Welcome to Driftwood Theatre’s Board of Directors: Peter Fernandes & Brandi Sundby

This season, we announced Driftwood’s journey of transformation from producing and touring outdoor summer theatre to cultivating and supporting the development of epic plays that respond to the world we live in today. To support this shift, our Artistic Director Jeremy Smith and Board Vice President Richard Lee have been hard at work recruiting new board members to our team who resonate with this change. 

Please join us in welcoming Peter Fernandes and Brandi Sundby to Driftwood as our newest board members! These incredible individuals will be joining current board members Mary Krohnert (President), Richard Lee (Vice President), Sarah Hilderley (Secretary), and Sheldon Swick (Treasurer) as they support and lead this new Driftwood toward future success.

Below are some thoughts from Richard on how he and Jeremy have been conducting this ongoing search using Driftwood’s reinvisioned mandate of “good people connected by great stories”. How have they been finding individuals who can contribute – not just to the new direction of this company – but to the ethos that is deeply a part of what this company wants to embody?

“The process so far has been interesting, fun-filled, adventurous…all of the things that reflect what this company wants and needs to be.” says Richard. During interviews with prospective board members, topics of conversation ran the gamut. ”From asking really serious questions and having discussions about what kind of theatre we’re making, to asking folks what they’d bring to a barbeque at Jeremy’s, or their favourite dessert…we’ve really tried to show folks through this process that we’re an organization looking to live its mandate.”

“What’s lovely about Peter is, he’s not only a great artist, but he wants to play, he wants to explore. He’s not looking at the traditional boundaries of how to make theatre, or what it’s ‘supposed’ to be…and that’s what this company is about. The artistry, the joy, the magic, Peter brings those values in spades just by his very being.”

“Brandi is fresh, exciting, and innovative…If something is not there, she’s willing to build it. If something hasn’t been done before, she’s willing to make a new pathway to do it. There’s great satisfaction in knowing we’re moving forward with a person who has been there and done so much from scratch before.”

We are so thrilled to be embarking on this new journey with Peter and Brandi. Learn more about them below!

PETER FERNANDES

Peter Fernandes is an award winning actor and emerging director and magic/illusions designer. He is currently performing as Francis Henshall in One Man, Two Guvnors for the Shaw Festival where he is also a Neil Munro Intern Director, assistant directing on Witness for the Prosecution and Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Human Heart, as well as magic designer for Snow in Midsummer.

“Being asked to join the Driftwood Board was incredibly exciting, not only because of the incredible work that I’ve enjoyed watching over the years, but because of the wonderful group of people driving the company forward. The new focus on epic stories that respond to the world we live in resonates deeply with my own artistic practice and I look forward to collaborating with such a passionate team as we venture into this exciting new chapter together.” – Peter Fernandes

Read more about Peter in this recent Toronto Star article

BRANDI SUNDBY

Brandi is a strategy and financial planning expert for business and non-profits, with over 15 years of experience working for clients in media, arts & culture, architecture & design, and education. Her sense of adventure (which we like) has brought her to cities throughout North America, including Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto and New York City.

“Driftwood Theatre is charting an exciting new course, as it reinvents itself into an incubator for the development of contemporary plays. I’m elated to come on board at this moment in Driftwood’s history, to support the organization in laying a solid foundation that will benefit the organization –  and emerging Ontario playwrights – for years to come.” – Brandi Sundby

Learn more about Brandi at her website here

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.