Guest post by : Greg Klassen
Good day. I’m the new marketing manager at
Manitoba Theatre for Young People. Some of you may know me already. I’ve worked
at the RWB, PTE and Manitoba Museum, over the past 30 years. But I’ve never
worked in children’s theatre before.
I am truly excited to be at MTYP. Nearly
every weekday, six hundred kids bound through our doors on their way to
experience the magic of live theatre. Many for the first time. They hold
nothing back. They are the most honest audience I have ever witnessed. They
laugh loud when the situation onstage is funny and fidget when they’re bored.
And sometimes, during a serious scene, they are alarmingly silent. I’m sure
even their parents would be amazed.
The live performing arts are more important
than they have ever been. With so much of our time spent behind screens these
days, interaction with live performers is almost shockingly novel in today’s
world. As is the experience of being in room with peers, phones turned off, all
listening to each other react in real time.
I remember my first live performance. I was
a student at Carman Collegiate and Contemporary Dancers came to perform. I was
mesmerized by the movement and the costumes and the otherworldly place this
experience took me to. I fell hard and wanted more!
Live art is an excellent way to start
conversations about topics that are difficult to address in real life. MTYP’s
first play of its new season is a great example. Danny, King of the Basement,
is a warm, funny play, that opens the door to empathy toward those less
fortunate. Far from being a bleak play about homelessness and poverty, Danny illustrates
that the imagination can be wonderful tool to open new realities for children.
Every day MTYP plants the seeds of
curiosity and wonder in our young audiences. I look forward to discovering more
about how MTYP works behind the scenes and to being at the Forks every day. Hopefully
I’ll run into you and you can tell me your stories about what the performing
arts mean to you. And by all means, come and check us out.
See you soon,
- Greg
