Down By The Bays- “Shakespeare: A Most Rare Vision” June 12, 13, 14, 2024 at Pioneer United Church

Muskoka Players presents Shakespeare: A Most Rare Vision

or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Bard

By William Shakespeare and William Colgate

Featuring William Colgate

Director Joan Bendon

Wednesday June 12 at 2 pm, Thursday June 13 at 7 pm, Friday June 14 at 2 pm.

Pioneer Memorial Church Hall, 2370 Highway 60 at Hillside, Lake of Bays

Contact downbythebayslob@gmail.com to RESERVE your spot today. Let us know your name, the performance date, number of tickets and e-transfer $25 per ticket.

As seating is limited to 50 people/performance, reserving your spot is highly recommended. We are wheelchair accessible and there is plenty of parking. The show runs 70 minutes with NO intermission.

$25 Cash will be accepted at the door. Doors open 30 minutes to show time. There is also a cash-only concession.

REMINDER, $10 from every ticket sold and all concession donations will contribute to the Pioneer Memorial Church's Furnace Replacement Campaign. NOTE: Over $6,000 has been raised so far.

REVIEW:
"Bill Colgate's one-man romp through Shakespeare's works is delightful... Whether you are a serious Shakespeare fan or you haven't thought about the plays since high school, you'll love this show. "Andrew Wagner Chazalon, Editor/CEO of Dockside Magazine.

A LITTLE BACKGROUND On SHAKESPEARE

“Covid may have taken away any number of things but occasionally it also gave. In this instance, it gave Joan and I the time and the motivation to create this show.

One day, at the height of Covid, I found myself watching a YouTube video of Ian McKellen’s one-man show “Acting Shakespeare”. Suffice it to say, McKellen is a wonderful actor but the longer l watched the more I realized that his experience of The Bard was significantly different from my own. McKellen always loved Shakespeare whereas I…not-so-much. The journey of a Cambridge-educated Brit was definitely not the same as that of a graduate of the Ontario Secondary School System.

Armed with that realization, Joan and I set out to see if we could create a show, tracing my “conversion” from Shakesphobe to Shakesphile. A piece of theatre that might help alleviate the traumatic effects of PTS4* in those, who like me, received a less than inspiring introduction to the works of William Shakespeare.

Shakespeare: A Most Rare Vision is not designed to preach to the choir but rather to those of us who skipped choir practice and could be found out behind the church smoking God-knows-what.”

William Colgate

* Post-Traumatic-Secondary-School-Shakespeare-Syndrome

++++++++++++

RECOMMENDED DINING EXPERIENCES TO ROUND OFF YOUR AFTERNOON/EVENING

Muskoka On The Rocks (1 minute drive West of Pioneer Memorial Hall) Dine prior to or following our Afternoon Matinees, or prior to our Evening Performances. Reservations Recommended.

The Boiler Room (7 minute drive East of Pioneer Memorial Hall on Hwy 35). Dine prior to or following our Afternoon Matinees, or prior to our Evening Performances. Reservations Recommended.

Erika’s (5 minute drive East of Pioneer Memorial Hall). Dine prior to our Afternoon Matinees.

DOWN BY THE BAYS is a community cultural hub for performing arts in Lake of Bays. Dot The T Productions, Muskoka Players, Muskoka Stageworks and The Dorset Theatre Company share the stages at the Lake of Bays United Churches in Hillside (Pioneer Memorial Hall), Dwight (Stewart Memorial) and Dorset (Knox United).

Thank you to the Township of Lake of Bays who provided a cultural/historical grant to purchase lights for our theatre!

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITY

Sponsorship and advertisement opportunities are available for upcoming productions.

PLAYBILL ADVERTS:

½ page full-colour advertisements in our playbills is limited to 6  half-page adverts/production

COST $50/half-page advert/playbill – AVAILABLE ON FIRST COME BASIS

We print 150 playbills per production and encourage all audience members to take them home and share with neighbours and friends.

All advertisers are thanked individually in the welcome address to the audience prior to each performance.

PRODUCTION SPONSORSHIP:

There is only 1 sponsor/production. Their logo will be on all printed and digital marketing materials. A THANK YOU social media post is posted naming the sponsor and our gratitude for their support for arts and culture in Lake of Bays. They are also publicly thanked in the welcome address to the audience prior to each performance.

4 complimentary opening performance tickets are included with reserved and priority seating

The full back page of the playbill for the production you are sponsoring is dedicated for your advertisement.

COST - $500/production – limited to 1/production. Available on a first come basis.

Upcoming events LOOKING FOR SPONSORS include:

• Valdy LIVE in Concert (Nov. 1, 2024) at Stewart Memorial United Church in Dwight (100 in audience)

• Merry Birthday (Nov. 7 – 18, 2024) at Pioneer Memorial Hall in Hillside (the run includes 3 days over the Girlfriend’s Getaway Weekend and 4 performances the following week. – Each audience capacity is 50)

• A Christmas Show (TBA) December 2024 (3 performances)
  
  Contact us asap to get the exposure you want! Or maybe you have some bigger ideas! Let's talk.