Productions Needed for Adjudicator Training

In May, Theatre Ontario held an Introduction to Adjudication course in London as part of our 2010 Festival.  As the next step in that training, we are now looking for community theatre productions to give the trainees an opportunity to practice the skills that they learned at the course.

We are looking for productions that are not already scheduled for adjudication by someone else.  (We would prefer not to subject you and your cast/crew to two adjudications for the same production!)  Although we would prefer to do this in the fall, some course participants may ask to defer the event until later in the year because of other commitments. There may be a need for one or two available productions later in the season.

We would want to run the evening as a full adjudication, with a public adjudication immediately after the show, and then an hour-long private adjudication with company members. There will be no cost involved to the host group other than supplying the visiting adjudicator with a copy of your script.

Community Theatres interested in volunteering one of their productions should contact Dennis Johnson, Community Theatre Coordinator, at dennis@theatreontario.org, and let him know the title of the show, the playwright, and the available dates when a trial adjudication could take place.

Welcome to our New Members of the Talent Bank

Theatre Ontario's Talent Bank matches organizations with professional theatre teachers and trainers for workshops, adjudications, and short-term consulting contracts.  We are pleased to welcome the following new trainers to our Talent Bank.

• Trevor Copp of Burlington, in the category of Adjudicator
• Lisa Marie Di Liberto of Toronto, in the categories of Children's Theatre Instructor and Physical Theatre Instructor
• Cheryl Ewing of Kitchener, in the category of Administration and Audience Development Instructor
• Howard Jerome of Toronto, in the category of Acting Instructor
• John Lazarus of Kingston, in the categories of Adjudicator and Creative Writing Instructor
• Janice Pomer of Toronto, in the categories of Movement Instructor and Dance Instructor
• Lindsay Price of Crystal Beach, in the category of Creative Writing Instructor
• Beatrix Quarrie of Peterborough, in the category of Adjudicator
• Mark Schoenberg of Toronto, in the categories of Acting Instructor, Adjudicator, Drama Direction Instructor, and Drama Production Consultant/Play Polisher
• Bob Schram of Toronto, in the category of Choreography Instructor

We are also pleased to congratulate Talent Bank members who were accepted into additional categories:

• Mark Ingram of Toronto, in the category of Voice Instructor
• Alan K. Sapp of Kitchener, in the category of Adjudicator

Visit the Theatre Ontario website for more information about the members of our Talent Bank.

ONstage Openings

It's a busy week on the stages of Ontario theatres, as new seasons begin at Globus Theatre in Bobcaygeon, 4th Line Theatre in Millbrook, Festival Players of Prince Edward County in Picton, and A Company of Fools in Ottawa.

In Central Ontario:
June 30, On Golden Pond at Drayton Entertainment's King's Wharf Theatre in Penetanguishene [pictured at left]
June 30, Nobody's Perfect at Globus Theatre in Bobcaygeon
July 1, Eldorado Town—The Port Hope Play at 4th Line Theatre in Millbrook (in previews from June 29)

In Ottawa and Eastern Ontario:
June 30, I'll Be Back Before Midnight at the Festival Players of Prince Edward County in Picton (with a preview on June 29)
July 2, A Midsummer Night's Dream at A Company Of Fools in Ottawa

In Southwestern Ontario:
June 29, Angelwalk Theatre production of Altar Boyz at Victoria Playhouse Petrolia [pictured at right]
June 30, Cagney! at Drayton Entertainment's Festival Theatre
June 30, Country Legends at Drayton Entertainment's Huron County Playhouse in Grand Bend
June 30, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Drayton Entertainment's St. Jacobs Country Playhouse

July 1, BBQ King: The Musical at Port Stanley Festival Theatre (in previews from June 30)

July 2, Bordertown Cafe at Blyth Festival (in previews from June 30)

In Toronto:

June 29, A Taste Of Empire in previews at Cahoots Theatre Company

June 30, Jitters at Soulpepper Theatre Company

July 1, The Cherry Orchard (a lab production) at Soulpepper Theatre Company

July 3, Secret Origin at Bad Dog Theatre Company

And at the Toronto Fringe Festival, opening on June 30:
Leacock Live! by ACT II Studio Productions
Jack Frost by Cow Over Moon

For all the theatre current playing across Ontario, or for information for theatres on how to add/update your listing, visit ONstage on the Theatre Ontario website.

