UBUNTU TOWN a Community Play is Looking for Actors, Musicians, and Volunteers

Calling all new and long-term residents who appreciate the value of living in the diverse and multicultural community of Fort McMurray. Premiering on the evening of Friday February 12th, UBUNTU TOWN will kick-off the annual Multicultural EXPO in celebration of its 10th anniversary! THE MULTICULTURAL ASSOCIATION OF WOOD BUFFALO is pleased to announce a new and exciting creative project: UBUNTU TOWN. With African origins, “Ubuntu” is a word with a multitude of meanings representing human-ness and humanity towards others.

UBUNTU TOWN is a community play project – a unique theatrical creation developed by the community for the community. Colin Funk, a professional theatre artist from Banff, Alberta, will guide the development process during the months of January and February, 2016.

The Multicultural Association is looking for 12-14 volunteers: actors and musicians from all age groups, gender and cultures to collaborate in developing this community play and in sharing stories as part of the final performance. No theatre or performance background necessary. Just a keen interest in the topic, a willingness to share your stories with others and a commitment to attending one play development workshop and four short rehearsals leading up to the performance.

If you are new to Fort McMurray or a long-term resident interested in sharing the stories of how your cultural background has shaped your experience living in this community, we would like to hear from you. Please contact the UBUNTU TOWN Community Play Project before January 7, 2016 at events@multiculturefm.org or 780-791-5186.

This special project holds the great promise of honouring and highlighting the wonderful layers of cultural diversity in our community and in showcasing Fort McMurray’s natural spirit of Ubuntu to citizens here and abroad. We hope you can join us in this unique community development project.

For more details on how to get involved with the UBUNTU TOWN Community Play Project please contact Rodas Asres before January 7th at events@multiculturefm.org or 780-791-5186.

Diana Moser, A Few Good Men

Keyano Theatre’s first play in its 4-Play Drama Series A Few Good Men, written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Dave Horak closes this Saturday. Do not miss this tense, award-winning, drama about military lawyers at a court-martial who uncover a high-level conspiracy in the course of defending their clients, two United States Marines accused of murder. The show plays tonight and tomorrow starting at 8pm. Purchase your tickets today at www.keyano.ca/theatre. 

Community Strategies coordinator Michael Beamish, recently interviewed local actor Diana Moser about her experiences in the show playing the character Lt. Commander Joanne Galloway. A lawyer with the Navy JAG Corps, specifically the internal affairs division where she works as an investigator.

Michael Beamish: When did you start acting?

Diana Moser: I did some acting in musical theatre in high school, but I really got into acting when I was cast in the ensemble of Les Miserables at Keyano Theatre a couple years ago. I’ve done two more plays since then, Cabaret at Keyano and the one act play The Most Massive Woman Wins with Theatre; Just Because.

MB:  What were the rehearsal like?

DM: The rehearsals were very interesting. We spent the first several rehearsals sitting at a table, reading carefully through the script and noting significant shifts in character, emotion, mood, etc. As a cast we had good discussion of the themes of the play, and what was important to us in putting on this production. We spent time going through movement and space exercises, which really got us working together as an ensemble. I found that moving around and blocking the show helped to solidify lines for me, and then the director’s specific work with us on the intention and thinking behind all of the lines and scenes strengthened my character and her relationships. I really enjoyed adding in the technical elements of the play (costumes, sound, lights) too. It sure went by quickly though!

MB: What was it like working with Dave Horak?

DM: I enjoyed working with Dave! He had a clear vision but he was very interested in helping me get through my process of building my character and relationships. I always felt like I could try things and really play. He was thoughtful and supportive, and he brought in many ideas and concepts for me to try as an actor; I learned so much. He definitely steered this ship with confidence!

MB: Who have you bounded with most in this show?

DM: As an actor, I feel that I bonded the most with Brodie, who played Daniel Kaffee. He has such great energy and I found that we had strong chemistry on stage. I always felt good about trying things, he was right there with it. He’s so pro, I learned so much. I would totally work with him again.

MB: What is it like acting with your husband, Chris?

DM: It was fun acting with him! We did Les Miserables together, but we never interacted as characters. Our characters in this play are reluctant partners, mostly held together by Kaffee, which was an intriguing relationship to play. I think I most enjoyed seeing him develop his character. And working on this play together sure made learning lines a little easier!

MB: What is your backstage ritual?

