actOUT! Live On Air is radio theatre from actOUT!, a local non-profit charity promoting theatre to the children and youth of Waterloo Region. Listen in for both live and pre-recorded performances by our youth performers.
actOUT! Live On Air is hosted by Breanna MacLeod and airs on CKMS-FM alternate Mondays from 6:00pm to 7:00pm.
On Friday 9 May 2025 cast members Ezran, Argent, Agatha, and Evie came into the CKMS-FM studio to talk about their upcoming productions Alice @ Wonderland and High School Musical Jr..
The interview starts at 3m55s.
Breanna MacLeod, General Manager of ActOUT! KW was on CKMS Community Connections for 21 April 2025.
Download: ckms-community-connections-2025-05-09-episode196-the-cast-of-alice-wonderland-and-high-school-musical-jr.mp3 (53 MB, 57m46s, episode 196)
| Time | Title | Album | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0m00s | Theme for CKMS Community Connections ccc |
 CKMS Community Connections |
Steve Todd |
| 0m52s | On The Road |
 (single) |
Sourwood |
| 3m55s | Talking about the radio play The Canterville Ghost. Introducing Argent, Ezran, Evie, and Agatha. Talking about playing multiple roles, rehearsals. Explaining how Alice @ Wonderland has been updated. Explaining the “Jr.” in High School Musical Jr. | ||
| 14m50s | So We Formed a Committee to Discuss the Problem |
 Ou de Fait |
Ou de Fait |
| 17m50s | The actors tell Bob why they’re actors. Agatha says “You give your heart to the world.” It can be scary to be on stage, but once you’re on stage you get enraptured in your character and you forget you’re being observed. It helps to wear the costumes to get into the skin of the character. | ||
| 29m44s | What happens when the show is over? Ezran says “I cry.” Argent says when you enjoy playing a character it’s hard to put it down. Evie says “Every show I’ve been in, I want to do again.” ActOUT! is for kids up to 17 years of age, what will they do when they’re older? They can volunteer with ActOUT!, and may even consider going into professional theatre, or working backstage in costumes, props, or set design. Maybe even become playwrights! | ||
| 35m20s | Elbows Up |
 Detours |
All Weather Haulage |
| 38m11s | The actors recite some lines from their plays, and Ezran and Argent sing a bit from from High School Musical Jr. | ||
| 43m24s | The performance is in a couple of weeks, what’s left to do? The actors tell Bob about the rehearsals, practicing blocking; it’s all nit-picky stuff now. | ||
| 46m15s | Bob asks about ticket availability, tickets are availble from the ActOUT! KW website. There are eight performances, two each day. The actors will be missing school! But the teachers are pretty chill, and don’t mind. | ||
| 49m30s | Coming up next for ActOUT! is the summer camps. This is for all ages. Don’t know what plays will be performed. Argent is aging out, but will be in a Singer’s Theatre production, Carrie The Musical. | ||
| 56m30 | Goodbyes, Thank Yous, and Bob gives the end credits. | ||
CKMS Community Connections Hour One airs on CKMS-FM 102.7 on Monday from 11:00am to Noon, and Hour Two airs alternate Fridays from 3:00pm to 4:00pm.
Got music, spoken word, or other interesting stuff? Let us know at ccc@radiowaterloo.ca or leave a comment on our “About” page.
Subscribe to the CKMS Community Connections podcast!
See all CKMS Community Connections shows!
Video: CKMS Community Connections for Friday 9 May 2025 (YouTube)
Show notes and podcast interview content is Copyright © 2025 by the participants, and released under a 
Creative Commons Attribution Only license. Copy, re-use, and derivative works are allowed with attribution to Radio Waterloo and a link to this page. Music selections are copyright by the respective rights holders. The theme music is written and performed by Steven Todd.
Breanna MacLeod of ActOUT! KW talks to co-hosts Suzanne Craig-Whytock and Bob Jonkman.
The interview starts at 2m48s.
