$30 for 30 years: Driftwood’s Anniversary Fundraising Campaign

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Attention all Driftwood friends and family! This summer we’re calling on you to help celebrate Driftwood’s 30-year commitment to epic theatre.

After decades of touring Shakespeare’s works across Ontario, this season, Driftwood Theatre has embraced a bold new artistic vision. Now in its 30th year, Driftwood has turned its focus to the incubation and development of contemporary plays by contemporary theatre creators, whose works explore themes and ideas as mythic and epic as Shakespeare’s. 

 

The goal for our $30 for 30 years campaign is to collect 100 donations in 6 weeks. That’s  $3,000 to help us develop vital new theatre by Ontario-based creators and share it with communities across the province. Donate today and join Driftwood as we embark on our most exciting adventure yet!

Want to take your impact even further? Share this campaign on social media to let your friends know what Driftwood is up to and why you’re excited about it. More awareness around what we do means more artists can benefit from our programs!

Wherever you post, be sure to tag us @driftwoodtheatre and use the hashtag #30for30

CLICK TO DONATE

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The Story of Our Change

Driftwood’s commitment to new play development has been growing steadily since 2004. While our Bard’s Bus Tour travelled across the province, our Trafalgar 24 Festival and Beyond the Bard Playwrights Unit nurtured the creation of over 100 short and 10 full-length plays. 

Now that we’ve set roots in Prince Edward County, we’ve reimagined our mission of good people connected by great stories. Where we were once a nomadic touring company that brought epic and mythic theatre to communities across Ontario, we are now – with our new home – becoming a development hub which fosters it. 

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Your Impact

Already we’ve launched several initiatives to make our new vision a reality, and your support will help us keep the momentum going. 

Your donation will help us to..

  • Host more Gillespie House Playwrights Retreats; paid, week-long, self directed retreat opportunities for Ontario-based creators working on new projects
  • Support our Playwrights Around the House Residents who work with us on projects from inception to production 
  • Hire artists to participate in new play workshops, performances, and classic Driftwood events (like Shakespeare D&D and William Shakespeare’s A Christmas Carol)
  • Launch FREE theatre creation and professional development programs for youth in Prince Edward County
  • Support our staff in daily operations and build capacity for the future!

Changing from a company that produces and tours epic theatre into one which supports and develops it is no small feat. That’s why your support is so meaningful to us. In celebration of our 30-year commitment to good people connected by great stories, make a donation of $30.00 and be part of Driftwood’s exciting future.  

CLICK TO DONATE

That tricky first draft

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Driftwood Metcalf Intern Artistic Director and dramaturg Caitie Graham reflects on our June playwrights retreat with some thoughts about that often elusive first draft. 

Hi! It’s Caitie here; Driftwood’s Metcalf Intern Artistic Director and Retreat Dramaturg. You’ll be hearing from me this month (how fun!) 

Last week, we hosted our second Gillespie House Playwrights Retreat of the season, with playwrights Anahita Dehbonehie, Helen Ho, and Mariya Khomutova, and it was a truly special experience. We shared good food, good conversation, and on more than one occasion we fell asleep watching a movie in the living room…

And while all of that sounds like a cozy and wonderful time, these playwrights were also hard at work generating first drafts of their new plays. And first drafts are tricky. Read on to learn more about the specific joys and challenges of being at the very beginning of a new process; something all three of our playwrights were doing last week.

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The early stages of writing a new play can be complex to navigate. It’s different for everyone, but for me at least, there’s a spectrum of experience during this period that usually hinges around the idea that – before a first draft exists – the play could be anything. On good days, this can be totally freeing; ideas flow and everything clicks – all seemingly without effort. But on rougher days, the idea of ‘anything’ can become a block; doubt pervades, you can feel lost.

In my experience, writing a first draft is basically just finding a way to stay afloat while bouncing between feeling totally empowered – and totally defeated – by possibility.  It’s doing whatever you can to trick yourself into writing one complete version of the story without running away from it entirely.

During this tumultuous stage, these are some pieces of advice I’ve learned to hang on to….

  1. A first draft’s only responsibility is to exist. That’s. It. There is no need to borrow trouble from future stages of development when all a first draft needs to do is be. 
  2. Getting it wrong is a necessary step before getting it right. All writing is productive, even if it doesn’t end up in the play. Exploring what doesn’t work ultimately helps us envision what does.  
  3. Remember the difference between choices and decisions. In first draft land, we are only making choices (i.e. trying on clothes, seeing what fits). Only later do we begin making decisions (i.e buying the dress). 
  4. No new play follows the same process as the one that came before it. No matter how many plays you’ve written, each new project has the power to change the way you work. Let it. 

To all the playwrights who are in the early stages of developing something new, thank you for staying in your process (no matter how uncomfortable it is at times) and for committing to the act of making something from nothing. As eager audiences of your work, we are grateful for your perseverance. 

And to you, reader. Thanks for being part of Driftwood’s new chapter. We’re in something of a new draft process ourselves, and we’re grateful for your support as we find our new way to be. 

Your favourite intern, 

Caitie.

Pictured above: Sometimes that first draft is about as elusive as your favourite feline. Like Merlin. Photo by Caitie Graham.

A different kind of summer

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Well, here we are.

For the first time in Driftwood’s history, we are not spending the summer touring Shakespeare’s epic stories across southern Ontario. Willingly, at least (we’re not counting those COVID years).

The big changes at Driftwood this season have never  been more apparent than right now as we head into the summer months. Usually around this time, we’re kicking it into high gear for the  Bard’s Bus Tour. And for those of you who are really feeling that loss, I’m with you. I miss it too.

