Important Season Update
Regretfully, we are unable to proceed with performances of our brand new show Beauty Will Save the World this summer due to logistical challenges and circumstances beyond our control. We were looking forward to sharing with you our hard work and eagerly await the time when this new piece of theatre can be experienced by many. We would like to thank everyone who contributed their time, talent, and money over the last few months.
Refunds for tickets already purchased will be automatically generated by The Gladstone Theatre box office. If you wish to convert your ticket purchase to a donation to 9th Hour, you can do so HERE for a tax receipt. This will help recoup costs already incurred by the company this season (such as set, costumes, props, promotion, and artists fees) and will help us move forward confidently with other artistic projects at this time.
If you would like to be kept updated about any future plans for Beauty Will Save the World, please subscribe to our newsletter or contact us HERE.
"Mankind... can live without science, without bread, and it only cannot live without beauty, for then there would be nothing at all to do in the world! The whole secret is here, the whole of history is here. Science itself would not stand for a minute without beauty” ~ Fyodor Dostoevsky
We believe Beauty Will Save the World to be an important story for our time and we had hoped it would bring about much needed discussion and possibly even healing in our increasingly divided society today. We look forward to another opportunity to tell this story when conditions are right.
Although art and live theatre can certainly be beautiful experiences in their own right, we believe sacred beauty exists in the act of trying, the act of taking risk, an act of faith, in the creative process itself, in the acts of choosing, inviting, reaching out, and growing, of getting together and collaborating, of sharing sorrows and asking questions, in celebrating, and grieving our losses.
After a great shipwreck of the vessel "Pulchritudo" (meaning beauty in Latin), the Captain in the story of Beauty Will Save the World grieves his great loss only to be reminded of what was only recently shared and experienced with another.
CAPTAIN: My beauty! My precious beauty! She was all I had left, and now I have nothing... My beauty is gone. Now all beauty is no more.
FATHER: No it isn't. Don't you see? That's the one thing [that can't be taken] away. For what is beauty? For surely it's more than planks and masts, or bricks and mortar. Remember the laughter.
We would like to thank the following people and organizations for all their support and contribution toward advancing the telling of this story. Although it didn't turn out as planned, their passion and dedication to Telling The Story is abundantly appreciated.
We were able to raise several thousand dollars toward our overall goal of $7,500 for this season. We are extremely grateful for those who made a financial contribution to seeing live theatre produced again in the nation's capital. Thank you so much (you know who you are)!
We'd like to thank CHRI radio (promotion and production) and St. Albans (rehearsal space) for their ongoing support of 9th Hour, especially through these challenging times. Additionally a special thanks to The Gladstone Theatre for taking on the role of box office for a new venture (outdoor performances not located at the theatre).
The play was directed by Gabriella Gadsby, with Sharon Dickson as Assistant Director and Stage Manager. Shauna Akkermans and Laura Barkley were Assistant Stage Managers. The ensemble cast included Johanne Boisvenu-Henry, Casey Callahan, George Dutch, Jonathan Harris, Andrew Kennedy, Arya Landers, Jay Landreville, Skye MacDiarmid, Megan Mcleod, Erica O'Reilly, Ranjeet Singh, Colin Sweeney, and Greg Thurlow.
Other artists and volunteers involved with the production include Jonathan Harris as Producing Artistic Director, George Dutch as Dramaturge, Skye MacDiarmid as Music Director, Bill Sangalli as Sound Designer, Ruth Allison as Costumes Designer, Care Baldwin as Properties Designer, Susan Marriner as Graphics Designer, Ashley Dawn as Publicity Manager, Fred Barber as Technical Director, Tina Segreto as Production Manager, Esther Sangalli as Managing Director, and John Cook as Associate Producer. Additional appreciation goes to Sharon Dickson, Gabriella Gadsby, Laura Barkley, Shauna Akkermans, and Arya Landers for their extra work on set and props.
“Beauty is indespensable to all human life. That's why we must sow it all along our path.” ~ Alfred Laliberté (early 20th century Canadian sculptor)