Download: ckms-community-connections-2025-04-21-episode193-breanna-macleod-of-actout-kw.mp3 (54 MB, 58m30s, episode 193)
| Time | Title | Album | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0m00s | Theme for CKMS Community Connections ccc |
CKMS Community Connections |
Steve Todd |
| 0m53s | Calm News |
 IV |
Audio Boffins |
| 2m48s | Breanna MacLeod introduces “ActOUT Kitchener Waterloo Children’s Drama Workshop”, but they tend to go by ActOUT! They do theatre by kids, for kids, and giving them experiences with live theatre that are hard to come by in a modern age. They stage full productions with kids as actors and participants. They partner with other community organizations, like KW Little Theatre, The Registry Theater, and Cambridge Arts Theatre. And they’re doing a play in Waterloo Park. | ||
| 4m27s | And they’ll be doing some radio theatre, live in the CKMS-FM studio this Friday, 25 April 2025 at 5:00pm. The script is based on an old Oscar Wilde story called The Canterville Ghost. The kids have added some of their own material as well. | ||
| 9m25s | Kids not only learn acting, but also script writing, blocking, stage management, lights and sound. Many of the people helping with assistant directing, assistant stage management are volunteers. Some are former participants in the program! And some have gone on to Stratford or Drayton. But most don’t, they leave with a better appreciation of theatre arts. In the program they’ve done musicals, plays, stage combat, drama, comedy. They’re always looking for new opportunities. | ||
| 19m06s | She Gone Do |
 (single) |
The Whythouse |
| 22m24s | Suzanne and Breanna talk about scriptwriting, and finding appropriate and engaging material for performances. Breanna tells us about last year’s play in the park, Marian. Local scriptwriters can contact ActOUT! at info@actoutkw.com. | ||
| 27m58s | Getting help from the community: Breanna met Jeff Stager from Radio Waterloo at the Community Picnic. They have a lot of contacts through different theatres, like Nadia at KWLT, and also Drayton Entertainment. | ||
| 30m23s | Having a safe space to express yourself is important. There are participants with neurodivergence, or anxiety, kids experimenting with gender or part of the LGBTQ+ population. Theatre is a very supportive environment. | ||
| 32m23s | Breanna takes us through the process of setting up a new production: Finding the script, one suitable for a bigger cast (particularly the musicals!) The actors are double-cast, one as more of a major role, and a second as a background player. Then looking for staff, such as director, choreographer, musical director. These are paid positions! Some programs a Laurier University have provided directors and other people from their theatre program. A musical may start rehearsing in September to prepare for a performance in December. Kids may put in six hours a week of rehearsal for a musical! This would be three hours on a weekday, and three more hours on a weekend. Then there might be eight shows over two weeks. | ||
| 43m09 | Model Railroad Town |
 Stiches and Incisions |
Allison Brown |
| 45m24s | ActOUT! KW has been around for 30 years, Breanna has been involved for about 10 years, in various roles from Board member to General Manager. Breanna reviews a number of the upcoming programs and performances. And they’ll be announcing new programs and performances in June. The Board decides what performances are mounted. Always looking for volunteers: volunteer@actoutkw.com. People working with the children will have to undergo a vulnerable sector check. You can sign up your kids through the website. | ||
| 56m18s | Breanna reviews all the contact information, and reviews the upcoming Radio Theatre production. Bob gives the end credits. | ||
CKMS Community Connections Hour One airs on CKMS-FM 102.7 on Monday from 11:00am to Noon, and Hour Two airs alternate Fridays from 3:00pm to 4:00pm.
Got music, spoken word, or other interesting stuff? Let us know at ccc@radiowaterloo.ca or leave a comment on our “About” page.
Subscribe to the CKMS Community Connections podcast!
See all CKMS Community Connections shows!
Video: CKMS Community Connections for Monday 21 April 2025 (YouTube)
Show notes and podcast interview content is Copyright © 2025 by the participants, and released under a Creative Commons Attribution Only license. Copy, re-use, and derivative works are allowed with attribution to Radio Waterloo and a link to this page. Music selections are copyright by the respective rights holders. The theme music is written and performed by Steven Todd.
actOUT! is a local non-profit charity promoting theatre to the children and youth of Waterloo Region.
actOUT! Live On Air presents “The Canterville Ghost” performed live on CKMS-FM on Friday, April 25th, 2025 from 5:00pm to 6:00pm.
A recording of the performance aired again Saturday, May 3, 2025 from 10:00am to 11:00am.
To learn more about our youth performers, go to actOUT! KW Live On Air!
ActOUT! KW now has a show on the regular CKMS-FM schedule!