DM: Aside from the usual warm up, hair, makeup, and costume, I need to ground myself. I check my props and costume change placements before the start of the show, and I like to just sit in my dressing room until we’re called for the top of the show. I don’t close my door, I like hearing all the commotion going on, but I keep myself directly out of it so that I can be aware of myself and my mind set.

MB: What is your favourite line and why?

DM: “I know how to fight, but you know how to win.” (Act 1, Jo to Kaffee)

Jo decides what is important – sure, she doesn’t quite like Kaffee, she doesn’t really understand his personality, the whole situation around the case bothers her – but she realizes the bigger picture and how to get there. It is hard to recognize the parts of yourself that you wish were better, and it’s even harder to admit when someone else can do what you can’t. But that is the reality of life, and you can draw strength where and when you need it by embracing this.

MB: What is your favourite scene in the play?

DM: My favourite scene in the play is in Act 1, when the JAG lawyers visit the Guantanomo Bay Marine base and they meet Colonel Jessup and his officers for the first time. There’s great shifts in power, character motivations and traits are highlighted, and there’s a lot of important information that the characters and audience find out.

MB: Why should people come see this show?

DM: People should come and see the show because of the characters, the story, and the energy. What Aaron Sorkin created through his words and what we have developed as a cast and crew is unique and fascinating. Bonus – you may hear a famous line or two!

For tickets or more information please visit www.keyano.ca/theatre or contact the Keyano Box Office at 780-791-4990.

Theatre Just Because at Alberta Culture Days

The One Act Play Night, a part of Alberta Culture Days, shows tonight at the Suncor Energy Centre for the Performing Arts, 7pm-9:30pm, admission is FREE. Hosted by, Theatre Just Because a homegrown, emerging, independent, theatre company the evening will feature two short yet powerful plays performed by local theatre artists, Mountain Top and The Most Massive Woman. Both plays were presented at a sold-out performance at the Alberta Drama Festival Association (ADFA) Regional One Act Play Festival last spring at the Keyano Theatre and Arts Centre.


Mountain Top, written and performed by Pattie Dwyer, is a captivating one-woman show about friendship, racial divides and fear. It was selected for the ADFA Provincial One Act Play Festival in Red Deer and received awards for Best Actress and Best New Work. 


The Most Massive Woman Wins by Madeleine George and directed by Michelle Thorne is about four women sitting in the waiting room of a liposuction clinic. Their brave stories as they deal with body image issues are told through a surreal sequence of monologues, flashbacks, nursery rhymes and dance. At the ADFA Regional Festival, the play won awards for Best Ensemble Cast, Best Directing, and Technical Achievement.

Recently Community Strategies Coordinator, Michael Beamish, interviewed the founders of Theatre Just Because, Michelle Thorne and Danna-Rae Evasiuk to talk about their new company, their friendship, and of course theatre.  

Michael Beamish (MB): How did you two first meet?

Danna-Rae Evasiuk (DRE): I knew Michelle when we were both at Westwood Community High School.

Michelle Thorne (MT): Danna Rae was a couple grades younger than me and did backstage work in school productions that I was acting in.

DRE: We were both in the drama crowd.

MT: Fast forward over a decade later and we happen to meet again at the ADFA Regional Festival at Keyano Theatre a few years ago.

DRE: I was playing an Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes song in the tech booth at the end of the night and she hollered, “Danna-Rae, is that you?” We’ve been collaborating on projects ever since.

MB: How would you describe your relationship?

DRE: We’re friends, we’re co-workers, we’re family. We come from the same spot, share the same dreams and artistic vision.

MT: We are family absolutely. Her mom is my mom. Her dad is my dad. Her sister is my sister. But we also have a really strong artistic partnership; we share a common love for our community, for alternative, black box theatre, and really understand each others artistic visions. We have completely different skills set and really honed in on how to use that to our advantage through the past few years of collaborations.

MB: How do you stay friends and work together?

DRE: I don’t feel like there’s much of a separation.

MT: It's all the same thing, really.

DRE: We’re friends who work together, co-workers who are friends. We respect each other as people and as professionals.  Both roles are incredibly interwoven and it works in incredible ways.

MT: We've spent countless hours driving all over the Province for theatre festivals these past few years, after our first 20 hour round trip and we still wanted to hang out and talk about projects the next day; thats special! There are many parallels between our friendship and the work that we do and really the work comes from passion projects. It's not work, it never feels like actual "work". It’s what we love to do and now we get an opportunity to share it with our community on such a broader scale.

