Second staging of local playwright’s work
by Adam Martin-Robbins •
in News •
January 2nd•
The Orangeville Banner (2/1/2009)
Bolstering awareness about AIDS and HIV was Alayna Kolodziechuk’s goal when she wrote ShAIDS of Grey.
When ShAIDS of Grey was staged for the first time last March, playwright Alayna Kolodziechuk had no idea what a huge response it would garner.
The play, which aims to raise awareness and challenge ideas about HIV/AIDS, was performed for a single run at Hamilton’s Theatre Aquarius and helped raise $10,000 for the Stephen Lewis Foundation.
“It went really well,” said the 22-year-old Amaranth resident, who is currently studying philosophy and history at McMaster University in Hamilton. “So we decided to do it again.”
ShAIDS is now going to be performed at the Betty Oliphant Theatre (400 Jarvis St.) in Toronto from Jan. 29 to 31.
That’s a bit of a switch from the original plan, which was for the show to be a one-time event. “I never really expected to be doing it again and taking it to a new audience,” she said. “I think it’s got a life of its own now and we’re just along for the ride.”
The ride began when a woman who lost her husband to AIDS in 1990 approached Empowerment Squared, an organization Kolodziechuk helped found almost two years ago, with the idea of hosting a fundraising performance for AIDS orphans in Africa.
“She gave birth to the idea,” said Kolodziechuk, who was involved with theatre as a high school student at Centre Dufferin. “The original intention was more of a talent show to raise money, we pushed it a bit further.”
ShAIDS of Grey, which has more than 30 people involved, tells the stories of men, women and children affected by the disease by weaving together monologues, songs and dances.
“The purpose of the show is to challenge stigmas associated with HIV/AIDS, the people and communities associated with the disease — the queer community, the African community, the Caribbean community,” said Kolodziechuk.
The storyline running through the play is of a journalist who travels to Africa in search of the truth about the world of AIDS. But, as the play’s title implies, it generates as many questions as it does answers.
“Its sort of like the more you know, the more you realize you don’t know,” Kolodziechuk explained.
Although the show raised a lot of money during its first run, that’s not really the aim of the Toronto stint, she said. Rather, it’s more about getting people to talk about HIV/AIDS.
“We want people to be open,” she said.
That’s something she’d really like to see happen in her community as well—where the disease and the issues surrounding it don’t get discussed very often.
“From my experience growing up here in Dufferin County, people here just don’t talk about it,” she said. “People think we don’t have gay people here; people from Africa here—that’s not true.”
Kolodziechuk’s hoping area residents will make the trek into the big city to see the show and start talking about the disease and its impacts.
If ShAIDS of Grey proves to be as big a success this time around, and they sell enough tickets to cover production costs, any additional money will go toward one of Empowerment Squared’s international development projects, which include building a library in Liberia and a hospital project in Kenya, she said.
Given Kolodziechuk’s level of commitment to ShAIDS and the non-profit organization that spawned it, that could very well happen.
“It’s really, really taken over our lives,” she said of the play. “Last year especially, it was unbelievable—we worked 60 hours a week for eight weeks.”
But all the effort has been entirely worthwhile, she said.
“It’s been a lot of fun, I just love it,” said the fourth-year student.
“The most rewarding part of it was that afterwards people who had shared their stories (for the play), they were in the audience and they said, ‘Thanks for saying what I can’t say.’”
As for future performances, Kolodziechuk—who is bound for law school or graduate school next fall—said she’s not sure what will happen. But one thing’s for certain, her involvement with the non-profit organization that made it happen is going to continue.
“I’m not giving up CURE anytime soon.”
The Orangeville Banner (2/1/2009)
Bolstering awareness about AIDS and HIV was Alayna Kolodziechuk’s goal when she wrote ShAIDS of Grey.
When ShAIDS of Grey was staged for the first time last March, playwright Alayna Kolodziechuk had no idea what a huge response it would garner.
The play, which aims to raise awareness and challenge ideas about HIV/AIDS, was performed for a single run at Hamilton’s Theatre Aquarius and helped raise $10,000 for the Stephen Lewis Foundation.
“It went really well,” said the 22-year-old Amaranth resident, who is currently studying philosophy and history at McMaster University in Hamilton. “So we decided to do it again.”
ShAIDS is now going to be performed at the Betty Oliphant Theatre (400 Jarvis St.) in Toronto from Jan. 29 to 31.
That’s a bit of a switch from the original plan, which was for the show to be a one-time event. “I never really expected to be doing it again and taking it to a new audience,” she said. “I think it’s got a life of its own now and we’re just along for the ride.”
The ride began when a woman who lost her husband to AIDS in 1990 approached Empowerment Squared, an organization Kolodziechuk helped found almost two years ago, with the idea of hosting a fundraising performance for AIDS orphans in Africa.
“She gave birth to the idea,” said Kolodziechuk, who was involved with theatre as a high school student at Centre Dufferin. “The original intention was more of a talent show to raise money, we pushed it a bit further.”
ShAIDS of Grey, which has more than 30 people involved, tells the stories of men, women and children affected by the disease by weaving together monologues, songs and dances.
“The purpose of the show is to challenge stigmas associated with HIV/AIDS, the people and communities associated with the disease — the queer community, the African community, the Caribbean community,” said Kolodziechuk.
The storyline running through the play is of a journalist who travels to Africa in search of the truth about the world of AIDS. But, as the play’s title implies, it generates as many questions as it does answers.
“Its sort of like the more you know, the more you realize you don’t know,” Kolodziechuk explained.
Although the show raised a lot of money during its first run, that’s not really the aim of the Toronto stint, she said. Rather, it’s more about getting people to talk about HIV/AIDS.
“We want people to be open,” she said.
That’s something she’d really like to see happen in her community as well—where the disease and the issues surrounding it don’t get discussed very often.
“From my experience growing up here in Dufferin County, people here just don’t talk about it,” she said. “People think we don’t have gay people here; people from Africa here—that’s not true.”
Kolodziechuk’s hoping area residents will make the trek into the big city to see the show and start talking about the disease and its impacts.
If ShAIDS of Grey proves to be as big a success this time around, and they sell enough tickets to cover production costs, any additional money will go toward one of Empowerment Squared’s international development projects, which include building a library in Liberia and a hospital project in Kenya, she said.
Given Kolodziechuk’s level of commitment to ShAIDS and the non-profit organization that spawned it, that could very well happen.
“It’s really, really taken over our lives,” she said of the play. “Last year especially, it was unbelievable—we worked 60 hours a week for eight weeks.”
But all the effort has been entirely worthwhile, she said.
“It’s been a lot of fun, I just love it,” said the fourth-year student.
“The most rewarding part of it was that afterwards people who had shared their stories (for the play), they were in the audience and they said, ‘Thanks for saying what I can’t say.’”
As for future performances, Kolodziechuk—who is bound for law school or graduate school next fall—said she’s not sure what will happen. But one thing’s for certain, her involvement with the non-profit organization that made it happen is going to continue.
“I’m not giving up CURE anytime soon.”
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