Ontario Government Invests in the Shaw Theatre Festival

The Shaw Theatre Festival’s marketing initiatives received a boost today with an $800,000 investment from the Ontario Government. Not only will the funding enhance The Shaw’s marketing strategies, it will also support the creation of new tourism experiences that will benefit the entire Niagara region.

Responding to the funding news, Colleen Blake, Executive Director of the Shaw Festival, said, “Ontario’s investment helps the Shaw Festival reach new audiences seeking outstanding cultural tourism experiences. This support helps the Shaw Festival – one of North America’s most celebrated theatre companies – widen its awareness and that of the Niagara Region as a definite must-see destination.”

A portion of this welcomed investment in The Shaw, approximately $500,000, will be earmarked to support a marketing campaign aimed at key Canadian and U.S. markets, thereby attracting new audiences and increasing the number of visitors to The Shaw and the Niagara region. The remaining $300,000, from the Ministry’s Celebrate Ontario Program, will be used to support a live concert headlined by Canadian soprano Measha Brueggergosman. Entitled An Enchanted Evening, the concert will feature a selection of songs from The Shaw’s mandate and will be taped for broadcast on the Bravo! network.

The Ontario Government’s investment will have a ripple effect on the entire regional tourism economy by drawing new visitors, encouraging more overnight stays, and increasing tourism spending. A recent survey indicates that every dollar spent at The Shaw translates into over $5 of spending within the Niagara Region.

The 2008 survey shows approximately 42,000 visitors or 24,000 out-of-town tourists are estimated to have attended one or more plays during the Shaw Festival’s season, spending approximately $37.7 million on tourism activities and services in Ontario, of which more than eighty percent or about $30.7 million was spent in the Regional Municipality of Niagara (Census Division 3526).

The Shaw Theatre Festival’s attendance reached 281,000 in 2008; an increase of 6% over the previous year. Visitors from Canada made up 59.3%, while 40.3% came from the U.S. and 0.4% from overseas.

The Shaw Festival’s 24,000 out-of-town visitors spent approximately $32.2 million. This spending generated about $29.6 million in total economic activity (GDP) across the province.

All jobs generated by visitors to the Shaw Festival yielded $19.1 million in wages and salaries province-wide in 2008. At the height of the season, the Shaw Theatre Festival employs approximately 600 employees.

www.shawfest.com

Slaight Family Makes $5 Million Gift to Shaw Festival Academy - Embargoed

The Shaw Festival is thrilled to announce the establishment of The Slaight Family Academy at the Shaw Festival. A transformational gift of $5 million from the Slaight Family will endow The Academy and sustain it long into the future.

The Academy at the Shaw Festival was formed in 1985 during the tenure of Allan Slaight, the Chair of the Board of Governors, and past Artistic Director Christopher Newton. Created to foster the growth of the Company, it began as an informal skills exchange among Company members. Under the leadership of the Shaw’s current Artistic Director Jackie Maxwell, the Academy has retained the important function of skills exchange and mentoring, and has grown to become an enrichment centre for further developing artists’ skills. The Shaw is one of the few institutions in North America with a strong commitment to the training of theatre artists attached to a permanent acting ensemble.

For over 25 years The Slaight Family has had a profound impact on The Shaw Festival through their leadership and generosity. In addition to establishing The Academy with Christopher Newton in 1985, Allan Slaight served as a Board member at The Shaw from 1982 to 1988 and as Board Chair from 1985 to 1986. In addition, he and Newton founded The Shaw Boxing Evening, the largest charity fundraiser of its kind in the world, which has raised more than $5 million for The Shaw.

An exemplary leader and patron as well, Ada Slaight served on the Board from 1990 to 1998 as a Governor, National Governor and Honorary Governor.

The investment made by the Slaight family will be used in four ways. The Mandate Intensive, a new training initiative, will provide apprentice actors, and actors new to the Company with two weeks of immersion in the world of The Shaw’s mandate before the start of rehearsals, with classes in text, voice, and a detailed course in the “manners” of the Mandate – information available virtually nowhere else. Training programs for the Acting Ensemble will be enriched including voice, dialogue, singing, movement and acting. At present the Shaw Festival and other theatre companies must recruit coaches from outside Canada. The Slaight gift will help The Shaw develop Canadian professional trainers through Apprentice Teacher positions in Voice and Dialect and Alexander Technique.

