Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Toronto, Ontario – March 4, 2016 - On Saturday, March 19th, Roseneath Theatre launches the spring tour of Outside with a one-time Gala Performance in the Grand Ballroom of The 519 on Church Street on Saturday, March 19, 2016 at 7pm. Tickets are $50 with all money raised going to support the spring tour of Paul Dunn’s Outside. Tickets can be purchased by calling 416-686-5199 x 225 or through roseneath.ca.
The Gala evening will feature, hors d’oeuvres, a performance by Singing Out and About, Opening remarks by members of the Leaside GSA, Silent and Live Auction and a performance of Outside.
There are times when the strength of a particular play is impossible to miss, and the manner in which it resonates with our young audience members is palpable. Outside is one of those plays. Exploring themes of teen mental health, coming out and what it means to be an ally, Outside premiered in 2015 earning Dora nominations for Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Performance.
The work Roseneath is undertaking with Outside has the potential to make a significant impact in the lives of young audience members. The Canadian Centre for Justice’s statistics report Hate Crime in Canada and the Toronto Police Service’s annual Hate/Bias Crime Statistical Report speaks to the need for programmes such as this one.
• Sexual orientation was one of the top three motivations for hate crimes;
• 56.3% of all hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation were violent;
• The second most likely place for hate crimes to be committed was in educational facilities;
•Approximately one-half of all victims and three-quarters of those accused were 12-24.
Roseneath Theatre has brought back Outside to ensure the play gets out to those communities beyond the GTA – communities in which a young person coming to grips with their newfound LGBTQ-identity might not have the breadth of support offered to a teenager in Toronto. This tour is heading to middle schools across Ontario including stops in Fort Frances, Rainy River and Ottawa and performances are still available to book – please visit www.roseneath.ca.
ABOUT THE PLAY Outside, written by Paul Dunn, directed by Andrew Lamb and featuring G. Kyle Shields, Mina James and Giacomo Sellar, tells the story of Daniel who triumphs over homophobic bullying. What begins as a series of hurtful taunts and text messages, culminates in a serious physical assault in the school-yard. He is left questioning his very existence. The story is told by Daniel at the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) meeting in his new school, while his friends Krystina and Jeremy attempt to start a GSA at Daniel’s old school. Three friends. Two schools. One lunch hour.
ABOUT THE 519 The 519 is committed to the health, happiness and pull participation of the LGTBQ community. A City of Toronto agency with an innovative model of Service, Space and Leadership, they strive to make a real difference in people’s lives, while working to promote inclusion, understanding and respect.
ABOUT ROSENEATH For 32 years, Roseneath Theatre has been bringing award winning performances that support character education and social justice to schools across Ontario. It may be one of the country’s best-kept secrets – although its work is seen by an impressive 100,000 young people per season, these performances are mostly in schools and not open to the public.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT Paul Dunn is a playwright, actor and instructor based in Toronto. He is the author of Offensive Shadows (winner of the NOW Magazine Audience Choice Award – SummerWorks), and was recently nominated for a 2014 Dora Award for his work as co-author of the Gay Heritage Project (along with Damien Atkins and Andrew Kushnir), which premiered at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre and is currently playing at the Cultch in Vancouver. His play High-Gravel-Blind was chosen to be the first play produced in the Studio Theatre at the Stratford Festival, when it first opened in 2002. In 1998, he premiered his one-man play, BOYS, at the Montreal Fringe, and it was produced again by Theatre Direct Canada in 2000. He has been a guest at the Banff Playwrights Colony and the Stratford Festival Playwrights Retreat. He is a Theatre Arts Graduate of Grant MacEwan College, and the National Theatre School’s Acting Program.
Tickets $50, Reservations 416-686-5199 x225 or www.roseneath.
Photo: Paul Dunn.
2016-03-04
Toronto: Roseneath Theatre holds a gala to fund a tour of "Outside" to students beyond the GTA