Dramaturgy Open Office Hours - Canadian Edition

Emma Mackenzie Hillier here, along with Catherine Ballachey. We’re emerging dramaturgs who live and work in Canada, your neighbour to the north. Earlier this year, during the LMDA Conference in New York, I got a text message from Catherine asking if I’d be interested in starting a Canadian edition of Open Office Hours. I was tickled! I’d read about the project before and thought it was a great concept, but hadn’t ever considered the idea of starting a chapter up in the great white north. It turns out that our dogs were also really excited by the idea... #doggieturgy at its best

This is Lucy, she's a very technical doggieturg and tends to moon over Backwards and Forwards 

One of most enjoyable aspects of Dramaturgy Open Office Hours – Canadian Edition is that we’re beginning an Ontario chapter in two different cities. Catherine resides in Ottawa (for now, I’m hoping to steal her away eventually), and I live in Toronto. Both cities have a very active theatre community, and both can benefit from this kind of open space. We’ll be holding concurrent sessions in our towns, 2:00-4:00pm every Monday from Nov 9-Dec 14, and social media-ing it up.

 There are a number of goals we’re hoping to accomplish with Dramaturgy Open Office Hours – Canadian Edition. Foremost in our minds is our desire to make dramaturgy more accessible to artists by answering questions, being present and available, and curious. Hopefully, we also are far enough along in our careers and knowledge to offer information that is relevant and satisfactory to our participants. We’re also looking forward to offering an opportunity for people to network in a safe and risk-free environment. The principle being: no question is too basic, so risk asking questions you’re a little ashamed of. If we don’t have the answer, we’ll do our best to find the information (research being a core strength of dramaturgs). Finally, we hope to get a conversation going. If you have just a few questions but want to hang out for two hours and chat with myself, our guest dramaturg, and whoever else attends… that is awesome. If you’d rather ask your question and leave, that’s still awesome. This is an event that is entirely decided by those who attend.

We’re looking forward to meeting you, and hope that you’re looking forward to meeting us. 

Dramaturgy Open Office Hours – Canadian Edition Details 

November 9 to December 14, every Monday from 2:00-4:00pm
Ottawa: Great Canadian Theatre Centre – Lobby
Toronto: Toronto Metro Reference Library – Main Floor (centre of floor)