Finally, the Slaight gift will allow the Shaw Festival to establish The Shaw Theatre School, which will open in the fall of 2009. Drawing on The Shaw’s professional artists and resources, and augmented by other theatre instructors, The Shaw Theatre School will initially offer a ten-

week drama course designed for young people (Grades 4 – 12). Classes will be offered in such areas as: Acting, Improvisation, Choreography, Voice & Dialect, Musical Theatre, Mask Work, Stage Combat, Monologues, Scene Study and Warm-up Techniques.

On presenting the gift to The Shaw, Allan and Ada’s son Gary Slaight said: “The Shaw Festival is an organization close to the heart of the Slaight family, one that my parents served with joy and commitment as Board members. We’re delighted to be part of the story of the Festival and to make this investment in The Shaw’s Academy.”

In announcing the Slaight Family gift, Artistic Director Jackie Maxwell said: “We are tremendously grateful for the Slaight Family’s generosity, and thrilled to be given this opportunity to enhance the programs of our renowned Academy.”

Shaw Festival Campaign Chair, Richard D. Falconer, acknowledged the Slaight Family’s generosity: “The Slaight Family’s magnanimous gift provides transformational leadership that is particularly critical during this period of economic difficulty. The gift supports the Shaw’s Festival’s campaign for the future - A Splendid Torch - a $20 million campaign to grow The Shaw’s endowment and other financial resources to a level that will allow The Shaw to create innovative theatre without compromise, unencumbered by financial constraints.”

www.shawfest.com

Noël Coward threesome kicks off 48th season of the Shaw Theatre Festival

Still Life, We Were Dancing and Hands Across the Sea, the trio of one-act delights from the pen of Noël Coward, known collectively as Brief Encounters, launches the 48^th season of the Shaw Theatre Festival. Four other productions also open this week: the Shavian Restoration romp In Good King Charles`s Golden Days: A True History That Never Happened; the Stephen Sondheim Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Sunday in the Park with George; Eugene O’Neill’s bittersweet love story A Moon for the Misbegotten; and Garson Kanin’s classic social comedy Born Yesterday.

The Shaw Festival’s Artistic Director Jackie Maxwell joins The Shaw’s Board of Governors Chair Janet McKelvey and the rest of the Company in celebrating the launch of the season and says of this week’s events: “There is a real feeling of anticipation and excitement here at The Shaw as we launch our first five shows – glittering examples of this season’s rich and varied playbill.”

The Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, representing Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II; along with special guests from all levels of government, colleagues from the cultural sector and generous leading patrons and corporate sponsors will be in attendance. Federal government officials attending will include The Honourable Rob Nicholson, Minister of Justice, MP, Niagara Falls; The Honourable Diane Ablonczy, Minister of State for Small Business & Tourism; Mr. Stephen Brereton, Canadian Consul General – Buffalo; Mr. Bob Dechert, MP Mississauga-Erindale; Dr. Kirsty Duncan, MP Etobicoke North; Mr. Gerard Kennedy, MP Parkdale; Ms. Julia Munro, MP North York; and Mr. Paul Szabo, MP Mississauga South. Foreign dignitaries attending will include Mr. Jonathan Dart, British Consul General – Toronto. Provincial government officials attending will include The Honourable Donna Cansfield, Minister of Natural Resources & MPP Etobicoke Centre; The Honourable Aileen Carroll, Minister of Culture; The Honourable Gerry Phillips, Chair of Cabinet; The Honourable Monique Smith, Minister of Tourism; Ms. Sophia Aggelonitis, MPP Hamilton Mountain; Mr. Kim Craitor, MPP Niagara Falls; and Mr. Rosario Marchese, MPP Trinity-Spadina. Lord Mayor Gary Burroughs, Mayor of the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, will also be in attendance, as will members of the Arts community including Mr. William Boyle, CEO, Harbourfront Centre; Ms. Martha Durdin, Chair, Ontario Arts Council; Ms. Julia Foster, Chair, National Arts Centre; Mr. Peter Herrndorf, CEO, National Arts Centre; Ms. Linda Intaschi, Associate Producer, Mirvish Productions; and Mr. Robert Lamb, Managing Director, Canadian Opera Company.

