Friday night (30 July 2021) the Northumberland Players were on stage again thanks to an $81,400 Resilient Communities Fund grant from the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF). The popular theatre group is doing outdoor performances and summer day camps thanks to the equipment the grant has purchased. 

The OTF grant made the innovative Pop-Up Theatre Project possible. There are staged readings of “The Graduate” by Terry Johnson).

 “Love Letters” by A.R.Gurney, and two one-act plays “Laundry and Bourbon” and “Lone Star” both written by James McClure. These performances will take place on the lawn at the Cobourg Yacht Club and the Lion’s Pavilion in Victoria Park until September 27. Tickets are available at www.nplay.ca.

The Resilient Communities Fund was developed to help non-profit groups recover and rebuild from the impacts of COVID-19. In the case of the Northumberland Players, the pandemic caused the stage to go dark for the first time in its 43-year history. The OTF grant was put to work helping the community theatre group to pivot to outdoor performances by purchasing portable lighting equipment, plexiglass barriers and other equipment. The grant also helped buy sanitizing equipment and medical grade air cleaners for the Firehall Theatre and Costume House, improving the safety and air quality for patrons, volunteers and summer camp youth. 

“When we thought of what we needed to continue providing the community theatre experiences we thought of the safety of our volunteers and patrons first,” said Sharon Anderson, Board member and the Ontario Trillium Foundation grant lead. 

The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) is an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations. Last year, nearly $112M was invested into 1,384 community projects and partnerships to build healthy and vibrant communities and strengthen the impact of Ontario’s non-profit sector. In 2020/21, OTF supported Ontario’s economic recovery by helping non-profit organizations rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID-19. Visit otf.ca to learn more.