“We use art to build, connect”

Kristine Berey

The first play launching the English Theatre at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts this season will be Arthur Miller’s classic A View From the Bridge.

“We believe it is an important play,” Segal director Bryna Wasserman says. “It deals with the Italian immigrant situation and tells you about the life of any immigrant.”

Wasserman says a theatre’s flagship play says a lot about its mandate.

“We believe that we can make a difference through the arts, that we can develop a relationship for further understanding.”

Bryna Wasserman

According to Wasserman, long-standing divides, seemingly un-crossable by politicians, can be bridged through the power of music, dance, theatre and film.

“It’s important in our own community to understand each other on an artistic level and also internationally. I’ve always believed that it is the artist who should be able to imagine a better place and a better environment. We use art to build, so we can connect.”

The Segal has collaborated with such cultural communities as the Black Theatre Workshop and Théâtre du Rideau Vert. It has included children through its Academy and its Young Actors for Young Audiences (YAYA) program. It has brought together Yiddish theatres from all over the world at its first Yiddish Theatre Festival, an event to be repeated next summer.

This year it brings together different kinds of music and adds dance. The ever-growing list includes jazz, world and classical music, in more than 35 concerts. An exciting addition to the musical life of the Segal will be performances by Musica Camerata, one of Canada’s oldest and most respected chamber ensembles. Musica Camerata celebrates their 41st season this year.

“It’s a coup for us and after featuring jazz and our monthly Broadway Café as a way of exploring the centre’s involvement in music,” Wasserman says.

Musica Camerata concerts will be performed over four Sundays beginning November 28.

“I am hoping that this series will increase. It’s a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon,” Wasserman says.

Info: 514-739-7944, segalcentre.org Bryna Wasserman will discuss Building Bridges Through Art at the Congregation Shaar Hashomayim, September 19, 425 Metcalfe. Info and reservations: 514-937-9471 ext. 139