Each year at Gledhill, the school council uses some of its funds raised to cover in school performances by Prologue to the Performing Arts. The administration and teaching staff choose performances geared toward specific age groups – Kindergarten, Primary (Gr 1-3) or Junior (Gr 4-6). Typically, 2-3 are booked each year at a cost of approximately $800 each.
Most recently, in March, our Junior students (Gr 4-6) attended “Things My Fore-Sisters Saw” Written and performed by Leslie McCurdy
This one-woman play introduces audiences to four Black women who effected significant social changes in Canadian History. This docu-drama portrays real historical events, collected from primary and secondary sources, to share remarkable stories from the lives of Marie-Joseph Angélique –a slave from Montreal, Rose Fortune –the first female police officer in Canada, Mary-Ann Shadd – the first Black female newspaper publisher in Canada, and Viola Desmond, who’s fight against segregation is to be be honoured on the Canadian ten-dollar bill in 2018.
Prologue to the Performing Arts is a not-for-profit charitable organization that facilitates opportunities for young people to experience the performing arts within Ontario.
For over 50 years, they have delivered performances and workshops in dance, music, theatre, puppetry, opera, storytelling, spoken word in both English and French.
It all started in 1966 around a kitchen table, when five young mothers shared their dream about giving access to the best in the performing arts to ALL children in Ontario. As volunteers with different arts organizations, including Young Peoples’ Theatre, the Canadian Opera Company and The National Ballet of Canada, these dedicated women founded one of Ontario’s most important resources in Arts and Education. In that first year, Prologue placed 81 performances in Ontario schools, reaching over 24,000 students; in the second year, those numbers doubled.
Prologue is funded by the Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, Ontario Arts Foundation, Pricewaterhouse Coopers and RBC.
To learn more about Prologue, visit their website HERE.
The Gledhill Guardian 