Interview with Sandra Lawn (Part Three)

Sandra S. Lawn
Festival Chair
St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival

One of my passions, as you may know by now, is to have the ability, through THE INSIDE SCOOP, to inform festival and event planners/organizers about the issues and the importance of VOLUNTEERS! For most festivals and events, it is critical to have volunteers! I have been surprised from my previous interviews in THE INSIDE SCOOP, with the attention and insight, to this issue, that organizers have shared with me. I was not surprised, then, when Ms. Lawn told me that … “We started with just a handful of volunteers – perhaps 30 and are now up to over 300. Recruiting, training and appreciating are key. We have volunteer appreciation nights; offer free tickets on certain nights and at every opportunity value these key people. It is really important to have the right volunteer in the right position – and very, very occasionally we err”. With this in mind, I wanted to find out how the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival kept things fresh for the patrons and actors alike. Sandra says that … “Our artistic director and directors are always surprising us – the level of excellence is always high of course, but there is that special something that comes when you bring favourites back and add new bright stars every season. Our artistic director, directors and actors are all professional – they love the venue and the community and this lively happy spirit keeps things fresh for them and for us”. I’m sure Sandra is correct that “things are fresh” as it is reflected in the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival’s increase in their attendance during the 2010 season. During these difficult economic times, I wondered what Ms. Lawn attributed this increase too. “Having a new play based on an old play, captured people’s imagination - so I think that brought more local people – however the Ottawa audience might have wondered at first what this was all about. Word of mouth is the key factor although I believe our marketing just gets better every year as well as our internet presence. The programs throughout the year like Jake’s Gift coming again on D-Day, June 6th some claim was a life changing experience and we are getting the reputation of doing wonderful unique things”. This information, that I am sharing with you, will hopefully help other festival and event planners/organizers with their efforts to increase attendance!
(To be continued)

Interview with Sandra Lawn (Part Two)

Sandra S. Lawn
Festival Chair
St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival

Sandra is very busy with her responsibilities as chair of the festival board, leading the meetings and fulfilling any duties that spring from that role. What I was interested in was Sandra’s duties as Chair of Fundraising! She tells me, “my duties are many – from organizing the fund raising team, in many cases making “the ask” and assisting with fundraising events – in some cases leading the effort." Ms. Lawn is very “hands on” and it sounds like her dedication and devotion helps inspire others in the continued efforts to offer such wonderful performances to so many audiences! Fundraising does come with some challenges that perhaps we, the audience and recipients of these great performances, do not see. Sandra states that, “One of the main challenges is maintaining financial stability”. She goes on to say, that “Our fund raising campaigns are run using the experience of major campaigns where I have been able to learn the basics of running a successful campaign, e.g. putting a major expansion on the Brockville and Area YMCA (opened when I was president) and being chair of the Friends of the Prescott Public Library when we put together a $575,000 expansion. Over the years we became better and better at writing grant proposals, mostly as a team.” Other minor “challenges” Sandra has dealt with were the few internal conflicts that she handled smoothly. She is wise however, having a written policy on conflict resolution, which fortunately has yet been used. That would then answer my question about “egos” with all the actors, volunteers, directors, etc. There seems to be no problems to overcome here.
(To be continued)

Interview with Sandra Lawn (Part One)

Sandra S. Lawn
Festival Chair
St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival

