Posted: December 17, 2022.
Act One and its instructors hope that everyone is looking forward to a safe and enjoyable festive season at the end of this year. We want to keep all those interested in the school's programs, updated on the school's plans for upcoming events, Winter Term registration and other activities.
The topics below include both new information and some of the most common subject areas that we have been asked about over the past few weeks:
To help students and their families with holiday planning, I just wanted to remind everyone that the school closes on Wednesday, Dec 21/22 for the Christmas/New Year’s holiday break, and does not re-open until Wednesday, Jan 4/23. This means the last classes in 2022 will be the Tuesday On Camera classes on Tuesday, Dec 20th. The first classes in the new year will be the Wednesday theatre classes on Wednesday, Jan 4th. Act One and its staff hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable holiday season.
In a “normal” year (ie pre-pandemic), the end of the Fall Term would be capped with the Winter Cabaret. It would comprise a series of shows on the final weekend in January and the first in February. Students would have the opportunity to present the performance pieces they have been working on, for family and friends, over one or more nights. It was designed as an opportunity to help everyone celebrate the students’ hard work, provide them with actual performance experience and let everyone get a better understanding about how all the different drama areas are inter-related and build on each other.
Due to the various pandemic situations that have been in place these past few years, we have been unable to present the show in its original form. This year we had hoped conditions would have improved sufficiently to finally allow us to return to this format, as we believe it has so much to offer to all the students. Unfortunately, given the current situation with respect to the various virus strains in circulation and the stress levels on the health system, it is not possible for us, at present, to confidently predict what things will be like at the end of January. We do not want to arbitrarily deprive everyone of a full Winter Cabaret experience, if possible, but we also don’t want to present one plan to everyone now and then either have to change it at the last minute or find that the health situation makes it uncomfortable or impossible for people to enjoy it or take part (as performers and/or audience).
As a result, I will be monitoring the local community health situation over the holidays and reviewing things with my instructors the first week in January to decide what show format we can present, that best balances health and safety concerns with the benefits of student performance.
While the final format of the shows has yet to be determined, to help everyone with their planning, I can make the following details available:
On-line registration for Act One’s 2022/23 Winter Term classes is now available. Classes begin Feb 6/23. We can accept a limited number of new students into our classes, so long as there is still space in the desired class.
New for Winter Term 2023: Please note that for Winter 2023 we have added a new Theatre for Ages 10-11 class in the Saturday 1:30-3:00pm time slot. This replaces the previous Theatre for Ages 12-13 class. We did this because the existing weekend Theatre for Ages 10-11 is currently full and there is only one spot open in the Wednesday class option. We wanted to ensure that interested students aged 10-11 still had access to our theatre class program for the Winter Term.
For those considering Winter Term classes for 2022/23, here are the start dates and current registration status (as of Dec 14 /22) for each of our classes (in order of when they begin):
A quick reminder that all previous students and/or Summer and March Break campers receive a 5% discount off class fees if continuing on this year.
You can find more detailed information on all classes on the school website. The on-line registration form can be accessed from here.
To help prospective students with advance planning, key registration, term and performance information/dates for the 2022/23 school year can be found here. Please note that these dates reflect our best planning given current circumstances. They are all subject to change, depending on future events.
For current Grade 8 students considering applying to one of the arts-focused high schools in Durham (All Saints – Catholic and O’Neill – Public) or Wexford, in eastern Toronto, or Grade 6 students considering the All Saints Grade 7 and 8 program, please be aware that they either currently are or soon will be accepting entrance applications. Typically, acceptance requires an entrance audition in mid-late January/early February. Both schools post audition information on their websites. As in past years, Act One will again be offering monologue and vocal/singing coaching assistance for those students who feel this may help them to be better prepared and feel more confident for their audition(s). You can find more detailed information on the Other Programs page.
Act One is excited to once again be able to offer its March Break Theatre Camp for Ages 6-13. It will take place here at Act One from Monday March 13th until Friday, March 17th. You can find more detailed information on the Camps page of the school website.
I hope the above information helps answer many of the common questions I have had over the past couple of weeks and keeps everyone updated with respect to Act One's current and planned future actions for the rest of this school year.
If anyone has any questions regarding this update or any other topic, please feel free to contact the school.
Sincerely,
Mark Nathanielsz
Owner/Artistic Director