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“Orillia is proud to welcome home one of Canada’s most influential thinkers,” said Mayor Don McIsaac. “Don Tapscott’s work continues to shape how we understand and navigate the digital world, and this event offers a unique opportunity for our community to engage directly with ideas that are defining the future. We’re excited to host this conversation right here in Orillia.”

As the Executive Chairman and CEO of Blockchain Research Institute, Tapscott is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading authorities on the impact of technology on business and society. He has authored more than a dozen bestselling books on the digital age, and his TED Talk has been viewed more than 15 million times. His distinguished career also includes roles as an Adjunct Professor at INSEAD, Chancellor Emeritus at Trent University, and Member of the Order of Canada.

His latest book introduces the concept of “Identic AI,” described as the next era of artificial intelligence, where technology shifts from being a tool to becoming an active participant in human potential and productivity. By welcoming global thought leaders like Don Tapscott, the City continues to position Orillia as a hub for forward-thinking ideas, entrepreneurship, and meaningful dialogue on the technologies shaping our future

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear directly from one of Canada’s foremost thinkers on the future of technology. Tickets are free and must be reserved in advance through the Orillia Opera House Box Office. To learn more or register, visit orilliaoperahouse.ca or call the Box Office at 705-326-8011.

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With Mariposa Arts Theatre’s The Thanksgiving Play, running February 6-16 at the Orillia Opera House, audiences are invited to do just that.

The biting satire, written by Indigenous playwright Larissa FastHorse, shines a light on
performative activism in the theatre world and, by extension, our own communities. It follows four well-meaning, but culturally misguided, white theater artists attempting to create a politically correct school play about the first Thanksgiving while struggling with their own woke hubris and lack of Indigenous representation. Forced to confront the complexities of privilege and their unconscious biases, they learn the challenges that come with trying to address cultural issues without a true understanding of them.

FastHorse’s intention is for audiences to have a good time and re-examine Indigenous history through a new lens. “I do have faith that [audiences] are actually well-meaning,” she said in conversation with CBC Q’s Tom Power last fall. “As hard as The Thanksgiving Play is on white folks and well-meaning folks in general, it’s also a love letter… I give them a lot of laughter [and] silliness. I want people to be rewarded for coming to this show.”

Co-directors Samantha Cole and Alyssa LaPlume believe The Thanksgiving Play will encourage people to laugh at themselves, and their sometimes misguided good intentions, as they strive to be allies in their communities. “My hope is [the characters] can inspire a little self-reflection in anyone who resonates with them,” LaPlume says. “We’ve been using the term ‘failing forward’”, referring to the acceptance of one’s failure as a stepping stone to future success, “and that is exactly what I think the audience will relate to when watching these characters fumble”.

Fumble they do, and spectacularly, as they workshop their way through a first rehearsal rife with inappropriate stereotypical depictions, cultural assumptions, and moments of pure slapstick sure to make theatre-goers gasp, cringe and, yes, laugh out loud. “We need to be able to laugh at our follies,” Cole adds, “but also lean into the uncomfortable feelings that come with being wrong, the discomfort of not knowing, and understand the need for us to listen and learn about Indigeneity and how to do our part in Truth and Reconciliation. This play sheds light on a ‘beloved’ holiday as historically much more than simply breaking bread.”

FastHorse describes her work as one-act plays where “the first act happens here in the space… the second act happens after you leave.” She says the audience should, “leave thinking and questioning and wondering why they didn’t know some of these things, why they’re offended… [and] why is this new information?” (The Broadway Show). The prospect of sparking this curiosity in community members was an exciting one that made The Thanksgiving Play what MAT President Stevie Baker calls “a perfect fit” for the 2024-2025 season.

“We’re excited to bring our primarily non-Indigenous audience into discussions about our
relationships with Indigenous people and history that doesn’t put the onus of facilitating that discussion on Indigenous people,” she says. The comedic aspects of the show are optimal for combating the February ‘blahs’, while also possessing a “razor sharp commentary that is nuanced, but extremely clear”. Baker says, “it pushes us as artists, and community members, to really look at the parallels of what the play is saying and how ‘well-meaning’ people can get it so wrong in their pursuits of equity and inclusion.”

“I do believe that MAT is capable of taking a big swing like this in the name of diversifying its roster,” LaPlume says, “Over the years, I’ve seen the solidarity for Indigenous peoples and cultures grow across Canada, and Orillia is no different. As a long-time resident, I believe this town and its people are ready to laugh at themselves and sit in a little discomfort in the name ofadvocacy for Indigenous rights.”
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THE THANKSGIVING PLAY runs February 6-16 at the Orillia Opera House Studio Theatre.
Evening shows 7:30 p.m., Sunday matinees 2 p.m. Tickets are $30 each ($25 for students) and can be purchased through the Orillia Opera House website or by calling their Box Office at 705-326-8011. Recommended for ages 14+.

