Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, July 7, 2010. . .This year’s Shaw Festival Town Previews of the Oscar Wilde social satire An Ideal Husband raised almost $7,500 and will benefit eight Niagara-on-the-Lake charitable organizations. The cheque presentation to representatives of the chosen organizations is taking place in the Festival Theatre lobby at The Shaw on Thursday, July 8 at 11 a.m. and is hosted by Artistic Director Jackie Maxwell and Executive Director Colleen Blake.

 The Niagara-on-the-Lake charitable organizations receiving support from the 2010 Town Previews program are:

• Music Niagara, $2,000: support for their 2010 concert series: Schumann and his Circle.
• The Friends of Fort George, $1,500: applied towards the expenses of summer student employment program at the Fort and at Brock’s Monument.
• The Niagara Pumphouse Visual Art Centre, $1,000: provide assistance with the cost of employing a student teacher for drop-in children’s summer classes.
• Willowbank School of Restoration Foundation, $1,000: funding for student recruitment school program.
• Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Palliative Care, $650: applied towards the purchase of specialized equipment for clients and their families. 
• Jack Custers’ Bird Sanctuary, $525: financial support for current projects and general maintenance.
• Niagara-on-the-Lake Public Library, $500:  support for Summer Reading Club.
• Canadian Cancer Society (Niagara-on-the-Lake branch), $250: sponsorship of the 12^th Annual Golf for a Cure Tournament. 

The Town Previews offer Niagara-on-the-Lake residents the opportunity to purchase discounted tickets to preview performances and proceeds raised are then distributed to various Niagara-on-the-Lake charitable organizations who apply for funding.

The 2010 Season also includes Harvey, The Women, The Cherry Orchard, The Doctor’s Dilemma, John Bull’s Other Island, Age of Arousal, One Touch of Venus, Half and Hour and Serious Money.

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In the spirit of George Bernard Shaw, the Shaw Festival provokes the mind and stirs the soul through a theatre experience so compelling that, year after year, ever-broadening groups of artists, audiences and supporters are drawn to our work in Niagara-on-the-Lake and beyond.

Please visit our website at www.shawfest.com/news for other Shaw Festival media releases. For more information, or to download images from our image bank to accompany this release, members of the media may contact:

Odette Yazbeck
Public Relations Director
(905) 468-2153 or 1-800-657-1106 ext. 2222
odette@shawfest.com

Jenniffer Anand
Public Relations Coordinator
(905) 468-2153 or 1-800-657-1106 ext. 2224
janand@shawfest.com

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, March 10, 2010 . . . This week, the Shaw Festival launched its annual Niagara Neighbours Spring Celebration, an invitation for Niagara residents to join The Shaw in celebration of the launch of the 2010 season.

The Spring Celebration includes $35 tickets, a savings of up to $37 per ticket, to select performances that run the gamut of the comic spectrum: the wit of Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband, Mary Chase’s humour-filled Harvey and the gentle comedy of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard between April 6 and May 7. Student tickets are $20.

In announcing the Niagara Neighbours program, The Shaw’s Executive Director Colleen Blake said: “We’re so pleased to offer Niagara residents – our neighbours – an opportunity to experience the first Shaw Festival productions of the 2010 Season. We offer this special incentive as a thank-you to our neighbours, in acknowledgement of their ongoing support for The Shaw.”

Early booking is advised – the first phase of Niagara Neighbours Spring Celebration is available only until March 28. Book online and save on the handling fee.

Book online at www.shawfest.com or by calling 1-800-511-SHAW (7429) or locally 905-468-2172.

The Shaw Festival’s Niagara Neighbours Program is proudly sponsored by Sun Life Financial.

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In the spirit of George Bernard Shaw, the Shaw Festival provokes the mind and stirs the soul through a theatre experience so compelling that, year after year, ever-broadening groups of artists, audiences and supporters are drawn to our work in Niagara-on-the-Lake and beyond.

