The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, Ja nu ar y 31 ,2 01 9 | 26 312 GUELPH ST., GEORGETOWN 905-877-2296 www.georgetowntoyota.com Saturday Feb. 2nd, 2019 7:30 pm at Mold-Masters SportsPlex Georgetown Raiders vs. Buffalo Jr. Sabres Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire may have been written for a different time, but George- town Little Theatre director Marilyn Nicholas-Dahan says she plans to remind au- diences how its themes con- tinue to haunt today. The play is centred on tragic heroine Blanche Du- Bois who loses her family home and moves into a tiny apartment with her sister Stella and her violent broth- er-in-law Stanley Kowalski, with whom she does not get along. Blanche initially paints a picture of an inno- cent tale of misfortune, but all is slowly unravelled and it is revealed she is not quite who she portrays to be. Though written in 1947, the play sheds light on a number of pertinent issues today, including violence against women, toxic mas- culinity, homophobia and discourse around mental illness. "It still has a lot of rele- vance and the actors were really interested in explor- ing those issues and the dy- namics of the characters, and the hot steaminess and being confined in this little dinky apartment," Nicho- las-Dahan said. For actor Taylor Grist, who portrays the boorish Stanley, the role meant a complete transformation - and a lot of room to experi- ment. "I read the play over a year ago for the first time and when I first read it, I thought I could never play this part," he said. But after further consid- eration, Grist says he de- vised a plan. Physically, he would need to gain some weight to look more like Stanley. And mentally, he would have to find a way to empathize with him. "It's kind of terrible to try to relate to Stanley in a lot of ways, but there is common ground there and that's sort of what makes it a complex story because he's not out- wardly a villain," Grist said. "Somewhere in there he's a human and that's a genuine aspect to the story over all." The high-drama show has its moments of violence, but also some elements that are light and comedic. Grist says for all scenes, but especially the darker ones, the cast maintained a strategy throughout the re- hearsal process. They would completely immerse themselves in the moments on stage and then check out once the scene ended and have a look at the work they've done from an out- side perspective. "I hope people enjoy a dip into some drama and some- thing with some real meat to it, that isn't too heavy and makes them feel like it's a draining experience, but makes them feel like 'Wow, I feel entertained in a way that got my heart going in a few different ways,'" he said. Nicholas-Dahan says she hopes the show allows audience members to take an introspective look at their own words and ac- tions and realize the extent to which they can impact others. "It should leave the audi- ence really thinking, we're not done with homophobia. We're not done with vio- lence against women, do- mestic violence. The atti- tude of some men - the he- man thing. And dominance over women and suppress- ing their thoughts," she said. "The repercussions of the things you say and do can really affect people's lives." A Streetcar Named De- sire is playing at the John Elliott Theatre on Feb. 1-2 and 7-9 at 8 p.m. and on Feb. 3 and 10 at 2 p.m. For tickets, visit https://secure1.tix- hub.com/haltonhills/on- line/index.asp. Using the Promo Code DESIRE, tick- ets are available at $18 each for opening night (Feb. 1). This offer is applicable both online and at the John El- liott Theatre Box Office. WHAT'S ON GLT POINTS TO LINGERING SOCIETAL ISSUES IN 'A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE' VERONICA APPIA vappia@metroland.com 'A Streetcar Named Desire' opens this weekend at the John Elliott Theatre in Georgetown. Michael Halsall On Jan. 18, Nashville North was flooded by hun- dreds of women dressed in shades of pink coming out to support the 11th annual Our Sister's Pink PJ Party. The night of food, drinks, dancing and ca- maraderie raised more than $18,000 in support of Cancer Assistance Servic- es of Halton Hills (CAShh) and Princess Margaret Hospital. "On behalf of Alyson Findlay and myself, we would like to thank all of the wonderful ladies that came out to support this event. We would also like to thank Kit Andrew of Nashville North, DJ Tom Jokic of CHUM FM, Georgetown Chevrolet, Generations Physiothera- py, Brand Alliance, Alli- son Clark Photography, the amazing firefighters, all of the generous local merchants and the awe- some volunteers," said Ju- lie Liddle of CAShh. "Thank you for helping make this event such a great success again this year." COMMUNITY Julie Liddle of CAShh addressed the crowd with her opening statement at the 11th annual Pink PJ Party. Veronica Appia/Metroland 11TH ANNUAL PINK PYJAMA PARTY RAISES MORE THAN $18K PROCEEDS WILL GO TOWARD CANCER ASSISTANCE SERVICES OF HALTON HILLS AND PRINCESS MARGARET HOSPITAL