MB: What was your best theatre road trip?

MT: The trip to High River Alberta for the ADFA Festival.

DRE: I wish you could have seen it. It was a convoy of vans making a B-line straight through Alberta. We had the time of our life.

MT: The community was so warm and welcoming and the group of artists we travelled with were incredible.

DRE: We got to know and enjoy the community, and see some of the most amazing theatre being produced in Alberta.

MT: We saw some incredible pieces and met artists that we still stay in close touch with to this day. We were fortunate enough to be able to stay at Danna Rae's Aunt’s house which was a 5 minute walk away from the theatre. She had a cat named Oreo and a gorgeous backyard.

DR: There was this train car that was converted into a diner – we ate there too often for the length of time we were there, but the food was great and the ambiance was delicious. We were delayed the day we left because there was this massive parade happening outside the front door and blocking the driveway. A few weeks after we left the flood hit. At the interPLAY festival of that year we remounted the play that we took to that community  – Barefoot in Nightgown by Candlelight. All proceeds from those performances were donated to the Windmill Players, High River’s Community Theatre Company, to help replace what they lost. That ability of ours to give back to a community that left such an impression on us is what makes this the best road trip to me.

MB: How did you guys first get involved with theatre?

MT: When I was 4 years old I played Chicken Little in my Jr. Kindergarten production of "Chicken Little"; I've been hooked ever since. 

                                                              DRE: I can’t even remember. Theatre has always been a part of my life – from being a two year old ballerina, to elementary school musicals, to running the lights for my high school’s musicals. It’s a joy and passion that I went to college for it and now it’s my profession.

MB:     How many shows have you done together?

DRE: I’ve lost track. We’re at probably more than a dozen.

MT: A Midsummer Night's Dream-

DRE: Maggie's Getting Married-

MT: Barefoot in Nightgown by Candlelight, Louis & Dave,

DRE: Five Ways To Break A Woman's Heart, The Vagina Monologues,  AND-

MT & DRE: The Most Massive Woman Wins.

MB: What show or shows have you done together that stand out to you?

MT: Probably ones we haven't done yet. We're always thinking about the future. What can we do next? We have lists.

DRE: The one that stands out to me the most is the production we’re currently working on – The Most Massive Woman Wins. It’s unique in the way that we get to revisit it. We first mounted this production this last spring and so many things can change between the spring and fall. To see the characters grow has been a complete inspiration. As a designer, the growth of the direction and acting has moved me to give my own work with lights and music room to breathe and change and become something different.

MB:   What made you want to start a theatre company together?

DRE: Michelle and I collaborated on so many projects for years before we even talked about starting a theatre company. But once we started talking about we wanted to see happen in our community, and what we envisioned ourselves doing, the ball didn’t stop moving. When we started talking about it in detail, we were driving to Edmonton. The drive seemed like it lasted half a hour. We were on the same page with every dream, every idea. There is no moss on our rolling stone.

MT: We wanted a platform to do the kind of work that we love to do. There comes a time in everyone’s life where they can either lay back and accept the regret of not chasing their dreams, or just take a leap of faith and try. And we want to share this platform with our community; give opportunity to a variety of theatre artists and exciting, alternative theatre options for our audiences.

MB:  Why did you call your company Theatre Just Because?

DRE: Honestly? Okay, I’m going to be honest with you. We were terribly stuck with “Theatre” being the first word. But maybe that was just me. Michelle and I were going back and forth, rapid fire. “Theatre…” We both suggested about a thousand things. Fill in the blank.

MT: It was kind of a throw away. When we started the name Theatre; Just Because when we were filling out applications to be in a festival and decided we may as well give ourselves a company name to keep it simple. We asked why we were doing the show and really it is just because.

DRE: It can mean anything. Just Because it’s a way to connect, a way to create, a way to express yourself, a way to tell your story, a way to be a part of and contribute to your community. It’s anything you want, anything you need it to be.

MT: This is in our blood, its why we wake up in the morning. We are theatre artists. There is no definable reason. Its just in us.

MB: What is your mandate?

MT: Our mandate is to produce relevant theatre with local artists, utilizing black box and found theatre spaces. To educate and inform, to ask questions and explore. To share with other artists and to create outside the box. To make theatre which is reflective of the community in which it is created in and to give back to the community that we were born and raised in.

DRE: We’re accomplishing that by our three-fold series of workshops with the Suncor Energy Centre for the Performing Arts.  And of course, we always want to be producing different kinds of theatre ourselves. Theatre that Fort McMurray hasn’t seen before.

