Megan Wykes

'I want to give back': Basketball podcaster Alex Wong brings new course, event to Hart House

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 14:20:04 +0000

'I want to give back': Basketball podcaster Alex Wong brings new course, event to Hart House

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 01/17/2025 - 09:20

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U of T Scarborough alum Alex Wong is teaching a four-week certificate course at Hart House and is organizing an event to celebrate all things basketball and hip hop (photo by Lorenzo Colocado)

Megan Wykes

Topic

City & Culture

Alumni

Hart House

Subheadline

The U of T alum and host of the "Hello and Welcome" podcast is keen to share his passion for basketball, hip hop and new media with students

As the producer and co-host of top-ranked basketball podcast “Hello & Welcome,” Alex Wong is one of Canada’s top sports and culture podcasters. But the ��߲ݴ�ý alum has never shed his close ties to his alma mater.

From launching his book on the Toronto Raptors’ origin story at the Goldring Centre for High-Performance Sport to shooting hoops at the Hart House gym on Thursdays, Wong has regularly sought to stay involved with the U of T community.

Now, with the support of Hart House Warden David Kim, Wong is jumping into programming with two new initiatives: a month-long certificate course that commenced Jan. 15 – called “New Media Spaces: How to Use the Podcast Platform for Basketball and Hip Hop Conversations” – and a Feb. 22 event, titled “Courts and Chords,” that will celebrate all things basketball and hip hop.

In an interview with writer Megan Wykes, Wong discussed his passion for basketball and hip hop, his love of Hart House and what he hopes U of T students will get out of the new course and event.

Can you share your journey from undergraduate studies at U of T to becoming a sports journalist?

I went to UTSC for their management co-op program and earned my bachelor of business administration. I specialized in accounting, got my CPA [Chartered Professional Accountant] and worked at Ernst & Young after graduating in 2007.

I didn’t feel creatively fulfilled at my job, so I left the industry and moved to New York City. There, I became a features writer for several publications including GQ, SLAM and The New York Times, focusing on basketball and culture.

I moved back to Toronto in 2016, wrote two books which have now been published, got a chance to cover the 2019 Raptors championship run, and now produce and co-host “Hello & Welcome.”

Do you often return to U of T to play basketball?

Hart House Warden Dave Kim has been kind enough to invite me to his Thursday night basketball runs at the Hart House Fitness Centre gym. I’ve been dropping by and playing for the last year or so.

Can you tell us about the New Media Spaces course that you’re teaching at Hart House?

This is a four-week course where I’ll be sharing my insights from my decade of being a sports and culture writer and podcaster with students. I hope this course will open them up to think about the different ways they can explore ideas and conversations in the podcast space.

We’re going to be using basketball and hip hop as a canvas to explore these ideas. I’m very excited to have a lot of wonderful guest speakers join me, including Francesca D’Amico-Cuthbert, program associate; Alison Duke, co-founder of OYA Media Group; Keysha Freshh, emcee; and Shireen Ahmed, co-creator and co-host of the “Burn It All Down” podcast.

I want to make these lessons as student-friendly as possible. I want to interact with the students and really find out what they want to get out of this course so I can tailor my plans to satisfying those needs. I’m also hoping to make connections with the students so that I can still be a resource to help them in any creative endeavors they want ‒ whether it’s starting a podcast or something else ‒ after the four weeks. I want to give back and continue to help younger creatives in any way I can.

How did the idea for “Courts and Chords” come about, and what will the event entail?

From speaking to the folks at U of T, we wanted to create an event celebrating sports and hip hop in Toronto, and we wanted to do this by spotlighting some wonderful artists, creatives, collectors and vendors who breathe so much life into and inspire so many others in the city.

The event will feature a vendor marketplace in the afternoon, followed by a live podcast component at the Hart House Fitness Centre’s gym. We will feature a fun, show-and-tell format where vendors and guests can bring their favourite piece of personal memorabilia – in sports or hip hop – and share the story behind it. Making full use of the gym, we will also have a three-point shooting contest and give away some tickets.

Students and attendees will be able to check out some cool stuff and meet some creatives from around the city. It will be a cool, hang-out event with some networking sprinkled in. Special guests will include the warden and DJ Shannyn Hill.

What do U of T and Hart House mean to you?

There’s so much history when it comes to the U of T campus … and Hart House is a huge part of that. It’s been a pleasure, over the past few years, getting to know so many faculty members and staff.

When I released my book, Prehistoric… the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education team was kind enough to offer me space in the Goldring Centre for the book launch. Five hundred people came out. It was very special. And now we’re organizing courses and events at Hart House.

