Welcome To Our New Board Members

Theatre Ontario is pleased to welcome our new Board members, following the elections at the AGM on Saturday, May 22.

We are pleased to welcome Patrick Gauthier of Ottawa and Michael Grit of Richmond Hill who were newly elected to the Board.  We also welcome back Debra McLauchlan of St. Catharines, Julianne Snepsts of Toronto, and Brian Van Norman of Waterloo, who were all re-elected for two-year terms.

Patrick Gauthier is a playwright and director whose writing credits include Tourist Things (Magnetic North Theatre Festival), and The Churchill Protocol (Gruppo Rubato), which was named Ottawa’s “Best New Creation” at the 2007 Rideau awards.  Directing credits include Conservatives in Love (Equity co-op), Rhythms of the Sun (Salamander Theatre for Young Audiences), and The Learned Ladies (Theatre at UBC). Pat is the co-founder of Ottawa creation-collective Gruppo Rubato, and holds an MFA in directing for the theatre from the University of British Columbia. He is currently Artistic Associate at the Great Canadian Theatre Company, and was recently awarded the 2010 RBC Emerging Artist Award by the Council for the Arts In Ottawa.

Michael Grit has been actively involved in theatre most of his life, starting in high school, then with Bramalea Little Theatre after college. In addition to the occasional performance on stage, Michael was also found working as a member of the backstage crew and producing. Since then, Michael has embarked on a career in the theatre that has brought him to the Elora Festival, the Sanderson Centre in Brantford, and currently with the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts where he participated in the design and construction of the new venue.

Upon the election of the new Board of Directors, the Board appointed Margit Tauchner of Ottawa to the remaining Board vacancy for a one-year term.  Margit was previously Chair of the Community Theatre Committee and representative from the Eastern Ontario Drama League.

Andy Trasuk, of Cornwall, has been appointed by the Eastern Ontario Drama League as their new representative.  A new appointment of a representative for the Western Ontario Drama League will be made at the WODL Annual Meeting in July.