MB:   How has the company grown since you first started?

DRE: It’s grown massively. We first started out as a company that produced a single One Act Play a year. We used to rehearse in my parent’s basement, then in Michelle’s living room. Our company comes from very modest means.

MT: We can actually call ourselves a company now, that’s pretty huge. I think a sense of accountability has also taken a stronghold on us as well. There is so much potential for a fresh alternative theatre company in town and we are so blessed that The Suncor Energy Centre for the Performing Arts are supporting us as we begin to branch our way out into the community. We've been working together for years but I get a sense that we have barely scratched the surface.

DRE: Now we’ve incorporated more theatre artists — the ever inspiring Terri Mort and Pattie Dwyer, and a full season workshops that are completely free and open to the public.

MT: These are exciting times for Theatre; Just Because.

MB: Who inspires you?

MT: My community. The people within it. The lives we live as Canadians. I'm usually drawn to the salt of the earth, I get inspiration from overlooked individuals. I'm curious about their stories.

DRE: My family. Whenever I create something, I want to create something that they’d like to see. 

MB: Fort McMurray is a place where people come for work, is it hard for you to attract audiences, artists, and support? Is it difficult creating theatre in an oil town?

MT: I don't think either of us really view Wood Buffalo that way. I, myself never refer to it as an oil town; it’s just my home. We're both born and raised Fort McMurray. Graduated from the same high school. Our immediate families still live here. We are so deeply rooted and invested in our community and the support has been amazing. The ADFA Regional Festival sold out last year with only two plays. People in our community want a theatre experience and we want to give them performances that resonate with them.

DRE: I don’t find it difficult at all. The support in our community is extraordinary - from audience’s interest to the support of the theatres in Fort McMurray. We were fortunate to have the Suncor Energy Centre for the Performing Arts want to partner with us to provide the means, support, and guidance we need to deliver the workshops we dreamed of. We’re lucky enough to have amazing audience turn outs to our shows. I can’t express my gratitude for that. However, it is difficult to attract new, up-and-coming artists. The theatre community here is full of superb talent, mind blowing and amazing talent. But I want to see the people who are new to this, who have maybe watched a few shows and said to themselves, “maybe I could…,” take the stage. If anything, my one complaint is that everyone’s schedules are all over the place and it makes scheduling rehearsals a nightmare. But it’s a nightmare that can be creatively worked around.

MB: How do you want to grow theatre/arts in Wood Buffalo? What is your vision for theatre in this community?

DRE: My vision for theatre in Wood Buffalo is to see more independent creation. More playwrights, more directors, more artists with the gusto to put on an independent production, and more participation in the ADFA Regional One Acts Festival.

MT: I personally would love to see/create more educational based theatre programming. The arts is such a phenomenal way to educate and raise awareness. I also want to provide more opportunity for local artists to have opportunities to showcase their strengths and learn new skills from their peers. I am a Canadian Theatre junkie and would love to see more focus on local playwrights and encouragement of locally written pieces. We've seen major successes of playwrights in Wood Buffalo, Jeff Hoffman's One Man MacBeth, you, Mr. Beamish with Hometown The Musical, and Pattie Dwyer's Mountaintop. I want to make theatre that is accessible and relatable. Theatre that tells the stories of the people living in our region. Theatre that educates, that pushes boundaries, that brings people together. Theatre that entertains us in the good times and comforts us in the bad. 

MB:   What is up and coming for Theatre Just Because?

MT: We have several events that are showing for Alberta Culture Days. We’ve remounted our production of The Most Massive Woman Wins from the spring Regional ADFA Festival. We’re also creating a staged reading of I, Claudia by Kristen Thompson.

From October, 2015-March 2016, we’re providing a three-fold series of workshops that will give community members the tools and resources they need to produce, direct, stage manage, design, or act in their own One Act Play. We're also starting a Play Reading Club at the end of September and we have a pretty incredible script picked out for the first session. 

DRE: If you would like to see the full schedule of our workshops please visit our website at www.theatrejustbecause.com 

MB: Thank you for the interview ladies.

MT & DRE: Thank you.

For details on Theatre Just Because events at Alberta Culture Days please visit www.rmwb.ca/culturedays.  