There will always be a part of me that longs for those special summers spent connecting with folks all over southern Ontario through the act of sharing Shakespeare’s plays.

But I’m also excited about what IS happening at Driftwood. Changing from a company that produces epic theatre into one which incubates and supports it is no small feat. The shifts we’ve made are big, and maybe even a little scary, but they are necessary for the long-term health of our company and our industry.

Thirty years ago, I started Driftwood Theatre because I wanted to share epic stories with people across Ontario. When I think about it, that mandate hasn’t changed all that much. Though we have changed the who and the how, that original kernel of an idea is still there: people sharing epic stories.

I love Shakespeare. I love his plays. I think they’re big, bold, messy and glorious. But Shakespeare isn’t the only storyteller who can write big, mythic tales. Many of these storytellers live right here, right now, and they need support now more than ever to get their works onstage. So we shift.  

What’s really interesting about driftwood – I mean real driftwood – is that it serves a very specific ecological purpose along the fringes of Ontario’s lakes. After meandering and wandering through our waterways, being honed and changed by the experience, it gathers and settles onto the shore and provides the shelter and stability required for massive new growth. How cool is that.

It’s exactly how I see Driftwood moving forward. We’ve traveled. We’ve been shaped by that experience. Now we’re starting a new life as a place where big ideas can take root and grow.

This summer might look different than those of our past, but it’s still full of creativity and play. With two projects lined up: 

June Gillespie House Playwrights Retreat

So far this year, we’ve welcomed three playwrights to our partnered B&B – The Gillespie House – in Prince Edward County for a week-long stay and in June we’ll welcome three more (Anahita Dehbonehie, Helen Ho and Mariya Khomutova). These retreats are an important opportunity for storytellers to break away from their day-to-day, focus exclusively on creation, and convene with other artists to share and generate ideas and find inspiration.

D&D Summer Camp

Driftwood is also keen to support young storytellers along their creative journey. This summer, we’ll be offering two Dungeons and Dragons summer camps in cooperation with The Baxter Arts Centre in Bloomfield. At our D&D camp we’re welcoming participants ages 9-12 for week-long improvisational games designed to get them thinking creatively and cooperatively as they build and share a story together. Not every person who is passionate about theatre is a performer, and our D&D camp presents a way for people to express themselves without the anxiety of getting onstage. This camp is all about imagination, play and theatricality, but without the expectation of performance.

So, while this summer is certainly new territory for Driftwood, it feels like we’re on the right path. I hope you’ll follow along with us.  

Be joyful,

Jeremy.

Photo credit: Summer Sky, by Dahlia Katz

Retreats in Full Swing

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In March we hosted our first Gillespie House Playwrights Retreat of 2024. It went so well, we’re already planning for the next one!

Last month Driftwood hosted its first playwrights retreat of the season at our partnered Bed & Breakfast, The Gillespie House. We were joined by Ellen Denny (playwright, The Great(er) Maple Syrup Heist), Deivan Steele (playwright, Children of the Black Water), and Ahmed Moneka (playwright, The Onion Cellar). For one peaceful week in the County – away from day to day life – these playwrights got to explore bold new ideas, take leaps and strides in their work, and share in each other’s pursuits.

All week, we were inspired by our guests’ processes. Deivan’s routine of writing with the sunrise, Ellen’s piano playing drifting through the halls, and reading aloud The Onion Cellar chapter (from Günter Grass’ The Tin Drum) with Ahmed. It was such a unique pleasure having these artists in our space, and we are so excited for what comes of their work. 

This is River, with her World Theatre Day poster (made with her dad, Jeremy).

“Something magical happens when artists inhabit this house,” says Artistic Director (and Gillespie House co-owner) Jeremy Smith, “there’s a vibrancy and joy that just fills the space. It encourages me to rediscover that creative spirit as well – like the one we all have when we’re kids. And it was particularly special to have the house overflowing with that energy on World Theatre Day (March 27).”

But enough about us! Read on to learn more about the experience from the playwrights themselves. 

“Everyday during my residency at Gillespie House, the warm hospitality cultivated a feeling of support and joy. Our days were full of quiet focus and our evenings full of inspiring conversation. Having on-site dramaturgical support deepened my understanding of my project and gave me a lot to digest moving forward. A truly special week in a beautiful setting.”

– Ellen Denny, GHPR March 2024

“The Gillespie House Playwrights Retreat is all about enabling playwrights to do their best work, and the folks at Driftwood are exceptional at supporting the process of every individual. The gifts that GHPR gave me weren’t just time and space to work, but also a lovely introduction to a beautiful corner of Ontario, flexible support for all kinds of projects, and an invitation to really become part of the family for a week. When Driftwood says their vision is about ‘Good people sharing great stories’, nowhere is it better exemplified than this productive, collaborative, and heartwarming experience. I can’t say enough just how much I recommend GHPR to any playwright looking to kickstart their story with a wonderful team.” 

– Deivan Steele, GHPR March 2024

For those of you who may have missed it – or who need the extra nudge – our call for submissions to the June Gillespie House Playwrights Retreat (GHPR) is still open! We’re looking for emerging and established playwrights who are developing new works that are epic or mythic in nature (whatever that means to them). From June 3rd – 7th 2024, selected artists will be invited to stay at The Gillespie House where they’ll receive; full accommodation, complimentary breakfasts, a travel stipend within Ontario, access to dramaturgical support, and an honorarium of $500.00. The deadline to submit is Thursday April 18th, 2024 at midnight.