7 Days In Ontario Theatre

What's Happening?

• Talk Is Free Theatre is presenting a fundraising concert performance of The Producers for The Actors Fund, featuring a stellar cast of dignitaries from the theatre world, including a couple of faces from Theatre Ontario...one night only on September 13!
• Charity Village has published a very helpful overview of Bill 65, the new Ontario Not-For-Profit Corporations Act, which sounds like it will have a positive effect on governance for many provincial theatres
• PACT and Nightwood Theatre are collaborating on the Canadian Women Directors Catalogue.  Submission deadline is August 30.

New and Upcoming on the Bulletin Board

• Submission deadline for the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival has been extended to August 6
• The Stratford Shakespeare Festival is running a workshop on auditioning on August 7

Check out all the current items on the Theatre Ontario Bulletin Board

Migrations

• Congratulations to Kate McConnell who will become the new Executive Director of STAF in Toronto

Over 70 Applications for 2011 Directors Project at the Shaw Festival

Theatre Ontario is pleased to announce that we received 74 applications for the 2011 Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival.  Applications came in from Canadians in six provinces and the United States.

"The seventy-four applications this year were the most received in at least eight years," said Tim Chapman, Professional Theatre Coordinator, "so the competition will be even keener than usual for this extremely valuable training project."

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.  The Intern Directors work under the mentorship of the Directors of the Academy, which is the Shaw Festival's professional development and public education wing. Each intern is assigned to two or three successive shows as an Assistant Director.  For the most part, being an Assistant Director involves observing the senior directors at work in rehearsal, doing research as required, acting as a sounding board as required. (Getting them coffee is not required.) The Interns also assist the company in educating audiences about theatre in general and the Shaw's productions and programmes in particular.

Since its inception in 1988, the project has been sponsored annually by Sun Life Financial and Theatre Ontario.  Read more about the Neil Munro Intern Directors Project at the Shaw Festival on the Theatre Ontario website

Theatre Ontario at Fringe 2010

by Mandy Rumbolt, Membership Coordinator

As Theatre Ontario increases our outreach to the province’s independent artists, we’ve been working on developing relationships with the Fringe Festivals of Ontario. Last year we offered all participants in the Toronto Fringe the opportunity to get a discount on Theatre Ontario memberships (PDF form), and at the Hamilton Fringe, we offered discounts and also hosted an Industry Night at the Fringe Club—we did the same again this year and hope to make this an annual event!

ONstage Openings

Odyssey Theatre launches their 2010 production this week, under the direction of our former Board President Janet Irwin.  Opening this week across Ontario:

(l. to r.) Karen Coughlin, Danny Williams,
Bobby Prochaska, J.D. Nicholsen,
Paula MacNeill in County Legends

In Southwestern Ontario:
July 26, Cagney! at Drayon Entertainment--Huron County Playhouse (Grand Bend)
July 27, For The Pleasure Of Seeing Her Again in previews at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival
July 28, Country Legends at Drayton Entertainment--St. Jacobs Country Playhouse [photo at right]
July 28, Emma at Ingersoll Theatre of the Performing Arts
July 29, The Perfect Pitch at Lighthouse Festival Theatre (Port Dover) with previews from July 27
July 29, My Name Is Rachel Corrie at The MT Space (Kitchener-Waterloo)
July 29, Sitting Pretty at Showboat Festival Theatre (Port Colborne)
July 30, Pearl Gidley at Blyth Festival with previews from July 28
July 30, The Two Gentlemen of Verona in previews at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival
July 31, Serious Money in previews at the Shaw Festival (Niagara-on-the-Lake)

In Toronto:
July 26, the Bad Dog Short Play Festival

In Central Ontario:
July 28, Alfred Hitchock's The 39 Steps at Globus Theatre (Bobcaygeon)

In Ottawa and Eastern Ontario:
July 26, Theatre Newfoundland Labrador's production of Tempting Providence at Festival Players of Prince Edward County (Picton) [photo at left]
July 27, Romeo And Juliet at Salamander Theatre (Ottawa)
July 29, They All Do It at Odyssey Theatre (Ottawa) [pictured below]

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.

7 Days In Ontario Theatre

What's Happening?

• Approximately 50 members of Ottawa's performing arts community gathered for the second Backyard Theatre Conference; I'm really looking forward to reading the results of the discussion
• Odyssey Theatre in Ottawa has been blogging about their Youth Apprenticeship Program, funded by the Youth Theatre Training Program
• From the AV Club: Should artists lives or opinions affect how people perceive their art?
• The Ontario Arts Council has published their Grant Survival Guide to find out how to prepare an OAC application (download the PDF)

New and Upcoming From The Bulletin Board

• Deadline for the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival is July 30.
• Stratford Shakespeare Festival is holding a workshop on auditioning on August 7.
• Factory Theatre in Toronto is holding a new summer training program for youth 14 to 18.
• The Ottawa Theatre School is now accepting applications for the Fall 2010 session.  Deadline is September 1.

