do so at the corner of Queen and Grafton.

The 2018 Symons Medal and Lecture is being presented to Dr. Margaret MacMillan, C.C., C.H. on Friday November 23 at 12:30 p.m. at the Centre. The Homburg Theatre will be full for this mid-day event so patrons attending the lecture, or headed to Mavor’s or The Showcase should leave extra time for parking nearby.

This same advice is extended to those students attendingdance umbrella classes this weekend and for those patrons taking in the P.E.I. Symphony Orchestra in the Homburg Theatre, Sunday at 12:30 p.m.  

 Lastly, the City of Charlottetown’s Wintertide Holiday Festival Tree Lighting begins Friday, November 23 at 6:15 p.m. on Confederation Centre’s Upper Plaza. For more information about the Wintertide Holiday Festival, visit: charlottetown.ca and click the Wintertide button under Events and Initiatives.

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Save On Next Year’s Shows

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Purchase your 2019 Charlottetown Festival tickets from November 17 to December 1 and SAVE 50% off the regular price on select performances!

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Kronborg-The Hamlet Rock Musical  |  Applies to Tier 2 & 3 seating for  July 3, 4, 5, 6 performances.

Anne of Green Gables-The Musical™  |  Applies to Tier 2 & 3 seating for June 29, July 1, 2 ,3 performances.

Mamma Mia!  |  Applies to Tier 2 & 3 seating for August 14, 15, 16, 17 performances.

Spinning Yarns  |  Applies to Tier 1 seating for July 22, 23, 27, 29, 30, August 3 performances.

Atlantic Blue  |  Applies to Tier 1 seating for August 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16 performances.

Watermark Announces 2019 Summer Season

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Watermark Theatre’s Artistic Director Robert Tsonos, and General Manager Andrea Surich are proud to announce the 2019 Summer Season.

The season will include the classic farce Boeing Boeing by Marc Camoletti and the Pulitzer Prize winning play Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley. Our popular music series Classic Music Reignited returns for its 6th year, and the Watermark Play Reading Series will once again focus on new plays in development by PEI Playwrights.

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Fasten your seat belt for a non-stop ride that will take you up, up and away! Boeing Boeing is a riotous farce about a successful architect named Bernard who is juggling three flight attendant fiancées – an American, an Italian and a German. Unexpected schedule changes bring all three to Paris, and Bernard’s apartment, at the same time. Bernard, his maid, and his visiting friend Robert must navigate the hilarious turbulence ahead. A non-stop comedy and a romp of international proportions.
“It’s deliciously, deliriously innocent. Pure pleasure and unconditional bliss!”
– The New York Times

Warm-hearted, irreverent, zany and brilliantly imaginative, Crimes of the Heart teems with humanity and humour as it examines the plight of three young Mississippi sisters betrayed by their passions. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, the play brings you into the Mississippi household of the Magrath sisters. Babe has just shot her husband because she didn’t like his looks, Meg is back in town after a failed attempt in the music business, and everyone has forgotten poor Lenny’s 30th birthday. With warm-hearted laughs and touching family moments, the sisters forgive the past, face the present, and embrace the future in this contemporary American stage classic.
“From time to time a play comes along that restores one’s faith in our theatre…”
– NY Magazine.

For the 2nd year in a row, the Play Reading Series will showcase new work in development by PEI playwrights. A selection process will begin in the next few months to choose three new, unpublished, and unproduced plays, to be read by our company of actors during the month of August. A list of plays and playwrights will be released in the Spring of 2019.

Our Classic Music Reignited series returns, curated once again by Rob Oakie. As always, Island musical artists interpret classic composers in a way that you have never heard before. Stay tuned for our list of composers and Island musicians to be announced very soon.

Season Ticket Passes are now on sale at early bird rates until December 31st, 2018.
$104 for 4 tickets
$144 for 6 tickets
$220 for 10 tickets
902-963-3963 or visit http://www.watermarktheatre.com

Watermark Theatre strives to produce the finest professional theatre on the Island. By producing and presenting theatre, music and artwork, our goal is to enrich and contribute to the community in which we work, the province in which we live, and the Canadian theatre community to which we belong. Watermark believes in the development of the next generation of theatre artists and arts administrators through mentorship and professional training. Plays are chosen from the international repertoire of classic and modern classic plays that are at least 50 years old and Canadian plays at least 30 years old. In all of our programming we strive for artistic excellence and a diversity of voices, while endeavouring to inform, to affect, and to engage with our audience.