The Importance of Community Theatre

On April 27^th Wood Buffalo celebrated the Alberta Drama Festival Association, Adult, One Act Festival. Organized by local theatre artist and ADFA representative Misty Oakes the festival attracted a full house of theatre enthusiasts to the Keyano Recital Theatre to watch two compelling shows; Mountain Top, written, directed and starring local theatre artist Patti Dwyer and The Most Massive Woman Wins, written by Pulitzer Prize nominee Madeleine George, directed by Mitchell Thorne, designed by Danna Rae Evasiuk, staring Jillian MacDonald, Diana Moser, Jennifer Townsend, and Jillian Patton. This exciting event featured some of the best talent in Wood Buffalo. Exceptional artists who competed for five award categories including: Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Technical Achievement, and Best Overall Production. Judging the competition was professional theatre artist Valmai Goggin from Calgary, Alberta.  

Mountain Top, a one woman show, tells the story of a young white girl, Taddy, growing up in the deep south of America during the onset of the civil rights movement at a time when blacks and whites were segregated. Taddy's best friend, Rosa, is an African American girl the same age. The play conveys Taddy's struggle to have love and friendship in an environment of hate. Through the mystical character of Rosa's Grandmother, who has just passed away, the play explains that the root of hate is fear and how fear destroys the lives of innocent people. Patti Dwyer plays several different characters throughout the show switching between them seamlessly. The set was minimalistic consisting of a chair, an ash tray, and a small platform. Patti’s performance won the Best Actress award and Mountain Top was selected as Best Overall Production receiving the chance to compete at the Provincial Festival in Red Deer Alberta.

The Most Massive Woman Wins features four women of various shapes and sizes sitting in the waiting room of a liposuction clinic. The women reveal their experiences dealing with their weight issues through monologues, short scenes, and even schoolyard rhymes. From painful childhood memories to frustrations with the opposite sex, these experiences both haunt and empower these women as they imagine their way to a new vision of themselves as beautiful and whole. The set consisted of four mirrors on wheel stands and four chairs. The play flowed quickly and smoothly thanks to the direction of Michelle Thorne who won the Best Director award and thanks to the creative use of sound, lights and the simplistic set designed by Danna Rae Evasiuk who won the Technical Achievement award. All four actresses in the play had powerful performances and since there were no male performers at this year’s festival Valmai Goggin awarded the Best Actor prize to the ensemble.

The night was a phenomenal display of community. The prizes themselves were handmade and donated by Zenon Campbell and Melba Seto. All of the artists involved in the shows volunteered their time and talents to create a memorable evening.

Recently Community Strategies Coordinator, Michael Beamish, interviewed Patti Dwyer and Michelle Thorne about their shows and the ADFA Festival.

Michael: How long did it take you to create your show?

Patti Dwyer: I began writing journal entries in November while I was teaching a Yoga Retreat in Mexico. As I wrote, a character started to arise. Although she spoke Spanish I knew I had to keep writing to flush out the character. Eventually I ended up with a short piece. It took about 3 months in total to get the skeleton for the play. 

Michelle Thorne: The script for The Most Massive Woman Wins was one I have been involved with in my University days as an actor (I played the character Cel, played in this performance by the stunning Jillian MacDonald) and always had the script tucked away in the back of my head. It was a phenomenal experience for everyone involved in that production and I felt with the increased pressures and scrutinizes on body image that have emerged with the popularization of social media it was a good time to bring this script off my bookshelf and back onto the stage. We rehearsed the production 2-3 times a week for 3 hours each rehearsal over the course of 6 weeks. It took me about 15 minutes to think who I wanted to play which each character and about 24 hours for each of them to confirm their participation. Danna Rae and I spent about 2 weeks between casting and the first read through developing our set, costume, blocking, and technical game plans. In addition to rehearsals with the cast Danna Rae and I spent countless hours creating and collecting costumes, designing lighting plans, composing & recording original music, organizing rehearsal spaces, and all the other miscellaneous tasks that goes into producing a theatre show.

Michael:  What inspired the creation of your play?

Michelle: As I mentioned I believe the script inspires a conversation that we NEED to have. Body issues and self-image/self-worth are still, if not more so, very relevant topics that need to be presented and discussed out loud. With the crazy influx of social media and the “easy access” of cosmetic surgical procedures the pressure seems stronger than ever for women to be “perfect” and that physical appearance will always trump inner beauty. I believe this needs to stop. Now.

Michael: What inspired you Patti?

