Wellington Oracle

-Oracle theatre review by Wayne Current

On Thursday November 5, I was pleased to attend the world premiere of Ottawa native Hannah Moscovitch’s new work The Children’s Republic at the Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre. The play tells the story of Janusz Korczak, a Polish-Jewish pediatrician and celebrated children’s author who runs a remarkable orphanage in Poland.

Korczak was a visionary who believed that an orphanage should be governed like a democratic adult community. Under his guidance, the orphans participated directly in the governance of their orphanage. This included the establishment of a “children’s court” to which everyone including the teachers and staff were accountable.

The first half of Moscovitch’s play introduces Korczak (Paul Rainville), his assistant Stefa (Kate Hurman), and the orphans. It becomes apparent that while the wards of the orphanage experience their share of conflicts, these are resolved with kindness and fairness. This is contrasted with the second act, which is much darker and takes place after the Nazis invade and occupy Poland.

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- by Heather Marie Scheerschmidt (Cross-posted from Culturemagazine.ca)

This November, the Ottawa School of Speech and Drama (OSSD) in partnership with the Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC) presents a new play about children struggling to make sense of a world descending into chaos, and the man who teaches them to believe in themselves. Children’s Republic, by Hannah Moscovitch, explores the life and work of Dr. Janusz Korczak, a Polish-Jewish physician, author, educator and dedicated advocate of children’s rights.

The inspiration for this new work is another man known for his generousity towards children, Ottawa businessman Leon Gluzman. Now in his nineties, Gluzman lived in Dr. Korczak’s orphanage in the 1920s, before immigrating to Canada in 1929. His childhood connection to Dr. Korczak had a huge impact on his life and the contributions he has made to his community. One of those contributions was to help the Ottawa School of Speech and Drama construct a new arts facility in his Westboro building. As they got to know one another, Mr. Gluzman shared with OSSD Artistic Director Amanda Lewis the story of his childhood and his experiences with Dr. Korczak. Together they realized the story would make for an interesting play. (more…)

The Ottawa Theatre Network, a newly formed organization that assists in the growth of professional theatre, has come up with an innovative way for theatre lovers in the west end –  and across the city – to support independent theatre in Ottawa.

It’s an online voting exercise sponsored by the insurance firm Aviva, and according to OTN’s Sterling Lynch, if enough Ottawan’s vote for the proposal, the Ottawa Theatre Network and the GCTC could see up to $50,000 in development funding put into the community.

“Most people know that there is no better multiplier of community development investment than arts funding” Lynch says, “and in theatre, whether it is ticket revenue, cultural funding, or private grants, the dollars stay in the community and get spent on producing even more creative work. So whatever we might qualify for, the theatre-going public will definitely see the benefit.”

Oracle readers interested in supporting the campaign can register their vote here.  To read more about why the vote is important to theatre professionals, you see their own personal appeals, which are linked to from the Ottawa Theatre Network blogroll in our right-hand margin.

One further appeal from Sterling:

“People can vote daily and keep an eye on our vote tally for the next few weeks. If we don’t get through to the semi-finals on the first round of voting, there are two more chances coming up.”

Parkdale Market reconstruction: a lost opportunity?

Architect and local resident Ralph Wiesbrock has penned the following open letter to Councilor Christine Leadman about what he saw and heard at a public meeting yesterday over the future look of Parkdale Park.

Dear Councilor Leadman,

I just came back from a brief visit to the public consultation session for the Parkdale Market ‘renewal’ project.

I am shocked and appalled by the failure of vision at the heart of our community.

After months of community engagement to establish a community design plan and visions of a vibrant, diverse, culturally and socially engaged, arts oriented neighbourhood focused around a park and farmer’s market at its core, we are now reduced to setting some of the best design talent in the city loose to manage door knobs and paint colours. (more…)

The construction crews given the task of the long-awaited revamp of the Parkdale Market broke ground this week, and with their reconstruction under way, and a new emphasis on local growers and more space for vendors, the 2010 season is already shaping to be the most anticipated the venerable open-air market has seen in decades.

