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South Simcoe Theatre's door remains closed, but plans to re-open in the fall

The SST event, Four Play: A Showcase of Play Readings, has moved from June 4-7 to September 24 to 27
SST
South Simcoe Theatre, One Hamilton Street Cookstown, closed its doors Mid-March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The four day play reading festival that was to take place June 4 -7, has been moved to September 24-27 in the hope all will be well and the community can once again enjoy great theatre close to home. Rosaleen Egan for Bradford Today.

Covid-19 closed the doors of South Simcoe Theatre (SST) in mid-March as Table Manners, profiled through Bradford Today, was just starting its second weekend of a three week run. 

The theatre door remains closed this weekend as it moves the annual SST event, Four Play: A Showcase of Play Readings, from June 4-7 to September 24 to 27, 2020. The festival usually coincides with Cookstown’s Wing Ding festival, also cancelled this year.

Daniel Galea, Chair of the SST Four Play Committee and Secretary of the Board of Directors, said the postponement will allow the theatre company the unique opportunity to have two Four Play festivals in one season (2020-2021).

“In September, we will be presenting the line-up we would have seen in June and we will be opening a call for submissions for the June edition around the same time,” Galea said. 

Galea explained Four Play began because a local writer and SST member wanted the theatre to put on a play that he had written.  Also, the SST Play Selection Committee had read several plays not deemed to be a good fit for the main season, but ones that would challenge directors and actors.

He said, “Year after year, we produced more and more submissions from unpublished writers and after the first couple years, the entire weekend was from these writers. We are hopeful that more local writers will submit this year given all the extra time we’ve had recently.”

“Though not every submission gets chosen, one of our main goals is to give the playwright the chance to sit in the theatre and hear their words spoken aloud, to hear what works and what doesn’t, where the laughs are etc. and also getting to participate in a Q&A session with the audience. The full experience for writers is something that can really help the creative process.”

Not only does it help the creative process in terms of rounding out a piece, having a public reading helps lead to publication. A play needs to be performed before it can be published. Each opportunity to have public exposure to a playwright’s work, adds to the possibility of it reaching publication. 

The local business community has boosted the playwright’s experience as well by donating honorariums. Galea said, “We are thankful to have local businesses that have supported Four Play for many years, including, but not limited to: Cookstown Chiropractic, Cookstown Antique Market, Cookstown Pharmasave and Canada-Wide Reinforcing Steel Co.” 

Galea explains, “Four Play’s appeal isn’t simply to writers. We are also looking for directors and actors that either are looking to be challenged by something new, or new or “rusty” actors that are looking to get on stage. You don’t know how many people’s bios in the program state they haven’t been on stage since high school.”

During this pandemic, there has been a lot of push to buy local and support the Mom and Pop stores of communities. Galea said, “SST would like to remind people that it’s not necessary to spend hundreds of dollars to travel to Toronto, including tickets, accommodations, gas, meals to see great theatre when they have that in their community.”

SST is grateful to patrons who chose to donate their unused tickets for Table Manners back to the theatre in lieu of asking for a refund. Galea explains, “Unfortunately, we are pinning a lot of hopes on being able to have Four Play in September, The Secret Garden in November, and That December Show in December to help keep the doors open.”

Keep up to date: www.southsimcoetheatre.com and SST’s Facebook page

Rosaleen Egan is a freelance journalist, a storyteller, and a playwright. She blogs on her website rosiewrites.com