Check out all the current items on the Bulletin Board on the Theatre Ontario website.

Migrations
Congratulations to Daryl Cloran who has been appointed as the new Artistic Director of Western Canada Theatre in Kamloops.

Welcome To Our Newest Member Theatres
Welcome to Workman Arts of Toronto.  You can find links to all of our Theatre Ontario member companies on the Theatre Ontario website. Performing companies can be found on ONstage with listings of upcoming productions. Training organizations can be found on our listing of Studios.

Join Theatre Ontario Industry Night at the Hamilton Fringe

Theatre Ontario is hosting Industry Night at the Hamilton Fringe Festival on Friday, July 23rd at 9pm.

Join us for a night of socializing and networking with the members of Hamilton's arts community, the Fringe artists and audience, and the members and staff of Theatre Ontario.  There will be lots of door prizes and music, and the bar will be open all night.  Industry Night will be at the Hamilton Fringe Club, 197 King William Street.

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

July E-Newsletter Is Now Online

Catch up on all the monthly news from Theatre Ontario in our monthly e-newsletter.  The July issue is now available online.

You can find the past year's back issues on the archive page, and sign-up for the enewsletter to get new issues in your inbox when they are first distributed.

Whatever your communications preference--email, Facebook, Twitter, or this blog--Theatre Ontario is there for you at every stage.

ONstage Openings

Opening this week across Ontario:

In South Central Ontario:
July 23, Broadway Gold II at the Rose Theatre (Brampton)

In Southwestern Ontario:
July 20, Cowgirls at Victoria Playhouse Petrolia
July 22, Knickers: A Brief Comedy at Port Stanley Festival Theatre, with a preview on July 21
July 23, Age Of Arousal in previews at the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake

In Toronto:
July 20, Can You See Me Yet? at Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts

In Central Ontario:
July 19, Sylvia at Highlands Summer Festival (Haliburton)
July 21, See How They Run at Drayton Entertainment-King's Wharf Theatre (Penetanguishene)

In Ottawa and Eastern Ontario:
July 20, the first My Summer Crush Improv at Arts Court (Ottawa)
July 20, Murder On The Nile at Ottawa Little Theatre
July 22, Freedom 85 at The Regent Theatre (Picton)
July 23, Master Harold And The Boys at Thousand Islands Playhouse (Gananoque) with a preview on July 22

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.

Accessibility in Theatre Customer Service

by Brandon Moore, Communications Coordinator

As we first reported back in January 2009, theatres in Ontario will need to comply with the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service by 2012.  This is part of Ontario's commitment to a fully accessible Ontario by 2025.

Last month, I attended a forum run by the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario, aimed at the not-for-profit sector on how to implement these requirements. We've already started discussions with other arts service organizations on how we can collectively train you on these new standards and how they impact your theatre.

This particular standard and the 2012 compliance deadline is not about the requirements for the accessibility of your "built environment" (your theatre itself) but rather how you interact with audience members who may have a disability.

But that also means that it's not just theatres that have a venue that need to pay attention to this standard...it's any theatre company that has an audience.  (Hopefully that's all of you!)  Indeed, it's an opportunity for theatres to assess better how you can reach a significant and often neglected audience.

Feel free to contact me at brandon@theatreontario.org or call 416.408.4556 x.15 if the standard is causing you anxiety, and you'd like to have a one-on-one chat about it.

Remembering Jimmy

by Tim Chapman, Professional Theatre Coordinator

I want, belatedly, to acknowledge the death of James (“Jimmy”) Douglas on December 29, 2009. James Douglas (1929-2009) had a long and successful career as an actor, producer, director and writer. I first saw Jimmy in a performance at the Red Barn Theatre in 1970 when Bill Glassco was Artistic Director. That same year gave us the wonderful comedy M.A.S.H. directed by Robert Altman with Jimmy as Col. Merrill. I remember being very impressed that I could see a Canadian actor at the Red Barn who I had just seen in a very successful American movie.

Later I got to know Jimmy when he served on Theatre Ontario’s Youth Theatre Training Committee for many years. That’s when I learned to appreciate his enthusiasm for theatre and the fun he had in everything he did. He was still doing his one-man show An Evening with Stephen Leacock in his final year.  James Douglas was Artistic Director of the Gryphon Theatre in Barrie in the 1980s. In the 1990s, he premiered the new musical War Brides at Theatre Orangeville where he later directed his own adaptation of W. O. Mitchell’s Jake and the Kid. He lived for many years in nearby Belfountain. I will never forget the smile on his face and the glint in his eyes.