Watermark is a proud member of the PTN (Professional Theatre Network of PEI).

For more information please contact Andrea Surich at 902-963-3963 or generalmanager@watermarktheatre.com

Casting Announced for 2019 Charlottetown Festival

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Select Casting Announced for Mamma Mia! and Kronborg—The Hamlet Rock Musical

The 2019 Charlottetown Festival launching 50% off sale, November 17 to December 1

Artistic Director Adam Brazier, on behalf of Confederation Centre of the Arts, has announced select casting for The 2019 Charlottetown Festival. Sponsored by CIBC, the Festival includes six productions and runs June 28 to September 28.

Rebecca Poff and Katie Kerr will star as mother and daughter Donna and Sophie in Mamma Mia!, a co-production with the Grand Theatre in London, playing in the Homburg Theatre August 9 to September 27. Poff turned heads in the Festival’s  2018 concert performance of The House of Martin Guerre and also appeared in Jesus Christ Superstar and Anne of Green Gables—The Musical™. A native of Sudbury, Ontario, Poff has performed throughout the continent, including in the Canadian National Tour of The Phantom of the Opera and the U.S. National/Broadway tours of Show Boat.

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Kerr returns to the Greek Islands of Mamma Mia!, having previously starred as Sophie in the blockbuster 2016 production in Charlottetown, as well as with two other theatres. Kerr’s other credits consist of multiple roles in Anne of Green Gables—The Musical™, including the title role from 2013-14, and in the world premiere of Evangeline. “Sophie is really the driving force in Mamma Mia!” says Brazier, who will once again direct the musical. “It’s no wonder Katie has since played the role across Canada; she is a tour de force as Sophi

The Festival’s new production of Kronborg—The Hamlet Rock Musical runs June 28 until July 20 in the Homburg Theatre. Directed by the Festival’s associate artistic, Mary Francis Moore, the powerhouse rock musical is an electric experience, following Hamlet’s quest for vengeance upon his uncle Claudius for killing his father. Aaron Hastelow stars as Hamlet and will also appear in Mamma Mia! as Sophie’s beau, Skye. 

Brazier is pleased to welcome back Festival favourite Cameron MacDuffee opposite Hastelow as Claudius, King of Denmark. MacDuffee recently appeared as a scene-stealing King Herod in the Festival’s Jesus Christ Superstar, and has performed across Canada, including four seasons at Shaw Festival. His Charlottetown highlights include turns in Evangeline, Ring of Fire, and On the Road with Dutch Mason. He will also reprise his role as Harry in Mamma Mia! at the 2019 Festival.

Making her mainstage debut in Kronborg—The Hamlet Rock Musical will be Kimberly Truong as Ophelia. Truong hails from Prince Rupert, B.C. and was previously part of the Confederation Centre Young Company in Les Feux Follets. She has appeared in productions of Les Misérables, West Side Story, and A Chorus Line. Last year, she made her Broadway debut in the celebrated revival of Miss Saigon. “It is thrilling to have Kimberly back at The Charlottetown Festival,“ remarks Brazier. ”She has an extraordinary voice and an undeniable presence onstage.”

The other big news is that the Festival is once again offering a ‘50% Off Sale’ ticket sale for the 2019 Festival. This sale is a favourite for Islanders searching for tickets every summer and is on sale for a limited time only. From November 17 to December 1 these can be purchased at the Centre box office, online, or by phone at 1 (902) 566-1267 or 1 (800) 565-0278. This sale is available for Founders’ Circle members as of November 16.

Additional casting, including a new leading star for Anne of Green Gables—The Musical™ and a new Gilbert, will be announced in the months ahead.

Out of the Trenches

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Confederation Centre of the Arts has revealed the title for the upcoming 2018 Symons Medal Lecture, ‘The Lion’s Cub: The First World War and the Evolution of the Canadian Nation.’

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As previously announced, the 2018 Symons Medal will be awarded to internationally-acclaimed historian and author Dr. Margaret MacMillan, C.C. The award will be presented to Dr. MacMillan at the Centre on November 23, 2018.

The Symons Medal is one of Canada’s most prestigious honours and recognizes an individual who has made an exceptional contribution to Canadian life. Since 2004, the Centre has honoured 17 distinguished Symons Medallists. Held each fall, the medal ceremony creates a national platform for a prominent Canadian to discuss the nation’s current state and future prospects.