The Bulletin Board

Nothing new this week on the Bulletin Board, but reminders of a few things coming up next week:

• June 30 is the deadline for applications for a Sales Promotion Coordinator job at London Community Players, an Artistic Programs Intern volunteer position at Canadian Stage, and the Toronto Arts Foundation's 2010 Awards
• July 2 is the deadline for scholarship applications to the Young Artists Training Program at the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival in Prescott

Check out all of the opportunities from Theatre Ontario's member theatres on The Bulletin Board on the Theatre Ontario website.

Theatre Ontario Launching New Membership Benefit Program

Theatre Ontario is proud to announce a new partnership with RONA.  As a new benefit for Theatre Ontario's group members, RONA will provide a rebate on purchases made in participating stores.

How the progam works:

1. Contact Theatre Ontario to begin set-up of your RONA Exclusive Volume Rebate Program Account
2. Use your account number whenever you make purchases at RONA
3. RONA will provide you with a year-end volume rebate

Member groups can also share the account number with your staff and volunteers, audience, and supporters.  Every time they use this account number when they make a purchase at RONA, the group gets the savings.  The more purchases made through this account, the greater your year-end rebate.

For more information, or to set up your account, please contact Mandy Rumbolt, Membership Coordinator, at membership@theatreontario.org or 416.408.4556 x.16.

One Week Left For Applications to Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw

The deadline for the Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival is just one week away.  The application deadline for the 2011 Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival is June 30, 2010 at 5pm.

Each year, the Shaw Festival hires two Intern Directors for a period of about six months. They look for promising professional directors near the beginning of their careers. Applicants should have a fair bit of professional experience, but probably not in a company as large as the Shaw Festival. The contracts run approximately from mid-March to September, depending on the production schedule for the particular season. These positions are salaried at an apprentice level, which at The Shaw is around $600 per week.

Space Still Remaining In Summer Courses

While our Advanced Scene Study summer course with Christopher Newton is now full, Theatre Ontario still has a few spaces left in our Introduction to Directing (with John P. Kelly), Comedy Performance (with Heather Dick) and Advanced Directing (our symposium with Philip Akin, Leah Cherniak, Eric Coates, Susan Ferley and Richard Rose.)

You can find all about our Summer Courses, running August 8 to 14 at Trent University in Peterborough, on the Theatre Ontario website. 

ONstage Openings

Blyth Festival opens their 2010 season this week.  Some of the other Ontario shows opening include:

In Toronto:
June 24, Jitters in previews at Soulpepper Theatre Company
June 25, Romeo And Juliet at Canadian Stage
June 27, Sketch Roulette at Bad Dog Theatre Company

In Ottawa and Eastern Ontario:

June 22, Another Home Invasion at Thousand Islands Playhouse in Gananoque (Terry Tweed pictured at right)

June 25, For The Love Of O'Nat at The Regent Theatre in Picton

In Southwestern Ontario:

June 25, A Killing Snow at Blyth Festival (with previews from June 23)

June 25, The Tempest at Stratford Shakespeare Festival

June 25, Legend In Black: A Johnny Cash Tribute at Meaford Hall

June 26, Half An Hour in previews at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake

For all the theatre current playing across Ontario, or for information for theatres on how to add/update your listing, visit ONstage on the Theatre Ontario website.

The Bulletin Board

New this week on the Bulletin Board:

• Canadian Stage (Toronto) is looking for a volunteer to be their Artistic Programs Intern.  Application deadline is June 30.
• Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival is now inviting applications for the 2010 Festival.  Application deadline is July 30.

Coming up next week, stage combat training in Toronto and advanced acting in Sault Ste. Marie.  For all of the opportunities available from Theatre Ontario members, visit the Bulletin Board on the Theatre Ontario website.