The Shaw Festival produces and presents the work of George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) and playwrights writing anywhere in the world during, or about, the era of Shaw’s lifetime.

www.shawfest.com

Project Niagara seeks public input for traffic impact study

May 27 public information centre aims to get clear understanding of community issues

The public is invited to a public information centre on Wednesday, May 27, 2009, from 5 to 8 p.m. at Fire Station #1, 2 Anderson Lane in the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, to provide input as part of a traffic impact study for the area surrounding the site for Project Niagara – a proposed 17-week international music festival to take place on the shore of Lake Ontario.

Project Niagara is an initiative of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) and National Arts Centre (NAC). The two organizations have been working together on Project Niagara’s development and feasibility since 2004. They are hoping to launch the festival during the bicentennial celebrations marking the War of 1812.

The May 27 public information centre will be an opportunity to meet the consultants from Delcan, the firm leading the study, as well as members of the team spearheading Project Niagara

Four Mile Creek Road

Townline Road

. The goal of the public information centre is to achieve a clear understanding of community issues and the expectations of affected stakeholders, to review the study scope, and discuss issues related to the project including alternative solutions and evaluation criteria. These will be integrated into the process and ensure all study-related concerns are captured and addressed.

Project Niagara is running a notice in several newspapers in the Niagara Region to invite people to the May 27 public information centre. To submit comments, the public is encouraged to contact Nick Palomba, Vice President of Delcan Corporation, by mail at 4056 Dorchester Rd., Niagara Falls, Ontario, L2E 6M9; by telephone at (905) 356-7003, ext. 222, by fax at (905) 356-7008; and by email at n.palomba@delcan.com.

A second public information centre is planned in the summer to follow-up on the May 27 session.

A feasibility study presented to Niagara-on-the-Lake Town Council on December 15, 2008, by representatives from the TSO and NAC showed that Project Niagara could generate more than a hundred million dollars in economic activity and create hundreds of jobs over several years. The proposed site – located on part of the 268-acre Parks Canada Lands on Lakeshore Road west of the Old Town of Niagara-On-The-Lake – was overwhelmingly chosen over several sites in the Niagara Region based on criteria related to unique beauty, size, and ambient noise.

Project Niagara has committed to working with the Region and the Town to help address any issues relating to transportation and sewage infrastructure. Project Niagara will also collaborate with the Parks Canada Agency to ensure environmental assessment requirements are completed.

Financial backing for the Project Niagara development work and analysis to date has come from the NAC and TSO, as well the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Falls Management Corporation, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation and the Niagara Economic Development Corporation.

Delcan is a leading international engineering, planning and project management firm with extensive experience throughout Ontario, Canada, and the world in multidisciplinary transportation and traffic projects of all sizes and degrees of complexity. The employee- owned company has been providing clients with innovative solutions for over 50 years and has served the Niagara Region with a local Niagara Falls office for more than 30 years. Delcan has unique knowledge of the Niagara Region and specifically the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake through their involvement in studies such as The Town Transportation Master Plan, the Garrison Village Neighbourhood Infiltration Study, the Chautauqua Area Traffic Investigation and the Old Town Parking Demand Study.

For more information about Project Niagara, please visit www.projectniagara.ca.

Previews begin for Shavian Restoration comedy In Good King Charles's Golden Days

Preview performances of In Good King Charles’s Golden Days, George Bernard Shaw’s Restoration romp begin Friday, April 17, 2009, at the Royal George Theatre.

A religious leader (Ric Reid), an artist (Ken James Stewart) and Charles II, the Merrie Monarch (Benedict Campbell), meet at Sir Isaac Newton’s (Graeme Somerville) house. The set-up for a joke? No, it’s Shaw’s Restoration comedy, where debates on everything – from geometry to art to love potions – ensue.

