{"id":21875,"date":"2018-10-12T14:14:11","date_gmt":"2018-10-12T18:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=21875"},"modified":"2018-10-12T14:14:35","modified_gmt":"2018-10-12T18:14:35","slug":"21875","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/21875\/","title":{"rendered":"New season, new look for Theatre Aurora\u2019s 60th anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brock Weir<\/strong><\/p>\n

The curtain has risen on a new season at Theatre Aurora and its opener, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised] will have surprise encore presentation this Friday.
\nIt was the first production of their landmark 60th anniversary season, and the first in a series of commemorations which will take place throughout the 2018-2019 theatre run.
\n\u201cTheatre Aurora is proud to have served Aurora and the surrounding area for 60 years,\u201d said Linda Stott of Theatre Aurora, touting their milestone recently to Council. \u201cTo achieve this milestone as a volunteer-run organization is commendable. To do so while continuing to win awards is thrilling. In fact, at this year\u2019s Association of Community Theatres Central Ontario Gala, Theatre Aurora was presented with awards in Best Musical Production, Best Musical Director, Best Lighting Design, Best Leading Man in Drama, Outstanding Newcomer (Directing) and more. Without exaggeration, it takes thousands of volunteer hours for each production to achieve what Theatre Aurora has been able to achieve.\u201d
\nAwards might be an indication that what goes on behind the walls of their Henderson Drive performance space, formerly known as The Factory Theatre, a building which began life as part of a cement factory, is still fresh going into its seventh decade. But there\u2019s more. Theatre Aurora is looking to stay fresh by refreshing itself for its audiences.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re looking strong, we have a dedicated and engaged membership, we have a great season planned, and we look to the future with optimism,\u201d said Ms. Stott. \u201cHowever, a not-for-profit charitable arts organization does face its own set of challenges. We\u2019re using our 60th anniversary as a springboard for various outreach and fundraising projects. We have many great plans to honour and celebrate our 60th anniversary.
\n\u201cIt began two years ago when the 60th season was programmed. We decided to add an ambitious sixth show to our season, all of which relate to the season\u2019s theme of Theatre Life. We love being social. Every month of the upcoming season has a social event. Highlights include a celebration of the 60th anniversary to the day of our first performance, which is November 7. Our celebration gala is in June. Other events include a murder mystery holiday party, theatre games and karaoke nights.
\n\u201cWe have also dedicated this hallmark year for raising funds for a complete lobby overhaul. The new design includes better accessibility accommodations, new washrooms and a new layout to maximize space. Our goal is to raise $60,000 which will cover the material costs and some specialized work. Otherwise, all the labour will be done by volunteers.\u201d
\nSponsoring the sixtieth anniversary season this year is Meridian Credit Union.
\nOther sponsorship opportunities are currently available, she said, \u201cfor organizations wishing to align themselves with an award-winning theatre that is heavily involved in the community.\u201d
\nOver the past year, Theatre Aurora has had a presence in a number of community events, including the Aurora Street Festival, York Pride Fest, the Santa Under the Stars Parade, Canada Day, the Aurora Farmers\u2019 Market, Doors Open, the Aurora Multicultural Festival, play readings at the Aurora Public Library, and more.
\n\u201cWe are very invested in this community,\u201d said Ms. Stott. \u201cIn honour of our 60th anniversary, we invite Mayor, Councillors, Staff and the Community to attend at least one performance this season. Come and see what is being created in your backyard. You\u2019ll be amazed.
\nWhile The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (Revised) closed at the end of September, it is coming back Friday night at 8 p.m. for an encore performance. It will be restaged to be in the running for the Association of Community Theatres \u2013 Central Ontario (ACT-CO) Theatre Festival.
\nFor more on opportunities to become amazed during Theatre Aurora\u2019s 60th Anniversary Season, including the October 12 special performance, visit www.theatreaurora.com.<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The curtain has risen on a new season at Theatre Aurora and its opener, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised] will have surprise encore presentation this Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s3D2k4-21875","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-22 08:54:39","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21875\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}