Formal Opening Reception and Q&A to take place post-show on Saturday, February 8. A
second Q&A will be held post-show on Saturday, February 15. A silent auction for an original art piece by Windigo Army will take place in the OOH Green Room throughout the run of the show.

To learn more about the show, visit: www.mariposaartstheatre.com/thanksplay. Presented in arrangement with Concord Theatricals.

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Beginning July 24th, a unique theatre experience is launching at the Orillia Opera House. A play that has been celebrated in London, New York, and a handful of theatres in Ontario, is now getting an original Orillia production.

Every Brilliant Thing provides an uplifting approach to life via a story told about the effects of suicidal depression. It’s hard to imagine such a serious topic being illuminated using humour and story-telling but that is what playwright Duncan Macmillan and actor Jonny Donahoe achieve with Every Brilliant Thing. The Orillia production stars Dora Award-winning actor Matt Pilipiak, from last year’s Bed and Breakfast, a show that played to an entirely sold out run at the Studio Theatre.

“Though the back story for this is very serious, Matt is able to weave us through a journey that keeps us laughing, engaged, thoughtful at times— but most of all inspired. Nothing is trivialized. It’s a serious topic explored using a primary tool of theatre: comedy. I can’t recall anything quite like it and yet it is exactly the kind of story and character-based theatre that our audiences love at the O.” Says Jesse Collins, artistic director at the Opera House.

It starts with Pilipiak’s character recounting how, as a child, he begins a list of every small thing that made life wonderful to give to his mother as she faces bouts of crushing depression. It evolves into a tale of his own life via simple interactions with the audience.

The show is directed by Fiona Sauder, a long-time collaborator with Pilipiak.”It’s a play that makes the whole audience a community, immediately,” added Sauder. The multi-Dora award winning director is returning to the Opera House after directing Matt in Bed and Breakfast.

Since then, the company she founded with Pilipiak (Bad Hats Theatre) is receiving rave reviews and productions in Toronto, Winnipeg, and will launch a Canadian tour of their newest show Narnia, next year.

The Opera House team is excited to to offer audiences an experience that is a little different than a typical sit-in-the-dark presentation. Says Collins, “But we really want folks to know that it’s not intimidating. It’s just welcoming. No matter the mood you’re in when you arrive – even if its a terrific one, you’ll leave the theatre more happy and hopeful than when you came. And you’ll have been entertained. Delightfully entertained.”

Tickets can be reserved in-person at the Box Office, by calling (705) 326-8011, or by visiting orilliaoperahouse.ca.

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Kicking off the season is the hilarious comedy The Long Weekend, running from July 3 to 19. Set in 1994, the play follows two couples as they navigate a weekend at a new vacation home. Directed by Emmy-nominated Jesse Collins, it stars actor/playwrights Kristen Da Silva (Where You Are) and Stephen Sparks (Buying the Farm), local comedic favourite, Viviana Zarrillo, and a stalwart actor in his first turn at the OOH, Matthew Olver. Widely regarded as a Norm Foster classic, it is a story told with lacerating wit where secrets are revealed as every character gets exactly what they deserve.

Next, from July 24 to Aug. 9, is Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe. This uplifting play tells the story of a young boy who creates a list of everything that brings joy to our lives, all to help his mother combat despair. As the list grows, the audience is taken on a heartwarming journey through life’s highs and lows and is inspired to celebrate simple pleasures in everyday moments. Funny and poignant, it stars Matt Pilipiak from last season’s hit Bed & Breakfast. It also marks the return of multiple Dora award-winner Fiona Sauder, one of the most sought-after directors in the country. Notably, this show will be the first theatre-in-the-round experience in the Studio Theatre at the OOH.

Closing the season from Aug. 14 to 30 is one of Norm Foster’s newest comedies, Those Movies. The story follows Harry, who asks his friend Patrick to accompany his co-worker Millie and her visiting cousin Chelsea on a blind date. Misunderstandings and comical mishaps ensue, as Foster’s spot-on dialogue and impeccable comic timing skewers the tried-and-true romantic comedy formula that movie fans know so well. A powerhouse cast includes Caitlin Driscoll, last seen in the OOH’s production of Where You Are, Ephraim Ellis (from tv’s Degrassi: The Next Generation), and popular Toronto actors Brittany Kay and Justin Otto.

“The number one comment we received after doing two Norm Foster’s last year was, ‘do it again!’. So this year we’re offering a twist: start the season with a classic play Norm wrote early in his career—that many say is his funniest of all—and finish with a brand new one that shows his comedy evolving. In between, we’re thrilled to have Fiona (Sauder) and Matt (Pilipiak) back. They wowed us last year and I know they’ll do it again, but in an entirely new way,” said Jesse Collins, Artistic Director.

A Flex Pac to see all three shows, or individual tickets, can be booked in-person at the Box Office, by calling 705-326-8011, or by visiting orilliaoperahouse.ca.

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