the alley Newspaper | News & Views of Phillips Since 1976

Heart of the Beast Theatre is Moving!

Written by the alley on 03 January 2025

By HOBT

The marquee at the Avalon Theatre on Lake Street. Courtesy: HOBT

After 36 years at the Avalon Theatre building, 1500 East Lake Street, In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre (HOBT) intends to move to a new location and sell the building. HOBT has always been a place that welcomes all people no matter where it’s been located.

Looking back
From its humble beginnings inside a church basement, to a Lake Street storefront, to three floors above Lake Street, before settling into the Avalon Theatre also on Lake Street; the organization has helped nurture creative empowerment through the joy and magic of puppetry and education. Now, that legacy will continue in its new home.

Going forward in a new location and expanding programming.
“We look forward to creating and sharing collaborative spaces for artists, and comfortable, sensory-friendly spaces for anyone in the neurodivergent and disabled community,” says Elina Kotlyar, Interim Executive Director of HOBT. “As we look for a new space, we are mindful of creating performance and engagement spaces accessible to all. That includes being near a bus line, having parking and bike racks, and a stage that can be accessed without stairs. We also plan to have a workshop space that better fits the needs of our artists and participants.”… Read the rest “Heart of the Beast Theatre is Moving!”

Eight Reasons Why Riding the Bus Could be the Most Radical Thing You Do

Written by the alley on 03 January 2025

By MATTIE WONG

In the wake of 2020, many of us reconsidered our safety and retreated from the public realm. If we had the means, we weighed our options and decided to use individual forms of transportation – automobiles, walking, biking, etc. Many of us are still a little shell-shocked and find it hard to return to public transportation.

Spotted in a store window on a recent trip to Montreal. Translated, it says, “Thank you for choosing collective transportation.”

There are real – and imagined – issues with safety on public transportation. It’s a Catch-22 where in the retreat from public services, we also retracted the safety we GAVE when entering a public space. We left to keep our bodies safe, and in return, our bodies weren’t a safety to each other anymore. Now all our bodies are a little less safe.

A friend of mine said, ‘Oh, well, I don’t take the bus because I don’t have to.’ It made me wonder if taking the bus really is a ‘have-to’ situation, or why we frame it that way. Below are some reasons to reconsider your stance on the bus, and why riding the bus could be one of the most radical ways to interact with your city.… Read the rest “Eight Reasons Why Riding the Bus Could be the Most Radical Thing You Do”