Day 3 at the Theatre Ontario Festival

by Mandy Rumbolt, Membership Coordinator

Reflecting the enthusiasm of the previous night's audience, there was big crowd gathered to see the Detailed Adjudication for Whitby Courthouse Theatre's The Long Weekend. Sears And Switzer's adjudication had several of the show's performers on their feet, and true to the nature of the show itself, there were a lot of laughs all morning long.

In the afternoon, Theatre Ontario presented "Playwright-In-Person" Maja Ardal. The Iceland-born, Scotland-raised Canadian has had an expansive career in the Canadian theatre. Formerly the artistic director of Young People's Theatre, she is currently the playwright-in-residence at Nightwood Theatre. Her most recent play, You Fancy Yourself, has been garnering rave reviews for the last several years and was most recently produced at Theatre Passe Muraille. We were treated to an intimated talk by Ms. Ardal, and many of the people gathered had great questions about writing as both a passion and a profession. We were also lucky enough to hear her read several selections from the work she is currently writing, The Cure For Everything - a sequel to You Fancy Yourself.

The evening's performance, Waiting For Godot, came courtesy of QUONTA.  Samuel Beckett's infamous play, about the unending wait for the man who never comes, is challenging production for any cast... and sometimes a challenge for the audience as well.  But Gateway Theatre Guild's presentation kept the audience close and produced many a laugh, and the audience's appreciation was clear.  Sears And Switzer gave the company kudos for their bold script selection and commended the choice to give the show a Canadian context.  There was much praise for the performances, and a particular mention for the role of Boy played by the young Mackenzie Willis. I'm sure many in the audience are eager for the morning's adjudication to hear both the company and Sears And Switzer talk more about the show.