TO Toasts!

Congratulations to Ken Gass, founder and artistic director of Factory Theatre, who this month was awarded the Artist Award at the 2010 Premier's Awards for Excellence in the Arts, and to Natasha Mytnowych, artistic director for Theatre Revolve and Company Theatre Crisis chosen by Ken for new or emerging individual talent.  Read more

Congratulations to Naomi Campbell, who was the recipient of The Mallory Gilbert Leadership Award from the PACT Communications Centre and Toronto's Tarragon Theatre.  Congratulations also to Donna-Michelle St. Bernard, who was named by Naomi as recipient protege.  Read more

June E-Newsletter Now Available

If you can't always stay on top of your RSS feeds (I'm not going to admit how many unread items I have in my Google Reader...), you can read all of our latest news in one convenient email: our June e-newsletter is now available in the archives.  (You can find a year's worth of back issues on the main page.)

To join the email list for our enewsletter, you can sign up on our website.  Whether its here on the blog, or email, Facebook, or Twitter, you can choose your favourite way of communicating with us at Theatre Ontario.

Theatre Awards: The Thrill Of Victory And The Agony Of Defeat

by John Goddard, Executive Director

I don’t like competitive theatre festivals.

I don’t like artists competing with each other for prizes, especially “The Best of Anything.”

To me it is contrary to what Art is about. Prizes belong to the world of sports and athletics which is based on a belief that people can be divided into a hierarchy based on one small aspect of the human condition to the exclusion of all others—faster, stronger, higher; dumber!

Theatre festivals should be FESTIVALS—a celebration of life and the creative genius of human beings. They should be showcases of the ability of the human race to examine, explore, and elucidate the human condition, the entire human condition.

ONstage Openings

From Theatre Ontario, here is some of this week's theatre openings including season openings at Port Hope Festival Theatre and Showboat Festival Theatre in Port Colborne.

In Southwestern Ontario:
June 17, Looking at Lighthouse Festival Theatre (Port Dover) with previews from June 15
June 17, Mama's County Record Collection at Showboat Festival Theatre (Port Colborne)
June 18, Last Of The Red Hot Lovers at Ingersoll Theatre of Performing Arts
June 18, The Last Resort at London Community Players
June 18, John Bull's Other Island in previews at the Shaw Festival

In Toronto:
June 17, Queer Pride 2010 at Buddies In Bad Times Theatre
June 20, Day Of Delight at Clay & Paper Theatre

In Central Ontario:
June 17, Jukebox Jive at Port Hope Festival Theatre (pictured at left)

In Ottawa and Eastern Ontario:
June 18, Blood Brothers at Thousand Islands Playhouse (Gananoque) with a preview on June 17

For all the theatre current playing across Ontario, or for information for theatres on how to add/update your listing, visit ONstage on the Theatre Ontario website.

The Bulletin Board

New this week from our Theatre Ontario members:

• The St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival in Prescott has scholarships available for students interested in participating in their 2010 Young Artists program
• Ottawa Little Theatre has launched their 70th One Act Play Playwriting Competition

For upcoming notices and opportunities, please visit The Bulletin Board on the Theatre Ontario website

Let's Write A Play

by Dennis Johnson, Community Theatre Coordinator

I’ve just finished reading 38 plays—all of them submissions to our forthcoming Playwrights Canada Press anthology.  All of them were plays premiered at community theatres in Ontario, written by local playwrights rooted in the community where the play was produced.  Of those 38 plays, there are 16 that I would label comedies and 17 dramas.  The rest are a bit of both—everything from verse drama to murder mysteries to historical pageants to melodramas. And there sure were a lot of kilts.

ONstage Openings

Some of the theatre opening across our province includes the season openings at Upper Canada Playhouse in Morrisburg, Drayton Entertainments's King Wharf Theatre season in Penetanguishene and Festival Theatre season in Drayton, and the Stratford Shakespeare Festival.

