Friday, June 10, 2022 3 Brooklin Town Crier Phil Nero was just a child when his grandparents took him to a downtown Toronto production of the hit musical "Crazy for you." The experience ignited in him a love for theatre, especially musical theatre. The result has been that the Brooklin resident has danced in, choreographed and directed a great many productions. His phone's contact list, for instance, links him with nearly two dozen individuals with Broadway pedigrees. But from the time he and his wife Kalie, also a professional dancer, moved to Brooklin from Toronto some years ago, Nero has dreamed of creating a centre for the arts in the Durham region. To that end, he's created the production company DreamCo, an acronym for Durham Region Entertainment and Music. Its ultimate goal? To build a state-of-the-art theatre in Whitby, perhaps along the lakeshore, which, as he says, would be unique . "There's nothing like it anywhere," he says. Minor problem: All it will take is a few million dollars. Ukraine fundraiser However, that is a few years and many sponsors from now. In the meantime, the company is planning a number of events, beginning with a fundraiser for Ukraine on Sept. 24 at the Port Perry Town Hall theatre. "Songs of Hope - A Benefit Concert for Ukraine" will feature some big time artists, all of whom are donating their time and artistry. These include Cory O' Brien from "Come From Away," Mark Cassius who was in Stratford's "Jesus Christ Superstar" production that went to Broadway and was one of the Nylons, Cynthia Smithers who played Diana Morales in "A Chorus Line" at Stratford and Christy Adamson who was in "War Horse" and "Cats" in Toronto. Every dollar from the $50 ticket, save for $5 which goes to the theatre, will be donated to HPICanada, an organization that sends nearly expired medications to Ukraine. Needing to help Now the father of a six year old, Nero says it was the plight of Ukrainians in the conflict that spurred him. "It's the first real conflict since my daughter was born. I just felt so guilty about my own life that I felt I needed to do something." DreamCo's inaugural production will feature two shows that night in a theatre that seats 266. Subsequent to the Ukraine fundraiser, Nero plans to run a Brooklin Concert in the Village series with small productions at key times like Thanksgiving, Remembrance Day, Christmas and so on. The idea is for these to be held in the former Brooklin Community Centre on Cassels Rd. "Imagine how enriching the quality of life in the region will be," he says, "with this focus on the arts. We'll start small for now and see where it takes us. I'm planting the seed in the community to get the buy-in." Using his many contacts from professional theatre, the shows are bound to be top notch. The challenge will be having to pay performers who are members of Equity, the Canadian Actors' Equity Association. "But remember that every Equity artist was at one time a non- Equity artist," he points out. "There's plenty of non-Equity talent out there and they need a place to start." With his Toronto dance studio, Metro Movement, suffering during the pandemic closure, he's managed to work as a registered massage therapist while trying to raise sponsorship dollars to make DreamCo a viable entity. He's enlisted other big names to sit on the company's board. Former National Ballet star Rex Harrington and Rod Hunter, former president of Rotary International, a key supporter of DreamCo, are two. "Imagine that theatre on the lakefront," he restates. Imagine indeed. Visit DreamCotheatre.com to learn more about Nero's theatre project. DreamCo Dreaming Big