First produced in 1939, Shaw’s history lesson in three acts is a witty and decidedly Shavian take on some great men (and women) of history. The play’s subtitle, "A True History that Never Happened", gives insight into Shaw’s whimsical approach to this fascinating and humorous discussion piece. Shaw pondered what would happen if several prominent and influential men of history met at the height of their powers? What debates and discussions would this gathering inspire? And what if this discussion was, on occasion, interrupted by one or several of the King’s mistresses? The result is a lively dialogue spanning both the serious and comedic on a wide-range of topics.

Artistic Director Jackie Maxwell considers this brilliant ensemble piece “a glorious opportunity for our actors to display their unparalleled gifts for Shavian comic mayhem.” In Good King Charles’s Golden Days also features Shaw Ensemble members Laurie Paton, Esther Maloney, Mary Haney, Nicola Correia-Damude, Claire Jullien, Lisa Codrington and Andrew Bunker.

Directed by Eda Holmes, director of last season’s The Little Foxes and the highly acclaimed 2004 Shaw Festival production of the musical Floyd Collins, In Good King Charles’s Golden Days has set design by Camellia Koo, costume design by Michael Gianfrancesco, lighting design by Bonnie Beecher and fight direction by John Stead. The stage management team includes Stage Manager Beatrice Campbell, Assistant Stage Manager Barry Burns and Production Stage Manager Judy Farthing.

In Good King Charles’s Golden Days begins preview performances Friday, April 17; opens Thursday, May 21; and plays in repertory until Friday, October 9. In Good King Charles’s Golden Days is generously sponsored by the Producers Circle.

Canadian Oboe Quartets: New CD

The Gallery Players of Niagara
CANADIAN OBOE QUARTETS

Debut CD Features Works by Canadian Composers

John Abram Peter Hatch Michael Oesterle James Rolfe

The Gallery Players of Niagara proudly announce the release of their first CD, CANADIAN OBOE QUARTETS, featuring four original works by renowned Canadian composers James Rolfe, Michael Oesterle, Peter Hatch and John Abram. Violinist Julie Baumgartel, violist Patrick Jordan, cellist Margaret Gay and James Mason, one of Canada’s finest oboe players have generated a small but hopefully meaningful addition to the repertoire for this slightly under-represented grouping of instruments.

“The four pieces collected on this CD are in some ways obviously disparate and perhaps more closely connected than is immediately apparent”, comments Margaret Gay, artistic director of the Gallery Players of Niagara. Three of the works, Michael Oesterle’s Sunspot Letters, James Rolfe’s Oboe Quartet and Peter Hatch’s Wiki Mozart, all composed in 2006, were commissioned by the Gallery Players in celebration of the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth. “Our request to the composers was to revisit and respond as literally or as figuratively as they chose to Mozart’s Oboe Quartet in F Major K.370. John Abram’s Oboe Quartet, composed in 2002 for the same group of players, is a revisiting of an earlier piece of his own composition. The results of these collaborations have been enormously gratifying to the Gallery Players and our audiences”, adds Ms. Gay.

The Gallery Players of Niagara - a collective of musicians that presents chamber music in the Niagara Region - has committed itself to the commissioning and performance of new Canadian works since the group was formed in 1993. The group’s goal is to present these new works as part of both traditional concert settings as well as in novel situations, making the works available to wider audiences.

Canadian Oboe Quartets was recorded in May 2008 at Humbercrest United Church in Toronto (Keith Horner, producer; Ron Searles, engineer).

The CD is available through www.galleryplayers.ca, Centredics.ca, CD Baby and iTunes

The performers on this CD are core members of The Gallery Players of Niagara.

