1. Sun. Feb. 21, 2016 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Dunfield Theatre Cambridge
46 Grand Ave. S. Cambridge ON
Reserved Seating: Adult $
20*.
Youth $
5. (HST included)
Call: 519 621 8000 or visit SoundsOfCambridge.com
for tickets & information. * Present your adult ticket at the
event for a complimentary Sounds of Cambridge CD
or download card.
14 Live Performances!
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FEATURING SONGS FROMTHE CD
Vol 1 | Sounds of Cambridge
ORIGINAL MUSIC
BY LOCAL ARTISTS.
Sounds of CambridgeWe would like to acknowledge funding
support from the Ontario Arts Council,
an agency of the Government of Ontario.
CAMBRIDGE LIVE MUSIC PRESENTS
Cambridge TIMES • Thursday, January 28, 2016 • PAGE 17
timesarts & culture
Afree six-week writing work-
shop at the Idea Exchange’s
Clemens Mill library (50 Saginaw
Pkwy.) aims to help authors go
“From Spark To Story”.
The initiative, led by Larry
Brown, gets underway next
Wednesday (Feb. 3) and continues
weekly through to March 9.
Participants will learn to take
ideas – characters, settings and
situations – and turn them into
short stories.
Suitable for all levels, from
beginners to experienced writers
of all ages.
For more information, or to
register, call 519-621-0460 or visit
ideaexchange.org.
There is no cost to participate
in the workshop series, which
runs from 6 to 8 p.m. each night.
Aspiring authors go
‘From Spark To Story’
literature
Designed to foster the arts
community, the fourth
installment ofWaterloo Region
Arts Reboot is coming to Cam-
bridge.
An open call assembly, the
initiative seeks to bring together
artists, administrators, supporters
and other representatives of the
arts, culture and heritage com-
munities.
The aim is to deepen connec-
tions; establish a voice for arts
and arts organizations; develop
a platform for concerted efforts;
and offer mutual encouragement
and support.
Arts Reboot is set for Feb. 2 at
city hall, starting at 7 p.m. There is
no cost to attend.
To register, email your name,
mailing address, city/town, postal
code and email address ArtsTo-
getherWr@gmail.com.
The first three sessions were
held in Kitchener. An upcoming
event is planned forWaterloo.
Arts Reboot makes
its way to Cambridge
arts
D
avid MacMillan admits he’s more
partial to directing plays than writing
them.
“In directing, you’re working with other peo-
ple and you’re seeing something really come
alive,” the Cambridge resident said.
“Sometimes in writing, you’re sitting at your
own desk and it may never come alive. It might
always just sit on your computer. There have
been other projects that I’ve been working on
and haven’t really felt that I can get them on the
stage. It’s not easy.”
But his latest work, a satire, Rock, Scissors,
Paper, has gotten off the ground and will hit
the stage at Cambridge Arts Theatre, beginning
tomorrow (Jan. 29).
Though MacMillan has been a part of Cam-
bridge Community Players (CCP) for years, this
is a first for him.
“I’ve directed a number of plays there but I
haven’t done my own play there before. This is
exciting. It’s something to look forward to,” he
said.
The production follows a politician, a pro-
testor and a reporter, with each believing they
have what they need to expose the secret life of
one of the others to damage their reputation.
Of course, things don’t go as expected, even
when their followers try to help with the plans.
“Primarily, I have noticed that the press
like to be critical, which is their job, of others.
But they get very defensive
if someone criticizes the
press. That was the jump-
ing-off point,” MacMillan
said about the premise
behind Rock, Scissors, Paper,
noting protestors also share
that indignation.
“That was really the
inspiration, that none of us
can really go without look-
ing closely at ourselves in
the mirror sometimes. This is something of a
satire based on that premise.”
Though the penning of a play may have
been taxing, MacMillan said it’s much easier
and satisfying directing his own work than
someone else’s.
The last time he pulled double duty – or
wore two hats, as he likes to call it – is in the
early 1980s when he brought To the Palace A
Price to a small Toronto stage.
His director’s resume is much larger though,
as he’s headed up an “eclectic” array of CCP
productions, including Painting Churches,
NightWatch, Moon Over Buffalo and Amadeus.
Due to copyright, he
noted he doesn’t have as
much artistic licence with
those plays as he did his
own.
“When you’re doing your
own show it’s a little differ-
ent because you’re looking –
is that scene working, is that
line working, or if they’re
having problems with a
particular section, if it’s the
fault of the playwright or is just something to
be overcome in the normal way.”
As much as he can tweak his own produc-
tions to his liking, he tries to stay to the script
as much as possible.
By Bill Doucet
Times Staff
CCP tackle locally written satire Rock, Scissors, Paper
“None of us can really
go without looking at
ourselves in the mirror
sometimes.”
David MacMillan
playwright and director
gettin’ ready:
Brian Otto, Kathy
Burgess, Warren
Shaw and Greig
Graham rehearse a
scene from Cam-
brige Community
Players’ upcom-
ing production of
Rock, Scissors,
Paper, playing at
Cambridge Arts
Theatre.
Meghan Spotswood,
special to the times
Continued to page 24