For immediate release
May 2, 2000

Have a little Patience

    The Montreal West Operatic Society (M.W.O.S.) is coming to Belleville for a very special one night only performance of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta Patience. The engagement is through a unique partnership that has developed between the M.W.O.S. and  Marmora Senior Public School.
    The M.W.O.S. is the oldest operatic society in Canada and the second oldest in North America. It was coincidence that last year both the M.W.O.S. and Marmora Senior were in rehearsals for H.M.S. Pinafore. A relationship developed between this prestigious society and the school. The school cast was invited to visit Montreal, tour the theatre, meet the cast, and enjoy a performance of Pinafore. Shaun Lynch, President of the M.W.O.S. even contacted other operatic societies about the Marmora Senior production and the school received help with costumes from Boston, and advise and good wishes from many well known groups in California, Tennessee, New York, Connecticut and across the United States.
    "The Montreal Society's support of Marmora Senior continues this year with the exciting news that the M.W.O.S. will bring its production of Patience to Belleville as a fund raiser for the school," said Alan Danford, Drama teacher at Marmora Senior. The M.W.O.S. is bringing the full cast, and as much of the staging as the stage can accommodate. The funds raised by the performance will help Marmora Senior equip its gymnasium for its own productions and community use.
    The performance by Canada's premier Gilbert and Sullivan theatre company will be in the auditorium at Centennial Secondary School on Saturday, May 20 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are only $15 and are available through Marmora Senior at 472-2222. Marmora Senior's Drama department is also producing its own version of Patience at the school on May 31 and June 1.
 

For more information contact:
Alan Danford, teacher, Marmora Senior Public School, 472-2222