James Mason is recognized as one of Canada’s finest oboe players. He has been principal oboe with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony since 1979. He has recorded for broadcast much of the chamber and solo repertoire for his instrument. Mr. Mason is on the faculty of Wilfrid Laurier University. Julie Baumgartel (violin) performs with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and Nota Bene Period Orchestra. Other activities include appearances with the Gallery Players, and at the Festival of the Sound (Parry Sound, ON) and the Elora Festival. She conducts the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Youth Sinfonia, and teaches at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Patrick Jordan (viola) is a member of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, the Gallery Players and the Eybler Quartet. He is principal viola of the Carmel Bach Festival in Carmel, California, and has served as principal viola in The Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra. He appears regularly with the Toronto Consort and Opera Atelier. Margaret Gay (cello) performs regularly with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony, Opera Atelier, the Eybler Quartet, and Ensemble Polaris, a group exploring the traditional music of various Nordic countries. She is Artistic Director of the Gallery Players of Niagara.

“There’s no greater tribute to the musicianship of these four players than that they were able to hold the audience’s attention securely and solidly” - The Globe and Mail

“Since scouring the Niagara peninsula for excellence in the professional performing-arts scene for almost a year, I have never had such a satisfying outing” - James Wegg Review www.jamesweggreview.org

Study shows Project Niagara could generate millions of dollars in economic activity and create hundreds of jobs

Project spearheaded by the NAC and TSO has potential to become “next great cultural tourism destination”

(Niagara-on-the-Lake) – A feasibility study presented last night to Niagara-on-the-Lake Town Council by representatives from the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) and National Arts Centre (NAC) shows that Project Niagara – a proposed 17-week international music festival to take place on the shore of Lake Ontario – could generate more than a hundred million dollars in economic activity and create hundreds of jobs over several years.

Project Niagara is an initiative of the TSO and NAC. The two organizations have been working together on Project Niagara’s development and feasibility since 2004. They are hoping to launch the festival during the bicentennial celebrations marking the War of 1812.

Monday night, before a well-attended Niagara-on-the-Lake Town Council meeting, Project Niagara Project Manager Kari Cullen provided an outline of the feasibility study for the proposed music festival.

Prior to the meeting, Andrew Shaw, President and CEO of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and Peter Herrndorf, President and CEO of the National Arts Centre, issued the following statement: “This feasibility study tells us beyond a shadow of a doubt that Project Niagara is a very strong concept, located in the right place, at the right time. With its proximity to the Shaw Festival, Niagara Falls and one of the world’s most diverse wine regions, Project Niagara has the potential to become Canada’s next great cultural tourism destination.”

Mr. Herrndorf was on hand for last night’s meeting, along with Cathryn Gregor, Chief Operating Officer for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and Alan Latourelle, CEO of the Parks Canada Agency, the responsible custodian of the land on Lakeshore Road, on the northwestern side of Niagara-on-the-Lake where Project Niagara would be located. The 268-acre site was overwhelmingly chosen over several sites in the Niagara Region based on criteria related to unique beauty, size, and ambient noise.

The Project Niagara Phase 2 Feasibility Study outlines the following points:

· During its construction phase, Project Niagara would generate $106 million in various types of additional economic activity, including the creation of about 500 full time equivalent jobs.

· In its fifth year of operation, Project Niagara would generate about $93 million in various types of additional economic activity, including the creation of 707 full time equivalent jobs.

· Capital costs for Project Niagara are estimated at $76.5 million – this breaks down as $37 million for all buildings on site, $18 million in site preparation, $11 million in landscaping, and $10 million for technical equipment.

· The feasibility study’s findings support that $25.5 million would be a reasonable amount of money to be raised through sponsorship and private donations. Project Niagara will request that the Federal and Provincial governments each match the private funds raised to achieve its capital cost target of $76.5 million.

· Project Niagara will be run as an independent national cultural institution with its own Board of Directors. TSO and NAC representatives will sit on this board as ex-officio members.

Project Niagara has committed to working with the Region and the Town to help address any issues relating to transportation and sewage infrastructure.

Project Niagara is also working with the Parks Canada Agency on environmental assessment requirements with respect to the potential impact of the festival on flora and fauna in order to guide its activities on site.

Financial backing for the Project Niagara development work and analysis to date has come from the NAC and TSO, as well the Province of Ontario, Falls Management Corporation, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation and the Niagara Economic Development Corporation.

