Black Box Backdrop: In with the new

Hello! I’m Adrienne Dandy, and I’m honoured to be the president of the KWLT Board of Directors this year.

KWLT is gearing up for our 2023/24 season and I’m very excited to have the chance to lead the Board as we tackle the year ahead. The Board had its first meeting on August 3rd and elected several people to new roles. 

President: Adrienne Dandy
Vice President: Morgan Anderson
Secretary: Fred Brandenburg
Finance Director: Rami Finkelshtein 
Rentals Manager: Nadia Ursacki
Membership Director: Michael L. Davenport

Joining the above members, of course, we have Members-at-Large Katherine Schill, Mel Mah, Stephanie L Keleher, Talia Dmitrienko, and Gaya Bin Noon and our past-president Carolyn Galvin. I’m very excited this year to have Talia backing up Rami and working closely with him to learn the Finance role. All of our at-large members participate in our various committees. Membership in committees is also open to general members of the theatre. 

Please join me in congratulating and thanking the members of your 2023/24 as we face the year ahead. 

And what a year it will be. We have three exciting mainstage shows coming up, our Artistic Steering Committee is working on more small-scale plans, and, of course, we’re gearing up for a very special call for directors: in addition to our mainstages at 9 Princess, we’re hoping to find a director that wants to take on the challenge of directing a Big Name Musical in a larger, rented space in February 2025, coinciding with the 90th anniversary of the founding meeting for KWLT itself. 

But we also have some significant challenges. We have an aging building and that comes with a cost. If you’ve been in the building when it’s raining, you’re probably aware that the roof is leaking, again. We’ll be striking a fundraising committee, led by Rami and Morgan. If you’re interested in joining that, You can find information in our latest newsletter. If you’re interested in jumping the gun on the committee and donating to the theatre, please consider setting up a one-time or ongoing donation through our Canada Helps site.

This year, KWLT Board meetings will occur on the  third Monday of each month and are open to members. The next meeting is August 21, 2023. Please contact our Secretary (secretary@kwlt.org) if you’re interested in attending or to view the minutes of past meetings.  

Finally, I’m very thankful for the opportunity to serve as your president this year. Please don’t hesitate to contact me on Slack or via email if you need anything. I’m hoping to see lots of you out at the staged reading on August 19th at 9 Princess (and let’s hope it doesn’t rain!). 

(Photo credit: Ange Clayfield)