Stratford For All Seasons: Theatre & Arts. Phyllis Hinz

       St. James Anglican Church

       Stratford Festival Archives

       Stratford Festival Gardens

       Swan Parade

       The Bandshell

       Tir na nOg Gates

       Tom Patterson Island

       KNOW IT: Fascinating and historical information

       Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre

       Festival Opening Night, Then and Now

       First Rehearsals at the Fairgrounds

       First There Was the Tent

       Schoolteachers Share the Love of Shakespeare

       Stratford Normal School

       Theatrical Research and Development at the Lab

       About The Authors

       Photo Credit

       Acknowledgements

       Recommended Reading

      To the visionaries and supporters

      of arts and culture in Stratford

      Special thanks to Michele Boniface,

      who continues to inspire and guide us

       AUTHORS’ NOTE

      Stratford, Ontario, a quiet, scenic city in a rural setting, has managed to stay true to its roots even though many thousands of people visit each year from around the world. It’s not your pop-up tourist town. Ever since the days of early settlement in the 1830s, Stratford has been a place where forward-thinking citizens seized opportunities to benefit their community.

      Our goal with Stratford for All Seasons: Theatre & Arts, is to share the immensity and diversity of the theatre and arts scene in Stratford. It is extraordinary to have culture of this magnitude in a city with a population of approximately 32,000. Many of the 500,000 annual visitors to the city who attend the Stratford Festival, as well as many busy Stratfordites, are not aware of the countless cultural events available to them year-round.

      This book is about the cultural happenings in Stratford that make us say, “Wow.”

      Stratford For All Seasons: Theatre & Arts is arranged as follows:

      “DO IT” Events you can participate in or attend

      “SEE IT” Things you can walk up to and appreciate

      “KNOW IT” Fascinating and historical information

       FOREWORD

      There is so much to do in Stratford that a person could be forgiven for only scratching its surface by seeing a great play. After all, how many places have an internationally known Shakespeare festival? But in this book you’ll find ways to enrich your experience of Stratford, dive deep into its many delights, and make the theatre-going even more irresistible.

      Antoni Cimolino

      Artistic Director

      Stratford Festival

      “Put some flowers in front. Shows people there’s civilization there.” The remark is attributed to James Anderson, first Archivist-Administrator of the Stratford-Perth Archives and a passionate advocate for local culture and heritage. If he did indeed say that, then he was on to something.

      We judge the quality of life in a city not only by the state of its sidewalks and its sewers, its industrial and commercial vigour, or the efficiency with which its municipal services are delivered — key markers though all those attributes are — but also by the ways in which it makes itself beautiful, spiritually nourishing, and vibrant with life. A city that cultivates beauty, a city buzzing with intellectual and creative energy, is a city worth spending time in.

      Stratford is such a city, and not only because of its internationally renowned theatre festival. The flowers of civilization burgeon and blossom in countless other corners of this unique community; their roots run deep.

      In these pages, Phyllis Hinz and Lamont Mackay gather together Stratford’s richly varied cultural blooms — its artistic endeavours, its architecture, its history, its traditions — into a single convenient bouquet. But in doing so, they reveal something more: a whole cultural ecology, interconnected and mutually sustaining. And one that will always be sprouting new buds.

      Welcome to Stratford. There’s civilization here.

      David Prosser

      Literary and Editorial Director

      Stratford Festival

       DO IT

      EVENTS YOU CAN PARTICIPATE IN OR ATTEND

      ALTERNATIVE THEATRE WORKS

      SEASON: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter

      LOCATION: 15 Church Street and 163 King Street

      WEBSITE: www.findglocal.com/CA/Stratford/198136196982116/Alternative-Theatre-Works

      HIGHLIGHT: Intimate alternative theatre offered by performing artists living in Stratford

      Alternative Theatre Works (ATW) is an independent professional theatre company dedicated to producing theatre outside the mainstream in the Stratford region. The company is a group of professional actors, directors, producers, and educators who live in Stratford, love what they do, and want to share their knowledge and skills with their community. Productions, chosen for their merit as good theatre, are short runs to sold-out houses. You might catch a one-man show, an original play, or an original adaptation of a play. One such production was A Tender Thing by Ben Power, in which Romeo and Juliet did not die but are alive and aging. It’s an alternative take on an ageless story.

      In order to provide a full-stage experience, the small company collaborates with other choreographers, musicians, and designers such as Off the Wall, where theatre professionals offer workshops on backstage production. Working together, ATW and Off the Wall mentor emerging artists. Alternative