September 24, 2007 – Marguerite Centre, Pembroke, Ontario. Lise Goyette, as the priest’s wife, worries about who will care for her husband when they must separate to comply with Rome's decree enforcing priestly celibacy.

The Company
THRESHOLD Players, evolved from The Grey Sister Players who staged All That I Am in Ottawa and Pembroke in 2002-2003. Requests for a re-staging led to the creation of a new amateur theatre company to give voice to people on the margins of society. The group chose the name Threshold Players hoping that the plays will move an audience over the threshold into a new vision of relationships between persons and with the planet.

The Play
ALL THAT I AM, by Irene Mahoney OSU, examines the forgotten women behind five well-known churchmen. It is a play which presents questions rather than answers. The cast includes the wife of apostle Simon Peter; Augustine's mistress; Hilde of St. Bremar (a fictional character representing the wives of Roman Catholic priests whose marriages were ended by the 12th century decree enforcing priestly celibacy);Mistress Anne Donne and Maria von Wedemeyer (Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s fiancée).

Inspiration for THRESHOLD PLAYERS
In 2002-2003, ALL THAT I AM, was performed four times in Pembroke, Ontario, at the Marguerite Centre and once in Ottawa at the Bronson Centre Theatre. Audience response to these performances inspired the formation of THRESHOLD PLAYERS.

October 20, 2007 – George Street United Church, Peterborough, Ontario. As Mistress Anne Donne, Reverend Karen Ptolemy-Stam, pastor of George Street United Church, wonders, "Will women ever be allowed to preach the Word of God?"

THE 2007-2008 SEASON
March 22 and 23, 2007 – The Bronson Centre Theatre, Ottawa, Ontario June 2007 – Scarboro Mission Centre, Scarborough, Ontario At the invitation of Kathy Murtha, the play was presented in the context of a Women's Retreat. One retreatant commented: "If I had known that it was going to be that good, I would have invited my mother and sisters."

FUTURE PROJECTS
THRESHOLD PLAYERS hopes to stage other stories that “need to be told.” Some of these are

• the continued exploitation of the Congolese people
• the trafficking of vulnerable persons
• the planetary crisis
• the threats to food security

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE INVOLVED?
The theater company is interested in working with new members. Do get in touch with us if you have ideas for developing scripts, performing, networking or would simply like more information.

Congolese actress, Ngalula Mabudi, brought particular poignancy to the role of the cast-aside Priest's Wife.

CONTACT
Connie Goulet (cgouletgsic@yahoo.ca)
or Mary Ruddy (mtruddy@yahoo.ca).