Please visit our website at www.shawfest.com/news for other Shaw Festival media releases.
For more information, or to download images from our image bank to accompany this release, members of the media may contact:

Odette Yazbeck
Public Relations Director
(905) 468-2153 or 1-800-657-1106 ext. 2222
odette@shawfest.com

Jenniffer Anand
Public Relations Coordinator
(905) 468-2153 or 1-800-657-1106 ext. 2224
janand@shawfest.com

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, March 4, 2010. . . The life of Goldie Semple, one of Canadian theatre’s beloved and finest classical artists, teacher and mentor, will be celebrated at the Shaw Festival on Sunday, March 28 at 3 p.m. in the Festival Theatre. The Shaw Festival hopes all of Goldie’s friends, colleagues and fans will join us at this celebration.

Ms. Semple died peacefully surrounded by loved ones on the morning of December 9, 2009 at the age of 56 after a courageous battle with cancer. She leaves behind her husband of 33 years, Lorne Kennedy, and their 14 year old daughter, Madeline. Her rich and enduring legacy on the tapestry of Canadian theatre will last forever.

Born Marigold Ann Semple in Richmond, British Columbia, Ms. Semple studied theatre at the University of British Columbia in the late 60s and early 70s where she met her husband Lorne. Her extensive career included 17 seasons at the Shaw Festival and nine seasons at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, where she played the leading roles in the repertoires of both festivals. Ms. Semple’s work encompassed everything from outrageous comedy to deeply moving portrayals of sheer elegance – her extraordinary range as an actor thrilled audiences time and again.

A celebrated performer across the country, her love of theatre was not only evident on the stage, but also off-stage and behind the scenes. Her work as a teacher and mentor touched the lives of many aspiring drama students who took part in a special summer Queen’s University intensive course, which she taught annually at The Shaw. She also taught at a number of other Canadian academic institutions as well as at New York University. An active member of each community she has lived in, Ms. Semple was co-founder of the Stratford-based theatre company Foolscap and also compiled and performed programs of poetry and music for the Niagara Historical Museum.

The Shaw Festival looks forward to celebrating this extraordinary woman on March 28^th with all of Goldie’s friends, colleagues and fans.

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In the spirit of George Bernard Shaw, the Shaw Festival provokes the mind and stirs the soul through a theatre experience so compelling that, year after year, ever-broadening groups of artists, audiences and supporters are drawn to our work in Niagara-on-the-Lake and beyond.

Please visit our website at www.shawfest.com/news for other Shaw Festival media releases. For more information, or to download images from our image bank to accompany this release,
members of the media may contact:

Odette Yazbeck
Public Relations Director
(905) 468-2153 or 1-800-657-1106 ext. 2222
odette@shawfest.com

Jenniffer Anand
Public Relations Coordinator
(905) 468-2153 or 1-800-657-1106 ext. 2224
janand@shawfest.com

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, February 25, 2010 . . . A sure sign that spring is just around the corner in Niagara-on-the-Lake is the beginning of rehearsals at the Shaw Festival. Ensemble members begin rehearsals today of Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband, which is scheduled to have its first preview performance in the Festival Theatre on April 9.

“As the Company begins to settle into a routine of preparation for our 49^th season, the return of Shaw’s Ensemble members is a welcome sight for Shaw Festival staff and Niagara-on-the-Lake locals alike,” Executive Director Colleen Blake commented, “Artistic Director Jackie Maxwell and I – as well as the entire staff of the Shaw Festival – extend a warm welcome to both new and familiar friends arriving for the season.”

Over the next few weeks, rehearsals for Mary Chase’s Harvey; Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard; the Kurt Weill/Ogden Nash/S.J. Perelman musical One Touch of Venus; and Clare Boothe Luce’s The Women will also commence in preparation for preview performances in April and May.

Details of The Shaw’s 2010 season are available at www.shawfest.com or by calling 1-800-511-SHAW (7429) or locally 905-468-2172.

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In the spirit of George Bernard Shaw, the Shaw Festival provokes the mind and stirs the soul through a theatre experience so compelling that, year after year, ever-broadening groups of artists, audiences and supporters are drawn to our work in Niagara-on-the-Lake and beyond.

Please visit our website at www.shawfest.com/news for other Shaw Festival media releases. For more information, or to download images from our image bank to accompany this release, members of the media may contact:

Odette Yazbeck
Public Relations Director
(905) 468-2153 or 1-800-657-1106 ext. 2222
odette@shawfest.com

Jenniffer Anand
Public Relations Coordinator
(905) 468-2153 or 1-800-657-1106 ext. 2224
janand@shawfest.com

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, February 3, 2010….Shaw Festival is thrilled to announce the debut of The Mandate Intensive, a brand new training initiative made possible by the Slaight Family Foundation. The project is designed to provide an immersion for 16 young members of the company – both new and returning – into the cultural and historical context of the mandate as well as the specific text challenges of performing these plays.

