Christmas is here for Upper Canada Playhouse in more ways than one! Their upcoming Christmas Show, HAVE YOURSELF A SWINGING LITTLE COUNTRY CHRISTMAS, is set to open November 26 and construction has started this week on their much anticipated new rehearsal hall!
This new addition to the theatre will complete their cultural space and enable The Playhouse to rehearse their shows onsite. The theatre already builds their shows in its workshop facility and rehearses some of them at the theatre itself. But during the summer months they have traditionally used the former Masonic Hall at St. Lawrence & Fifth Sts as their rehearsal space. This summer they rehearsed in a room made available to them by Tom Morrow and the McIntosh Country‘ Inn and Conference Centre.
‘These have all been great spaces for us,’ remarked Artistic Director Donnie Bowes. ‘But having a dedicated rehearsal space onsite will allow us to produce our shows more efficiently and effectively with all departments under one roof.’ The Playhouse has renovated, built and improved many aspects of its space over the past several years having added a Box Office and Administrative wing on the West end of the building and a workshop at the East end. It has also undergone extensive renovations to continue to provide a comfortable and safe environment for its audience and also recently installed new state of the art seating. All of these previous renovations, improvements and additions were paid for by The Playhouse Box Office and Sponsorship revenues.
The cost of this current construction of a rehearsal hall, however, has been shared by Canadian Heritage Cultural Spaces Program with a grant of $97,000 which MP Guy Lauzon and North Dundas Mayor and past Warden Eric Duncan championed. In announcing the substantial contribution, Mr. Lauzon emphasized that it was an investment in a local organization that makes a significant contribution to the cultural and economic well-being of our community.