MacMillan’s lecture title refers to the emergence of Canada as a nation during the First World War and – within the theatre of war. and political cartoons in particular – Great Britain’s role as the paternal lion and Canada and commonwealth nations as the cubs who follow.

Professor of history at the University of Oxford and former Provost of Trinity College at the University of Toronto, MacMillan is one of the world’s most distinguished specialists in modern international history. She is known as a historian whose published work is engaging for both experts and general audiences. Also known for her insightful contributions to public discourse, she is a sought-after commentator on pressing international issues of our time.

MacMillan recently concluded a tour with the BBC’s Reith Lectures, an internationally renowned series now celebrating its 70th year. She delivered five lectures exploring the relationship between humanity and war in London, York, Beirut, Belfast, and Toronto, which are now available to stream online at BBC Radio 4.

The 2018 Ceremony will take place in the Homburg Theatre at Confederation Centre in Charlottetown, P.E.I. The medal ceremony and lecture will be livestreamed on the Centre’s YouTube channel and available on confederationcentre.com shortly thereafter. Tickets for this important event will be available to the public via the box office on Saturday, November 3 at 10 a.m. There is no cost to attend but a printed ticket is required for admission and the booking limit is two tickets per person.

As always, Confederation Centre donors receive priority access to tickets; Founders’ Circle members will be able to book their tickets beginning November 1. For more information and to become a member of the Founders’ Circle for as little as $25 please visit www.confederationcentre.com/membership. For more information, please visit confederationcentre.com/heritage/symons-medal-and-lecture-series and follow event updates on social media @confedcentre and via hashtag, #Symons2018.

Bound for Calgary

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The TD Confederation Centre Young Company is hitting the road again. After a busy 2017 season that saw two troupes crisscross the country, the 2018 company has been invited to perform at the Future of Child Welfare in Canada: National Child Welfare Conference 2018, October 23 to 26 in Calgary, Alberta.

The conference is a Canadian first that brings together the Provincial and Territorial Directors of Child Welfare with the Annual Prairie Child Welfare Consortium conference, and the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Social Work. A central theme is the need to address child welfare within an Indigenous context and to consider ways to move forward in light of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommendations. It is estimated that nearly half of Canadian children in foster care, under the age of 14 are Indigenous, and that, overall, Indigenous children comprise 30 to 40 percent of children in care.

Thanks to the generous support of Indigenous Services Canada, Confederation Centre is bringing 11 company members to Calgary, all of whom appeared in The Charlottetown Festival production of Aqsarniit (“awe-saw-nee”) this summer. These young artists come from across Canada and will be performing excerpts from Aqsarniit, the Inuktitut word used to describe the northern lights. This high-energy musical re-examines Canada’s past through the varied lenses of today’s youth and shares some of the stories they hope will be told in the future.

“Confederation Centre is at the forefront of engaging in a national dialogue and this event is reflective of the art we are creating at the Festival and the Centre,” says Mary Francis Moore, associate artistic director of The Charlottetown Festival. “It is an honour to be invited.”

The Young Company will have the opportunity to perform for an audience of stakeholders from every province and territory. The troupe will appear as part of the opening keynote address and just before the closing keynote from Senator Murray Sinclair, former chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. During the opening keynote, the troupe will perform excerpts from Aqsarniit and also participate in an audience Q+A with company members discussing what they wish to see for Canada’s future.

 “We are continuously proud of the work of our emerging artists and creative team with the Young Company,” says Steve Bellamy, CEO of Confederation Centre. “The National Child Welfare Conference is an important new initiative and we are humbled that our musical production, which speaks to the realities of Canadian history and this country’s efforts towards Truth and Reconciliation, can contribute to these proceedings in such a meaningful way.”

For more on this inspiring conference, visit their website. The Centre wishes to acknowledge the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Government of P.E.I., and the City of Charlottetown for their continued support. The title sponsor of The Charlottetown Festival is CIBC. Program sponsor for the Young Company is TD.

 

Women Doing Big History

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Historian and author Margaret MacMillan is the 2018 Symons Medal receipient.

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Her research focuses on British imperial history, international history of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the causes of war, specifically World War One.

Here’s an article from a few years ago on women who work in the field of history:

https://bit.ly/2PWxhdU