A Message from the President of the EODL, Val Bogan
Hi there
Life does keep us on our toes doesn’t it? The global pandemic has changed our lives and we have had to find creative ways to see our friends and family, work, and entertain ourselves.
As far as theatre goes, I have been so impressed at how companies, large and small have managed to keep up some momentum. I’ve watched theatre on YouTube and Zoom, and have a couple of staged readings coming up. As creative people, we will find any way possible to channel our creativity and I for one am very grateful for that. This coming Thursday, Rural Root Theatre will be hosting a live webinar of their play “Couples”. While it is free, donations to their foodbank are most welcome. You can register by clicking “Register here” on their website: https://www.ruralroot.org/
EODL is right in there with everyone else. We have a new board! I’d like to welcome Fran Johnson who has stepped into the role of Membership Director and Cathy TeKamp has taken over as Archives Director. A huge thanks to Arlene Watson and Barb Kobolak for their long service to EODL. Lisa Leroux has moved from President to Past-President, Nomination Director and Webmaster, Doug McNichol has added Vice-President to his already busy Festival Liaison portfolio and I’ve moved into the President’s position. Let us not forget Brenda Worsnop who has given so much to the EODL. A huge thanks Brenda and thank you for being at the end of the line whenever we’ve needed your guidance.
We have an amazing new website. Thanks to Lisa Leroux who has built the site from scratch. I encourage you to go take a look at the site and feel free to send us your feedback https://www.eodl.org/. And don’t forget the Facebook page. Please “like” the page and share your stories of how you’re keeping theatre alive in your communities and post pictures of past productions, and encourage your theatre colleagues to “like” us as well https://www.facebook.com/groups/173198549911768. Thanks to Grant Coward for doing such an excellent job with that.
We do have one vacant board position. Sandra Tobin has moved to Nova Scotia (lucky lady) which has left the Yodler position open. We’ve had some discussion around this and whether we need a newsletter given the new website and the FB page. Discussions continue. Another big thanks to Sandra for all the hard work she’s done for EODL.
We’re also planning on launching a competition for a new logo design. Details will follow soon on that.
Once the Provincial government gives us the go-ahead we’ll be scheduling our AGM. While all these board positions have been acclaimed and announced, we will need to ratify them and it will be really wonderful to see all your faces again.
The One-Act Festival is of course in flux at the moment. We’ve decided to wait until August 1st to make a final decision on its fate. If by chance we can’t do it “in person” maybe we can find a way to showcase our talent anyway. I would welcome suggestions on that. Perhaps not an adjudicated festival but a series of un-adjudicated staged readings might be fun. Thoughts?
Finally, I’d like to thank you all for your dedication to the EODL and community theatre in Ontario. Theatre is an important part of our lives and we provide so much joy through entertainment. Let’s continue to spread that joy in these challenging times.
Feel free to reach out by email or phone anytime. I welcome all your feedback.
Val Bogan
President, EODL
email: eodl@gmail.com
website: eodl.ca