Patti: I had always admired Martin Luther King, Dalai Lama, Gandhi and Mother Theresa since I was a little girl. They lived their lives compassionately and fearlessly. I am a Yoga instructor and practitioner. So I encourage myself and others to live authentically especially now. We need more peace, happiness and healing in the world. I feel in my heart there needs to be more people following their bliss like the brave people I've just listed. We can make a difference, we can! The funny thing is I don't watch TV. So when I was writing I was watching MLK videos and interviews until April 4th, I turn on the TV and it was the anniversary of the day MLK got shot. Shortly afterwards I seen they made a MLK movie, Selma…then the day I performed my play The Mountain Top, the riots in the USA began. So I believe that what I am writing has a life of its own and needs to be born. I am happy to help it come alive. 

Michael: What did you take away from the ADFA Festival?

Patti: The ADFA festival in Fort McMurray filled my heart with hope and encouragement for the arts in our community. The theatre was full, people were engaged, and connected.The ADFA festival proved that we need more outlets for creativity in our community. 

Michelle: For me, the most inspiring part of the ADFA festival was the support and excitement from our community to be entertained and to be a part of the scene. We sold out the Recital Theatre! More than tripling the past two year’s attendance of this festival. With the brave and powerful work of Keyano Theatre and the incredible work the local high school drama programs have been producing, there is a huge current of excitement for locally produced theatre. The turn out and reception of this festival confirmed to me that Fort McMurray is ready for more; more locally produced & written work, more interesting & unique types of theatre, and more experience of the arts in general.

Michael: What impact does community theatre have on Fort McMurray?

Michelle: Fort McMurray is an incredibly fast paced ever growing community. Theatre invites us to sit down, relax for a few hours, and escape from the reality we have created for ourselves and slip into a world of imagination and play. I believe Fort McMurray is a place where people don’t allow themselves much opportunity to relax and when we finally find that time we usually leave our home and travel to other places. All work and no play, as they say. Community theatre reminds us there is so much more to life than what we do 9-5 (or 6-6, 12 days in a row for some of us).

Patti: Community theatre allows people to tap into their innate creativity, find a group of like-minded people challenging themselves to expand their comfort zone, cultivate courage and face their fears. Creativity is the root of all health and happiness. We are all born creative. 

Michael: Why should more people get involved with theatre?

Patti: People should get involved in theatre because it tests our fears. I like to say that fear is a thin piece of rice paper that decides for us what we are capable of. Bust through the rice paper and there will be another sheet of rice paper and so on.  Tiny steps to conquer fear will expand your abilities in every way. The theatre is a scared space where people can connect with themselves while having an amazing time with amazing people.

Michelle: Many people move to Fort McMurray with the hopes of creating a better life for themselves and their families. And although our main source of improving our life comes from financial means we also need to strengthen our sociological and emotional happiness. Community theatre is a great way for people of all skill sets and schedules to be involved in something, and come together with others creating and strengthening bonds and friendships. Especially with the One Act festival where groups are in charge of creating their own schedules which allows individuals of all different work schedules an opportunity to be involved in a group project.

Michael:  What does community theatre mean to you?

Michelle: Opportunity. Friendship. Family. Creation. Experience. Sharing. Hope for the future.

Patti: Community theatre gives me hope that there are people still wanting a connection with each other and our community. It is extremely encouraging to see so many people involved in community theatre in Fort McMurray. 

Michael: What does theatre give to you personally?

Patti: Theatre is my medicine. I love to create, perform collaborate and express whats inside of me. Theatre is that healing outlet for me. Witnessing a touching piece of theatre can change a persons life. It can reflect an individual’s life right back at them allowing the audience member to look within and hopefully heal. I have had that happen many times. 

Michelle: There is a strong creative force inside me which needs to be expressed. Since a young age theatre has been an outlet for me to deal with emotions and issues in a constructive and creative way; releasing negativity in a positive manner which promotes healing in myself and hopefully healing to others.

Michael: Why is art and culture important?

Patti: I cannot express how important arts and culture is to our society and world. Again, we are all born creative and curious. If that outlet is taken away I feel a piece of the soul dampens. 

Michelle: Arts and culture is a vital part of any healthy community.  Art and Culture is a reflection of the community in which it comes from and acts as a tool in which brings people together initiates conversation, and evokes change.  An integral form of expression, arts and culture is necessary not only for the artists who need to create but for the rest of the community to be inspired and feel a sense of belonging to larger groups as a whole.

If you would like to get involved in community theatre please like the Theatre Just Because Facebook page or visit Keyano Theatre.