In one of the most beautiful settings along the St. Lawrence River, in the town of Prescott, you can visit the Sandra S. Lawn Harbour & Marina. It hosts a wonderful children’s play area and a 148 slip Harbour. Sometimes in life you may not be curious as to “what’s in a name”. However, the name of this Harbour/Marina was clarified to Gary and me when we had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Sandra S. Lawn at a Gala evening in the Prescott Town Hall. This was right after the season’s opening performance of the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival. It turns out that Ms. Lawn was not only Chair of the Festival, but had been Mayor of Prescott for 15 years, until she retired in 1991. What an wonderful opportunity for me to get THE INSIDE SCOOP from Sandra about the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival. Sandra was generous with her time and shares informative and interesting information that I will now share with you! One of Ms. Lawn’s duties as Mayor of Prescott, was to facilitate the development of the Prescott waterfront into what is now, as I mentioned above, the Sandra S. Lawn Harbour. As chair of the South Grenville Economic Development Commission, she soon became well aware of the importance of tourism. That is where she and I and the Festival Nomad (Gary McWilliams, Ontario Visited), all share a similar passion! It is interesting that Sandra, a mother of three daughters (who just happen to be all musical), helped Sandra become “aware of the importance of the arts in our small rural town”. Sandra is extremely intelligent and has a sense of humor to boot. She holds a BSc in Biology and a Masters in Public Administration, the humor, she tells me “my study of Shakespeare amounted to about 15 minutes in English 2 at Queen’s”. How is it then that Sandra became so involved with the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival? Sandra tells me that she has been involved almost from the beginning. It happened “when my husband, as a Rotarian and mayor of our town came home to describe Deborah Smith’s enthusiastic presentation about the idea of Shakespeare in our Amphitheatre at the Harbour. In the first season I was a volunteer, and immediately after the first AGM was elected to the board of directors. I became chair of the board in January 2008. I have been chair of fundraising since 2004.”
(To Be Continued)

Interview with Greg Berrea (Part Two)

Greg Berrea

St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival

Marketing Director

When asked, as Marketing Director, how he overcomes some of the challenges the audience does not see, he simply replied, “WITH PATIENCE”! One challenge is, as Greg says, “trying to put forth the best professional performances possible with our limited budget. This often requires a lot of volunteer time from our 300 dedicated volunteers who work on their own schedules”. As many of you may know, I am very interested in festivals and events volunteer programs and efforts. For many of Ontario’s great festivals and events it is critical to have these volunteers! Greg tells me … “We have approximately 300 dedicated volunteers who help by doing a number of things, everything from sewing costumes to painting sets to working Front of House. We hope we are keeping them happy! We offer two volunteer appreciation nights throughout the summer where our volunteers are treated to a social hour with refreshments, a few kind words from our Chairperson, and two free tickets to a performance”. I myself am still volunteering at Lang Pioneer Village in Keene this year and in part, the appreciation they give me does encourage me to continue. A “thank you” goes a long way in my books! Speaking of books, the attendance at the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival was up over 8% for 2010, and I wondered to what Greg thought they might attribute this to? Simply Greg says … “Word of mouth! We do produce high quality outdoor professional theatre in the most beautiful of locations. We treat patrons to an enjoyable evening at a reasonable cost. When people visit us, they leave telling their friends how they NEED to see a show!" My final question for Greg for this edition of THE INSIDE SCOOP was asking if they encouraged the youth of today to attend performances. Indeed Greg was quick to respond by saying … “YES!! Children 12 & under attend FREE!! We also offer the Young Artist Training Program. More info can be found on our website, www.stlawrenceshakespeare.ca.” You really should attend an outdoor performance this season. You can get your own INSIDE SCOOP! a treat not to be missed for sure!

Interview with Greg Berrea (Part One)

Greg Berrea

St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival

Marketing Director

Greg Berrea is starting his third season as Marketing Director of the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival. Getting THE INSIDE SCOOP, I wondered how he got involved! Greg tells me that “I was looking for meaningful employment when I answered an ad in my local paper for a bookkeeper/marketing representative position with a local Registered Charity”. It is no wonder that he is a good fit for this job, he has a two year college diploma in Business-Accounting from St. Lawrence College, a degree in Economics from University of Ottawa and three years in sales! Although Greg is “just the marketing guy”, I find him to be interesting to talk with and I’m sure he has some INSIDE SCOOP to share with us all! With the kindness of the folks at the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival, we have been fortunate to join in on a couple of occasions for their “Gala” evenings held on the first evening of the first performance of the season, opening night as it were! We have seen Greg “tending bar” after some of the performances over the years and I was wondering if he had any opportunities to enjoy watching the performances? He does actually watching the performances 2-3 times each season. This led me to wonder if Greg had a favorite production. Greg replays … “That’s a tough question. My favorite Shakespearean play was As You Like It. The music and feel of the 1960’s along with the language of Shakespeare and the outdoor venue blew me away; it was also my first show. My other favorite was a St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival commissioned play called Trouble on Dibble Street, it was just too funny”. Both Gary and I enjoyed this play immensely! It was too funny and the actors/actresses were top notch! Getting Greg to share who his favorite performer was difficult to obtain as he is a true “politician” with his answer … stating “Any past and present member of the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival ensemble!" (To be continued)

