Greetings everyone and happy spring. We are certainly due some gentler weather after one of our cold and seemingly never-ending winters. Who is not excited about longer days, warmer weather, outside patios and of course the new 2025 OLT season?
Many of you probably recall in years gone by that spring was actually the tail end of our show season which finished in the summer. We had shows in January and February during the harsher winter months; now we start our season in March when the elements are a little easier to navigate en route to the theatre.
Personally, the start of our season could not have come at a better time. With all the challenges that are going on around us, it’s nice to focus on the simple things that have been tried and true for hundreds of years, like an entertaining live play shared with an audience. Once you add in refreshing drinks at very reasonable prices, nothing could be better!
So as always, permit me a moment to fill you in on what’s been going on at your theatre since December.
Plus, as an added bonus, if you stick with me until the end, there is a little gift waiting for you at the conclusion of this message.
The Season to Date
Our first show of the 2025th Season, The Shawshank Redemption was a financial and critical success. The set that ranged from a two-story penitentiary to a beach paradise was awe-inspiring. How did they transform the top level from a cell block to an empty rooftop so quickly?
The actors conveying a sense of despair and hope were wonderful. The prison sisters were absolutely terrifying. Congratulations to director Joanne Farrell. Although she had many years of experience in other locations, this was her first full-length play at the OLT. We hope to see her work in upcoming seasons.
Shawshank was grittier than the usual OLT fare. We provide all sorts of cautions and trigger warnings on our websites and at the door. Please drop me a line at president@ottawalittletheatre.com if you have any comments or concerns re. our approach to content warnings for these types of plays.
Next up was our second show Now and Then. The best way to describe it is a mash up of romantic comedy and Back to the Future. It was a sweet and touching story spanning two decades and made you think about how the decisions you make in your youth have long lasting effects on your future.
During the second act, the entire set (an Irish pub in Chicago) was reversed. Normally this piece of theatre magic is performed behind a closed curtain. To the awe and surprise of the audience, the elaborate scene shift occurred right before their eyes in a remarkably short period of time.
Brian Cano and his team created a nostalgic and touching show. Both the audience and the local reviews gave it glowing accolades.
May will bring our annual Agatha Christie entry And Then There Were None. I am not giving any spoilers away, but let’s just say there may be more than one murder. Because of already strong audience demand, and one other interesting reason, we are adding two shows to our normal 14-show run. The two extra shows on May 13 and 20 feature an alternate and darker ending never before seen in Ottawa. Choose which ending you would like to see – or even better, why not experience both?
Eastern Ontario Drama League (EODL) Awards
At the recent EODL award ceremony in Peterborough Ontario, The Ottawa Little Theatre had two full length plays entered into the competition: Last season’s Guilty Conscience and this year’s The Shawshank Redemption. Awards are determined by an adjudicator who attended the plays during the performance run at the OLT and other theatres.
This year’s competition was particularly strong with 11 different shows from across the region competing for 16 prestigious awards.
OLT did us all proud with the following awards:
Teresita Thorne (Guilty Conscience) – Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Female Role.
Ian Gillies (Guilty Conscience) – Adjudicator’s Award for his outstanding directorial choice to separate the Prosecutor role into three women.
The Shawshank Redemption – Best Visual Presentation (Honorable Mention)
Dawson Fleming (The Shawshank Redemption) – Outstanding Actor in a Major Role (Honorable Mention)
Neil Kelly (The Shawshank Redemption) – Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role (Honorable Mention)
Congratulations to the winners, all the nominees and everyone who worked so hard on making the two plays such enormous successes.
-
- Ian Gillies, director of Guilty Conscience, at the EODL Awards
-
- EODL award winners
Promotion and Publicity
We hope that you peruse our website and social media pages regularly to see all our promotional material, in particular our photos and videos. I want to use this opportunity to give a shoutout to our visual creatives; I find it always truly impressive seeing the production photos by Maria Vartanova and the videos produced by Ian Gillies and Christian Giansante. It’s also fun to watch the show being shot and wonder how they will take the hours of film footage and condense it into a 30-second promotional video, each time as good as the last but also different and truly original.
-
- Maria Vartanova
-
- Ian Gillies
-
- Christian Giansante
(Most recent photos available of Maria, Ian and Christian. They are too busy filming everyone else to update their own portfolios and even passport pictures. Obviously, they don’t get to travel abroad much.)
Thank you also to the Rideau Street BIA for putting our show posters on their illuminated boards up and down the street. There are about a dozen of them located on both sides of the Rideau St. Our BIA is doing an exemplary job supporting the businesses under its jurisdiction.
Theatre Improvements
We hope that you are enjoying the renovations we have made to our washroom facilities. Off the front foyer, the counters and sinks/faucets in both the ladies’ and men’s washrooms have been replaced. For our actors, the facilities both backstage and on the rehearsal level have been completely gutted and redone.
Closed Captioning
This year, the OLT is testing closed captioning for our hard-of-hearing patrons. The words from the stage are reproduced as text on a smartphone or tablet. You may notice a few people discreetly using cellphones during the play, but the sound is turned off and the phone screen is black, so you shouldn’t be disturbed. For more information visit the OLT website at: ottawalittletheatre.com/closed captioning or scan the QR code in the upper lobby. We welcome your feedback on this new initiative.
