Well, it’s not quite November anymore but here is what we have been up to! November was a big month of travelling to Eastern Ontario and Montréal, wrapping up our pre-teen Adventures in Outdoor Theatre program and starting to work with the Halifax Fringe to establish the first ever Halifax Kids Fringe!

Lupinder’s Tent Goes on Tour to Eastern Ontario!

In early November Lily and I packed up the old Ford Focus with Lupinder’s Tent and all of it’s wily characters and jetted out to Eastern Ontario. I grew up in a small town in Eastern Ontario (go Chesterville, go!) and always wished for more arts opportunities in my rural schools. What a delight then to be able to take over a couple school libraries and transform them into magical new spaces! We had so many kids audibly gasp as they walked by their libraries to discover a giant colourful patchwork tent.

We performed at two rural schools, Maxvillle Public School and St. Andrew’s Catholic School. We managed in both cases to see almost the entire school! Thank you to teachers Rachel Eves and Martina Bols for bringing us to your schools!

Gale Force Attends Theatre for Young Audience Meet Up in Montreal

While down in Eastern Ontario we also hopped over to Montréal to attend the opening of a brand new children’s theatre festival called La méche courte. This new children’s theatre festival had shows from around the world and Canada for youth ages 3-17 over a 10 day period. We attended as member of ASSITEJ (don’t even try and decipher that acronym), an international association for theatre for children and young people. It was a great opportunity to meet our fellow theatre for young audience colleagues in person.

Adventures in Outdoor Theatre Performance

On Halloween’s Eve, our Adventures in Outdoor Theatre cohort presented their spooky outdoor creations to a crowd of family and friends. Throughout September and October we had been meeting weekly in Shubie park to work with an ensemble nine 11-13 years olds to create original frightening tales. The performance erred more on the side of goofy than spooky, but a good time was had by all.

We continue on with our teen cohort throughout the winter as we create a performance for young audiences to be toured in schools in April.

Gale Force Takes on Halifax Kids’ Fringe

We are excited to announce that we will be working with the Halifax Fringe Festival to facilitate the first ever Kids’ Fringe! This will be a curated festival in conjunction with the Halifax Fringe and will take place during two Sundays in September. Applications for the Kids’ Fringe open on December 15th! If you would like to support the Halifax Fringe Kid’s Fringe you can donate and receive a charitable tax receipt. Head to https://www.theatrens.ca/donate and select 09 Halifax Fringe Festival from the Fund dropdown menu.

That’s all folks!