Last week, Janice Thomson, Executive Director of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Chamber of Commerce, made a presentation to the Niagara-on-the-Lake Town Council to table more than one hundred individual letters of support from local residents, visitors and businesses of Niagara-on-the-Lake voicing their support for the creation of Project Niagara.

Click here to read the Project Niagara Phase 2 Feasibility Study. For more information about Project Niagara, please visit www.projectniagara.ca.

Plan to create international summer music festival in Niagara Region receives boost

Plan to create international summer music festival in Niagara Region receives boost

(Niagara-on-the-Lake) – Niagara-on-the-Lake Town (NOTL) Council gave its support on Monday, December 2, to a project to create an international music festival in their community.

The music festival, with the working title Project Niagara, is an initiative of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the National Arts Centre. The two organizations have been working on development and feasibility of Project Niagara together since 2004. Financial backing for their work to date has come from the two organizations themselves, as well the Province of Ontario, Falls Management Corporation, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation and the Niagara Economic Development Corporation.

Janice Thomson, Executive Director of the NOTL Chamber of Commerce, made a presentation to Town Council on Monday.

“I am here this evening to tell you of the support that does exist in this community for Project Niagara,” Thomson told NOTL councillors and a packed chamber. “In a few days, I have received more than one hundred individual letters of support from residents, visitors and businesses of Niagara-on-the-Lake voicing their support for the creation of Project Niagara on the Parks Canada Lakeshore Property.”

Thomson asked that councillors send a strong message to the Regional, Provincial and Federal governments of their support for the project.

Councillor Dennis Dick put forward the following motion, seconded by Councillor Jim Collard:

“THAT the Council of the Corporation of the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake reaffirm support, in principle, the plans as proposed by “Project Niagara” to institute a Music Festival at the site known as the DND lands in Niagara-on-the-Lake; AND further that ‘Project Niagara’ keeps the Town updated as needed on new developments in order that the residents of Niagara-on-the-Lake are informed; AND that the Region of Niagara, MPP Kim Craitor Provincial Government and The Hon. Rob Nicholson, MP and the Federal Government be informed of our continued support.”

Council approved the motion.

Representatives of the National Arts Centre and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra will present Project Niagara’s feasibility study to NOTL Town Council on Monday, December 15th.

To view the letters presented to Council in support of Project Niagara please go to www.niagaraonthelake.com, or http://blog.projectniagara.org.

Shaw Festival: After the Dance Previews

Previews begin at the Shaw Festival for Lost Masterpiece After the Dance

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, June 26, 2008 … Previews began on Wednesday in the Royal George Theatre for the Shaw Festival’s production of Terence Rattigan’s rarely produced After the Dance, directed by The Shaw’s Artistic Director Emeritus Christopher Newton.

It’s 1938 and the Bright Young Things are still carrying on like it’s the Roaring Twenties. They’re that “lost generation”, the ones that missed World War I and are trying desperately to deny the looming threat of the next war. To the younger generation, their life of endless parties seems utterly frivolous. But David (Patrick Galligan) and his wife Joan (Deborah Hay) can’t stop looking back to a time and place when the bright lights shone on them. However, when an earnest young woman (Marla McLean) enters their lives, it seems to signal that the party might be ending.

Terence Rattigan (1911-1977) wrote 24 stage plays and 30 film, television and radio scripts in a career that spanned 40 years. Although his reputation suffered due to the revolution in British drama sparked by John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger (1956), and due to his continued championing of tasteful well-made plays, Rattigan can now be seen as one of the leading British playwrights of the middle part of the twentieth century. After premiering in London in 1939, and another brief run in 1940, After the Dance remained in obscurity for over 50 years. Now the play, Rattigan’s second, is hailed as a lost masterpiece.

The cast of After the Dance also includes Neil Barclay as John Reid and Ken James Stewart as Peter Scott-Fowler, as well as Kawa Ada, Beryl Bain, Lisa Horner, Claire Jullien, Billy Lake, Jesse Martyn, Ali Momen, Jennifer Phipps, Micheal Querin, Jacqueline Thair and Jay Turvey.