I don’t take these opportunities for granted. It has been wonderful.

Do you have any advice for students from your vantage point as an alum?

Keep in touch with classmates and/or professors who made an impact on you during your time at U of T. It doesn’t necessarily need to be for any purpose.

There’s something cool in staying in touch and getting an update about them as they progress to different points in their lives.

'I came for that theatre'; Why the late Donald Sutherland championed U of T's Hart House Theatre

Christopher.Sorensen — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 13:04:15 +0000

'I came for that theatre'; Why the late Donald Sutherland championed U of T's Hart House Theatre

Christopher.Sorensen Mon, 08/26/2024 - 09:04

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(photo by Carlos R. Alvarez/WireImage/Getty Images)

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The esteemed actor and U of T alumnus also created the Donald Sutherland Award for Best Performance

The late Donald Sutherland was not only an esteemed actor and alumnus of Victoria College – he was a fierce and lifelong champion of the ��߲ݴ�ý’s Hart House Theatre.

Known for roles in M*A*S*H, the Hunger Games, Invasion of the Body Snatchers and others, Sutherland stepped up in support of the campus theatre 24 years ago when it was facing possible closure.

With the help of fellow alumnus Lorne Michaels, creator and producer of Saturday Night Live, Sutherland became co-chair of the Friends of Hart House Theatre, which was colloquially known as the“Save Hart House Theatre Campaign.”

As part of his efforts, Sutherland penned an eloquent and heartfelt letter to then-theatre manager Janet Bessey that emphasized the theatre’s impact on his life and the lives of so many others.

“It’s a theatre. It smells. It hears. It sings. It’s a theatre with arms that embrace you, comfort you, push you, and applaud you. It gives birth to people who make theatre. It nurtures them. It guides them. It sets them free and they wear the mantle of that theatre for the rest of their lives,” he wrote.

He added that Hart House Theatre was among the reasons he applied to U of T in the 1950s.

“When I came to Toronto forty-seven years ago, I came for that theatre. Expressly for that,” he stated in his correspondence with Bessey.

“I’d never been inside a theatre before; I’d never even seen a play. I knew nothing but that I was an actor. I’d not played yet but that’s what I’d come to do,” he elaborated. “That theatre was where some messenger from some advisory council somewhere told my open-faced father and my stunned-in the-headlights self that that was [the] place to go if that indeed was what I wanted to do. It was.”

The correspondence, later published by a newspaper, caused a ripple effect. “Through Donald Sutherland’s personal generosity and leadership, hundreds of donors came forward and ensured that Hart House Theatre would remain a vital crucible for student artists,” says Peter Wambera, Hart House’s associate director of advancement.

Sutherland’s very first acting experiences were at U of T. During his undergrad years, he participated in several theatrical productions staged by Hart House Theatre, UC Follies and Victoria College Dramatic Society.

His first acting role at Hart House Theatre was in James Thurber and Elliott Nugent’s The Male Animal (1953), which was well-received. He also earned excellent reviews from both the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail for his role as Stephano in Hart House Theatre’s production of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

Other Hart House plays in which he was involved include Darkness at Noon, The Troublemakers and The School for Wives.

Sutherland also spent many of his summers acting at the Straw Hat Players, a theatre company founded by members of Hart House Theatre, along with its then director Robert Gill.

Donald Sutherland, centre, in "The School for Wives" in 1956 (photo courtesy of Hart House Theatre Archives)

Sutherland, a Companion of the Order of Canada and recipient of the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement (Film), graduated from U of T in 1958 with a degree in engineering and drama. In 1998, he received an honorary degree from U of T in recognition of his acting career and his championing of social issues. Hart House co-signed the nomination, recalls then-Warden Margaret Hancock.

His support of Hart House Theatre never wavered. In 2014, through a generous donation, he created the Donald Sutherland Award for Best Performance.

“Donald Sutherland’s gift, the creation of the award, not only reflected his own unforgettable experiences at Hart House Theatre and how profoundly he valued this theatre, but it also guaranteed that there would be a permanent award to acknowledge outstanding student acting,” says Doug Floyd, Hart House’s director of theatre and performance art. “This is an extraordinary legacy that we cherish at Hart House Theatre. It will inspire and support students for many generations.”

Each year’s recipient of the Donald Sutherland Award wrote a letter summing up their experiences at the Hart House U of T Drama Festival. Updates were shared with Sutherland, would often respond with a letter of his own.

Hart House Theatre plans to dedicate the fall 2024/2025 season to Sutherland in a gesture of gratitude.