An update from Stafford and some new initiatives

Hello Friends, 

I write to you today, on what was to be the opening week of our final show of the season, Million Dollar Quartet. So, while all of our artists, theatre practitioners, and administrative staff would have been putting the finishing touches on Million Dollar Quartet this week, we find ourselves looking not at what could have been, but rather what could be.  

As an organization, Theatre Calgary has been thoughtfully considering what we CAN do for our audiences during these challenging days, when we can’t perform for you? The answer…we have gone and created our own delivery service that we are calling tcTakeout: The Arts Delivered! 

The goal of tcTakeout is simple – to bring some of the amazing talent and stories of our wonderful theatre company, our local community, and friends abroad to your inbox a couple of times a week. We want to make you smile. These offerings will be delivered to you in our weekly emails, on our social media channels, and on our website. When you see the words tcTakeout…you’ll know the arts are being delivered straight to you.

Speaking of which, today I would like to take a moment to acknowledge many of the wonderful members of our wardrobe department who have contributed their time to make masks for essential workers through Mask Makers YYC, and hospital gowns for health care workers at the Calgary Drop-in Centre and Sagesse. Our artisans know no bounds…Bravo!

With summer on the horizon, I want to let you know that we are rethinking our plans for Shakespeare by the Bow this year. This is a program that we hold dear to us, as it is such a vital opportunity that we provide to emerging artists in our community. So, while our annual summer offering may be a little different this year, our commitment to developing young up and coming talent remains stronger than ever. Stay tuned for more information!

These initiatives would not be possible without the financial support of our friends and patrons. While these times are challenging to all Calgarians, we greatly appreciate any support that members of our community, and family can provide. If you would like to make an individual donation to Theatre Calgary and our Recovery Fund, it is as easy as visiting our website and clicking on the heart on our homepage.  We will also be introducing a simple 'Text to donate' in the coming days, which will help fund the new initiatives I have mentioned.

In the meantime, I like to think of the words of author and activist, Helen Keller: “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” WE will come through this, friends. I have faith. 

On behalf of everyone at Theatre Calgary, we wish you and yours good health and safety in these trying times. In the coming weeks, I look forward to sharing some stories of what the people of our company are working on.

If you can, take a break and treat yourself to some tcTakeout.

Stafford Arima

Artistic Director