His students know him as Mr Laidlaw. I know him as Mike. Mike Laidlaw is a good friend from highschool. He’s always been passionate about theatre and the arts. Mike followed that passion through university, where he majored in drama, and is now the head of the Drama Department of Lawrence Park Collegiate in North Toronto.
Under Mike’s supervision, over three dozen students put together a talent show in support of Mia Kirshner’s charity ‘I Live Here‘.
Two acts. Two dozen performances. In between each performance the house band Hard Fix kept the crowd entertained.
With over a dozen plays under his belt, Mike is one of the many teachers in the GTA helping kids first find, then fine tune, their inner-actors. One of the musical acts that evening was Lawrence Park alum Perion Ross, who has produced three albums.
Now back to Mike. I am really proud of him. He works off a shoe string budget, in a seriously worn out theater. The paint is chipping off the ceiling, stage and lighting equipment is twice the age of the students.
He has grown the interest in drama, theatre and the arts program from just a couple students when he took the helm of the program, to over 70+ kids who auditioned last year.
Toronto is in the middle of its modern arts renaissance. With massive arts events like Luminato and Nuite Blanche, or programming via Soul Pepper Theatre and Distillery District, or capacity builders like ArtScape, good things are happening in Hogtown.
In less than a week, we will begin ticket sales for the 7th Toronto Timeraiser at the Distillery District. Stay tuned.
