Odyssey Showcase has produced a trailer for its proposed new web series, “Canada Speaks in Diverse Ways/Les voix du patrimoine/ Aki Animitagozig”, which aims to educate youth and the general public about diverse Canadian experiences and history through unique artistic expression, representation and performance.
Odyssey Showcase has created, produced and presented bilingual, multicultural, unique live musical and theatrical events for over 20 years. The organization was established in 2000 as a not-for-profit organization, placing great importance on inclusivity and making their programming accessible to everyone. The focus for Odyssey Showcase is primarily on highlighting inspirational, historical characters and events that have contributed to the making of modern Canada.
Since its inception, Odyssey Showcase has delivered stellar live performances primarily to student audience. However, many people are still unfamiliar with Odyssey Showcase and what they provide to the community. Odyssey Showcase is looking to engage new audiences and expand its reach by creating this dynamic, inclusive and engaging web series to complement its live presentations.
Odyssey Showcase envisions creating a project called “Canada Speaks in Diverse Ways/Les voix du patrimoine/ Aki Animitagozig,”. The plan is for this series to be freely accessible on an Odyssey Showcase YouTube channel and website.
Deborah Davis, Executive Director at Odyssey Showcase, hopes that this new series will allow them to up their exposure.
“This new approach became timely and necessary during the pandemic, forcing a transition from live stage presentations to a virtual project,” said Davis. “This program is far-reaching, very accessible, from schools to health care providers, governments and corporations, ultimately providing audiences with new skills and behaviours as well as additional knowledge that fosters inclusion tolerance and dialogue.”
Davis announced that Odyssey Showcase received some funding from the Community Foundation of Ottawa to help produce the trailer for the pilot episode of the series and hopes that with further assistance the pilot video can be finalized and released later this year. Anyone interested can support this important work through its donation page on Canada Helps.
“If we can find some sponsors, we’re looking forward to launching the video as part of a much larger event that will include live music, cultural presentations and other interactive programming. We are hoping to launch in November of 2023.”
Producing and launching this new web series does not come without its difficulties though. Besides some in-house hurdles, Davis describes a rise of online fatigue that has plagued many, particularly the younger school-age generations.
“One of the most important reasons to launch and incorporate the video in conjunction with live presentations is to maintain the connection and vitality of live person to person experiences.
With artists coming from the Ottawa and Quebec region to assist with this web series, Odyssey Showcase hopes to gain an inspired audience and encourage authentic change in the way we see, learn, and speak about ourselves and others.
“We always aim for artistic education, entertaining ways of promoting knowledge, understanding, and inclusivity,” she said. “It’s always exciting to brainstorm and develop different approaches and then complete and, of course, launch the programs”.
Watch the trailer for the pilot video of Canada Speaks in Diverse Ways/Les voix du patrimoine/ Aki Animitagozig titled, “Justice On Tap/Justice de cabaret”.
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