Donations and Recognition
First of all, thank you everyone for your ongoing generous donations. We are so appreciative of all that you give, and the theatre thrives on what you provide.
We also apply for many provincial and municipal grants and our Treasurer, Marilena Guerra, is developing quite a talent for successfully completing the necessary applications.
Both are necessary to keep our prices low at the box office and the bar (lowest drink prices in town!)
We also would like to take the opportunity to reintroduce the campaign to have your name on a seat in the auditorium. In addition, we have relaunched the Legacy Circle to acknowledge those of you who leave a bequest in your will for the theatre.
Please contact me or the box office if you would like further information.
OLT Sponsors
Of course, we would like to give a special shoutout to our sponsors who have been so supportive over the years: Tea & Toast, Kelly Funeral Homes, and the City of Ottawa. Thank you.
Spotlight Gallery Artists in the Janigan Studio
Just past the bar (everyone knows where that is) is the Spotlight Gallery in the Janigan Studio. Every month we present a local artist associated with the theatre showcasing their talent. If you are interested in arranging an exhibit of your own art work please reach out to Venetia Lawless who curates the Spotlight Gallery (venetia@ottawalittletheatre.com). She is always interested in working with any of our audience members, volunteers, or donors, to shine a spotlight on their talents.
In addition, we conduct an informative interview for our website and Facebook pages on what inspires them to create their art. We want to thank Stephanie Haines who did such an excellent job of writing up the interviews last season. This year we are equally blessed with having Ricarda McFalls picking up the pen and paper.
Collaboration with Smith School of Business Queen’s University
We were honoured to be contacted by a team of students from the Smith Accelerated MBA for Business Graduates Program (AMBA) at Queen’s University. The students are all based in Ottawa.
Each team is required to engage a client for the Capstone Consulting Project component of the Strategy III course. This project is designed to combine the learning from a wide range of courses in the AMBA year into a single, focused team project that delivers value to an organization by addressing the complexity of integration and implementation of a strategic issue.
They have chosen to work with the OLT.
We are always pleased to be able to contribute to the community especially in supporting future graduates who will enter the workforce. If there are any students attending our local universities or colleges wishing to engage the OLT in similar projects, we would love to hear from you.
Dinner and a Show Discount: The Albion Rooms
We hope that you have taken advantage of this great promotion.
Ottawa Little Theatre and The Albion Rooms invite you out for dinner and a show. Before being entertained by Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, why not enjoy a delicious bite at this iconic Sandy Hill restaurant. If you are in by 5:30 PM they guarantee that you will be out by 7:00 PM with enough time to walk to the theatre and preorder your intermission drink. Visit The Albion Rooms for brunch before an OLT Sunday Matinee or a post-show dinner.
SHOW YOUR SAME DAY THEATRE TICKET TO SAVE 15% ON YOUR FOOD BILL! Excludes beverages and gratuities.
According to Google maps, The Albion Rooms located in the Hilton by DoubleTree address is only 470 metres away from the theatre. A 7-minute walk!
Upcoming Events
In addition to the continuation of our great 2025 season, stay tuned for information about upcoming additional events such as :
Comedy Night (May 31)
Join us for a special one-night only comedy event on Saturday May 31st at 7:30! We will be welcoming a panel of comedians, including the OLT’s own Joey McDougall and Steve Love for some fun and games with an OLT twist, followed by our headliner Rick Curry. This night will be guaranteed laughs and all for a good cause. Funds raised will go towards an OLT scholarship fund for select winners of the Ottawa chapter of the CAPPIES. More information will be posted on our website on the event page. Tickets will go on sale soon! Our last comedy night sold out so don’t delay in getting yours once they go on sale!
Doors Open Ottawa (June 7)
Once again this year the OLT will participate in Doors Open Ottawa. The theatre will be open and guided tours provided to our visitors. An exciting opportunity to see what goes on behind the scenes, on stage, in the wardrobe department, props room, rehearsal studio and workshop. What exactly is a Green Room and why is it called that? Many visitors were so impressed with what the theatre had to offer that following the tours, they signed up to become volunteers to work on some of our productions.
Survey
Very shortly, you will be receiving the long-awaited OLT survey. This is your chance to provide your views and opinions on how we are doing as a theatre. Are you pleased? Are there changes that you would like us to consider or suggestions of what we can do to improve the overall experience and make your visits as entertaining as possible?
Audio Play: The Beautiful Boat by Guy Newsham
If you’ve made it this far in the letter, thank you for your interest. As promised, we are pleased to provide you with a small gift for your time.
Guy Newsham, is a member of the OLT Season Planning Committee, organizer of the OLT Doors Open Ottawa, and frequent actor on stage (including his role as Dr. Armstrong in the upcoming Agatha Christie And Then There Were None).
In the Summer of 2023 he worked with some Sense and Sensibility alumni to put together an audio version of one of his 10-minute plays. Emily Walsh and Sarah McKay (both OLT actors) did the voice acting, and Braden Sabourin did all of the audio recording, sound effects, etc. This has now been picked up by an on-line audio theatre podcast site, called Shouting in the Evening. We are pleased to share it with you to tide you over until your next show!
We hope you will enjoy it.
Well, that’s it for now. Enjoy Ottawa in the spring and summer. I am very often around the theatre and always available by email if there is anything that you would like to discuss.
In the meantime, please enjoy the shows.
Best Regards,
Albert Lightstone
President
Ottawa Little Theatre