In Ottawa and Eastern Ontario:
June 11, Heroes at Great Canadian Theatre Company, with previews from June 8
June 12, The Amorous Ambassador at Upper Canada Playhouse in Morrisburg, with previews from June 10

In Northeastern Ontario:
June 9, Jenny's House Of Joy at Sault Theatre Workshop
June 10, All Shook Up at Theatre Cambrian (Sudbury)

In South Central Ontario:
June 11, Cliffhanger at The Curtain Club (Richmond Hill), with a preview on June 10

In Southwestern Ontario:
June 7, As You Like It at Stratford Shakespeare Festival
June 8, Kiss Me, Kate at Stratford Shakespeare Festival
June 8, 39 Steps at Victoria Playhouse Petrolia
June 9, The Winter's Tale at Stratford Shakespeare Festival
June 10, On Golden Pond at Drayton Entertainment - Drayton Festival Theatre, with previews from June 8
June 10, On Golden Pond at Elgin Theatre Guild (St. Thomas)
June 10, Love Shack at Port Stanley Festival Theatre, with a preview on June 9
June 10, The Doctor's Dilemma in previews at Shaw Festival (Niagara-on-the-Lake)
June 10, Evita at Stratford Shakespeare Festival
June 10, Disney's High School Musical at Theatre Aquarius (Hamilton)
June 11, Sweet Charity at Drayton Entertainment - Huron County Playhouse (Grand Bend), with previews from June 9
June 11, The Tempest in previews at Stratford Shakespeare Festival
June 11, Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well And Living In Paris at Stratford Shakespeare Festival
June 11, Don't Dress For Dinner at Theatre Sarnia
June 12, Peter Pan at Stratford Shakespeare Festival

In Central Ontario:
June 11, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Drayton Entertainment - King's Wharf Theatre (Penetanguishene) with previews from June 9
June 11, The Selfish Giant at Westben Arts Festival Theatre at Campbellford

For all the theatre current playing across Ontario, or for information for theatres on how to add/update your listing, visit ONstage on the Theatre Ontario website.

The Bulletin Board

With the Festival and AGM, it's been very busy here in the office, so we haven't been able to keep you as up-to-date on new notices on The Bulletin Board as we like.  So what's new?

• St. Marys Community Theatre are looking for a director.  Submission deadline is June 11
• Sault Theatre Workshop is holding The Actors Centre workshop with Richard Howard on June 25 to June 27 for experienced actors.  (A personal workshop favourite of mine!)
• Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People in Toronto start their summer classes on July 5
• Submissions for undercurrents: theatre below the mainstream at Great Canadian Theatre Company in Ottawa are due on July 9.

Find information about all of these opportunities and more on The Bulletin Board on the Theatre Ontario website.

Neil Munro Intern Directors Project 2011 Deadline Approaching

There is one month left to submit your application for the 2011 Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival.

Each year, the Shaw Festival hires two Intern Directors for a period of about six months. They look for promising professional directors near the beginning of their careers. Applicants should have a fair bit of professional experience, but probably not in a company as large as the Shaw Festival. The contracts run approximately from mid-March to September, depending on the production schedule for the particular season.

The application deadline is June 30.  The project is sponsored by Sun Life Financial.

Read more about the Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival on the Theatre Ontario website

Two Weeks Left Until Summer Courses Deadline

There are just two weeks left to get your application in for one of our courses as part of our 2010 Summer Theatre Intensive in Peterborough.

From August 8 to 14, 2010, we are offering four exciting training courses:

• Make 'Em Laugh: Comedy Performance Skills for Actors, with Heather Dick
• "Who's The Boss Here Anyway?": Introduction to Directing, with John P. Kelly
• Taking The Rough With The Smooth: Advanced Scene Study, with Christopher Newton
• Directors Symposium, with Philip Akin, Leah Cherniak, Eric Coates, Susan Ferley and Richard Rose

These week-long residential courses bring together people from across Ontario (and beyond) who are passionate about theatre and committed to intensive theatre training.  With all of your meals and accommodations provided, you can concentrate on developing your skills as an artist.

Read all about the Summer Theatre Intensive on the Theatre Ontario website.