Ontario Off Stage

by Brandon Moore, Communications Coordinator

Conversation Starters

• Stephanie Vegh, Executive Director of the Hamilton Arts Council, wrote a good analysis of how “flat-lining” leads to decline in arts funding.  She also talks about the recent Ontario Arts Council reduction of operating grants by 5%, but shares an interesting tidbit: $500,000 has been earmarked for increases to organizations with exceptional performance, and another $500,000 has been earmarked for new and emerging artists (I wonder if that means first-time recipients)

• 

  STAF's Open Source Brainstorm

  STAF is undergoing a transformation in how it serves independent artists in Toronto.  We are excited to be partnering with STAF on a couple of the projects—and hopefully find ways to expand the reach beyond the city’s borders into the many “maker communities” in Ontario where independent theatre is growing.  I attended their Open Source Brainstorm this week on that transformation—and in the spirit of “open source” the discussion is available online
• Are post-show discussions effective for audience engagement?  HowlRound explored the question of how you create effective ones
• One of the hot topics at the STAF forum was tools for video.  HowlRound asks when it comes to recording productions, how do we bring theatre into the digital age?
• Alexander Offord reflected on the recent “Disappearing Act” forum on Toronto theatre audiences and challenged three ideas: that different media compete with each other, the goal of attracting “non-theatre people”, and the correlation between “good” and “popular”

 Behind the Scenes at Ontario’s Theatres

• The Canada Council for the Arts is exploring a new funding model that will focus on a new suite of national, non-disciplinary programs
• The Artists’ Health Alliance is seeking feedback on the needs of the artistic community to better serve artists of every discipline across the Greater Toronto Area

In Case You Missed It

• Professional Theatre Training Program project profiles, featuring Julia Hune-Brown (training in artistic direction with Ruth Howard at Jumblies Theatre), Alexis Scott (training in artistic producing with David Whiteley at Plosive Productions), and Peter Pasyk (training in artistic direction with Chris Abraham at Crow’s Theatre)
• Erin Keating wrote about this year’s Next Generation Showcase of graduating post-secondary theatre students