Winter 2011 News - PAL Halifax

PAL Halifax hosted its third Scrabble® With the Stars fundraiser on Monday, October 24th. It was an energetic and entertaining evening which raised $8500. We thank the 25 Star players who represented different disciplines – dance, film, stage, visual art, music, writing, as well as some Nova Scotian politicians and business owners who are strong supporters of the arts in this province.

Special thanks to the Craig Foundation, AFBS, Canadian Actors’ Equity Association, ACTRA Maritimes and IATSE 849 for their extraordinary financial assistance. The event featured performances by local singer/songwriter Ian Sherwood and the festivities were emceed by Charlie Rhindress, Artistic Producer of Eastern Front Theatre. The grand prize winner of 2011 Scrabble with the Stars was the talented actor, Martha Irving.

-Nancy Morgan

Exciting Time for PAL Halifax

These are exciting times for PAL Halifax! We’ve forged an alliance a newly-formed organization called the Housing Trust of Nova Scotia. This partnership of architects, developers and community activists is close to sealing a deal whereby they will replace longderelict buildings on Gottingen Street in Halifax with new affordable housing. Initial meetings with the Trust have produced an agreement in principle whereby PAL Halifax will ultimately manage one section of the building – apartments that will be made available to PAL’s constituency. Talks are ongoing, but things are looking very, very promising. Thanks to our new co-chair, architect Eric Stotts, for taking the lead on this initiative.

As things fall into place with the Trust, we will be besieging the representatives of those chapters with existing lodges with pleas for advice and counsel. Gird your loins! Given all that has happened in the past weeks, we are planning a “Blue Sky” strategic meeting in January to figure out next steps.

Gary Vermeir

New PAL Halifax Administrator

Ann Pocket is joining PAL Halifax as our part-time Administrator and will be doing a lot of the work for PAL that has needed doing for some time. Like reaching out to our members!

PAL will be sharing Ann with our friends at Imagine Bloomfield. She will not only be assisting the two organizations in all the admin work that needs doing, but she will assist in keeping each organization apprised of what the other is up to.

Since the aims and goals of the two organizations dove-tail so nicely, we think that this is a match that will work very well (thanks to Ron Skibbens and Susanna Fuller at Imagine Bloomfield for all their cooperation).

This is a tremendous step forward for PAL and we are thrilled to have someone of Ann’s caliber in our corner.

Ann is a dynamic artist in her own right, she is a recent graduate from NSCAD’s Jewellery Design & Metalsmithing but prior to arriving in Halifax she worked as an arts administrator at The Martha Hicks School of Ballet in Toronto.

Welcome, Ann!  It’s great to have you aboard!

You can contact Ann by email by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The Sudden Passing of PAL Halifax Chair Bill Forbes “a gentle spirit and an honest, decent and good man”

This week, our board was stunned to learn of the sudden and unexpected passing of our Chair, Bill Forbes.  Bill was just 50.

Bill passed away quietly in his home, on a day off from his run of Ivor Johnson’s Neighbours at the Ship’s Co. Theatre in Parrsboro. He was a true renaissance man – a writer, performer, designer, builder, director and humanitarian.  His performances included work at Neptune Theatre, Mulgrave Road Theatre, Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia and numerous films, television shows and commercials.

Bill was a member of the board of the Performing Arts Lodge (PAL) Halifax since its inception. He believed completely and entirely in the PAL mission and philosophy.  He had devoted much of his life to the performing arts community of Atlantic Canada, having served for a decade as a National Councillor for Canadian Actors Equity Association. He also served several years as a Branch Councillor for ACTRA Maritimes.

Personally, Bill had been a good friend to me since the day we met at the rehearsals for The Wizard of Oz at St. Francis Xavier University. (He was the Scarecrow… I was the Stage Manager.) We shared a house for a summer in PEI for an idyllic summer doing a show together in Summerside.  And we spent countless hours on stage together as part of the improv company Script Wrecked. Some of the funniest moments of my life were created by Bill who truly had one of the most original and spontaneously creative minds I’ve ever come across. But his incredible talents were matched with a gentle spirit and a generosity of spirit that made everyone who worked with him loved him. He was an honest, decent, good man.

We at PAL will miss Bill immeasurably. I had always thought that he and I would be neighbours at PAL decades down the road.  But I take some comfort in the image of him and our founder, the late, great David Renton planning our future together in a much better place.

Bill was one of the good ones.  We who remain behind must work all the harder to make our PAL a reality so that it may serve as monument to his memory.

Rest easy, Bill.  We are all the better for knowing you.