The backbone of the programme is an intensive scene study course, led by Ensemble member Jim Mezon, using the plays of Bernard Shaw. Mezon’s detailed approach opens up the world these plays inhabit and how they work.  To illuminate that world, participants are also engaged in an examination of the historical and cultural context of the period through a variety of classes and lectures. In addition, they are preparing for the stages of the Festival with voice, dialect and movement work. And finally, Jackie Maxwell leads a scene study class featuring American plays of the mandate.

Additional instructors include Associate Director Eda Holmes, ensemble members Sharry Flett, Guy Bannerman and Jenny Wright; voice and movement coaches Kate Lynch and Jane Johanson; voice and dialect coach Jan Haydn Rowles, Shaw scholar Dr. Leonard Conolly and Dr. Jonathan Vance, a specialist in Canadian military and cultural history.

Participating members of the Ensemble include Julia Course, Jen Dzialszynski, Ijeoma Emesowum, Robin Evan Willis, Billy Lake, Anthony Malarky, Ali Momen, Kelly Penner, Craig Pike, Cherissa Richards, Luigi Rossetti, Ben Sanders, Jacqueline Thair, Jonathan Widdifield, Kelly Wong and Timothy Ziegler.

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In the spirit of George Bernard Shaw, the Shaw Festival provokes the mind and stirs the soul through a theatre experience so compelling that, year after year, ever-broadening groups of artists, audiences and supporters are drawn to our work in Niagara-on-the-Lake and beyond.

Please visit our website at www.shawfest.com/news for other Shaw Festival media releases.  For more information, members of the media may contact:

Odette Yazbeck
Public Relations Director
(905) 468-2153 or 1-800-657-1106 ext. 2222
odette@shawfest.com

Jenniffer Anand
Public Relations Coordinator
(905) 468-2153 or 1-800-657-1106 ext. 2224
janand@shawfest.com

 Media Bulletin #1 

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, February 3, 2010. . . .The gritty and inspirational Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire has been confirmed for The Shaw’s Festival Film Series and will be screened on February 20.  The film Séraphine, about French artist Séraphine de Senlis, originally scheduled for February 20 will now be shown on February 6.

Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire recently received six Oscar nominations in the Best Picture, Best Actress (Gabourey Sidibe), Best Supporting Actress (Mo’Nique), Best Adapted Screenplay (Geoffrey Fletcher), Best Director (Lee Daniels) and Best Editing categories.

Tickets for the Festival Film Series are $11 per person. Advance tickets and same day tickets can be purchased at the Shaw Festival Box Office or by calling 1-800-511-SHAW (7429) (locally 905-468-2172).  Feature films are scheduled at 3 pm each Saturday from now until February 27.  Documentaries screen at 6 pm each Wednesday until February 17.

A special screening of Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould, a new Canadian documentary that received great praise at the 2009 Toronto Film Festival, will be presented on February 28 at 2 pm at the Festival Theatre in support of the Shaw Festival and Music Niagara.  A reception with wine and hors d’oeuvres will follow in the Macdonald Heaslip Lounge.  Music will be provided by the Gould String Quartet.  Tickets are $50 (film and reception) and $20 (film only).  Advance and same day tickets can be ordered through the Shaw Festival Box Office.  Generously supported by Inniskillin.

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In the spirit of George Bernard Shaw, the Shaw Festival provokes the mind and stirs the soul through a theatre experience so compelling that, year after year, ever-broadening groups of artists, audiences and supporters are drawn to our work in Niagara-on-the-Lake and beyond.

Please visit our website at www.shawfest.com/news for other Shaw Festival media releases. For more information members of the media may contact:

Odette Yazbeck
Public Relations Director
(905) 468-2153 or 1-800-657-1106 ext. 2222
odette@shawfest.com

Jenniffer Anand
Public Relations Coordinator
(905) 468-2153 or 1-800-657-1106 ext. 2224
janand@shawfest.com