Dear Friends,
As we come to the end of 2024, we write to let you know what we’ve been up to and about some of our exciting plans for 2025. As you know, we were not able to hold the Classic Theatre Festival in 2024, but we have been involved in a series of negotiations with new partners that we hope will see that trusted brand of professional entertainment returned to an Ottawa stage in 2025.
Our parent company Burning Passions Theatre’s new strategic direction over the past year saw us engaged on many theatrical fronts, from organizing a series of acting, audition, and scene study classes to working in partnership with the Ottawa Acting Studio and the Ottawa School of Theatre to provide training and development workshops for professional and aspiring theatre artists. We also partnered with the Rideau Rockcliffe Community Resource Centre (RRCRC) to produce and stage a play that played to sell-out crowds in June. Inspired by and featuring seniors, the play’s presentation and follow-up discussions were a powerful reminder of the challenges many of our community elders (the fastest growing demographic in Ottawa) face in silence.
This past fall, we were thrilled to host a professional Playwrights Circle, working with four talented Ottawa writers to dramaturge their creations and assist with suggestions to edge their work closer to becoming production-ready. In 2025, we plan a series of workshops and staged readings of these works that you will be the first to see and comment on.
We also have exciting news about the relaunch of the Classic Theatre Festival! Under the Festival’s banner, we are looking to stage two new plays: one is focused on the life of an important Ontario historical figure whose name and legacy you will instantly recognize, while the other is a uniquely compelling Cold War-era spy thriller. The Festival will now operate under an expanded mandate to include works written and set during the golden age of theatre, featuring both new works and classic plays of the era. We remain committed to producing well-made plays with finely-honed storytelling, memorable characters, compelling themes, and the ability to make us both laugh and have our hearts tugged.
At the same time, we will be continuing our partnership with Ottawa Acting Studio to present a new class: Exploring Complex Female Characters in Theatre. The class is open to both professional and community theatre artists, and will run from to January 8 to February 12, 2025.
We’ve weathered a lot of challenges throughout our 26-year history, and your loyal and enthusiastic support has been integral to our success. As we gear up against the headwinds of inflation, global uncertainty, and the insidious processes that seek to separate us when we share so much in common, we believe the value of theatre as a socially cohesive art form is greater than ever.
Your role as a member of our theatre family is a crucial one. We look forward to seeing you again soon. In the meantime, we hope that as the holiday season gets underway, you would consider making a tax deductible charitable donation to sustain our work in 2025 and beyond. We hope to announce new programming in the spring, and will definitely make sure you are the first to know about our plans.
It’s easy to donate!
- send an e-transfer to burning@web.ca, or
- donate online, or
- mail a cheque to Burning Passions Theatre, 2583 Carling Ave., Unit M052, Ottawa, ON K2B 7H7
We are so very grateful for being in artistic community with you, and wish you the best of the holiday season, with sincere gratitude for your ongoing support.
With gratitude,
Laurel and Matthew
Laurel Smith, Artistic Producer
Matthew Behrens, Associate Producer
PHOTO CREDITS:
A CIRCLE OF CARE: Directed and written by Laurel Smith, Stage Manager: Matthew Behrens, Improv Instructor: Mary Harvey, Production Assistant: Shirley Whitford, Actors: Angela Pelly, Isabelle Villeneve, Joanne Veillette, Sheila Knight, Deborah Bolton, Doug Tudor, Fran Langstaff, Louise Impey, Janet Bowes
OTTAWA ACTING STUDIO SCENE STUDY CLASS: Instructor: Laurel Smith
Burning Passions Theatre is a registered charity
(#89076 7924 RR0001).