Paolo Copelli is the new market manager for the city, and in the audio link below he takes us through the time line for the physical changes we can expect to see over the next few months, culminating in a much larger L-shaped market area, with more room for shoppers better facilities for vendors. (more…)

 

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Following on a walking tour held earlier in the the month, a community workshop was held this past week at the Urban Element on Parkdale Avenue that brought together local residents and planners from McGill University to come up with ideas to make Parkdale a more pedestrian-friendly and livable street.

In the 1980s Parkdale was treated by regional road planners as little more than an off ramp for the Queensway, and the legacy of that mindset is a two-lane neighbourhood street choked with heavy traffic especially in the area between Scott and the Queensway.

Longtime residents of the street were in attendance at the workshop, and told of their frustrations in trying to get the city to implement traffic diversion schemes  that would ease  pressure on the notorious bottleneck. (more…)

 

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About a year ago, author and podcaster Charles Hodgson, was inspired to think about how Gatineau Park is represented on the Internet. The avid cyclist and x-country skier had heard that by 2050, due to climate change, x-country skiing in the park might be no more. The Daniel Street resident decided to take action.

“The National Capital Commission (manager of Gatineau Park) operates a corporate website that’s not very interactive. The focus of XC Ottawa is high performance x-country skiing,” the Champlain Park resident says.

“It seemed to me what was lacking was a focus on the whole other universe of people and activities going on in the Park.”

So, he created Guide Gatineau, a social networking site that he populates with videos about the history of the park, cycling routes, and an open invitation to others to make the site their own.

“I’m really hoping that people will leave their footprints on the site.” The site allows users to set up groups that might meet for walks, for cycling, for bird-watching. Hodgson believes it’s Ottawa and Gatineau people, the “local crowd,” that uses and feels true affection for the Park.

Click on the video to find out what Charles thinks about the future of the Park. He also describes his best day ever in Gatineau Park.

An update on road reconstruction from Annie Hillis of the Wellington West Business Improvement Area:

Did you ever think you would be so happy to see asphalt??

Wellington St West is now paved with the first layer of asphalt all the way from Parkdale Avenue to Merton Street! We can confirm that both the contractor and the weather are sticking to schedule and the roadway is slated to be paved and open again to two-way traffic by Nov 15th. We’re also happy to report that the c ontractor has been leaving the site with a minimum of three open stretches for parking along Wellington St West, unencumbered by supplies or equipment. (more…)

Since the opening of the Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre in 2007, the Fritzi Gallery space adjoining the upstairs lobby has been an integral part of a night out at the west end theatre. The idea has been that the content of the exhibition takes its theme from the GCTC play being presented at that time.

Under the curation of the Cube’s Don Monet the exhibitions have often taken a fascinating turn, with aspects of the scripts brought out to the foreground in ways that can surprise and challenge.

That collaboration is set to continue, according to both parties, but the wall space that stands empty in the off-season may soon have a curator all its own if Ottawa artist Trevor Sylvain has his way. In fact, beginning this September, Sylvain has already begun to take advantage of the space the gallery provides when the GCTC season is not yet underway.

Check the audio link below to hear Trevor talk about the Fritzi’s new programming.

 

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This update from the West Wellington Business Improvement Area has good news for the residents and businesses of Wellington Street West in Hintonburg:

It’s official, we’re home to the hardest rock in the city!

Does that mean we have more heavy metal bands per capita than other neighbourhoods? Well, we do have plenty of great local bands (and cool venues to hear them in like Elmdale House Tavern, Daniel O’Connell’s Pub and The Carleton) but it’s the rock beneath our feet – and beneath our street – that is so hard. And it’s the rock – as opposed to the sandy subsoil that can be found in many other parts of the city – that has made Phase 2 of the Wellington Street West Road Reconstruction Project such an enormous effort. (more…)