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Barrie Theatre Lab celebrates one year tonight (4 photos)

Calling all playwrights, storytellers or anyone who just wants to get out and be involved with a great monthly program; the Barrie Theatre Lab is celebrating one year tonight.

Calling all playwrights, storytellers or anyone who just wants to get out and be involved with a great monthly program; the Barrie Theatre Lab is celebrating one year tonight.

The Creative Space in downtown Barrie will be the spot as Theatre By The Bay will be hosting anyone who wants to drop in to experience the other side of the glamorous stage scene which is the reading of plays from local writers looking for feedback on their work.

Theatre By The Bay Executive Director Iain Moggach didn’t know what to expect when they started the program last year but is very excited on how its grown and where it is going.

“We knew this was going to be a great project but when it was realized that we were coming up to one year we were very pleased,” said Moggach. “It really is a wonderful system that keeps growing all the time with new writers and people looking for some critiquing of their projects. Over the last 12 months we have had so many submissions and it has been a very positive addition to the arts community in the city.”

Considered an incubator for local writers, the Barrie Theatre Lab is a place for those with stories to come and have them read aloud in a group setting to not only get positive feedback and tips for making it potentially better, but also to hear the parts of the play read with different readers and to see if there is anything they hear that could be changed, added or left. Some nights can see upwards of 15 to 20 people attend, giving a real theatre feel to the session.

“It really helps break down barriers for new writers and even for those with a little more experience,” said Moggach. “You can read a story all day to yourself but if you can have people pick parts and read it like a play, it can help you hear it better and even see it better as the writer. We refer to it as a laboratory because of the way it helps a project grow and change through dissecting and discussion. We’ve read parts of some plays you’ve seen from our company too and the discussion was always helpful.”

While some may like the idea of reading plays and getting involved with the theatre scene in Barrie, you don’t have to have any experience in it to get involved. Moggach says there is a great number of people who come out just to read and not bring a script.

“This is a great way to get involved with something in the community,” said Moggach. “You don’t have to have to have vast knowledge in the arts, as a matter of fact this lab could be what sparks a hidden love for the theatre or storytelling that you have. We encourage you to come out and just sit and read with us, or if you would like to come and see what it is all about then just come and enjoy a night out with new people.”

The lab has had at least four scripts that were read and workshopped on that went on to be produced in Ontario. One of those was The Megantic Outlaw by Rochelle Reynolds. Reynolds currently runs Quarter Century Theatre in Collingwood.

The theatre company uses settings predominantly in their productions as they did with a show last summer that took place in the 1800s, so the troupe performed it at a local pioneer village. Reynolds admits that the Barrie Theatre Lab was very beneficial to her play being launched and encourages anyone who can to get out and be involved.

“I had written The Megantic Outlaw as a thesis for my Masters and heard about the lab from Iain,” said Reynolds. “There was a particular part of the play that I really wanted to hear be read and not just from me, just to get an idea if it needed something else. It was very effective and helped grow the story to what it became. I was a little nervous going in as I didn’t know anyone there and other labs like it tend to be a little unwelcoming sometimes. But the Barrie lab was great, everyone was so welcoming and friendly. I hope it is experienced by many more people for even more anniversaries.”

The Barrie Theatre Lab is sponsored by Anna Small of Anna Small Sales Rep., Keller Williams Experience Realty, Brokerage. Tonight is the next lab which starts at 6 p.m. at the Creative Space at 12 Dunlop St.

For more information on Theatre By The Bay, check out its website 

For more on Collingwood’s theatre scene, check out its website