Celebrate World Theatre Day With PACT
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The Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT) invites all Canadians to celebrate World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People (March 20) and World Theatre Day (March 27).
World Theatre Day:
Created in 1961 by UNESCO, World Theatre Day is marked annually on March 27 by theatre communities worldwide. It celebrates the power of theatre as an indispensable bridge-builder for mutual international understanding and peace, and promotes and protects cultural diversity and identity.
Together with l'Association des théâtres francophones du Canada (ATFC) and the Playwrights Guild of Canada (PGC), PACT has once again commissioned a message to promote and celebrate World Theatre Day from a distinctly Canadian perspective.
The 2015 Canadian World Theatre Day message is written by Mieko Ouchi, an accomplished actor, writer, and director who is currently Artistic Director of Concrete Theatre in Edmonton AB. The message was translated into French by Mishka Lavigne, an Ottawa-based playwright.
The message begins: "The world we are living in today, is a place in deep flux. One that feels increasingly uncertain and precarious. Power is shifting. Economies are rupturing. We are confronted by unthinkable acts of inhumanity. And while on some fronts concepts of equality are moving forward, in other ways we are increasingly being pushed backward into separate and potentially more extreme corners by forces on many sides. Into perilous ideas of Us and Them. Right and Wrong. Black and White.
Faced with this stark reality, we can find ourselves wondering at the purpose of art. The purpose of theatre. And yet, isn’t this a time when theatre might be needed more than ever?"
To read the full text of the message, visit the PACT website.
World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People:
World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People was created by ASSITEJ as a way to promote TYA theatre and to 'make the case' for children's entitlement to theatre and the arts. Accompanying the day is the “Take a child to theatre – today!” message to help illustrate the importance of taking children to the theatre.
Young People’s Theatre (YPT, a PACT member) has created a message in honour of World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People and to highlight the Take a Child to the Theatre campaign. Written by Allen MacInnis, the message celebrates the value of Theatre for Young Audiences and also marks the 50th anniversary of both YPT and the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People (ASSITEJ).
The message begins: In 2015, the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People – ASSITEJ – is celebrating 50 years of advocacy and action to ensure young people worldwide have access to the transformative power of theatre. They’re asking adults around the world on March 20th, to take a child to the theatre today. Wonderful, I say, but I would add that when you take a child to the theatre, remember you’re taking yourself too.
To read the full text of the message, visit the PACT website.
