Classics Play Fundraising

Welcome to our fundraising page, and thank you for supporting the McGill Classics Play! You can donate here.

MISSION STATEMENT

The goals of the annual McGill Classics Play are simple: to give our Classics students a new perspective on material that they usually only encounter as written texts in the classroom, to give non-Classics students an opportunity to participate in ancient drama, and to bring that drama to the greater Montreal community.

FACTS

Each year, the Classics Play produces an all-new English translation of a Classical play, with original music, in an off-campus venue.

Since 2011, the McGill Classics Play has produced Aeschylus' Agamemnon, Euripides' Hippolytos, and this year- Sophocles' Philoktetes. Next year will be Aristophanes' Lysistrata.

In the last three years, over 75 students have gained valuable experience participating in the McGill Classics Play (translating, directing, acting, writing music, playing music, designing and making costumes, doing make-up, designing lighting, tech directing, stage managing, managing publicity and marketing, and keeping the books). These students are undergraduates and graduates, and have come from faculties across McGill, as well as from Concordia.

Any university student who wants to participate can; anyone who auditions is cast.

In 2011, the Arts Undergraduate Society awarded the McGill Classics Play "Best New Activity".

In 2012, student director Carina de Klerk adapted her Classics Play production of Hippolytos into an award-nominated Montreal Fringe Festival production, giving several students their first professional experience in the theatre.

In 2012, the McGill Classics Play began a continuing partnership with local professional theatre company Scapegoat Carnivale, and became a member of the Quebec Drama Federation.

Over just 7 performances, the McGill Classics Play has sold over 700 tickets, a slight majority of which were discounted tickets for students from local universities, high schools, and CEGEPs.

FUNDRAISING

For the last two years, funds for the McGill Classics Play have come almost entirely from the students and faculty involved in the production, with less than %30 of funds coming from private donors and the help of Hans Beck and the John MacNoughton Chair. Initial investments are then reimbursed through ticket sales, meaning we start from scratch every year. This is the first year we have substantial institutional support: the Dean of Arts Development Fund has granted us $1,050, in addition to the $300 donation from the John MacNoughton Chair, bringing us to within $1,650 of our total budget. This year's budget can be broken down into venue rental ($2058), music composition ($400), costumes ($300), and printing ($250). If we can make up this budget shortfall through your generosity, then all ticket sales can go directly back into the programme to support next year's Lysistrata, and to ensure the sustainability of the programme in the coming years. If we make significantly more than this shortfall, then we can begin to plan the expansion of our programme: in the future we'd like to offer free shows and free performance and translation workshops open to the community, and to bring in guest speakers for public lectures on Classical drama and performance in venues around Montreal. Any support you can give in helping us reach these goals is appreciated, and by supporting the McGill Classics Play, you will be playing a part in creating a sustainable cultural tradition here in Montreal.

You can donate directly to the McGill Classics Play here, and you will automatically receive a tax receipt for your donation. Thank you for supporting the McGill Classics Play!