What a great idea - a dinner theatre in Snow Lake. But not only that what a noble cause it was carried out under! On Feb. 13, the Aurora Borealis Arts Council and the Joseph H. Kerr School "Me to We" committee treated the community to a fabulous supper, followed by a play that was equal to, or exceeded, the entertainment value of any they've brought to the community in the past.
Prior to the event getting underway, "Me to We" staff advisor and school counsellor Amanda Amorim addressed the crowd. She asked her entire group to stand at the front of the hall with her and stated that there were 20 students and four staff members involved. She explained the premise of "Me to We" and talked about the involvement of local youth with the concept. Amorim noted that tickets for attendance at "We Day" were given to schools in the province based on their fundraising prowess and although J.H. Kerr had only 135 students, they garnered 35 tickets.
"We Day" last Oct. 30 at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg is an annual event that has attracted as many as 16,000 students from 408 schools across Manitoba and it serves to inspire and empower those youth to make a difference.
"Me to We" is a for-profit social enterprise founded in 2008 by Canadian brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger of Thornhill, Ontario. The initiative provides socially responsible products and services and donates half of its profits to the charity "Free the Children." Me to We began when the Kielburgers travelled to Ecuador in their teens to build a school for a developing community. Inspired by their own volunteer experiences, they founded Me to We, originally called "Leaders Today" to offer leadership training and volunteer trips to developing communities served by their charity, Free the Children.
Amorim explained that motivated by what they experienced at We Day, the local group has set a goal for themselves. They hope to raise sufficient funds to build a school in a developing country. This is an immense and amazing task when one considers that they will do it one brick at a time, as every $20 raised will purchase a brick for their project. Before the group went into action for the evening, Amorim asked one of the students, Kelsey Morrell to give an overview of her experiences with Me to We. Her heartfelt synopsis drew applause from the crowd.
The evening progressed with a number of yellow T-Shirt clad Me to We students serving a scrumptious sit-down supper of salad, stuffed manicotti, garlic bread and berries- on-a-cloud to about 50 people. Once the meal had ended and tables had been cleared, everyone retired to the hall's rotunda for dessert, while the Royal Manitoba Theater Centre crew did a sound check. Following this, the supper crowd as well as 30 or so others returned to the main hall for MTC's regional tour production of Buffalo-born playwright Tom Dudzick's play, Miracle on South Division Street.
The Nowak family's claim to fame is a statue of the Virgin Mary, built by Grandpa Nowak, the family patriarch, in 1943 to commemorate vision of the Virgin Mary preaching world peace, a vision he said he had shortly after arriving in Buffalo and opening his barbershop. Almost 70 years on, the neighbourhood hasseen better days and is now part of "forgotten Buffalo."
The shrine that has given the family its identity: "We were selected," the daughter, Clara says, even if the Catholic Church won't recognize her father's account as a miracle. Clara long ago converted the barbershop into a kitchen for the poor, proudly offering soup "prepared on holy ground."
Before taking it out on its 36th consecutive regional tour for the 2014, the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre presented Miracle on South Division Street on the John Hirsch Mainstage in Winnipeg last Nov. 22 to Dec. 15.
The Manitoba Theatre Centre was formed in 1958 with the merger of Winnipeg Little Theatre and Theatre 77.
The show is wrought full of humorous characters spouting one liners. The Snow Lake audience was overcome with raucous laughter while listening to and watching the antics of Clara, Jimmy and Beverly Nowak. Clara, who was a cross between George Costanza's mother in Seinfeld and Saturday Night Live's Cheri Oteri playing Rita DelVecchio (a grouchy Philadelphia woman mean to the neighbourhood children), by far garnered the most laughs. But the play also had a serious side; witnessed when Clara's entire world dissolved upon finding out she was the daughter of her father's mistress and Jewish rather than the staunch Catholic she was raised to be.
In the final act we see her as serene and accepting of her life and making the best of her circumstances. It is at this point that we also learn that she knew and accepted all along that her daughter Ruth was gay. The play closed to a long standing ovation for the actors and crew of Miracle on South Division Street. Many who stood and clapped were no doubt including also much of their appreciation to the Aurora Borealis Arts Council and Me to We committee who worked so hard to bring this exceptional evening of dining and entertainment to the people of Snow Lake.