Interview with Sam McLean (Part Four)

Sam & Janet McLean

McLean Berry Farm and Buckhorn Maple Syrup Festival

Farm Owners/Entrepreneurs

In The Thick Of It! The shack, where Sam can be found, smells fabulous, but the pans are very hot, so take care! Don’t miss out on the Syrup and Sugar Demonstrations and Maple baking. Toffee on Snow is a great favourite for both young and old. "If fresh snow is available" says Sam, "we can make this treat." According to Sam, there is so much to see and do for the Kids, including a Giant Straw pile, Snow Canon (if snow), 'Kids Corral', tree tapping, kids activities at the fire. Sam is quick to point out, "It's a family affair at McLean's Sugar Bush - so bring everyone (except fido … sorry … please and thank you!)." "McLean's Sugar Bush is an essential part of our working farm. We tap about 1300 trees and collect all of our sap by hand, about 15,000 gallons by the time the season is finished. It is said you can't make syrup without mud and when you drive over the ground with machinery as the frost is coming out - it does get muddy. My suggestion is to bring along a pair of boots." And from my personal past experience, bring along a dry warm pair of socks too! "McLean's Farm Market will be open serving hot drinks Maple Syrup, Maple Baking, Maple Sugar, Maple Butter, Fudge, Maple Popcorn, Hot Chili and fresh bread, Hot Apple Cider. The wood stove is on. You'll be able to dine in the open air or eat your pancakes in the comfort of our Market while tapping your foot to live music." I then asked Sam was what he enjoyed about the festival. He told me that "he enjoys meeting and talking with people, listening to the great live music and entertainment, the horses, and the smells!" However, what Sam enjoys most, are the children! The McLean’s focus their event on the children and try to ensure that they have a wonderful time at the sugar bush! Sam says, as THE INSIDE SCOOP has found out, "that the best part is when the kids leave crying because they have had such an amazing time that they don’t want to leave!" Perhaps not so much fun for the parents and adults, but, as Sam says, "he knows that it worked, that all of his efforts were worth it!"

Interview with Sam McLean (Part Three)

Sam & Janet McLean

McLean Berry Farm and Buckhorn Maplefest

Farm Owners/Entrepreneurs

A Great Year To Attend... This year's event might just be the best year to attend! The McLean's have new and exciting plans for you to enjoy! You can look forward to seeing a pioneer display, which includes boiled down sap in a cast iron kettle and a Wool Spinning Demonstration, on Saturday March 19th. Sunday March 20th kicks off with Grammy award winning duo, Toasted Western Swingband! Two members of the Toasted Western Swing Band, from the Niagara region, will be making their way to the great white north to dazzle you with their second performance at the Buckhorn Maplefest! This Grammy award winning duo is sure to be a huge hit for their first Sunday and the music promises to be superb! This year the Newfoundland Dog Cart Races will delight you on March 27th. The Paddling Puppeteers (Glen Caradus), will be performing with music and puppet shows. You'll be able to enjoy all the fresh air and take part in the Sugar Bush Walking tour. The tour is a well laid out walking trail through the Sugar Bush, with informative sign posts to learn all about Maple Syrup Making - from start to finish and beyond! As Sam points out, "all of our maple sap is collected by hand. No modern pipelines are found on our farm." During all the dates of the Buckhorn Maplefest Sam suggests that "you jump on the horse drawn hay rides enjoy a ride on the wagon from the central parking/market area to the sugar bush, evaporator house and beginning of the walking trail. This is a great favourite with the kids." On the menu this year are waffles with fruit and McLean’s famous Maple Syrup. You can also enjoy a pancake breakfast hosted by the Lakefield Lions Club, with flap jacks standing the true test of our syrup is in the taste. The Lakefield Lions Club does a superb job of serving heaping plates of hot pancakes and Maple Syrup all day long. This is a Lions Club fund raiser and is not include in the admission charge. As always, Sam McLean is the chief “fire stoker” and “maple syrup interpreter”! He is extremely interesting to listen to! (To be continued)