After the Dance is designed by William Schmuck, with lighting design by Alan Brodie. The stage management team includes Stage Manager Rebecca Miller and Assistant Stage Manager Eamonn Reil.

After the Dance began preview performances Wednesday, June 25; opens Saturday, July 5; and plays in repertory until Sunday, October 5. For tickets and information, visit www.shawfest.com or call 1-800-511-7429 or 905-468-2172 (local).

After the Dance is sponsored by AbitibiBowater.

The 2008 season is proudly presented by HSBC Bank Canada/HSBC Bank USA, N.A.

Shaw Festival Set to Open 47th Season

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, May 21, 2008 . . . The Shaw Festival’s 47^th season officially opens tonight with J.B. Priestley’s compelling and mysterious drama An Inspector Calls at the Festival Theatre. Four other productions also open this week: Bernard Shaw’s provocative comedy Getting Married; the North American premiere of Githa Sowerby’s undiscovered gem The Stepmother; Lillian Hellman’s timeless tale of family and greed, The Little Foxes; and Leonard Bernstein’s musical adventure Wonderful Town.

The Shaw Festival’s Artistic Director Jackie Maxwell, who joins The Shaw’s Board of Governors Chair Richard D. Falconer and the rest of the Company in celebrating the launch of the season, says of the week’s events: “We head into Opening week with a sense of celebration and pride. The five fine productions we’re about to present are a testament to the talent and spirit of The Shaw’s artists, both on and off the stage. I’ve been thrilled with the audience response to these shows during the preview period and thank everyone involved for their dedication and enthusiasm in bringing these stories to life on stage.” In commemoration of the achievements of The Shaw’s creative team, gala dinners attended by dignitaries from all levels of government and Canada’s artistic and business communities, and by Shaw supporters, are held throughout Niagara-on-the-Lake prior to the opening night performances.

Government of Canada officials attending will include: The Honourable Josée Verner, Minister of Canadian Heritage; The Honourable Art Eggleton P.C., Senator; Mr. Stephen Brereton, Canadian Consul General – Buffalo; Mr. Robert Noble, Canadian Consul General – Detroit; Dr. Carolyn Bennett P.C., MP St. Paul’s; and Mr. John Maloney, MP Welland. Foreign dignitaries attending will include: His Excellency H.E. William Fisher, Australian High Commissioner and Mr. Nicholas Armour, British Consul General – Toronto. Provincial government officials attending will include: The Honourable David Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario; The Honourable Aileen Carroll, Minister of Culture; Ms. Marguerite Rappolt, Deputy Minister of Culture; The Honourable Donna Cansfield, Minister of Natural Resources, MPP Etobicoke Centre; The Honourable John Wilkinson, Minister of Research and Innovation; Ms. Julia Munro, MPP North York, PC Culture Critic; Ms. Joyce Savoline, MPP Burlington; and Mr. Greg Sorbara, MPP Vaughan. Municipal government officials attending will include: Lord Mayor Gary Burroughs, Mayor of the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake; Mr. Dennis Parass, Chair, Niagara Economic Development Corporation; Mr. Patrick Gedge, CEO, Niagara Economic Development Corporation; and Mr. Peter Partington, Regional Chair, Regional Municipality of Niagara.

Arts community members attending will include: Martin Bragg, Executive Producer, The Canadian Stage Company; John Brotman, Executive Director, Ontario Arts Council; Antoni Cimolino, General Director, Stratford Shakespeare Festival; Martha Durdin, Chair, Ontario Arts Council; Julia Foster, Chair, Board of Trustees, National Arts Centre; John Goddard, Executive Director, Theatre Ontario; Peter Herrndorf, President & CEO, National Arts Centre; Jack Lightstone, President, Brock University; Dan Patterson, President, Niagara College; Richard Rose, Artistic Director, Tarragon Theatre; Robert Sirman, Director, Canada Council; Janet Stubbs, Director, Ontario Arts Foundation; and Nancy Webster, President, Professional Association of Canadian Theatres.

The 2008 season is proudly presented by HSBC Bank Canada/HSBC Bank USA, N.A.