At the final Arts Assembly of the year in May, CDS culminated this year's Senior School drama production of Ahead by a Century run with a special cheque presentation of $5,680 to both the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund and the Gord Downie Fund for Brain Cancer Research – Sunnybrook Foundation. The cast and crew were able to raise a total of $11,360 for these two worthy charities through ticket and T-shirt sales, discounted rental rates, and the generosity of our special sponsors.
In addition to the two cheques, Director Scott Garbe has donated two copies of his original script to the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund and Chanie’s sister - Pearl Wenjack, as well as the jean jackets (with original art by Julia Garbe ’17) worn in the production by Chanie and his father (portrayed by Ryan Corbeil ’22 and Jeremy Garbe ’19). These jackets will also be presented to the Wenjack family.
The impact of this production continues to be felt throughout the CDS community. It is Scott Garbe’s dream to ‘pass the torch’ to Drama instructors across Canada who are in the process of selecting their productions for the next school year, and after hearing about his play, decide to use it as a tool to promote understanding and change among their students and community members. By making his script available to other schools and interested groups free of charge, he hopes it will serve as a springboard toward reconciliation.