Long Live The Doras!

by Tim Chapman, Professional Theatre Coordinator

The Dora Awards for 2010 have come and gone. The Awards were in the news more this year as Toronto Star readers will know. Richard Ouzounian wrote a couple of columns sniping at the Doras in the weeks leading up to their presentation night on June 28. Also Globe and Mail theatre critic J. Kelly Nestruck has addressed the Doras in three separate blog entries on Nestruck On Theatre. So I thought I would give you my take on the Doras.

ONstage Openings

With seasons opening at Theatre Collingwood, Century Church Theatre (in Hillsburgh) and Starbright Summer Festival (in Sarnia), all of the ASTRO Summer Theatres are now up and running for 2010.  Here are this week's openings:

In Northeastern Ontario:
July 16, The Mating Game at Theatre Cambrian (Sudbury)

In South Central Ontario:
July 16, I Ought To Be In Pictures at The Curtain Club (Richmond Hill) with a preview on July 15

In Southwestern Ontario:
July 13, Do Not Go Gentle at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival
July 13, Ivanka: The True Story at Victoria Playhouse Petrolia
July 14, Sadie Flynn Comes To Big Oak at Century Chuch Theatre (Hillsburgh)
July 16, Broadway Baritones at Starbright Summer Festival (Sarnia)
July 17, Driving Miss Daisy at Starbright Summer Festival (Sarnia)
July 18, King Of Thieves in previews at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival

In Toronto:

July 12, A Month In The Country at Soulpepper Theatre Company [pictured at left, Jeff Lillico and Tal Gottfried, photo by Cylla von Tiedemann]





In Central Ontario:

July 12, The Love List at Theatre Collingwood [pictured at right, Kris Ryan as Leon, Jonathan Whitaker as Bill, and Laura Adamo as Justine, photo by Bryan Davies Photography]
July 14, Six Dance Lessons In Six Weeks at Globus Theatre (Bobcaygeon)
July 15, Dating By The Book at Port Hope Festival Theatre

In Ottawa and Eastern Ontario:

July 14, Macbeth at St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival (Prescott) [pictured at left, Kris Joseph as Macbeth and Kerry Ann Doherty as Lady Macbeth]






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.

Professional Development for Adjudicators

Both community theatres and adjudicators themselves have told us that they need professional development opportunities for adjudicators.  Theatre Ontario is committed to serving both sectors through our Adjudicators Symposium.  Scheduled for September 18 in Toronto, this one-day special event will bring together adjudicators to network, and to discuss techniques and practices.

Read more about the Adjudicators Symposium on the Theatre Ontario website.

ONstage Openings

A very busy week of openings for summer theatres: Bancroft Village Playhouse, Highlands Summer Festival in Haliburton, Brampton's Rose Theatre, Stirling Festival Theatre, St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival in Prescott, tours for Driftwood Theatre Company and Humber River Shakespeare Company, and a special mention of the opening of the new Classic Theatre Festival in Perth.  Plus a new production from Cahoots Theatre Company in Toronto.

In Ottawa and Eastern Ontario:

July 6, Take A Number, Darling at Bancroft Village Playhouse [pictured at right]
July 7, Driving Miss Daisy at Stirling Festival Theatre
July 9, Blithe Spirit at Classic Theatre Festival (Perth)
July 10, Trouble On Dibble Street at the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival (Prescott)
July 10, The Long Weekend at Upper Canada Playhouse (Morrisburg) with a preview on July 9

In South Central Ontario:
July 8, Shear Madness at Stage West Theatre (Mississauga)
July 9, 7 Stories at The Rose Theatre (Brampton)

In Southwestern Ontario:
July 8, Paradise Island at Kitchener-Waterloo Little Theatre
July 8, Harvest at Lighthouse Festival Theatre (Port Dover) with previews from July 6
July 8, Six Dance Lessons In Six Weeks at Showboat Festival Theatre (Port Colborne)
July 9, The Doctor's Dilemma at the Shaw Festival (Niagara-on-the-Lake)

July 10, John Bull's Other Island at the Shaw Festival (Niagara-on-the-Lake) [pictured at left]
July 10, Half an Hour at the Shaw Festival (Niagara-on-the-Lake)



In Toronto:

July 6, A Taste of Empire at Cahoots Theatre Company [Jovanni Sy pictured at right]
July 6, A Month In The Country in previews at Soulpepper Theatre Company
July 8, Who's Under Where? at Scarborough Theatre Guild

In Central Ontario:
July 5, The Goodbye Girl at Highlands Summer Festival (Haliburton)
July 9, Classic Albums Live: The Beatles White Album at Meaford Hall

Touring:
July 6, The Taming Of The Shrew from Humber River Shakespeare Company
July 11, Twelfth Night from Driftwood Theatre Company (with previews from July 8)

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.