The final blog in a series by SPARC Guest Blogger Denise Lysak.
I will start my last blog, by raising a glass to writers everywhere. storytellers playwrights songwriters
i am simply taking on a role that was not assigned to me
I am the raconteur and in this, my last blog, for SPARC, I will share with you my observations from the Northern Ontario Touring Conference (NOTC) that took place in November
over the course of three consecutive Thursdays.
It was led by amazing facilitators and the host organization was Pat the Dog. If you are curious about their mission and mandate, I encourage you to google Pat the Dog.
Here is the Link: Pat the Dog
this last blog is intended to ignite to spark to be deeply personal
For so many of us, COVID-19 is challenging our very existence. Touring is cancelled. Theatres remain closed. Arts spaces are shuttered. we as a community are confronting more than one
Crisis.
a health crisis an economic crisis and, dare I say. An Identity Crisis.
So many people in so many communities
Are desperate. For RELIEF. For HOPE. For the Seuss-like world
we are living in
to be OVER. No offense to theodor seuss geisel
Friends are out of work. Projects on hold. people have been uprooted. missions and mandates collect dust just like
participants in the conference, yes a virtual conference, online, with no doughnuts in the morning, no drinks in the evening, no hugs in green rooms or rehearsal halls or lobby bars
were asked to share BIG IDEAS, to reference the past to talk about the present to look at the
f u t u r e
If this is hard to read
Know that is intentional
If this is uncomfortable
GOOD
Yes. The breakout rooms were aspirational. Yes. The icebreakers were fun and I might even steal a game or two to use in future zoomESQUE meetings. Yes. The gym classes gave new meaning to
Yogis everywhere. And, if you ever wondered what clowning is like for the uninitiated; make new friends.Look for Aga Boom, run-away Cirque clowns when they return to the stage.Take your kids to theatre school and enroll them in a clowning class. Go to an outdoor festival and say “hello” to a clown.
ARTS and culture
Like Trade, like agriculture, like the sciences
are tools to harness the power of people to be better, to elevate
the humanities for the
common good.
We need to fight like hell to be here, to get to the other side, to be relevant once again.How do we forge opportunity out of crisis, out of a convergences of crises?I have no illusions about the long road ahead of us. About the difficulties and obstacles in our way.
We can do anything!
We can be anything.
Imagine.
Transform.
Innovate.
Create.
With confidence. With boldness. And, above all with a new agenda.
So that artists can shape
our landscapes and skylines
for audiences everywhere
in 2021 and BEYOND
It is not lost on me that we
all
rise
or
fall
together.
And, here we are with a different kind of holiday season before us.Who will go caroling?
Who will deck the halls?
Who will serve up figgy puddings?
So as we continue to #shelterinplace and #stayhome, please watch
Snoopy’s Christmas vs The Red Baron by The Royal Guardsmen
Attending the conference was a gift. Being a guest blogger for SPARC was a gift. You have given my words space to fly.
And, in the spirit of giving as people across the globe celebrate
I will end where I started. With a toast to the writers. In this case, songwriters.
Daniel, Daniel, and Sheena.
Yes, there are
two
daniels.
This is my wish for all of you…
A SIMPLE KIND OF CHRISTMAS in a complicated time by
Red Moon Road